possible $2015 '98 Pontiac Bonneville

I run a small internet business that funds my racing habit. This means that my build progresses as sales come in. I make a lot of sales, I do a lot of work, no sales, no progress. I began building this car as a weekend toy/sleeper/track day car and never had any intention of competing in any formal competitions. Then I found out the $2015 challenge is right in my backyard and my car when finished will probably cost less than that, I had a new goal in mind.

the problem I have is this. Since I didn't originally intend to build a challenge car I wasn't diligent about receipts. I've got a few parts that I'm not sure on the cost of. I've also got a few things i'm not sure how to count towards the budget.

first is the car itself:

It was free. It's a 260K mile no options SE (base model) with a blown engine and tired transmission. I acquired it for the cost of a title ($86) How much does a free car cost?

The next big question is my parts car. I went halves on this '94 SSE with another club member for $500. It runs and drives but is a northern car and is loaded with cancer. He's taking the engine and transmission and some of the interior parts and I'm pillaging the rest for all the parts I need to fix mine.

So does this cost me $500? or only $250? can I sell the parts I don't use and add that back into my budget? I don't intend to win, I just want to play, but I don't want to cheat either... can anyone help me figure out my budget here?

Sounds to me like car a cost about 86 bucks. What I would do with car b- is let your buddy pick it. Get a receipt from him for 250$ for the carcass, take what you want. Sell down budget rule commences. I don't think.anyone's going.to accuse you of cheating with a Bonneville, unless it shows up with an Andy nelson special.

Aren't title fees and taxes exempt from the challenge budget?

pimpm3 wrote: Aren't title fees and taxes exempt from the challenge budget?

Yup, a guy in Ohio and a guy in Illinois would pay considerably different amounts for the same car.

As long as the car was not an insider deal, you can claim $0. If it was an insider deal then scrap price. As for the parts car, I agree with mndsm, get a receipt for the purchase of a Bonneville shell for $250.

Is that a Galant parked behind the first car?

As the owner of a 99 SLE, I'm interested to see how this turns out. I autoxed mine this year a few times (completely stock). They are boats and handle and turn like one. Probably the most lifeless, dead feeling car I ever autoxed, but very comfortable to ride in.

We do a bunch of "shadetree" work. one of my buddy's friends owned the car and brought it to us when "it overheated" his girlfriend then poured cold water directly onto the motor cracking the head. we told him $1500 and we'd put in a new motor. He said he wasn't putting $1500 into a 260K mile car. Since we are both H-body fans (that's my Lesabre in the background of the first pic and his '91 SSE parts car in front of the green parts car there are about 3 other Bonnevilles there too) He said we could have it. we were just gonna part it out when the Idea to build a race car came along...

And yes, that is a Gallant parked over there. Good eye. It was my buddy's first car. He just can't bring himself to get rid of it. I keep telling him we should swap a supercharged 3800 into it... maybe for $2016...

The obvious answer is building a 3.8 blower Galant. Listing all of the reasons would take too long.

In reply to pres589: I've been trying to get him to do that. but I've been telling him we should transplant the whole H-body subframe to the rear of the gallant.

He wants to do a built turbo 3.0 swap.

Is the SSE a 3800SC?

In reply to G_Body_Man: No the SSEi is the supercharged one. We do have a blower motor (under the tarp to the left of the stairs in the first pic) but we're going to run this instead:

It's a 2005 70K buick Lucerne motor I picked up for like $250. swapped in a used comp cam and those pipes... nabbed them cheap after another club member wrecked his car. they'd never even been installed... between this and the tuning we should be getting more power than a stock blower motor.

Nice! With all the interior panels out of a bonneville, they can be pretty swift.

G_Body_Man wrote: Nice! With all the interior panels out of a bonneville, they can be pretty swift.

That was the original plan. Build a cheap motor that can make ok power on 89 octane. Stick it in a cheap no options car and strip out all of the extra crap. the goal is 300 hp and 3000lbs. We're probably going fall short of the power but I think the weight is doable.

The major components of the motor are about $600, with probably another $150-$200 in gaskets and fluids and such.

This is where it sits right now...

OK, now I'm curious. Will be watching with interest.

I had a 98 bonneville as a DD a few years ago. It was like driving a couch.

A fast couch... Here's a fantastic video of an MR2 racing an H-body (Le Sabre in this case) as a Le Mons/Chump Car Race a few years back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_Z9Jk4s3dM

In reply to Spoolpigeon:

Yup couch that will cruise at 100+mph, quietly, if you so desire.

AClockworkGarage wrote: A fast couch... Here's a fantastic video of an MR2 racing an H-body (Le Sabre in this case) as a Le Mons/Chump Car Race a few years back. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_Z9Jk4s3dM

Awesome video! That buick is hilariously fast! Making several passes on the outside!

Lof8 wrote:

AClockworkGarage wrote: A fast couch... Here's a fantastic video of an MR2 racing an H-body (Le Sabre in this case) as a Le Mons/Chump Car Race a few years back. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_Z9Jk4s3dM

Awesome video! That buick is hilariously fast! Making several passes on the outside!

I learned a few things here.

That lesabre was hilariously fast.

The driver of that lesabre had balls of solid rock. Outside passes, late braking, the whole bit.

The suspension on that lesabre was either really blown or really soft. I'm pretty sure it got airborne at least once.

That's the first time I've ever seen a lesabre with a roll cage.

That's some of the best racing I've ever seen.

Things I learned from that video.

Captions make things funnier.

That big girl has some legs.

And no suspension.

And a driver with the largest set of hardened carbon steel alloy cojones I've seen.

EDIT: Also, that I can sometimes make a post similar to the one above it inadvertently.

AClockworkGarage wrote: Since we are both H-body fans

Could you elaborate please? Serious question. What do you like about them? Generally or the higher-performance cars specifically? I need a decent daily driver with three kids and I cannot deny I've been secretly looking the these for years.

In reply to ebonyandivory:

Its a cheap rolling couch/land yacht that gets abnormally high fuel economy, and drives fairly well.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: In reply to ebonyandivory: Its a cheap rolling couch/land yacht that gets abnormally high fuel economy, and drives fairly well.

And they made precisely all of them, so parts are plentiful. Nearest I can tell, they qualify as cockroaches too.

In reply to mndsm:

Yeah, unless I own it, then it kills the main bearings a week after I replace the lower intake gaskets and UIM. True story, only time in history an old GM oil pressure gauge was telling the truth.