I'm thinking about building an Enduro car. I have no idea where to start, what kind of car to get, etc. Any advice would be awesome. Would like to try Kalamazoo Enduros or wherever else they have them in Michigan but don't want to spend too much money. Thanks.

Flat Rock is the BEST place to race a V8 RWD Enduro car.

But first please read this post so we can help you better,,,

http://www.mstrc.com/index.php?showtopic=12956

Then answer the questions we posed to NATE on getting into a Lead Sled

OH,,forgot to ask,,are you talking about
RWD v8 enduros or
FWD 4 cyl enduros?

your in fenton, so the tracks that are closest to you are Owosso and AC.

build a car for AC's V8 RWD lead sled rules or AC's FWD 4 cyl rules. except for a few changes these cars are enduro legal.

Or better yet, buy a race ready AC car.

I was actually thinking about racing at Kalamazoo and Berlin and building it to their rules and then running other places if the car was legal as a four cylinder once in awhile but the car would be mostly for their enduros. In their rules it mentions a Honda CRX by name, so I've been looking into those...

OK so it is a FWD 4 cylinder car.

then the best bang for the buck Here in Michigan is the 4 door dodge neon built from 1995 to 1999 ( first generation).

The Spartan Speedway Pony stock guys are the most knowledgeable and willing to help.

See the Pony stock forums at www.spartanspeedway.com

So are the guys from www.4m.net mini stock tech forum

also see the guys at www.neons.org under the autocross section

Dodge shadows with the 2.5 liter engine work good too,,,lots of em are for sale race ready from Spartan Pony Stock racers.

seee

http://spartanspeedway.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=9

http://spartanspeedway.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6

http://spartanspeedway.com/OldBoardStuff/P...eedSecrets.html

http://www.4m.net/forumdisplay.php?f=24

http://forums.neons.org/index.php

http://www.mstrc.com/index.php?showtopic=16771

The Ford Escort has been the most reliable car at the K-Zoo Enduros..

The 1.8l H.O. motor is legal and makes it a very quick car.. the construction of the car makes it able to sustain a fairly high amount of damage and keep running well. The Radiator is well protected and the steering components are well built.

Arnold is right on with the Neon if you plan on running in a weekly racing series.. but for an Enduro, the Escorts seem to be best.

At Berlin.. you can run DOHC in their weekly series.. there are much better 4 Cylinder options with DOHC then a Neon.

Have you raced before?

Do you know someone that has raced for a long period of time?

If you have not raced before, heck even if you have then I would suggest buying a race ready car. Normally you will be able to buy a car a lot cheaper than it will cost you to build it. Plus you will be able to race sooner and be competitive faster.

People told me to buy a car already built and I was totally against it, now I regret it. When I do it again I will buy a race ready car.

The cars are much faster than they look from the stands, and driving is much harder than it looks. (even in the lower classes)

If you know somebody that has raced in a higher class for a long time then building the car shouldn't be a problem.

If you are thinking about buying a race ready car there are article on "how to shop for a racecar". Or have a veteran from MSTRC tell you what to look for when shopping for a racecar.

Whatever you end up doing you will have a blast and good luck!!!

P.S. My opinions are formed from experience

If you were looking at the best car for like kalamazoo it is definatly an escort gt. They have one i think every enduro except one and that was john chapman in a dodge shadow. The excorts also do very well at berlin but that is a big track for 4cyl. I have run about 10 enduros but never got my hands on an escort. I ran a 5 speed grand am with the 2.4 dohc quad 4 motor in it. I couldnt get through the turns as good as the other guys but i would kill them down the stright aways. By the way it took about 5 hits to the front end at 60mph to finally alter the frame a little. I got 8 races out of that car. I will be running an automatic dodge neon in there August 31 race. In the last race with a first time enduro driver it finished 175 laps and got 25 place i think. Dodge shadows are fast. There is a chrysler that is fast but cant think of the name.

Ditto what Exit82 said - unless you have been racing and building cars, really look into buying something turn key ready to race. You'll have enough other headaches before you ever hit the track without the added problems of building a new car.

Also - I'm sure all these guys know what they are talking about for the fastest, most winning car at a track, but in all honesty if you are just starting out if you can get a clean race ready car set to go for the right price I wouldn't be too afraid of not having the most dominating car to start with. Odds are you'll tear the first one up anyways! Not trying to rip on you as I don't even know you, that just seems to be the natural learning curve of racing.

Good luck with whatever you end up with - Kzoo 4 cylinder enduros look like a blast and the track employees are all top notch people to deal with.

well guys Mark has been winning late model races in the scooters car for awhile. he probably wants to build it.

Ryan,

That's Marks son.

sorry thanks Kyle