Well, the race car I am preapring to run is done, other than the paint. Thinking back on the project, I am amazed at how much time and money has gone into it, considering where I started. The car is a 27T Altered with a BBC and a 'gilde. It was in operating condition when I bought it in the fall. In spite of that, it has been a long and expensive process. I did a lot myself or with the help of friends, some things I paid to have done. But here's a list off the top of my head of what we did and how much it cost (parts and labor, if any). And I get parts pretty much at dealer prices!

Engine: remove from chassis, disassemble, inspect, clean and reassemble with new bearings, rings, gaskets, reinstall ~$350. Diassemble, clean, and inspect heads, valve job, reassemble with new valve springs, seals, and valve covers ~$450.
Chassis: clean, inspect, and repaint. Fab wheelie bars from kit and have powdercoated ~$400. New rubber all around: ~$800. Certify $125.
Brakes: rebuild rear calipers, new pads, new master cylinder, replace lines. ~$400.
Safety: drivers suit, helmet, new belts ~$700.
Tranny: remove, diassemble, clean, inspect, replace front pump and planetary, reassemble with new "soft parts" and reinstall ~$500. Have converter rebuilt ~$250.
Replace radiator: $400.
Diassemble and inspect carburetor. Rebuild with new gaskets, seals, etc. ~$75.
Rewire most of the wiring, replace oil pressure gauge, plug wires ~$200.
Remove body, patch, sand and prep, paint and reinstall ~$600 for materials.
Purchase drum of fuel ~$150 (methanol)

I am sure I am leaving stuff out. But I spent at least $6,000 and many, many hours. It's no wonder I haven't gotten to the Camaro yet. And I haven't turned a wheel or started it yet! Thanks for listening, I just had to vent. They say that racing is one of the most efficient ways known to turn a large pile of money into a small pile in a short period of time. However, it is also said that a bad day racing is better than a good day working.

Rich

 

Its an expensive hobby man, but I cant see any thing else I would rather be doing. Your all out, I'm just a regular folk looking for a 10s one day on the bottle...

 

Glad we could be here for ya.

 

If it was anyone other than you starting this post I would just reply with "welcome to the real world".

I'm to the point now that when I go to a speed shop it's more "Do you have it?" than "How much does it cost?" questions I ask. I'm to the point that if I need something, I pay without question because I know if I try to cheap out and buy something weaker/cheaper etc, it will fail.

Racing in all forms is hard to describe. It's a hobby to most of us but it's also one of the most expensive hobbies to have. The hardest part is the initial investment of a race car. Not counting upgrades, changes and routine maintenance, once you have a good running car, operating expenses are not that bad not counting any breakage.

I always like to use golf as an example. A high end golfer might pay $1000+ for a set of custom clubs every couple of years. How about $20,000+ for annual membership to a club. Add in all the other expenses and racing by comparison is cheap. Sure there's the weekend golfer who can do it for next to nothing but then that's like a drag racer who goes out on the weekends with a street car.

I estimate my race car is worth about $35,000 if I were to sell it. Over the last 5 years, I've probably invested at least $50,000 into it and I know I'm going to change or upgrade something else.

I'm starting to budget annual expenses. New slicks every year. New rings, bearings, gaskets every year. Much of my SFI stuff expires in the next couple of years. It's just the price we have to pay when we want to go fast. If I wanted to race real cheap, I'd still be racing my truck in the 14 second and slower class. Drive to the track, make some passes, drive home. Many times I never even opened my hood at the track.

It's like the old joke. How do you make a million dollers drag racing. Start with 2 million and when you reach one million, quit.

With the increasing costs of fuel, entry fees, parts, racing in all forms will be dropping off to the slower classes just to survive. Many entry level classes have gotten so competative that you need to spend big bucks just survive. It's getting so bad that most people can't even race in an entry level class any more. I'm thinking things like "crate motor" etc.

If money was no object, I'd love to have a Comp Eliminator car. It would be cheaper to run a ProStock or a ProMod car.

 

Perceptive comments, Stephen, thanks! I have thought about the cost of racing a lot. Years ago, I got out of road racing because of the cost of being competitive. Then they started a couple of "spec" classes. I nearly got back into it in "Spec Renault" (since renamed "Sport 2000" or something like that). The cars and engines are identical, all that differs is the driver and chassis setup. Maybe drag racing needs something like that because the DR answer to cost is index racing. And the idea of not going as fast as you can seems inherently uninteresting to me. OTOH, a spec class lacks any technical interest. A big part of the fun of racing is modifying what you have or trying a new combo to go faster.

To answer these needs, when I have the new car setup like I want it I will be able to run it as much as I want as a 9.90 car as it should be very understressed at that level. But I will also do some match racing stuff using more revs and the N2O. Trying for the "best of both worlds" kind of thing.

I have heard the "easy way to make a million" thing before, but it still gives me a chuckle! And one big thing we forgot - you also need a trailer and a tow vehicle.

Rich