Hi everyone,
I’m thinking about making my mx-5 a dedicated track car, but it’s a bit of a rust bucket…
I was wondering if people have had experience with ‘track day’ cars which are very rusty, and whether this has been an issue in terms of modding the car, or perhaps even hurting the performance? Is it worth tracking the car with the knowledge that (if they check properly) it will fail it’s next MOT and likely need welding?
Would love to hear if people have had any similar experiences, and any tips about getting rust sorted cheaply would be much appreciated!
You need a tight chassis if the car is being put through paces effectively on the track.
If the rust is chassis relevant, there will be weakness and additional movement in the chassis that will compromise the drive.
Only one cure for rust, chop out corroded metal and properly weld in new. Does not have to be the work of an artist but some simple fabrication and the use of a welder will see you right.
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Very different cars, but about 20 years ago, I ‘dropped’ a rusty Lancia Montecarlo at Paddock Hill bend at Brands (turn 1 - before the climb to Druids) and it absolutely fell apart - the sills and the A pillars snapped - I’m still not sure how I climbed out to be honest.
I’m older and more scared now - my advice is to make sure the car is structurally sound, but don’t worry too much about cosmetics. It’ll help your rigidity and overall experience too.
Incidentally - for anyone who’s curious, a fairly standard Montecarlo is a rubbish track car - suffers from awful fuel starvation when turning right and handles like a boat.
Gotta love Lancia…even the pretty ones can hide rust !
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BAD IDEA.
As a trailered autotest car then why not, may be.
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I had a Monte Carlo in 1986, so a looong time ago. It was very rusty then and I was having some work done on it. If it still exists I am sure it would be a very big mess now! Loved the car though.
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A chap I used to work with had a Lancia Beta. Nice cars, but the engine subframe on those was made of pressed steel and was bowl shaped in cross section, with no drain hole so water used to sit in there and cause rust. One day the engine literally dropped out of his car and hit the road just outside the main gate at work.
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Going back to the thread question - Definitely a bad idea. You will be putting the chassis under more pressure on a track and if you crash, it will be a disaster. However if it is going to be a dedicated track car, cosmetics are not that important as a “road princess”. So get the structural work done and just make it “acceptable” cosmetically.
The less you spend the more you can drive it without having to worry about crashing. Also a roll cage of some sort may be an idea for safety and also will add structural rigidity, thus making it handle slightly better.
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Echo other comments here… don’t take a death trap on the track. Make sure it is structurally sound.
Even if you don’t hurt your self or others, you will likely need pulling out a gravel trap at some point and you don’t want towing eyes pulling off or other embarrassment.
Safety first. Then performance. Then aesthetics.
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Always a good idea to have a solid tub
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That is the best ‘advert’ for arm restraints I have ever seen.
When I was sprinting and hill climbing my 7 I was told very early on that if you turn upside down you WILL extend your arm to ‘cushion’ the landing. I always used them and fortunately never needed them.
Do say the driver was relatively unscathed from his little adventure.
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Busted arm and a few tenderised bits but as far as recall, he was OK after a bit.
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Blimey… so you don’t need to ‘hit something’ to have a big off…
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Thanks for your reply, that car looks great! I believe my car is structurally decent so should be okay for now, and as you say, I don’t care that much about cosmetics for a track car.
Thanks for your advice, definitely agree with you about the cosmetics, not fussed about that at all as long as the car is acceptable and performs fine. The plan is to slowly add to it each track day once we know the car can be reliable, will definitely invest in a roll cage at some point.
Why not “invest” in a roll cage BEFORE your first track day, rather than some indeterminate future date?
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