london_chris

as title really, if there is a hunger for a thread, i will document it from the beginning, i am about to go from a standard car to a track car built for a ring trip in may.........

st220kyle

Get it posted up!
I went last year in a standard mk5 fiesta zetec s i bought just before. I'm going again in July this year with the same car, i was hoping to have made it a bit more track focused this time around but so far only managed upgraded brakes off a fiesta st.
what are your plans?

london_chris

well, i have an escort cossie which has done two trips and done a couple of sub 10 laps of the ring, which unfortunately ate a plug last year and funds dont allow me to buy or build a new engine.

the puma has been bought, and is to be built on a budget, originally between me and a mate but he's since pulled out.

i originally intended to build for around a grand but ive stretched that budget to 2 grand for the peace of mind of doing everything i want to do.

plans are :-
full service of the car inc cambelt and waterpump etc,
clutch has started to slip so will replace
new coolant hoses throughout,
bigger brakes
axle spacers to the rear
coilovers, have cheap ones at the mo they are a bit crashy, im gonna source some better second hand ones but if the car behaves as i hope i will fit a set of gaz gha's.
racing puma airbox mod and k&n panel.
wheels and tyres
bucket seats and harnesses
strip interior

if the car behaves i will keep it and track it in the uk and ireland whilst i rebuild the escos.

st220kyle

I don't think id have the balls to take anything special like an escos around the ring, i had alot of fun in the fiesta but didn't feel like i had as much to loose if anything went wrong. I was still shitting myself though. Id never even done a track day before.
parts can be had very cheap now for the puma/ fiesta, i picked up a st150 front brake setup for £50 incl p+p.
I'm still debating whether to get a puma engine or something else to put in the fiesta, ill never get it done before i go though.
what are you doing for breakdown cover?

london_chris

trips possibly being cancelled now as a mate in the group has just had a cycling accident and has broken his leg in multiple places,

when we go i just use the AA European cover (i am an AA patrol)

just prey that you dont break down or crash on the ring,

i broke down the first year when my fuse box decided to melt about 5 km into the 5th lap of the ring and cost me around £475 to be recovered off track.

st220kyle

That's a bugger, I'd still try and crack on and go. At least when your mates recovered you can go again!
we all used the rac's European recovery last year. One of our group called them ( german equivalent) as his head gasket went, so they recovered his car from our hotel and later said it would be taken back to his home address. It wasn't until we were getting on the Eurostar they called him and said the policy was void as they had photos of his car going around the ring so it was now down to him to get his car recovered at his own expense.
pretty poor in my opinion,
i was just wondering what alternatives are out there? would the AA be any different in a similar situation?