Originally posted by NoRaceCarYet:
K. You know that's not true...
I am actually very confident that it is true but, in fairness, you'll note that I included the qualifier "with the same parts" in my original comment.

If you could find an already-prepared ITS GenII RX7 roller with just a cage and paint (say, in the form shown in Silkworm's great picture), its market value would be far less than you would spend getting a street car to that same point.

The same math just ramps up as you add more bits to the point where you can buy an ITB GTI with $20,000 worth of contract labor and parts for half of that cost.

I also tend, though I don't include it in this math, to think in terms of a person's time being worth money, but have rethought that. For a LOT of racers, building the car is a benefit (fun) rather than a cost - I'm just not there anymore!

Strictly in dollar terms, if your goal is to just get on the track and you are "credit-constrained" (yup!) then it is cheaper to piece things together as you go. However, I have seen LOTS of folks fail at this process and not even get out there because they seriously underestimated even the minimal costs involved, particularly if their original choice of car was motivated by what they already had in the yard, rather than what makes sense (e.g. 1st gen RX7 - still the best bet).

Best,

Kirk