If you are interested, this is a killer deal to run on some great road racing tracks like Calif. Speedway, Infenion, Monterey and others: http://www.touringcarclub.com/
They also now have a forum too!
I might be taking my Nascar Mercury Capri 2 and make a few races this year with them! All I have to do is add a working tail lights and maybe add the rear hatch too.
Just tell them JamnJM sent yaā¦
I also just found this too: http://redlinetrackevents.com/event_spdway.html
dont forget to add lots of negative camber to left side too
Oh, I have LOTS of changes before hitting a road course from the current oval track set upā¦
Springs, camber, caster, toe, ride heights, take out all the hidden lead weight in the left frame rail (:rolleyes:), size up the oval track tires to get somewhat even sizing on them as I donāt need tire stagger, get a T5 Ford 2300 5 speed trans, take the 4.63 mini spooled diff. out and get a limited slip or otherwise different rear gear set up, and on and onā¦and get rid of the loose nut behind the steering wheel too!
The 4 banger t5 should be easy, If you having a tough time go over to www.corral.net and drop a wanted ad in the forums, There are lots of cars there that had 4ās in them that got switched to v8
The spool would be nice to change but not absolutely necessary, Iāve run with a spool before, I kinda liked steering with the gas pedal lol. That was in a v8 car; your car being a 2.3 may suffer a bit in the corner as some power is scrubbed off by the spool. The 4.63 isnāt all that bad, you will have to do some track time to figure where your shift points are, You donāt want to shift in the corners, and as long as you donāt run out of revs you can run as much gear as possible.
Put as much caster in it as you stand, that way the camber will come when you need it (in the turn) and wont be as bad when you donāt want it (on the brakes).
The loose nut behind the wheel is what makes it funā¦
A racing friend in Palmdirt (oops, Palmdale) Ca. that has a T5 from a V8 but the ratios are a little widerā¦but it is a freebie!
Running at like Willow Springs or Calif. Speedway (3/4ās of the oval plus the infield too) and others, I really think Iām going to need higher (3.40 or so) rear gears, but we will see.
donāt be afraid to use 5th gear. the V8 t5 has a different size pilot shaft so be perpared to do some custom work when installing the pilot bearing. the v8 ones tended to be beat on more than the 4 banger ones too. But the price is right
I did not know that the bearing shaft is largerā¦thanks.
It does have grinding 2nd but I may get it so I can get going unless I can find another 2.3 T5 first.
The grinding could be as simple as a syncro or slider. The 2.3 also has a different length input shaft
here is a T5 cross reference
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/T5Identifier.gif
If you want to do a rebuild the manual is downloadable for free at
http://www.ttcautomotive.com/English/media/pdfs_autogen/T-5_Service_Manual.pdf
frogot to mention the v8 ratios will probably like you present rear gear better than the 4 cyl ratio box
IF youreally wantto get into āreal roadā racing check out
http://www.silverstateclassic.com , if you google it you will get some interesting stories about this race. They even made an Elvis movie about it. LOL I hear you asking whoās elvis?
here is another race in Nebraska.
http://www.sorcrace.com
I currently have a car under construction to race both of these.
The Silver State classic is quite an event! Not really āracingā, but a different type of fun. Even in the 115mph class, it was quite a challenge. Not as easy as it may seem to average 115 for 90 miles. We were also restricted to a certain top speed to make up lost time, so it takes some planning. For first-timers, theyāre restricted to 130 and lower classing. I wouldnāt have wanted to register for faster than that anyways, as itās good to scope out the course and get a feel for the different turns and elevation changes.
As far as actual road course fun, iād suggest Laguna Seca, Buttonwillow, and California Speedway infield. In order of fun too. I was a member of NASA, but got fed up with thier overly picky tech inspectors and the whiny instructors. My suggestion is to just look for open track days held by car clubs, and attend those.
I put āreal roadā in quotes, as these races are on real roads not a track. I love track racing but thereās just something different, exciting when doing it on the road. Like a couple of years ago when there was a mass migration of crickets (I think) that caused a car (real nice Studebaker) to go off course big time. There are just more variables on a 90 mile road where you only get one shot at each corner. On a track you get to try to fix your mistake on the next lap.
Actually they are more of a TSD rally than a race, but competition is competition, I do like the fender to fender stuff, as long as the guy Iām next to has as much respect for other as I do, I hate fixing broken glass and straightening bent steel.