Track car dreaming.
 

Howdy.

So having killed my old Mk1 recently, I have been toying with the idea of converting it to a racer.
I'm not the most tech savvy but my train of thought was basically this;

Strip it down, sell anything of value, bin the rest.
Buy in decent parts.
Whip out the hydrolocked engine and get in something else.
Rebuild.

Engine wise I've read somewhere that audi blocks work well?

How realistic is it to do something like this? Not fussed money wise, prepared to splash out. But is the Mk1 a good frame to build upon. Do you guys have any info on suitable engines that give good power returns?

Cheers 👍

zs is a great basis for a race car

I'd drop in a Honda k24, lightweight and will tune to 300hp nasp, 6speed box where you can really play with the ratios

Nice, 300bhp is kinda the magic number I have in my head really.
While I'm thinking I imagine converting to AWD or RWD should be considered too?

Mate of mine always sneers at FWD, says they never perform as well because they can't get the power down properly. Any merit in that?

Without a trick diff very much so, when my 160 was stock with full race slicks still had bad wheel spin out of tight corners. Lot of it is down to management of the throttle, I came down for tracking my Mitsubishi Evo which was 4x4 so had to get back to fwd thinking

no problem with fwd if the chassis is sorted properly
btcc cars are kicking out over 400hp fwd

Trick diff? Like a quaife or would it be something more specialised?

My mate is suggesting sticking with MG engines. Are there any that are worth using in a track car?

the v6 is well worth using, the v6 race cars are quick cars, sadly people get too hung up over hp numbers and internet tuning to realise just how good these are on circuit, engine numbers don't always make fast cars, its lap times that count, even the 190 1800 ZS is quick enough but would cost more to piece together.

That should be good enough thats what race ZR's use. As for engines a tuned K series is what you need :p

If money is not an issue then go for something different. However as already said a healthy KV6 is still a very capable choice. Why upset a well balanced set up? A well cared for and free breathing V6 can hold its own, chuck in a lightened flywheel as well as a LSD and you will be on your way. I've thought about many changes myself but can't justify the costs. Happy with what I've got.