i am considering purchasing my first race car and i wanted your opinion on something…
I want to buy a MKI rabbit GTi ITB car, due to funds and basically grassroots style racing i will be doing with it. the car itself is in great shape and the price is really competitive. however, i wanted to see if you considered it worthwhile in my pursuit of low-budget racing(i.e. NASA,SCCA,HPDEs,CHIN,BMWCCA,etc) and even autoXing.
asking price is $3750w/spares.
trans. is spotless, even underneath
engine is original SOHC 8V but has been rebuilt every season by a VERY reputable shop down here that has been building engines for over 46 years.
receipts indicate this has been occuring annually since 1984.
i really want to. the cage was spec’d last year. the logbook has been kept since october 1983. i havent driven it yet. its been sitting since august of last year, so i had to change the oil/filter/brakes/fluid/gas/sparkplugs/plugwires/etc. today. tomorrow i install the seat(corbeau, got it for free) and steering wheel(new momo)
When it comes to your first race car, I think the best thing you can do is get something safe and get some seat time. Make sure it’s a solid car, but don’t worry about it being fast or competitive - because chances are you won’t be until you get some experience under your belt. Step 1 is always get out there and do it.
id use an impreza rs as a beginner race car, besides that rabbit looks like its missing a few cylinders or something
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missing a few cylinders? please stay out of serious conversations…just because it will be MY first personal racecar does not mean i have not raced. Ive competed soloII for almost 5 years now(just got 3rd in florida state championships) and this year have progressed into some seat time in some REAL racecars down here @ moroso motorsports park.
…anyway. this is a SOLID car. esp. for my first REAL racecar. and i really want to buy it…but idk…i was interested in what they suggested racing in as they have competed pretty much grassroots style like i will be(and EMkay had an ITa or B rabbit if i recall or at least a VW IT car).
and seat time wont be a problem i will be driving it on the track after work everyday
^ It was an ITB. The only reason I remember was I used to see the sticker at autocross and laugh because I’m immature.
That car really didn’t impress me though. At the Dunnville track day I was able to hang right with it in my almost bone stock Fiero. Sure, I had a little HP advantage but this was a track prepped car with a big weight advantage. Jermey’s NX on the other hand would solidly pull away from me in the corners.
I’d say go for it and plan to keep it until you get your competition license… then if you hate it (or hate working on it) you can probably sell it for near what you paid.
There’s nothing wrong with starting out in an old Rabbit. There are fairly competitve in ITB. Sure they are slow, but so isn’t every other car in the field, it’s about racing other people not laying down OMG lap times.
$3750 is a good price if the car was competitive and would trophy now and agian. A winning all the time car should fetch more. If it was always finishing last then $3750 is too high. The best thing to do is just research how it has been finishing the last few years.
Search the driver’s name. Search events that he has been too. See what times he has run. What were your lap times when you ran at Moroso in the 3? What is the fastest ITB times there?
Next the log book. Get it inspected for 2008 BEFORE you buy it. It is no big deal, having someone doing an anually tech inspection is FREE, you just need to find out who is authorized to do the inspection.
It looks like it has the 2 door bars in each door and that was the only major change in the last few years.
The next question is, do you want to work on a slightly fussy car? It’s not unreliable or anything, but there is a deffinate difference between hoping in a more modern car and starting it up and getting up to grid than and old rabbit. The less you have to be a mechanic at the track the more you can be a driver.
Yes I am asking less money for my NX2000, it is not a head of the pack car, but neither is the price… as of right now it is $2250, because it needs more bodywork than before (thanks mike ).
" What were your lap times when you ran at Moroso in the 3? What is the fastest ITB times there?
The next question is, do you want to work on a slightly fussy car? It’s not unreliable or anything, but there is a deffinate difference between hoping in a more modern car and starting it up and getting up to grid than and old rabbit. The less you have to be a mechanic at the track the more you can be a driver."
–fairgentleman
my fastest lap was 50 seconds and idk about ITB cars, but spec miata runs best times of high 47-low 48 seconds.
i have already been wrenching on it. the car has prolly less than 20 feet of wire in the whole thing. lol. its pretty much the easiest FI system i have ever worked on. and everything else is either newish or in good condition on the car.
i drove it for a few hot laps on the shifter kart track today. its fun, definitely not fast, but still more entertaining than anything else i have driven on track thus far. the solid rear axle is nice. LOTS of inside rear tire lift.
idk i need to sit on it. that money could be much better spent on my car.
and even after i bought i would still need comp. license, truck,trailer and storage. i think it may be too soon. but i will shop around to see if i cant get an old race team setup(racecar, trailer)
Yeah, that looks like a fine car, the price is a little high but if it’s a front runner, it might be just right. Also what spares are there for it? I paid a lot less for mine, but it was not a front runner and had very little spares (I should have kept that car). I say go for it, fun cars, you will get your money back when you want to sell it, and if you have the skill you can win with this car. On a side note, I’m building an ITC Civic that I will run in ITB if the SCCA changes the rule I posted about a few days ago (same rule also means you could run the rabbit in ITC if you swap in a 1.7)
i have already been wrenching on it. the car has prolly less than 20 feet of wire in the whole thing. lol. its pretty much the easiest FI system i have ever worked on. and everything else is either newish or in good condition on the car.
i drove it for a few hot laps on the shifter kart track today. its fun, definitely not fast, but still more entertaining than anything else i have driven on track thus far. the solid rear axle is nice. LOTS of inside rear tire lift.
idk i need to sit on it. that money could be much better spent on my car.
and even after i bought i would still need comp. license, truck,trailer and storage. i think it may be too soon. but i will shop around to see if i cant get an old race team setup(racecar, trailer)
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Well, this car only weighs about 1900lbs empty, you don’t need a big truck and expensive trailer to tow it, you could tow it with a 4cyl small truck and a 14’ utility trailer, or dolly. Small 6 cyl truck if you want some margin for safety. I tow mine with a minivan.
A thing about the setup on the car, for optimum handling raise the front until the lower control arms level (parallel to the ground) then lower the rear as low as it will go before the tires rub the fenders in bumps, it will look like it’s dragging it’s ass but it will be faster. Hey, you can actually test this theory, time some laps at work
BTW, The Sabres scored twice and Stafford had a penalty shot while I was typing this.
).