under the index for under a grand?
 

this got me thinking...how would this be possible if you didn't have a pile of leftover parts and were starting from scratch?

assuming you already had the complete car (whatever it may be), how would/could you do it with an empty garage?

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

You couldn’t. Well, maybe a good scrounger could. In this economy, you might get a couple buddy’s to pool their recourses and build a stocker on a budget too. The cost of racing stock is another thing. The traveling cost and entries have gotten out of hand for the average working man. I’m waiting for Mr. Nees to put Beard behind the wheel of that project of his. They’ll win a bunch of money with that thing and we complainers will have to sit back and watch in awe.

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Mr Beard, is a great racer. There is nobody tougher. But Billy Nees is up there as well. He doesn't need Michael, he can do damage in that new car himself. Billy's only issue is that he races all kinds of ardvark cars that are almost impossible to drive so he doesn't go as many rounds.
He will never do it, but I'd love to see him put a 327 or a 350 with a metric behind it in his 67 Camaro. Besides running fast, he would be a deadly racer as as well.
Billy is going to have fun with this new ride, and Im sure go some rounds.
All on his own, because be wouldn't have it any other way.



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Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Tom, realistically? I wouldn't say that the average racer couldn't but that he probably wouldn't. I said when I started the project that it was not counting the price of the car because that can get crazy.
Yes, I do have a pile of leftover parts but as I have gone along I have tried to assign a price to the part depending on what I originally paid for it. I got a set of headers for rebuilding a carburetor, I bought a cooling fan off of a mans shelf for $10, you get my point.
I am in a salvage yard usually at least one day a week, I am a very good scrounge and a barterer and I'm always looking at internet parts buying sites. I also pick my cars carefully and don't mind driving an ugly AArdvark because I can get parts for it.
When my project is all said and done, I will total up my list of prices and see what I come up with. Will I get it done for under a grand? It will be squeaky close. Will it run under the index? I hope so but at least I'm going to be giving it a try. And I'm hoping that I can prove that a Stocker can be built for the price of a cheap bracket car.

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

There is no better scrounger on this planet than our own beloved Mr.Nees .............He probably should be on the reality TV show ---" Hoarders " .Someone once told me he still has the clothes pins and playing cards that he used on his bicycle spokes as a kid .

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

this wasn't meant to be a poke at anybody OR anybodies scrounging abilities, i just have my doubts it can be done by somebody just starting out and not having a pile of parts or buddies throwing in parts....



i'm sure it depends on what you're starting with but....well, don't use an amc for a project, everything comes at $500 increments as theres just not that much out there;)

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Billy's already been Division Champ before. He was also the last guy to have a shot at Corda for the World the one year, if he had travelled (As a side note, he beat Corda at the Keystones the following year). A small block car wouldn't be a challenge! :p

We didn't do the Turismo for "under a grand", but it was affordable.

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

We're not counting the car? It's easy then, call Ford Racing. Once you write the big check, it won't cost a grand to get it under the index

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Billy can tell the story, if he wishes, about the silver Sunbird I drove for him from late 2001 til 2005. HF/SA National Record Holder (in both NHRA 2002-2004 until they F'd up the FWD classes and made a record holder an Index-runner, and IHRA 2004-2006, and if not for the two-year record rule, would still hold all the records most likely). I think the cost of everything, including car, was under a grand, but not 100% sure on all the costs. I know it was a budget car in the best sense of the word. And even went a few rounds at multiple races :)

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Let's see...I bought a mint '87 Shelby Daytona Z for $5200 (and it was my daily driver), I bought a DC computer upgrade, an exhaust dump at the local muffler shop, a Centerforce clutch, 20" M/T slicks on junkyard steel wheels and set the BF/S record @ 14.16 on a 78,000 mile engine. I think the index was 15.50 back then. Way under a grand! I'm sure it could be done today.

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Tom, I didn't take it that way. Actually, I'm suprised that it took this long for somebody to ask that question. You do have to admit though, you probably don't know a car guy who doesn't have a garage full of parts and a bunch of buddies the same way.
I'm just trying to prove that it doesn't take 10k or 50k to go Stock Eliminator racing and at the same time maybe provoke a few fence sitters to come racing.
Even if you're not interested in this type of thing, check in on it anyway and look at it as some kind of reality show!

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Absolutely! And it got you racing!

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Yes and I realize that is why you are doing this build up. When I first took the car to the track on Radial T/A's that didn't hook and were about 25" in diameter and still ran 4-5 tenths under, I knew I finally had a ticket into Stock. I was racing S/ST at the time with a 9 second AMX and never really got the point of throttle stop racing. I soon found out my 13 second, stick-shift Shelby was more fun than my 10.90 @ 130 MPH S/ST ride. Sold the S/ST car when I found my current AMX. Everybody has to start somewhere but once your in, and your passionate, your probably in for life. May be hit & miss but your in.

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

im betting on billy...he never told me something that wasnt true.

captain jack

really one day a week in a bone yard and you live in cold a** penn... you may be nuts :)

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Do you still have that burgundy Grand Prix or Grand Am laying around? Bad rear main seal, needed a quart of oil every few hours, but the one time I raced it, ran 17.20's deep-staged and granny shiftin' at Norwalk. Went five rounds with it! LOL Set of tires, drop the exhaust, adjust weight, timing, change the oil, throw some race gas in it and roll! Sleeper combination.

We've talked about it before, too: high initial investment, but if you happen to have a Cobalt floating around, those can be close to the index bone stock.

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Billy is the only person in the world that can pull this.off
Hes friggin crazy....it takes a twisted mind to figure out what these combos run..
I am a chevy guy ..cause its easy.lol... ..By the way wheres that Nees's Pieces car?
Love that thing..

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Which model? I'm looking for a commuter-mobile and this sounds like a great target!

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Billy,

Love this stuff. You gave me encouragement with the Olds. I have other things that take priority, don't know if we're going to do much with it this year.

All I can add, I took a bone stock car, tuned it as best we could, haven't been able to do anything with the computer yet. Cut the exhaust off it. Put a tach in it, a set of DR's on it. Got it within 60lbs of the weight for EF/SA. We did squeeze a 10.69 against a 9.85 index (1/8 mile). Not saying the thing is a "dime rocket", the potential is there.

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

My wife had the regular naturally aspirated 2.2L '05 Cobalt. It's rated at 140HP, fits DF/S in NHRA (15.60 index), so min weight would be 2830#. Only ran 1/8th mile with Jill's, but I've seen them go 16.30's bone stock. Ran hers over the scales at Rockingham and it was well over 3000#. In IHRA, it fits FF/SA @ 2970#, with a 16.30 index.

On a side note, we discovered that the power steering is electronic on those cars, and fails. Traded it in and got an '08 Charger 3.5L. Best car we've ever had. Hmmm... wonder if we could claim it as an '07... fits R/SA. The 14.05 index looks like a long way off from a 16.40's @ 1 MILLion MPH that the Charger ran, BUT it didn't even shift into high gear until after you lifted past the 1/4 mile finish. Told Jill the thing would really haul if you put some gear in it. "NO!" :mad: "Well, I was just saying IF...!" :p

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Riiiight, you were just thinking out loud...:D
My '07 Cobalt with the same motor and HP has run a best of 16.40 in the 1/4, but is usually 16.65-75 depending on the weather. Best 1/8 mile was 10.47 on a 37 degree day at Norwalk.

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Michael, PM sent....

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Got it, and replied.... although you should post it on the board for everyone. Good topic.

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Michael, thank you...here's my question and his very quick answer:

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

You can use unleaded race fuel but cost a lot to run on the street.

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

To bad E85 isn't a legal fuel but I guess the local convenient store pump specs still wouldn't be consistent enough to pass fuel check. The other thing you might think about is putting a separate 5 gal fuel cell in just for spec fuel with a three way valve on it to switch between fuel tanks. You would still waste some getting the old fuel out of the lines but you wouldn't have to mess with draining the street stuff out.

I'm seriously considering seeing what I can do to the wifes old daily driver. Its a 97 Grand Prix 3.8 supercharged. Natural AF car which is a 13.85 index. Not sure what it would take to get it there. Hmmmmm

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

I did it with my acclaim/spirit. Drove it from NYC to Orlando ran in FF/SA qualified number 1 , drove to Gainesville dropped the car 4 classes CF/SA qualified 9 or 10. Then drove home.
This was with a stock fuel tank. Just pumped out the street gas, put in 1/2 gallon of race gas. Pumped that out 2 times. Then put 10 gallons of race gas in.

Re: under the index for under a grand?
 

Art,

I remember you did that 1 year in Orlando, set the record, tore it down, Passed (I was one who helped check it), I believe you found something broke in the engine, went to the salvage yard? Got the part, put it back together and then drove back to NY. I beleve you even had a mini roll up blind that had you class and number on it? You would just put it on the window and that was that.....Loved watching you do that...Good times