New Guy

[Andy69]

Howdy all. I just signed up.

I didn't see a welcome forum, so here I am.

I'll admit right off the bat I'm a complete noob. I've been thinking this was something I'd like to get into for a while now. I've been a car guy since I was 16 (30 years) and own a few classics. I have relatives that race and have for a while and have always followed with interest.

Well, my aunt retired from racing after last season and she has offered me her CRX. It's I think a 1985 and it's set up for ITB. It would be a package deal with a bunch of parts including a spare engine and at least one set of street wheels and one set race wheels. She asked me to name her a price and I have absolutely no idea. Looking around, prices are all over the place.

So in addition to saying hello:

1. what's a fair price and
2. what do I do with it once I get it?

This is the car she bought 20 years ago when she started and used it for autocross and then to get her competition license.

She might actually be a member of this forum, I have no idea

[joeg]

Your Aunt wants you to give her money??

Tell her to make it a bDay or XMas present!

[JLawton]

First of all, welcome to the madness!! Where are you from? This is probably one of the newb friendliest forums out there so don't worry about asking questions........... unless the first question: "Can I put a turbo charger, chrome bling and neon lights on it........."

To make a fair assesment we'd have ot know a little history of the car. But I would think unkown ITB cars would go in the $3K to $5K range?? But since you are related I would low ball the hell out of her!!

Once you are to the point where you've made a decision or have bought the car, send me a PM and I'll walk you through the process. It can seem a little daunting by just reading the process on scca.com.

I can guarantee you WILL have a blast with it when you get it on track. Just be careful, it's addictive...............

[preparedcivic]

What part of the country are you? We can get you hooked up with people so you know a few right from the beginning. It is also Drivers School season in many places so time might be of the essence for car prep getting out on track.

I have an ITB 1st gen CRX, that I bought 2 years ago with a fresh set of tires, six Panasports and serviceable rains on another set of wheels, with a current logbook, new belts and a pile of spares for $4500. If the car has been sitting, and with any sort of freshening work requried it is probably a sub-$3,000 car in today's crappy used race car market. And that would be before any family discount being applied.

HTH. Keep posting with questions.

[gran racing]

Waaaaay too many variables to make any assessment. Was the last time the engine was built 20 years ago when she bought it? What's the cage like?

Assuming it's decent, not a top notch build, my guess is around $3k. There are some pretty insane deals out there, so it wouldn't be worth spending $5k on something that wasn't pretty damn good IMO.

[Andy69]

Thanks for the kind welcome!

I'm in Memphis. Just poking around, there doesn't seem to be as much here as other places. That seems to be a general characteristic of the Memphis area, I've noticed - the cultural black hole of the known universe.

I'm not sure of the exact condition but she was pretty serious about racing so I'm sure it's in above average condition, well maintained ,etc. It's been wrecked a few times, once fairly seriously iirc (she also had an MR2 and I can't remember which one it was). Just poking around the net, it looks like $3k would be at least a fair starting point. I'm not going to ask her to give it to me or let me have it for less than market value (but if she wants to I'd be happy to accept .

Now, this might be the subject of another thread, but how would I go about getting Mrs69 interested in driving around some cones?

[Chip42]

1 - find out about the MR2 if she still has it, etc... some of us are stupid enough to care.

2 - before you do layout money, find out the condition of the car and details. pictures posted here will net you a lot of honest feedback. even if it is a family deal, money is money and racecars consume a lot of it. don't start of on the back foot.

3 - when you find out the answer to your last question, please share it with the class.

and welcome to the nuthouse!

[Andy69]

The MR2 is the car she drives every day (yes, she was serious about racing).

I'm going to see if she has some pictures she can send over.

[Butch Kummer]

I have no idea how big Memphis is, but contact Jim Drago at East Street Automotive (http://eaststreet.com/) if you want local help. He's a (very good) Spec Miata driver but since he's also on the Club Racing Board he DOES speak IT as a second language.

[Flyinglizard]

2 seats helps a lot for the learning curve. We run 2 seats and swap drivers all day long in the ITB car. We take it to the test days and solo events. It is much easier to explain and than show a line or technique than to just explain it.

Two seats is huge advantage for getting the kids and wife involved, IMHO. The best times my Son and I have had, was swapping seats in his car, and waiting for the cloud cover, to get the last 002 sec.
It does not matter what you drive. It is how you drive it.

[Andy69]

OK, here's a picture. It's a few years old but it's still pretty much the same condition wise. It would be nice to have a few more but I don't want to bug her too much, she has a lot going on right now.

Thanks for the local contact. I'll be sure to give him a buzz. And now that I think about it, my aunt knows someone she used to race with who moved here, I think. I'll have to ask.

Shipping might be a little over the top, I'm thinking about flying out and driving back, although that's 2100 miles. In a race car, probably with no radio in it

[dickita15]

I am confused, you are in Memphis, where is the car?

[Andy69]

California.

Getting estimates on shipping now, looks like it almost might be cheaper to fly out and drive back.

[gran racing]

Even from that picture, the cage doesn't look great. Look at the huge gap on the drivers right of the car.

It sounds to me like you're buying this differently than if from someone else. You are seeing value to the car because it's your aunt. That's fine, but just realize what you are actually getting versus what you envision.

So what is your budget for all of this? (Buying the car that is.)

Consider new belts, seat will old so seat back brace necessary, window net, and so forth. Can the car get a current log book as-is? If not, that needs to be considered.

[coreyehcx]

Replacement body parts are not the easiest to get for those older civic/crxs too.

[Andy69]

She just threw me out a price of $5k for everything, spare engine, two sets street wheels/tires and one set race wheels/tires (tires are brand new), and anything else she's got lying around. Not sure how easy that extra stuff is going to be to get over here though. The engine has a problem, apparently (not something that intimidates me though but do I want to ship a problem engine across country, I think probably not.)

Yeah, I am looking at this a little differently because of who I'd be buying it from, but on the other hand I know the race history and I think that's pretty cool. Dunno how much that translates to a higher price though.

[JLawton]

To put into perspective, I sold my NARRC Championship, multiple win ITA car with a good engine, a truck load of GOOD spares, one of the best cages built, years of developement, and current log book for not much more than that..................

It's tough not getting your emotions involved with decisions on racing........... ask me how I know!!

[dickita15]

Frankly it is a $3ooo car and it is a $1000 to get it where you need it. if you are willing to spend $2-3k more than it is worth to an objective buyer that is fine, just understand what you are doing.

[preparedcivic]

Knowing these cars VERY well, their value is highly dependent on the parts they have, as just about all the good stuff is no longer available new.

Examples:

Mugen diff?

4.93 final drive?

Koni shocks?

Brand of header?

What brand are the wheels? The ones in the pic look to be no-names.

This particular car also appears to have duct tape holding the plastic fenders together. They get very brittle and crack like an eggshell. And are just about unobtanium.

$5k is way too strong a price, IMHO. As I offered, I paid $4500 for my ITB CRX Si 2 years ago, and it was ready to go and got run at a Drivers School two weeks later. I'm with Dick; this is a $3,000 car tops, and probably more like $2,500, unless there is a 4.93/Mugen diff tranny hiding in there.

[gran racing]

Absolutely agree on their assessment of it being a ~ $3k car. Even look in the classifieds. The ITB Brimtek Golf for $8,500. Hell, I'll include my ITB car for perspective as well which would be around $7k. Look at those ads and compare them to your Aunt's ITB car. No way the price differences from $5k to those wouldn't be totally worth it. These are two cars that could show up at any ITB field in the country right now and if the driver didn't win or podum, it would be their fault. I'm NOT saying you should look at buying either of these cars, but it does help show the value of her car.

Might be worth showing her them too so she can better understand it's true value.