Region: Rocky Mountain
Car #: 81
Year : 1995 Posts: 696
Status: Offline
posted
I started with an existing SSB car with a racing seat, stock steering wheel, Autopower cage and stock exhaust with a straight pipe replacing the muffler. Standard stuff. Parts and labor to gut interior, install spec suspension, replace catalytic converter with straight pipe, removable steering wheel, master cut-off switch, stainless steel brake lines, initial alignment and setup and a few new graphics were approximately $2500. The work was done by RCP Motorsports in Memphis. Twelve TSW wheels are another $1200. Toyo's are $130 each delivered, mounting and balancing extra. If you're starting with a street car, you'll need all that plus cage ($500-$1500), fire bottle or system ($50 up),seat ($150 up) and chin spoiler. Hawk blue brake pads from Mazda run about $125 for four corners. 1.6 cars also need LSD from Mazda. Your mileage will definitely vary! If I've left anything out, it's little, like a hook to hang your helmet from the roll cage so it won't roll around on the floor, or ballast, if you need any.
Region: SW
Car #: 50
Year : 1600 Posts: 1926
Status: Offline
posted
Dave wrote:
I think everybody will have different answers....
For us the costs were (or have been budgeted at)
$8500 for the entire project with us doing 99.9% of the work. If you have someone else build it for you you'll have to figure in labor.
$3300 for 90 Miata 150k miles w/hardtop $1188 for suspension kit $770 for the limited slip (including setup) $300 for brake lines and pads $150 for RB intake $150 for new clutch $600 for wheels $600 for tires $650 for cage $200 for seat $250 for misc safety items (belts, extinguisher, net) $80 for a new battery $400-$500 in misc items
Spare tranny from junkyard is $150-$350 engines $450-$750 used, $1500 new engine spare wheels $35-$350ea depending on weapon of choice
Region: CCR & SCR
Car #: SM 2 & 93, FP 4
Year : 1990 & 1992 & 1992 Posts: 344
Status: Offline
posted
Very slimilar experience to Karl's. My first SM ran just under $9,000 in parts - no adjustment made for donated labor.
This includes: - two donor 1.6 cars, one for drivetrain, and the other for a straight frame - MC suspension - all new bushings - new front and rear wheel bearings - rebuilt calipers and new rotors, Hawk Black pads - 2 sets of Kosei 15x7 ($109 each) - one set of stock 14's - three sets of tires (14" & 15" Kuhmo, 15" Toyo) - welded in Hard Dog Cage - MC exhaust - MC lsd - Kirkey Intermediate Seat - G Force cam lock belts and net - spare viscous lsd, 5 speed and a 155,000 motor that made an enduro without puking! - Jackson Racing Kevlar clutch & pressure plate assembly - $800 for hardtop - Quick Release hub for steering wheel - $80 to repair stock radiator
HP SEDiv SM93
[This message has been edited by Henry Payne (edited 05-15-2001).]
Region: WDCR
Year : 1992 Posts: 454
Status: Offline
posted
Since I just finished the car and totaled up the "Damage"….UG!!, I figure I'll share. This was not a budget build in fact there wasn't a budget. I did everything I wanted and felt I needed to do and I am an admitted excessive compulsive person. Many items are certainly a matter of taste and personal choice but obviously one must be comfortable in the car and I just can't drive a car with any questions in my mind. This car is as good as my skills could make it. I might have missed some stuff in the total but some days UPS and FED -X made two drops a day. The "Brown Santa Claus", as my wife calls him, accused me of building the car 50 bucks at a time. You know it's bad when Brian and Tim know the sound of your voice and your Comp number by heart. Among others, the following people helped me a great deal and I appreciate their patience as I know I'm a major PIA sometimes. Jim Thill, Jim Daniels and his crew at RCP, David Delgenio, Tim at MC, Karl Zimmerman, Wayne Henry, Henry Payne, Shawn Dewey, Bret DePedro, and last but not least, my darling bride and mother of my children, Jackie, who hates racing and race tracks. After 20 years of this, she still tells me that she loves me and I hope she doesn't change her mind.
Spec Miata Build Costs
1990 1600cc Rules Base Car, with new calipers, master cylinder, radiator, and a cracked exhaust valve $2500.00 Hard Top $780.00 Hardtop hold down plates $45.00 Basic DOM Cage $670.00 Cage tubing $3.00 / ft. 1.5x.095 DOM $72.00 Cage work $600.00 Suspension Kit $1,066.00 Simpson 5pt. Harness $95.00 Hawk HB-148F Fronts Blue $87.00 Hawk HB-157R Rear Black $69.00 Autopower Net Kit $35.00 RB Cone K&N intake $155.00 S. S. Brake Lines $145.00 Kirkey Seat $185.00 Kirkey Cage Padding $42.00 Spec Exhaust $175.00 Fire System (Safecraft) $265.00 Kill Switch $30.00 Custom Window Net $45.00 Momo Wheel Adapter $48.00 Momo Wheel $180.00 $7,289.00
Wheels and tires TSW Wheels (Rains) $350.00 Kosei K1 wheels $938.00 Toyo tires 12 $1548.00 Used Kumho tires $100.00 $2,936.00
Stock Parts Front rotors $130.00 Rear rotors $100.00 Bushing Kit $250.00 Water pump $125.00 Timing belt $28.00 Head Gasket $30.00 Fuel filter $22.00 NGK Plugs, BKR6E-11 $8.00 Water hoses $50.00 Mazda Oil Filters $9.00 Shift Fork boot $12.00 Belly Pan $35.00 Non-AC Duct and Plugs $30.00 Stub Axle seals $40.00 Shift Boot inner $19.00 Shift Boot outer $19.00 Exhaust Valve $20.00 Rear axles and knuckle assemblys $220.00 Valve springs, clips, retainers $50.00 Tie rod and ball joints $125.00 Fuel fill pipe $43.00 Clutch PP and bearing $90.00 Stub axles $100.00 Front hubs $186.00 $1,741.00 Spares Front hubs, extra $186.00 Hawk HB-148F Fronts Blue $87.00 $273.00 Items I already had but used 2 way radio setup, Car and spotter $1500.00 Hood Pins $15.00 Hot-Lap System $300.00 $1,815.00
Outside Work $756.00 Misc. materials $400.00
Total $16,387.00
-------------------- Ed Davis Blackwater Motorsports
Region: Detroit
Car #: 5
Year : 1991 Posts: 1029
Status: Offline
posted
Hi guys,
Here's my total Spec Miata build costs:
Roll cage $1,300.00 Window net $32.05 Sparco seat and bracket $402.43 Seat hardware $11.66 Steering wheel & quick release $383.00 Safety harnesses and eyebolts $231.85 Roof brackets $100.00 Fire extinguisher $0.00 Master cutoff switch $59.96 Hood pins $25.98 Fuel sample port $27.70 Transponder $269.00 Dampers, springs and sta-bars $1,222.54 Braided steel brake lines $139.95 Racing brake pads (Hawk Blues) $178.00 Wheels ($129 x 6) Kosei $811.68 Tires ($155 - $15) x 6 $840.00 Adjustable sta-bar links $116.18 Front "M" spoiler $69.86 Exhaust system $205.85 2" Toe hooks and decals $40.90 New rubber shifter boot $36.65 New suspension cam bolts $56.73 Vinyl letters and numbers $66.91 Helmet hook $15.99 Roll bar padding $14.97 Front and rear discs $179.75 Blueprinted front hubs and $534.00 wheelspacers Manual steering rack $311.13
Parts only $7,373.59 Car plus parts $10,773.59
Note that I offset these costs by selling my previous race car (1984 VW GTI ITB) and selling anything that I could from the Miata on ebay. So I ended up spending $5337 on parts in converting my $3400 (est) street car miata into a Spec Miata.
Region: New England
Car #: 3
Year : 1994 Posts: 140
Status: Offline
posted
Right at $10,500 for a '94 with all maintenance and repairs (inc new calipers, t-belt and h2o pump), *no* wheels and tires, but the absolute best cage and prep I could buy (have built for me). - GA
Steve D.
Once you get past the gag reflex, the jelly ain't bad!
Region: Atlanta
Car #: 30
Year : 1999 Posts: 652
Status: Offline
posted
The "cost" really depends on how much you enjoy the build process.
I, for one, love the idea of building my own race car. But my practical side sees that I simply don't have the time to get it done that quickly and once I got licensed I wanted to race - like NOW!
So I bought a car. Didn't get the steal of the century, but I don't think I overpaid too much either.
$15k got me an early 1990 1.6 that had raced ITA (welded cage, AFFF fire system, QR wheel, transponder, fuel test port, bolted hard top, cutoff switch, hood pins, etc.) In addition to all my must-haves, the price included a switch from ITA back to SM (new crate motor, new suspension, new set of KZ-M's with Toyos, etc.)
A month after cutting the deal, I had the car on the track. Not the route for everyone, but if you really look at how much you can spend piecemeal, it can be a compelling strategy.
Region: CSCC
Car #: 57
Year : 1991 Posts: 745
Status: Offline
posted
Lucky Kid:
You are a funny kid. We now kwow the cost of your car without knowing the cost of your car, so we don't really know the cost of your car as we are also unable to subtract the cost of your car, school, event, safety equipment, and especially tow vehicle. You're in college, right? Is that a class project for psychology?
That said, let's assume you got a donor with hardtop for free, bought used safety equipment of eBay, spend about $600 on school and 1st event, saved an old pickup from the junkyard, you are still riding very low in the cost department. I'm sure many newbies would love to see your spreadsheat . . .
-------------------- Bernard World's Tallest Ex SM Pilot
Region: Milwaukee
Car #: #96 Blue/Yellow
Year : 1991 Posts: 434
Status: Offline
posted
quote:Originally posted by Bernard: Lucky Kid:
You are a funny kid. We now kwow the cost of your car without knowing the cost of your car, so we don't really know the cost of your car as we are also unable to subtract the cost of your car, school, event, safety equipment, and especially tow vehicle. You're in college, right? Is that a class project for psychology?
That said, let's assume you got a donor with hardtop for free, bought used safety equipment of eBay, spend about $600 on school and 1st event, saved an old pickup from the junkyard, you are still riding very low in the cost department. I'm sure many newbies would love to see your spreadsheat . . .
see the website. I have two breakdowns there...if I just post it that wont do the site anygood...
Region: sfr
Car #: 12
Year : 1990 Posts: 1174
Status: Offline
posted
quote:Originally posted by Bernard: Lucky Kid:
We now kwow the cost of your car without knowing the cost of your car, so we don't really know the cost of your car as we are also unable to subtract the cost of your car,
car probably wasnt a huge portion of the total cost bernard, photo from beat website:
I think it looks better now after yellow and blue paint job .
Region: Milwaukee
Car #: #96 Blue/Yellow
Year : 1991 Posts: 434
Status: Offline
posted
My father paid $8,000 for it in 1999 when it looked like this , I got it in 02 with a $5000 value(he offered 5G's or the car for helping sell my grandfathers house and taking care of him for the summer(long story)), Insurance and judgment payouts on the car total about $10,000,
[IMG]http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/5/web/305000-305999/305867_1_full.jpg[IMG] one deer, one brake in, 5 rearendings, 1 hit...that car had been through hell and back...you can pick up alot better doners for $2000, our STS2 car we paid $1200 for and it had an extra torsen which we sold for $600 plus a VLSD...just tack on $2000 for the car and $500 extra for the cage and theres your number...
Region: sf
Car #: 40
Year : 93 Posts: 129
Status: Offline
posted
Pretty funny pic. It does illustrate what I love about this class. A "kid" can come up with a relitively free car, boot strap the components while having fun and acclimating himself to a racing club and progress into solo, regional, national, and even pro with the same car and rule set. A true feeder system. Back on topic, it takes ten thousand dollars to get a car on track with a logbook.
Region: CalClub
Car #: 44
Year : 1992 Posts: 1364
Status: Offline
posted
Yeah Mike, that's about the average. You can do it for less if you do ALL the work yourself, get a GREAT deal on a donor, and aren't too worried about having all of the bling.
-------------------- Tim Buck
MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Mazda North American Operations phone (800) 435-2508 fax (949) 222-2650
Region: sfr
Car #: 12
Year : 1990 Posts: 1174
Status: Offline
posted
quote:Originally posted by TimBuck: Yeah Mike, that's about the average. You can do it for less if you do ALL the work yourself, get a GREAT deal on a donor, and aren't too worried about having all of the bling.
I think all of the bling is described as "bling bling". Some bling is simply "bling".
Region: chicago
Car #: 72 and ?
Year : 90 and 90 Posts: 1051
Status: Offline
posted
Below is the copy of the text from my website. This should give you a starting point. Don't forget to add the price of a donor car and any BLING you may want.
Remove interior, air conditioning, power steering, cruise control, airbag, carpet and insulation, miscellaneous trim and components, etc. as allowed by rules.
Install Advanced Autosports 6 point roll cage. Including 2 NASCAR style door bars on drivers side, 2 door bars on passenger side, and knee bar in dash area. Cage is constructed of 1.625 x 0.095 D.O.M. steel tubing.
Install Spec Miata suspension kit consisting of Bilstein shocks, Eibach coil-over springs and sway bars. Install new OEM legal suspension bushings and adjustable sway bar end links. Sandblast and paint all removed suspension components. Repack front wheel bearings. Convert power steering to manual. Scale and align car to customers specs.
SCCA required safety items: Ultrasheild SM seat sized to driver, driver restraint system, roll bar padding, fire bottle and window net. Removable steering wheel with aluminum wheel.
Rebuild or replace 4 brake calipers, 4 rotors, install Hawk Blue or PFC #97 racing brake pads. Install braided stainless steel brake hoses and flush brake fluid . Replace engine tune-up parts, adjust timing, install Advanced Autosports air filter assembly (1.6 liter cars) or low restriction air filter (1.8 liter cars). Install 2.25 mandrel bent open exhaust.
Replace all coolant hoses. Change all fluids and filters using Redline synthetic lubricants. Install SCCA mandated fuel sample test port. Install hood pins, remote trunk release, and the hard top brackets.
That's $7500 folks + tires and wheels
I freely tell everyone that if you have basic mechanical skills and lots of time you can build a SM in your garage. Let's assume you can't weld or scale and allign the car, you pay to get that done correctly. After buying the parts you will save about $1500.00 You will spend about 300 hours building the car, or about $5 an hour for your work. Add flowers and dinner for the wife after you spend every waking hour in the garage. You have to ask, is it worth it?
If you enjoy the building process as much as the driving, by all means go for it. If you want to build it with your kid for fun, DEFINATELY do it. If you think you are going to save big bucks by doing it yourself, think again. Any of us (prep shops)can build a car from scratch in a month, I doubt if you can. How fast do you want to be on the track?
You can build a lesser car (bolt in cage, dicount tire allignment, no suspension bushings, etc) for less money. But for comparison purposes you need 2 apples.
Dave
-------------------- Advanced Autosports, The Midwests leader in Spec Miata Service, Parts and Rentals 608-313-1230 Authorised Spec Miata service center www.advanced-autosports.com
Region: calclub
Car #: 60
Year : 1992 Posts: 76
Status: Offline
posted
cost of spec miata >> ? i just won one on e bay for $8000.00,, needs up dating with a few things but its an 1800 and clean. In my vast experience of buyin and selling race cars ,, i have found that at times its cheaper to buy some one elses race car,, that is set up and turn key..
Region: CSCC
Car #: 57
Year : 1991 Posts: 745
Status: Offline
posted
Johnny . . . don't you have your '99 SM on the hoist, waiting to be completed? And the FP Miata, also waiting for attention? Why would you now use the money to buy another one instead of finishing what you've got, ASAP?
-------------------- Bernard World's Tallest Ex SM Pilot
Region: calclub
Car #: 60
Year : 1992 Posts: 76
Status: Offline
posted
hahahahahahaha Bernard, just dont ask lol, i need to keep busy, alert, things on my mind, and im very impulsieve, a creature of habit,, and at my age, you can not take it with you, so I enjoy what ever strikes my fancy at that moment, weather it be women or cars lol,,,,,,,,,
Region: CFR
Car #: 89
Year : 1990 Posts: 730
Status: Offline
posted
I just finished the build-out of my second car. Including the car, I've got $12,000 in it, but that is with a local shop sponsoring me and donating most of the labor on the engine rebuild. I still paid for parts and did 90% of the other labor myself. If I had it to do again, I'd just buy a finshed car or pay someone like davew the $7500, plus a new crate motor.
Kevin
-------------------- Flaming Blue Weasel Motorsports Florida Synthetics Racing #89 www.floridasynthetics.com Tampa, Florida
I recently purchased a 97 miata hoping to enter organized enthusiast racing. This talk about spending thousands of dollars to prepare the car for racing will make my wife blow a gasget. She considers mortgage payment important for some reason
Region: NWR, OR
Car #: 30
Year : 1992 Posts: 8523
Status: Offline
posted
Get used to it -- gaskets do blow sometimes.
As somebody here has on his signature, "You can live in your car, but you can't race your house." I had to wait a long time (measured in decades) before I could afford both. Even then, it's only SM that makes it look feasible.
Region: NER
Car #: 7
Year : 1999 Posts: 636
Status: Offline
posted
Anyone care to comment on the cost of building a competitive regional car versus a competitive national car? "Competitive" = top-10 (assuming the driver has the skills to finish decently). Obviously car prep and setup between races is paramount.
-------------------- -Cy Supported by LTD Racing & Speed Shack - New England's Premier Auto Accessory Store Rt1 AutoMile - Norwood, MA http://www.speedshackonline.com
Region: WDCR - 042
Car #: 75
Year : 93 & 95 & 99 Posts: 3727
Status: Offline
posted
We just built a rockstar of a car, tub up build, PERFECT everything. New everything. Pro Motor. No data or video at that price.
Build cost WITHOUT labor near 25k.
-------------------- Mike Collins MEATHEAD Racing http://www.SHEETZ.com The MEATHEAD Racing 2010 Calendar is up!!!! www.MEATHEADRacing.com SMAC Member WDCR-SCCA SM Drivers Rep. ALL OPINIONS ON RULES OR SPECIFICATIONS ARE JUST THAT, MY OPINIONS!
Region: WDCR - 042
Car #: 75
Year : 93 & 95 & 99 Posts: 3727
Status: Offline
posted
quote:Originally posted by d mathias: We're still racing for $4 trophies, right?
Trophies in my region cost more like $13.00
-------------------- Mike Collins MEATHEAD Racing http://www.SHEETZ.com The MEATHEAD Racing 2010 Calendar is up!!!! www.MEATHEADRacing.com SMAC Member WDCR-SCCA SM Drivers Rep. ALL OPINIONS ON RULES OR SPECIFICATIONS ARE JUST THAT, MY OPINIONS!
Region: WDCR - 042
Car #: 75
Year : 93 & 95 & 99 Posts: 3727
Status: Offline
posted
Hypothetically:
Donor (a good one) $3000 Hard Top $800 Cage $2400 Seat $800 Seat Mount $150 Nets (both sides) $200 Fire System $500 Rebuilt trans $650 Engine $4000 Clutch $400 Radiator $300 Brakes $350 Hoses and Lines $350 Steering Wheel $250 Quick Release $150 Seat Belts $400 Mirror $60 Suspension Kit - $1450 Kill Switch $40 Wheels and Tires $1200 (one set) Surface flywheel $50 Fluids $100 Graphics - $200
So that is $17,500 and I am sure it is only a partial list and does not include any labor.
-------------------- Mike Collins MEATHEAD Racing http://www.SHEETZ.com The MEATHEAD Racing 2010 Calendar is up!!!! www.MEATHEADRacing.com SMAC Member WDCR-SCCA SM Drivers Rep. ALL OPINIONS ON RULES OR SPECIFICATIONS ARE JUST THAT, MY OPINIONS!
Region: Oregon
Car #: 68
Year : 91 Posts: 2359
Status: Offline
posted
Blast from the past... I built my first car for $8,500 in late 2002. Ran it without LSD and stock exhaust for the first several races. That car was totalled (again) last year, and it was retired to the Chumpcar ranks. If I would have built it all at once I'm sure it would have cost $20k (with data). I don't replace bushings, as I prefer intent legal old hard bushings to tech shed legal hard ones No need to replace Control arms unless there's a reason. I probably should have bought new brake prop valve by now but haven't. I use used trannys as they last as long as rebuilt trannys and cost less. If I did everything new with painted tub, I'm sure the cost would be over $25k.
-b
PS, New car was just the cost of the tub ($1k amazing bad economy deal) and cage ($2,500) new seat 'cuz i got fat ($700), and paint(?). Everything else came off the old car, but it is (or will be by March) one of the best built SMs in the country.
-------------------- Bruce Wilson 2010 Oregon Region Champ 2010 Monte Shelton Driver of the Year 2010 25 Hours of Thunderhill E3 and Under 2 liter Overall Champion Oregon Region SM Class Advisor
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