Rustbucket Porker trackust an indulgence. toy?

I think it could be a case of throwing a lot of cash down the toilet, but let me know if you've actually done this and whether you ended up with a track car you enjoyed.

From time to time, old import 911s like this come up. This one actually looks very good in the description. Very nicely done up. There's another one on eBay (1973 RS clone).

What do you think of this kind of option? I guess it depends on what the previous owner has done, plus having a realistic idea of the cost to maintain, for wear and tear and for the fact that things will break or need upgrades.

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=9995382

An MX5 is probably a much better beginner track car and then maybe a Lotus Elise is the next best bet, based on what I've seen people running.

Do you know of anyone running an elderly Porker on the track - and was it a good or disappointing experience?

$25k for a rusty used race Porsche? I guess it's a fanbois wet dream...

http://my105.com/

But first it'd pay to figure out what sort of racing you want to do. Supersprints are the easy taster and cheap. You don't need cages etc. to compete in a Supersprint. Cheap entry fees and you can run a stock MX5 or whatever (even your Golf) with like an extinguisher and maybe bonnet straps depending on the year and bonnet mechanism. Same applies for most club level motor sport like Motorkhana.

If you decided you want to do any rally (inc. Tarmac/Targa) or 'door to door' racing then you need a cage and a whole bunch of things that start pushing the price of the car up. It's cheaper to buy a used race car for this where someone has already spent the coin on the cage etc. but you can also start with something you like that's basic/fun in Supersprints/Motorkhana and add cages etc to it to build it up. That'll depend on if you think building the car is part of the fun or you just want to drive.

Having said all of that, a used Evo or WRX would be my pick for circuit racing over a rusty Porsche.

Ben.

I know a guy selling a track specced MK1 Golf for $6k.

It's already got a seat, harness, fire extinguisher, rear brace. He bored it out to a 1.9 with a carby and big brakes from a Passat.

This is where you need to start.

I personally would stay away from cars that have quite a bit of rust. $25k is a lot of money for a track car. Personally I think JDM cars are by far the cheapest and easiest to work on if you want a semi-reliable track car. Imports are cheap and parts are abundant.

All show and no go, as they say. Won't be THAT fast, and the fact it's a bit of a RUF yellowbird look-alike puts me off more than turns me on. If you consider a sound 76 Carrera would be double that price (yes LHD will drop it a bit) then the alarm bells should be sounding just as much as a 17k MK5 GTI would, shiny paint or not.
I'm not 911 expert, but IIRC, I think the 74-77 period has a history of short lived engines, in the order of 50,000kms before they need rebuilds. Not gospel but I'm sure I just read that in Octane or one of the other classic mags.
Plus the usual warnings about parts, which frankly for a hard worked track car would be my biggest concern. You'd literally want $10k in reserve for one of those.

As for rust, there's a well worn gibe that early 911's protected themselves from rust by throwing oil all over themselves regularly....