Race Car Preparation

Well, after 3 months, I've finally gotten started on the car.  Since I plan to be doing my first club race in June, I've got to get going.  I will use these pages to chronicle my efforts at building a Class F Club Racer for the PCA Club Race Series.

Phase I - Demolition - To build a competitive car, you need a proper  roll cage.  Not only does it help insure driver safety, but it also provides the stiffness required in the chassis to allow the suspension to work properly.  While flex and cushioning in the suspension is desired in a street car, they cost performance in a race car. 

To install the cage, the interior must be entirely removed.  I'm almost done and the car is scheduled to go to the shop next week for the roll-cage installation and suspension modifications.

Since I plan to race the car in "Stock" class, I have to put an interior (notice I didn't say "the interior") back in the car.  This is where you can save some weight by gluing down some cheap, lightweight carpet and eliminate all of the sound-deadening materials.

The roll cage was installed at the shop a couple days ago.  Today, they are hanging the new suspension and installing the bigger rear brakes.  I'll have pictures of that in the next week or so when I go to get the car.

The cage is constructed of 1.75" tubing that is 1.20" thick.  This is the current specification for professional racing.  The front of the cage mounts to the floor and a "knee bar" goes across the front for strength.  The a/c vents were cut out of the corners to make room for the vertical roll-cage bars.

This window net arrangement is a little different but 2001 rules state that it must be anchored to the rollbar. Previously, mounting to the door was acceptable.  The rear of the net fits into receivers mounted on the roll cage while the lower front mount is a cable and the top is a standard seatbelt buckle.  

The seats were mounted temporarily for sizing.  Unfortunately, the factory brackets position the drivers seat too high so a custom mounting is being worked on at the moment.

It's been a long time since I last updated the project.  The car was completed 2 days before the first race in June at Pocono.  Here's the last set of photo's of the completed project.

First, I put in a set of RS America Door Panels because they are light, simple and don't interfere with the rollcage.

Interior shots

It's pretty cramped back there with all of the roll cage bars.  In addition, the seats are not on sliders so you can't really get into the back seat.