Budget Xe racer.

[big fella]

I'm not flush with cash, what I do have is an Xe sitting doing nothing. I'm not talking a bracket racer or anything like that. Just something I can tow up to Heathcote on a Sunday and have some fun. The engine and trans I'll just throw together from bits and pieces I've got. What I'm most interested in is the front and rear suspension. They will both remain the standard set up in the standard position. I'm wondering what the first mods to the standard set up would be? I'm sure some of you with a wealth of track experience will be able to point me in the right direction. I've seen adjustable rear control arms advertised, are they something I should consider? The car is never going to see the street again, so there's no need to consider driveability issues. Even down to things like front alignment settings, do they change?

I'll be gutting the car of everything I can without cutting it up. Contents of the boot, rear seat, all carpet, console, wipers, washer bottle, fan + heater etc. I would love to set myself a goal of consistant 12 sec passes on a shoe string. I know most of you will fall over laughing because there are plenty of daily drivers that would smash a 12 sec XE, but it's still faster than sitting on the sidelines watching all the time.

[Melz]

I don't think anyone in here will laugh at that, (and if they did they would have to answer to me, because i don't appreciate it one little bit!!)
Its great to see more people wanting to get out there and give it a go. I will be racing on a budget myself, so i know how hard it can be.
So have you ever raced before?? If not there are heaps of people on here that will give you advice and tips on racing as well as building/fixing the car....

Some guys have previously posted about various suspension setups, might be worth looking at...
http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=49825


All in all good luck with it... hope to see you at the track!!!

[big fella]

Originally Posted by Melz

I don't think anyone in here will laugh at that, (and if they did they would have to answer to me, because i don't appreciate it one little bit!!)
Its great to see more people wanting to get out there and give it a go. I will be racing on a budget myself, so i know how hard it can be.
So have you ever raced before?? If not there are heaps of people on here that will give you advice and tips on racing as well as building/fixing the car....

Some guys have previously posted about various suspension setups, might be worth looking at...
http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=49825


All in all good luck with it... hope to see you at the track!!!

I've had a couple of goes, 15 sec cars though. As slow as that is, the adrenalin still pumped and I had a ball. I've been to Calder and Heathcote more times than I care to remember, the last being the AFF day at Heathcote, where I met Brenx and Pilch, first forum members I've met. I also saw your XB parked next to the fence, looks cool.

I've been a mechanic for 13 years, even screwed a couple of engines together for mates who race a bit. I've had to stop turning the spanners for a living because of a crook back.

Having said that, it's the stuff you learn from racing experience that I have no clue about, particularly setting up the suspension and making what you've got work as hard for you as it possibly can. Thanks for the thread link, I'll read that now and perhaps search for others.

[brenx]

Simplest mods you can do are weight transfer wise. 6cyl springs in the front coupled with 90/10's and 30/70's in the rear. If the engine can push the car into the 12's? That'll lift the front wheels.

Making the car light is a great idea as it'll take less power to get it there. You'll probably be able to get away with just a decent hydraulic camshaft. JCXR seems to have nutted out a good camshaft that works with stock 2V heads. Think it was a 12.7? I was very surprised when he told me whats done. The biggest $ options will be a stall convertor and finding the appropriate diff ratio.

If you can make 350hp? With all the lightening you should see a 12. You'd be suprised what you can do with virtually stock suspension. Then it's a matter of some MT ET street radials. This keeps it cheap as you can run normal radial tyres on the front.

Other simple mods you can do is cold air induction. That's good for 1-3mph, yes even on a carb'd car ;) I'm lazy and haven't got around to it on mine yet.

[montyv8]

i'm currently discussing a similar idea with a few of the guys. a guy at work has an XD with a 351/c4 in it he wants to get rid of dirt cheap. i thought if a few of us chipped in we could have a cheap fun track car.
i was thinking the same thing, gutting the interior, replacing the glass with perspex etc, fitting second-hand manifold, carb, etc etc..

[PhantomXR8]

Nothing wrong with working to a budget, most people have them, some large, some small. I can relate to the smaller one as I'm knocking up a E series EFI engine setup in a TE Cortina, N/A first then install a waiting turbo setup on it. It's all about progression, start with something then develope it to it's max.

[BOSS TE]

Originally Posted by PhantomXR8

Nothing wrong with working to a budget, most people have them, some large, some small. I can relate to the smaller one as I'm knocking up a E series EFI engine setup in a TE Cortina, N/A first then install a waiting turbo setup on it. It's all about progression, start with something then develope it to it's max.

really admire u I tried the turbo 6 thing in te spent (wasted ) alot of money just to get the s#@ts with it n chuck it all in. went with fairly stock 351 c4 and hopefully later on a bit of nitrous

[outback_ute]

Have a look at what Workhorse has done with his panelvan, that is one budget racer that goes quickly (low 13s n/a)

[PhantomXR8]

Originally Posted by BOSS TE

really admire u I tried the turbo 6 thing in te spent (wasted ) alot of money just to get the s#@ts with it n chuck it all in. went with fairly stock 351 c4 and hopefully later on a bit of nitrous

I can relate to your experience, massaging firewall and wiring still to do. Might even run a carby setup first, 4 barrel Holley on a EFI CFI manifold, will see.

[Work Horse]

Originally Posted by outback_ute

Have a look at what Workhorse has done with his panelvan, that is one budget racer that goes quickly (low 13s n/a)

My ears are burning John!

big fella if you can get your XE running 12's consistantly you have yourself a bracket car!

S/ST Super Street Eliminator, is made for exactly the type of car you speak.
http://www.andra.com.au/

Dial your own, "entry level" racing. It's something I'd love to have a go at also. But as your other thread details, we lack a strip for it at the moment in Melbourne.

As for suspension modifications I'd KISS. As long as the car was consistant.

And when you want to go faster (not if : ), nitrous oxide is the best bang for buck IMHO.

I could help out with an n2o set up, after burning up pistons twice I've now got half an idea what I'm doing :

[outback_ute]

Bang being the operative word hey?