What to do

[Challenger392]

Hi All
Im new to this whole hillclimb buisness, I visited Ascutney 1 this year and watched from the start line for quite a while. previous commitments/ lack of time kept me from being able to volunteer on the day that I was there. I am planning on attending Ascutney 2 in september and helping out wherever I can, as well as learning alot more about hilclimbing in general. I am really exited about the opportunity of racing so close to home (I live about 30 minutes from Philo). My original intent was to race my 2007 Ducati 1098 but promptly decided that would result in my untimely death. My next options for a racing machine are either my 2012 Challenger 392 or my classic 1972 Challenger 318, the problem with either of those options is that they are both worth alot of money and are my babies. I dont really want them all smashed up. Another option which is maybe a little more promising is an old aluminum bodied homebuilt racing gokart with slick tires and an 8 hp honda engine. The only thing with that setup is that im not sure if a Gokart even remotely qualifies as a legal entrant as its not even a real car, it home built out of aluminum. I have a project going curently that is in the very initial stages and wont be done for a good long time as I live in an appartment away from my work shop. I would rather not have to buy an other car specifically for hillclimbing as I have too many already. Im looking for thoughts and opinions on all this. I really want to get into racing but my budget is small (just spent it all on the new Challenger). Would the gokart be a viable option? Maybe try it out on a short course like Philo. Ive toyed with the idea of racing the 1972 Challenger, I keep going back and forth between, you only live once so go for it, and its a historic vehicle dont touch it. sorry for my rambling, as you can tell im kind of exited, and may have had too much coffee late at night

[Rabbit Farmer]

welcome.

Go-Kart would not work unless if has a full cage. Motorcycle isn't an option at Ascutney or Philo.

Other options is to purchase an inexpensive already build racer. There is a V-8 mod for sale in the classifieds right now.

Steve

[walterclark]

Hi and welcome.

The go-cart doesnt qualify. You dont really want to run a vehicle without any suspension anyway as the roads at speed are too rough to control something like that.

Personally I would never race anything that I couldnt afford to write off or that I needed to drive to work on Monday, though plenty of others do.

You dont need to start off in a really high performance vehicle to enjoy the hillclimbs. Lots of us began with a basic 4 banger hatch or sedan, and some like me have never left. We have a few guys that despite regularly driving well prepared hillclimbers also race a bone stock Daewoo that Don (tech and towing plus being #88 in the Eclipse) picked up as part of his towing contract with Claremont and they seem to have lots of fun. In fact learning to drive a "slow" car fast is both satisfying in itself and a good basis to have before moving to more powerful or better handling cars.

So I guess my advice in your case is dont race the Challengers for the reasons you stated already. Dont spend a bundle building your first hillclimb car. Find something small that is relatively rust free (trust me - rusty cars dont make good racers but I know finding such an example in your part of New England for cheap can be nearly impossible) is not a convertible (a no glass sunroof model is a good thing too - but a few feet of duct tape will make it legal) and low cost to both buy and maintain. I find the pre-OBD cars are easier for us shade tree mechanics to take care of in general. Go thru the suspension, steering and brakes and replace any worn bits, put on decent tires, Check the belts, add an ABC dry chem or Halotron fire extinguisher, an SA2005-2010 helmet and come on out. It doesnt have to be licensed or insured to race, you just need a way to get it to and from the mountain.

When I started (I began in performance rally) I found a low rust 2nd gen VW Golf near Atlanta to start with. I was just looking for a shell really but mine came with an engine and tranny that went largely untouched by me for a couple seasons. Of course the bar to get a car rally legal is much higher than for hillclimbs so I stripped it, seam welded the shell, had a full cage added, beefed up the suspension for the abuse of rally. replaced everything that was worn out from 20 years of abuse and added the required safety equipment. Same route would work for a hillclimb car but you dont need to do nearly as much to make it "legal" for NEHA. And such a car takes a lot of skill to reach the breakout times with stock power levels so you dont need to worry about sandbagging or being forced to build a cage in the near term.

[3rdgendennis]

I know of a 1975 Dodge Dart that has a hillclimb legal cage that could be for sale if someone is interested...

[Challenger392]

I had a feeling the gokart was out of the question. And I agree its probably best to keep my Challengers shiny side up. Both the V8 mod and the 75 dart are tempting but unfortunately out of my price range. I guess I'll start saving my pennies and look for something in the 500 dollar range. If anyone else is looking for something cheap there is an auction here in williston vt about every other Saturday that sells all sorts of cheap cars. I think its mostly repo's and things like that. The last one had over 200 cars. The auction website is http://www.thcauction.com/08182012AutoCat.html. A friend of mine bought an old BMW 325 that was rust free for about 500 bucks.

[sachilles]

I bought my plow truck from that auction. Hit or miss on good deals, but you never know.

[Challenger392]

Yes, hit or miss is definitely the name of the game at that auction, I once saw a stream of oil on the pavement that lead to an old dodge Stratus parked in the lineup. Needless to say its engine overheated an ceased while driving across the auction block.

[sdwarf36]

I have a baseball bat-a sledge hammer and a Stravarius violin--and I need to band a nail in the wall.....

Congrats on figuring the "D-none of the above" is the best choice.

Welcome! Believe me-this group is the last place where how much you spend or what your car looks like matters one bit. Bring 2 beers-offer one to someone-that will matter more than if your car cost $50k or $500.
Even if you dont get a car right away, come to a hill and work-its still fun and costs zip.

[Challenger392]

If I bring a six pack will that buy me a ride?

On another note, Ive got a 2000 toyota tacoma, its rwd 4 cylinder 5 speed weighs 2500 lb (no joke), has a wealth of parts availible for it (http://www.lceperformance.com/) and only cost me 400 bucks. oh and did I mention its rust free. Only problem is its my winter daily driver (can't be driving those shiny challengers in the winter). A second set of rims with some summer tires and some new shocks (she's getting a little bouncy over bumps) should get started....... Thoughts?

[sdwarf36]

We've had a rally NIssan pick up run. It had about 9" of extra suspension travel for what was needed-but he had fun.
If you can mount an ABC fire ext. with a metal bracket in it-then sure-run it.