In the Mid-Atlantic region the Mustangs are the car to have. But in Texas and the West Coast, the Chevys are the car to have. Last year the Camaros dominated Nationals and the year before it was the Mustangs. So, it is pretty much a wash. That is what is cool about CMC, a "spec" series with different manufactures represented.
The Fox bodies are dirt cheap to pick up. With the update/backdate allowance, there are a lot of performance parts to be added. Hardtop Camaros are tough to find with a V8 in them. I think the SN95's are becoming cheaper and with the Cobra parts, are pretty good cars. I would like a 4th Gen with an LT1. But those are a pain to work on and are tough to find.
Karl is right, if you buy a built race car, you just might be buying some else's problems. I have heard of guys spending as much as it would cost to build one of these to get their "sorted out" race car, sorted out for them. The west coast Mustang sold quickly and at the price, it was a good deal. I believe the 2007 CMC national champ car is for sale in Texas for 12K or so.
I picked up my 1LE for $7500. Figure 1K for used GTA wheels, 2K for the cage another 1K for the seats and nets, add another 1K for diff and SA Konis (you want at least DA on the front though), then probably another 2K in misc stuff just to get the log book. So that is already 14K in the car. We won't mention the blown tranny or motor
I still need to upgrade the shocks, fire system, add a brake bias control, etc ... except for the cage, I have done most of the work myself. And this is a cost containment series
What drove my plan was simply money. I knew I wanted to go wheel-to-wheel, but did not have the lump sum of money. So I had to budget money for seat time and car prep. But my schedule did get ramped up after attending my first NASA event. I had not seen anything like it before. If you have just a small desire to race, stay away. Because that small desire will become an overwhelming drive and all of your plans go out the window. I had not planned on getting a comp license until 2008 - 2009. Next thing you know, there I am in July of 2007 doing my first race.
I would suggest if you want to go wheel-to-wheel you decide early on where and then start prepping a car for it. Use that car in your HPDE and TT. If I had been doing HPDE in a Z06 and switched to a live axle to race, I would have been screwed. Having the Camaro the last 4 plus years, I got comfortable with it. I eliminate the car from the learning experience.
I appreciate all the accolades. But since CMP, it has been a humbling experience. I started to believe the stuff people were saying and that is dangerous. I need to get back to the stuff I learned in THSCC.
_________________
Jim Pastorius
2008 Silverado VortecMax
1992 Camaro
CMC#92
2002 BMW R1150R
2009 3rd Place CMC Mid-Atlantic Championship
2009 CMC Hyperfest Winner
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