Race car or "Hot Rod"

Many of you know I have a '74 GTV that I was going to go vintage racing with, but life changed, and I have tried to sell the car.

That started a few years ago, and I got a lot of good suggestions making more like a race car.

But I recently went over to the Alfabb classifieds- and noticed a few racers that sold for what I would consider amazing values- just around $20k. Which is where I wanted to sell my car in the first place.

On the other hand- I could sell it as a street car- it has most everything available, and many people who called asked if it could be one or not. That would require me to partially take out the cage, put new doors in, and install some kind of interior.

So the question- race car or "hot rod"?

Personally I love the idea of a street legal "race" car. I'm a little more bare minimum type so two Kirkey seats and aluminum door panels would do. Ingress and egress can be hard but not so much a PITA that I don't want to drive it because I'd have to get in it.

Sell it as a race car, always the most profitable way to sell race cars. If you sell it as a street car, all your race car mods suddenly have no value.

I think it would be MUCH easier to sell as a street legal car. I recall seeing your ad and I was intrigued, but I would only really consider a car I could drive home after buying. Didn't it need a clutch or something? I think the fact that it needed some mechanical sorting was a bigger obstacle to selling than the presence of a cage and lack of interior.

GameboyRMH wrote: Sell it as a race car, always the most profitable way to sell race cars. If you sell it as a street car, all your race car mods suddenly have no value.

I agree. Advertising as a race car means it will attract the right audience, people that value things like a roll cage. The race car buyer shows up with a piece of cardboard and starts making a list of what he needs to fix as he talks to you. As a street car, the audience you risk attracting is the stuffy old gentleman that looks down upon a "roll cage". "Good heavens, why are there bars in here?!?!? No, this won't do at all! I'm afraid the most I can offer for this contraption is 500 quid."

I had this exact scenario when selling my 240z.

GameboyRMH wrote: Sell it as a race car, always the most profitable way to sell race cars. If you sell it as a street car, all your race car mods suddenly have no value.

Of the mods on my car, not so much.

The cage kind of sucks, but a good saw, and some careful grinding will make it work a little better.

Where it's a major PITA is the trunk. That I would have to re-construct.

Chassis wise- the biggest fault is that it's too low- and that can be fixed. The engine is just a little breathed on- and with a good SPICA pump, it would really scream.

The other part that I would really like to get- some kind of interior. Which I'm not sure how to do.

All this with the back drop that I don't want to work too hard on the car before selling it.

I guess I'll try to sell it as is this spring again- but given what I saw on the alfabb, I don't have much hope.

I've never seen your car, so I may be off base but I think I'd lean more towards a Pro Touring approach. A street car is going to have broader appeal than a purpose built racer. It can/should have some racecar elements like a cage or fuel cell, but should be more polished for street use. Installing a relatively nicely appointed interior, making sure that wiring, etc is routed cleanly. Comfortable seats. The idea is to refine some of the rawness of the racecar out of it, but still keep most of the performance potential. Curb appeal/stance are critical.

The Alfa-isti may scoff at it, but it might get some attention from people that wouldn't otherwise look at Alfas. A unique, Euro approach to ProTouring could really turn some heads.

Put some type of interior in it, make it streetable and call it a track day car that you can drive to the track if needed. Kind of the best of both worlds.

STM317 wrote: I've never seen your car, so I may be off base but I think I'd lean more towards a Pro Touring approach. A street car is going to have broader appeal than a purpose built racer. It can/should have some racecar elements like a cage or fuel cell, but should be more polished for street use. Installing a relatively nicely appointed interior, making sure that wiring, etc is routed cleanly. Comfortable seats. The idea is to refine some of the rawness of the racecar out of it, but still keep most of the performance potential. Curb appeal/stance are critical. The Alfa-isti may scoff at it, but it might get some attention from people that wouldn't otherwise look at Alfas. A unique, Euro approach to ProTouring could really turn some heads.

Given the questions I got the last time I tried to sell it, I don't really think many would scoff at that plan.

One of our hopes for the car was to also run the Carrara Panamaricana, so the car would be even more comfortable doing that. For the most part, I could replicate my gold car really easily, but with a cage and a fuel cell. I think people would really go for it. Hmmm.

STM317 wrote: I've never seen your car, so I may be off base but I think I'd lean more towards a Pro Touring approach. A street car is going to have broader appeal than a purpose built racer. It can/should have some racecar elements like a cage or fuel cell, but should be more polished for street use. Installing a relatively nicely appointed interior, making sure that wiring, etc is routed cleanly. Comfortable seats. The idea is to refine some of the rawness of the racecar out of it, but still keep most of the performance potential. Curb appeal/stance are critical. The Alfa-isti may scoff at it, but it might get some attention from people that wouldn't otherwise look at Alfas. A unique, Euro approach to ProTouring could really turn some heads.

This. Very much this. You're audience isn't high school kids or broke twenty-somethings. A 20k car should be a "bit" civilized for the market you're targeting.

racerdave600 wrote: Put some type of interior in it, make it streetable and call it a track day car that you can drive to the track if needed. Kind of the best of both worlds.

This would be the best approach. A streetable car will attract more potential buyers and is more valuable.

I've wondered how much could be done with some sound deadening mat, universal carpet, and maybe a few pieces of plastic to turn a caged car into a nicer street vehicle without compromising its' race legality- think something occupying the space between Pro-Touring and Vintage Racing. I think you should do it so I can find out without spending a bunch of money

EDIT: With the right amount of time and attention, a few Amazon orders could probably go a long way
Insulation + Carpet + Filler Panels and a whole lot of trimming?

In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯:

For MY car at least, the challenge are the door bars. I would pretty much have to convert them to bolt in.

Which is fine for the passenger side, since they don't interfere with the doors.

But the drivers side would be a major PITA. Would have to change to an X design to keep clear of the driver and still use door cards.

In reply to alfadriver:

"NASCAR" bars that intrude into a gutted door, I'm guessing? You might be able to do something interesting where you make the whole arrangement nicer without any cutting- I'm thinking something along the lines of a sound deadened gutted door, maybe some sort of vinyl covering on it, and pad/upholster the door bars in such a way that they become a nice armrest and the whole arrangement looks relatively finished when the door is shut.

In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯:

A thought for sure, but it means no window, too. Fitting a window and a unique door card would be too much work investment for me just to sell a car.

A car can be streetable with a cage and gutted doors. As for the window, maybe a clip-in coated lexan window with a slider door?

GameboyRMH wrote: A car can be streetable with a cage and gutted doors. As for the window, maybe a clip-in coated lexan window with a slider door?

Streetable and desirable for a mid-50's guy who is slightly overweight are very different.