I'm having a bit of a dilemma and have decided, after panning the internet for far too long, to get some more local points of view. I'm looking to get into Spec Miata but I'm stuck between buying a cheap Miata off kijiji and building it up or buying a race ready car, nearest I can find being in the States...
A bit of background might help clarify my predicament - I used to race Formula Continental about 7 years ago, mainly in Calgary, until it nearly bankrupted me. I started into that with an off-the-shelf package and everything went initially smoothly until the costs and peripherals like the truck and trailer caught up to me and I liquidated everything in tragic fashion before absconding to Europe to forget about it all.
So, with this considered, I'm very hesitant to buy a car that's race ready as I'd have to start from scratch all over. But on the other side, I'm toying with the equally apprehensive idea of building up a Spec Miata and perhaps trying to keep it road legal so that I can skip the towing part (I can store it near Castrol and it wouldn't be my daily by any means), but likewise I'm pinched on this as it might just suffer on track, although if I can simply be on track I'm stoked regardless! Pricing it out seemed to be only about $5000 above the car price for spec suspension, roll cage, etc... I was also considering driving anything I could find for the IT class but, having raced in a good group before, the Spec Miata grid seems a perfect choice, if not for the similar cars then for everyone's similar problems!
Also, I'm moderately spent after hours of rule reading and forums, so maybe someone can answer me this - could I run a soft top Miata assuming all technical regs of roll cages, etc. are met?
Cheers folks! :D
Welcome! Check the NASCC (club discussions) Facebook group; Matt has a few local SMs listed for $10k (posted mid-May). You'd be hard pressed to build one for that price.
As for driving the car to the track; it does raise certain challenges. How do your tires, tools, etc get to the track? Miatas aren't huge... A cheap tow vehicle and a tow bar or small trailer are likely better options.
The soft top must be removed, but a hard top is not required (although everyone runs them).
Hope this helps,
Chris
I'm pretty convinced that it's almost always a better value to buy rather than build. Whether you get what you want/need is a bit different. If you have unusual physical characteristics (tall/short etc) it might be better to have special accommodations build from scratch. As for driving to/from event, it can certainly be done, limited only by your creativity.
(http://showroom.windingroad.com/assets/clear_pitch/products/1990_spec_miata_mazda_mx5_race_car-1428976828-762-e.jpg.546x480_q85.jpg)
(http://racingready.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/pa190212e-350x225.jpg)
(http://miatavsmiata.ca/storage/Miata_and_Tire_Trailer.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1394462899159)
Thanks for the pointers, and the pics are rather inspiring haha. Currently weighing some options... hopefully I can come out to play soon enough!