Pretty cool racecar concept.

[ironworks]

http://www.howeracing.com/Adobe/HoweTA20811.pdf


Makes me want to do one with the steel panels of a 69 Camaro.

Rodger

[Flash68]

Me want.

[Blake Foster]

that is what someone needs to bring to all the run to events

[ironworks]

Already working on the idea.

[Flash68]

and the beginning of the end has begun.

[ironworks]

The pro-touring segment is really going to come down to who can tough out a car with the least creature comforts. Would some one hang a license plate on car like this and drive it? I sure would.

[Twoblackmarks...]

68936719

[Twoblackmarks...]

Dodge Challenger comes Next year too :)

They have been doing "Camaro Cup" in sweden since 1970-ish, it was very popular before, they drove before Formula 1 races and such, Close racing. And crazy driving ALWAYS :D :D

When the New Camaro came they made the move to these "trans-am" cars, it is sort of a simpler trans am chassi, more "Budget" friendly. Atleast what I have heard.

I liked it more before, when they used "Stock" cars though..

[Flash68]

The pro-touring segment is really going to come down to who can tough out a car with the least creature comforts. Would some one hang a license plate on car like this and drive it? I sure would.

I agree and I would drive it all day long too.

[Track Junky]

Dude....your avatar is scaring me......:snapout:

[Payton King]

that before I started my latest build. Wheel base is 104 on those cars and I was going to have them stretch to 108 and drop a 1st gen glass body on it. Cheaper circle tract parts as well.

[ironworks]

I have been looking at doing a Late Model Asphalt road race car. The track is just wide enough to have to flare the fenders on 69 about 2" per side. But the chassis is wider then the rocker of a camaro are. So that would have to be address. Plus you would have to build the cage on the chassis for the camaro as the Monte Carlo would be a much different shape.

if you wanted to get serious you would move the fuel tank behind the passenger seat and get the over hang weight as minimal as possible.

I bet 2500 lbs for an autocross car would be easily done. Maybe with a driver not my size.

Rodger

[Flash68]

I told Payton I wished he'd never shown me this... :bang:

[silvermonte]

if you wanted to get serious you would move the fuel tank behind the passenger seat and get the over hang weight as minimal as possible.

I bet 2500 lbs for an autocross car would be easily done. Maybe with a driver not my size.

Rodger

this made me chuckle, as if showing up to an event with this car wouldnt be serious enough, i agree tho if i could afford this car and throw some plates on it i would drive it all over the place

[byndbad914]

... and here comes the Ahole to the party :lol: this is really long, sorry, but I always feel the need to substantiate my points beyond what is necessary or reasonable :snapout:

While my dream car yet remains a 1970 Bud Moore Boss 302 that I would certainly license and drive on a regular basis (I tried to get BofA to loan me money when I was around 20 with not much more than a part time job to buy one in SoCal back when it was "only" $125K to get it :lol: I told them I needed a mortgage style loan for 30 years and the guy just looked at me like I was nuts. Of course, that would have been my best investment ever had he not nearly laughed me out of the bank - ah to be young again) and I dig the concept of that car, I would have a hard time justifying spending that kind of cash on it.

Keep in mind I believe it would be considered a "new vehicle" in CA which means to register it you must pass smog, so street driving is pretty much out for that state. CO doesn't require visual but still smog, maybe with cats you could register but not sure how they treat a car with no inner fenderwells, etc from a visual inspection for road use.

Throwing that out the window and assuming one can register it:

1. I looked at the options and it would be around $85K for a car that AFAIK doesn't have a class, certainly not here in CO and I doubt seriously even in the hot rod capital of the world, CA. I have a buddy in SoCal that transformed his circle track car into a NASA class car and there just wasn't that many competitors, certainly not like a circle track event, so it gets a little pointless to W2W with the same 5 or 10 guys at a two tracks. Car just sits in his shop now. So you would end up running this car with some random club or category and then you don't have real competition.

2. Don't be nuts like me and buy a collectors edition of the Z06 for $70K (see#3), buy a base, high mile early year C6 for around $25K. Sell the powertrain, fenders, hood and so forth to get more funds but keep the interior complete minus seats, maybe have $15K out of pocket let's say. Now put $70K into that car. 700HP LS7, full race trans, double adj coilovers, wing, splitter, carbon wide body kit, carbon hood, keep the interior for street use and all glass just with race seats, caged, ZR1/Ferrari brakes like my Carbon has, wider wheels and tires, blah blah blah. Run it in T1 with a ton of ballast or an unlimited category with SCCA or NASA which means you are with the other big bore cars but are just killing the whole field including that Howe car. After the track session is over and your fully erect trouser snake subsides enough to drive it home, you can swap exh once a year to pass smog in CO, and drive to work every day with the AC on. In fact, according to the commercials I have seen, probably shouldn't be at the track for more than four hours without seeking medical attention.

3. Back to the $85K and a little insight to my long term thoughts. I recently bought a Carbon Edition Z06 Corvette for $15K less than that. Bone stock, 1000 miles on the odo, on stock run flat tires I ran a 2:03.2, within 5.4 seconds of the lap record 1:57.8 in SCCA T1 held by the championship winning fully prepped Corvette Grand Sport. The guy that holds that record as well as the championship every year for at least a decade was out there that day and immediately let me know he has been 3 seconds quicker in a Z06 :thankyou: but it was my first time with the car on a track (tho' not my first rodeo by any means) and 85-90 degree temps. First rule of racing, know your excuses before you even hit the tarmac hahaha. Nonetheless, he is stating the Z06 stock is within 2.5 seconds of his record.

I am in process of finalizing an order on Forgeline wheels and Hoosiers for the track. If I felt like voiding the powertrain warranty on the LS7 I could throw an SCCA legal cam at it and a few other legal items and tune a 600HP combo easy. Throw a cage in it, race seat, simple straight exhaust, and on track days weight ballast on the passenger floor and I have a serious SCCA legal T1 car to go raise hell with a class that has car turnout nationwide. Probably a 1:55 car, easy 1:53 without ballast but still full interior and creature comforts. $85K maybe $90K if I paid for some of the labor instead of do it myself. Porsche RSR cars are around 1:50s, pros have done 1:48s I have heard practicing out there. If I am within 3 seconds in a fully street legal car with full interior, I would call that good. The aforementioned champ had his essentially stock ZR1 out at that track with a 700HP tune up with stock exh and cats, on similar Forgeline and Hos I will be getting and ran 1:53, so that is where I make my comparo, and the Carbon is 200 or 250 lbs lighter, but with lower HP, I will say 1:53s.

I will leave the AC in it, all the power stuff and have a truly street legal car for the same money, fully sealed driver compartment, that I could drive every day, pass smog if I put the stock exhaust on with cats between track days in CO, and be either near the same lap times as that Howe car or close enough to be happy.

When they had spec trucks running out at Willow Springs that you could get into for around $25-$30K, that makes all the sense in the world to me. They were amazingly fast, in the 1:22 range IIRC on WSIR which is flat hauling, at a very affordable price when one considers this is all a discussion of disposable income.

Sorry, not trying to be a d!ck in the mash potatoes sort of dude, but I was really stoked looking at the brochure until I got to the price list. I guess the whole point of my post is I can pick a stock, already legal car and kill it for the same money so I don't see the value proposition in the Howe car here in the states. Oversees American cars come with a lot of extra taxes and shipping, so that may be why it is so popular and likely a better value than hopping up a modern Vette.

[96z28ss]

I have been looking at doing a Late Model Asphalt road race car. The track is just wide enough to have to flare the fenders on 69 about 2" per side. But the chassis is wider then the rocker of a camaro are. So that would have to be address. Plus you would have to build the cage on the chassis for the camaro as the Monte Carlo would be a much different shape.

if you wanted to get serious you would move the fuel tank behind the passenger seat and get the over hang weight as minimal as possible.

I bet 2500 lbs for an autocross car would be easily done. Maybe with a driver not my size.

Rodger

You should just get a Mazda MX-5 spec racer.

[ironworks]

You should just get a Mazda MX-5 spec racer.

A 240z would be allowed into a Goodguys show.

[SRD Art]

I'd drive that thing anywhere! Comfort is so overrated, lol!

It's so nice to see these "retro" cars on the track like their early ancestors. Very cool!

[Flash68]

When they had spec trucks running out at Willow Springs that you could get into for around $25-$30K, that makes all the sense in the world to me. They were amazingly fast, in the 1:22 range IIRC on WSIR which is flat hauling,

Streets or Big Willow?

[Track Junky]

I think these cars are worth every dime. All the safety features and a suspension you could adjust infinitely to your desire not to mention the rears and the brakes, etc.. Definitely not something for the street though and I agree with that.
My son is 15 right now but I just showed him what he is going to be racing down the road. He's going to start out driving beaters but I definitley see him being in one of these in the future.

[byndbad914]

Streets or Big Willow?
Big, freakin' hauling. I have a friend that had run 1:22 in an American Iron Extreme Mustang for the record a few years back now (not sure if it still stands, he is out of it now) and I heard about those trucks and I swear I recall thinking it was right there. Maybe 1:24, brain is hazy and I don't even know if that class still exists. Pro Truck maybe? Anyway, I recall looking into it a bit and you could pick up a used truck with decent qtys of spares (shock, springs, wheels) for around $15-20K. I certainly remember thinking it was serious bang for the buck. Heck, if you can run under 1:30s on that track in that price range you are doing pretty good :)

I went to look at the track records and while the WSIR site looks decent, the records haven't been kept up at all - it still shows my old friend Chuck McKinney holding the GT2 record. That would have been probably close to 20 years ago now in a Porsche 914 with a 6 cyl at 1:27 - I highly doubt that would stand in GT2 that long...

edit - after hitting send I popped over to the WSIR site and realized the date is there - 5/95 on Chuck's record, yeah, I doubt that can hold that long haha.

[Cris@JCG]

I was looking @ buying a American Iron NASA car, Super Truck or Late model asphalt to set up for Auto-X so that I could use it as a learning car & to get some driving experience on the road course.. I wanted something inexpensive to serve my purpose.. Everything I saw was between 10k to 30k.. Even wanted to see what it would take to make these cars street legal.. My buddy that works for the CHP told me that it would not be easy but could be done @ a cost..

My compromise! I just bought this 1999 Corvette that was on the West Coast Auto-X circuit that was owned by Steve Abbott.. The car is already shaken out & proven on the track..
LG Spindles, Blisten Shocks, Heim joints on the control arms, LS6 stock motor with Kooks headers, Z06 transmission & diff, Dewitts Radiator, Accusump, CCW wheels on 315’s on all four corners… The car is gutted & weights 2750.. and the car is street legal.. bought the car for under 20k… I think I got a smoking deal! When I picked it up this week.. I drove it home for about 70 miles.. I just got to deal with CA smog laws!

Sometimes we all have this great crazy ideas but it all comes down to $$$.. This car will serve my purpose.. & when you are racing & learning you have to make decision that if you hurt the car .. what cost are you willing to walk away? I drive some pretty expensive Pro-Tour cars & my driving experience on the track is limited.. SO it is time that I get seat time.. You can build a car with all the best handling components with 1000 hp to the crank.. but if you can’t drive it.. then you just limited the abilities of the car… Just my opinion!

This weekend I host my own Auto-X event! & now I have something to drive till I get my Camaro or Challenger done..


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