[John Boelte]

Hi folks! I was recently bitten by the "Let's build a race car" bug. I'm looking at a 3rd gen that's already gutted. I'm thinking about using a mild 350 (read inexpensive), TH350 trans, stock 9 bolt rear, and focus on suspension and brakes. Since it's already gutted, I was thinking about putting in a weld in roll cage and race seats. It's a T-Top car, would a cage help there? Would there be other issues related to T-Tops I should be concerned about?

It looks like this is the type of forum I was looking for. Are there any links to other build sites or forums where I can find more information on building up a race car? Thanks!

[CMC #37]

If you are interested in racing, then check out CMC in NASA. The other classes in SCCA with F-bods are considerably more expensive to build cars and may not have a big field for you to compete with. CMC is growing for a reason; in California we have 20 car fields on a regular basis. Spend time with any class you are interested in hanging out with the racers and asking questions. If I was you I'd buy a prepared car (set up for a race class) and save a TON of $ and set-up pains. Another advantage is that you can jump right in the car and start driving it, going to HPDEs and learning road racing instead of staring at that future race car, putting a big dent in your wallet and not getting any track time. You could keep the third gen as a spare. They are good to have!

Try the HPDEs before you get too fired up about racing, see if you like it. Some folks are very happy at that level - you can get your track fix without the competition and expense of a race schedule.

Welcome!