Honda318dx

So, I'm going to build a UCAR (U Can Afford Racing) for the local 3/8 mile speedway.. Problem is, what is the best car to start out with?? I went to one of these races Saturday night, and was amazed at the amount of fun you can have for a 25$ entry fee..

Help me find a good car to start out with..

Must be:
Domestic
FWD
4 Cylinder
NO DOHC and 4 Valve per cylinder heads
CHEAP!!!
Factory Camber Adjustment would be great

Most of the cars I saw were of the Escort GT Version.. Problem is that the cars seem to chew off right front tires VERY fast because they arn't allowed any suspension changes from stock..

Here are the rules for the class. I can easily build a car for under 800$ and race it every Saturday night without breaking the bank.

http://208.35.150.184/results/UCAR_Rules_Regs.htm

George Knighton

Oh, god.

Smitdog

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by George Knighton &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Oh, god.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I will second that.

AKADriver

Needs to be an 8v four, but no displacement cap? Find a Dodge Shadow with the 2.5 NA engine and a 5-speed. No more power than an 8-valve Cavalier or Escort, but lots more torque.

Honda318dx

150 racewin payouts, pays up to 10th place finishes

Honda318dx

Well, it can have 3 valves per cylinder, so 12 valves.. I know some hondas have those

There is a loophole..

Dodge Colt = Domestic
Mitsubishi Mirage = Import

Same car..

George Knighton

And of course you know Corey would clean up on a short oval, being the King of Oversteer and all.

Didn't Willard do a few of these in his ITR?

CRX Lee

I first thought of the Escort GT but think the 2.2 liter Omnis, Horizons and Chargers would be preferable with the 2.2 liter and very plentiful for bodies and parts. Daytonas with 2.4 (I think) would be an option as well, maybe the preference. I'd think they might be a bit lighter than the Shadow.

How about a non-Turbo of the Omni GLH? A pretty good list of stock parts.

If the local dirt track 5 miles from my house would open a base level mini-stock, I'd certainly look into doing it. I'll drive anything...hell, give me a lawn tractor.

Balled S2K

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Honda318dx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, it can have 3 valves per cylinder, so 12 valves.. I know some hondas have those</TD></TR></TABLE>
The '83 model year was the 1st for Accord sedan's built in Ohio.

You might want to look a the '86-89 Acord LXi. They came w/ the A20A3 2.0l (3valves/cyl). 120hp @ 5800, 124 ft/lbs @ 4000.

The carb'd version of the motor in the DX & LX only made 98/109.

Since all it says is "American-made" in section #1 you should be OK.

MaddMatt

Aren't the Escort GTs 16 valve? Perhaps that's just the newer ones.

Man that sounds like fun Corey. &lt;$1000 to build, $25 to race. Not bad bang for the buck right there.

Those 2.2 Omnis/Chargers were torquey as hell for a mid/late 80s engine. My brother had one. PLENTIFUL spares in a junkyard near you, too. That's my vote.

Honda318dx

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Balled S2K &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
The '83 model year was the 1st for Accord sedan's built in Ohio.

You might want to look a the '86-89 Acord LXi. They came w/ the A20A3 2.0l (3valves/cyl). 120hp @ 5800, 124 ft/lbs @ 4000.

The carb'd version of the motor in the DX & LX only made 98/109.

Since all it says is "American-made" in section #1 you should be OK.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I daily drive a 89LXI accord, and love it! I think it would actually do very well in an event like that, and, I only paid 300$. I don't know if bending the "american made" part though is in the nature of the rules.. About every track has different rules for these cars, anywhere from max displacement of 1.8L, to only dodge/chrysler, ford, chevy, to even an Import only class that can use DOHC engines.. I would definitly check it out before I "built" one..

Back in Black

So...what happens to the 'lude?

Johnny Tran

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MaddMatt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Those 2.2 Omnis/Chargers were torquey as hell for a mid/late 80s engine. My brother had one. PLENTIFUL spares in a junkyard near you, too. That's my vote.</TD></TR></TABLE>

As well as mine...

The omni/charger is hands down the car to have...if it has to be fwd. You might check on an old 'quad 4' based chevy as well...although the drivetrain is all it has going for it.

Greyout

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ITR2M3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So...what happens to the 'lude?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was waiting for this part...

Balled S2K

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Johnny Tran &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You might check on an old 'quad 4' based chevy as well...</TD></TR></TABLE>
1. Competing Car Models

Any American made (Ford, GM, Chrysler) front wheel drive (FWD) ONLY, four cylinder engine, 1980 or newer, car, with a maximum wheelbase of 105”, is approved for competition by ODS. No convertibles, four wheel drive, sports cars, trucks, vans or station wagons allowed. No turbocharged, supercharged, four valve per cylinder, quad 4, rotary or cosworth engined cars allowed.

So, anyone know of an American rotary? The Vegas were originally designed to accept the one the General was working on but who knows. Maybe they consider Mazda 'merican cause it's owned controlled by Ford.

Crack Monkey

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Honda318dx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I don't know if bending the "american made" part though is in the nature of the rules.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The rules have "GM, Ford, Chrysler" in parenthesis next to the "American made" bit, so I'm guessing they really mean "Big Three".

Willard

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by George Knighton &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Didn't Willard do a few of these in his ITR?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yes... 2 years in a row... and to be honest... it was more fun than driving on pavement.
The first year I lost to the Mustang.. the 2nd year I was side by side with him for the entire lap.

The in-car video is bad ***.

Here is the link from the 1st time I was there.
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=257522
The video is dead... but there are a few pictures there.

It was a whole different ball game with regard to car control.

The huge crowd was nice and after Humpy Wheeler came up to me, shook my hand and thanked me for my 'good run'... I was all smiles.


On the way back from St. Louis yesterday, I saw a gutted and caged Neon on a trailer heading to (or returning from) a dirt track event.

Todd Reid

hey corey!

look for a 84, 85, 86 dodge omni GLH, non turbo. very good susp stock, bigger brakes stock, strong 2.2 8 valve 4 cyl, and a 5 speed.

i had a turbo model, and it kicked ***. the non turbo is 36 hp less, but still torquey as hell; they did quite well at auto-x way back when....

later, dude!

todd

AKADriver

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRX Lee &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I first thought of the Escort GT but think the 2.2 liter Omnis, Horizons and Chargers would be preferable with the 2.2 liter and very plentiful for bodies and parts. Daytonas with 2.4 (I think) would be an option as well, maybe the preference. I'd think they might be a bit lighter than the Shadow.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The Daytona could weigh over 3000lb in stock form! The Shadow/Sundance was pretty much as light as you could get with the 2.5L. I think the Aries/Reliant had the 2.5 available also.

Escort GTs didn't get a 16v engine until they got the Mazda BPDE in 1991.

577HondaPrelude

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">&lt;$1000 to build, $25 to race. Not bad bang for the buck right there.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would think the roll cage alone would cost more than $1000. But this is deff a cheap series to run. keep us updated if you go though with it Corey!

....and what you doing with your H1 race car?

aklucsarits

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Honda318dx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, it can have 3 valves per cylinder, so 12 valves.. I know some hondas have those

There is a loophole..

Dodge Colt = Domestic
Mitsubishi Mirage = Import

Same car.. </TD></TR></TABLE>

But the rules say "Any American made (Ford, GM, Chrysler) front wheel drive (FWD) ONLY..."

I think the Dodge Colts (at least the earlier ones) were made in Japan and imported. But then you have other hot "import" cars like the 91-94 Nissan Sentra SE-R that were all made in the USA.

So which is it? Is the requirement "American made" or "American-branded"?

If they really mean "american made" The SOHC 1.6l 110hp 89-94 Sentras might be a good bet - 2200ish lbs, independent struts at all 4 corners, US-built, very cheap and plentiful...

Andrew

MattP

15.1 Management claim rule is in effect at all times. Claim amount is $550 for complete car, less driver’s seat, restraint harness, fire extinguisher, fuel cell (if installed). If owner and/or driver refuse to sell car, they will be suspended for the remainder of the season/year and will loose ALL track points and prize fund moneys.

Seems like a pretty low amount to me.

Johnny Tran

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Balled S2K &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> No turbocharged, supercharged, four valve per cylinder, quad 4, )</TD></TR></TABLE>


doh!

yeah, i was to lazy to read the rule book.

Knestis

I'd agree with the Omni GLH idea, no question. We're looking at running a similar class at Ace Speedway down here in NC. I think they allow "ferrin" cars there but at a higher weight/displacement ratio...?

K

Honda318dx

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ITR2M3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So...what happens to the 'lude?</TD></TR></TABLE> With the rising cost of racing (entry fees, tires), I really don't know, all I know is that roadracing is too expensive compared to alternate motorsports..

I don't mind turning left, as long as the competition is there, I'll have just as big of a smile