Argonaut

I love the enthusiasm, thats a good thing. Getting into road racing (as in competition, i.e. wheel to wheel) however requires some baby steps before taking giant steps. There are a number of ways to go but in the end the basics are the same - you need seat time, you need to attend race school, you need to get a competition license, you need all the personal equipment (suit, nomex, helmet, gloves, etc) and car equipment (roll cage, fire supression, harness, etc). Also, almost all racing is class based and classes have rules about what you can and can't do to the car. And finally - a race car is unlikely to be street legal (depending on state). Most states frown on driving a caged, harnessed, non-airbag, catless car on the street.

Best advice you will ever get when comtemplating building a race car - DONT. Buy someone elses.

Before doing anything join the SCCA or NASA, go to some HPDE events, talk to folks. Get some seat time and then you begin to learn what you can do to the car and what direction you want to take.

Above all, have fun and be safe.

tigercrazy718

ur a lucky kid. i would say that if you want to compete at a high level, you will need to get something else as a DD, bc your car will most likely not be street legal as argonaut said. and also, as everyone else has said, SEAT TIME. maybe start with autox, then move on to circuits. i say that bc sometimes track days at actual courses can be few and far between depending where you are and if your a member of the track. autox can be good practice in the meantime. good luck!!

yourmyboybh1026

If you want advise on suspension, talk to Strano or go to www.stranoparts.com. He has been a big help to people on this forum in the past. Other than that, try getting into autox. That is how a friend of mine got his start. The scca.org can also be a great source for information.

MadStang40

I can't give you any advice on racing, but I can give you one piece of advice. Typically, it's not very wise to build a racer that you also rely on as your DD. Race cars break down. It's what they do. What happens if you kill a transmission on Saturday? Are you going to be able to rebuild by Monday to get to class/work?

Also, most "race cars" aren't street legal. Safety, emissions, sound ordinance concerns, etc etc.

Good luck to you though. You're a damn lucky kid to be in the situation you were brought into. Ambition and determination is key in racing. If you've got that, you'll do well, like anything else in life.

BLKSTAGE3

Believe me I know I need seat time, I'm taking the skip barber courses up at lime rock to start off. I've been racing for most of my life though i have a pretty good understanding about what I need to do to prepare myself. I'm really wondering mostly what is going to break, the car is my DD and believe me i know race cars break down. The reason why this doesn't so much bother me is because I know that my car would just be trailered to the dealership and I'd probably end up driving a shelby that was sitting on the lot.

This sounds stupid but I want to make it big, and this car seems to be my way in if I can be smart about it.

pascal

By the description of your car, you'll have a tough time to find a class to race it, I'm afraid.
You might be able to get seat time in some NASA classes like Argonaut mentioned but there's no guarantees.
Your car will be too competitive in GT4 class and you'll get killed in GT3 so I don't know where you could fit it.

Get as much information as you can before you start to work on your car.

zinsavage123

damn lucky bastard

stags

Suspension is going to be much more important than power. Talk to Strano

OhEightGT

Like everyone else has said... Crawl before you walk, and walk before you run You're a lucky individual to have that opportunity. But I'd take the advice others have offered. Aside from breaking, since you have the ability to just drive another car as yours is fixed, like others have stated... You're going to have a rough time fitting that car in anywhere besides doing it just soley for fun. You're in the situation where it's possibly too much for one class, but WAY too little for the next. To be truly competitive you're going to have to change things to a degree your car will likely not be legal at all for the street, forget about things breaking being the problem as a DD.

A GT has plenty of power and ability for a person to spend a long time just getting used to that at the track. When you get into Roush's and Shelby's and the like it's even more so. Like has been stated, no need to start modding until you're at the limits of the car in stock form. Just have fun and get your feet in, and to be truly competitive when you reach that point finally, get another car as a DD so you can really put the work into your Roush that it will need to be a serious competitor.

And +1 on info. There are all kinds of rules to these things. You're going to need some things you possibly are not allowed to run at all on the street/would just make the car unsuitable as a DD. But in your quest for power and handling you could also very easily put something on it that will be illegal in the class your car would someday fit into. Go very slow, do a lot of research, and get lots of practice!

Ricardo

Sounds like OP might be stretching the truth a bit to sound cool.
If you really owned a dealership then you would be able to get ahold of a second car to race.
Racing (seriously racing) a DD is not wise. As others have said, a car that is even close to being competitive will be a pain to drive on public streets.
If you were smart, you'd find a cheap used Stang and then build it up with all the supposedly dirt cheap parts you get.
Before you start on your adventure, there's a place in Salt Lake Utah that allows you to drive a real Mustang race car...go do that first and then you'll get an idea.