Relocating from West Coast to DC/Maryland

#1

Hello Mid-Atlantic SpecE30 Racers,

I’ve been racing my E30 in Northern California for the last few years but am relocating to DC/Maryland in December. (My wife got a job as a professor at UMD.) One of the things I’m most excited about is the chance to race with you guys in SpecE30. (I’ve been running mostly with SCCA out here since SpecE30 unfortunately hasn’t taken off yet.) Seems like you have exactly the kind of racing I’m looking for – fun and inexpensive but still competitive without being cut-throat and all about who spends the most money. Camaraderie and fun are much more important to me than exactly where I finish.

It won’t take too much to make the car SpecE30 legal (I purposely kept the motor stock, etc. in the hope to run SpecE30 on the West Coast) and I’ll do that over the winter, but I could use some help with recommendations on local places:

  • Storage: I’ll need a place to store the car and open trailer.
  • Paint Shop: the car is desperately in need of some paint. I’m not looking for anything fancy, just a cheap racer paint job.
  • Mechanic: I try to do most of my own work, but it would be good to know of a good local shop in case anything major comes up.

I’d definitely appreciate any recommendation you might have on these kinds of places. Also, if you have any advice on where to live I’d love to hear that, too. My wife obviously needs to commute to College Park (I’ll be working from home) so we were thinking somewhere around Silver Spring. We’re planning to rent a house (hopefully with a garage!), won’t be buying anything for a while.

Thanks in advance for the help. I’m looking forward to meeting and racing with you all next year!

-Joe

#2

Welcome to the Mid Atlantic region. You will definitely enjoy racing in SE30 with the group in this region. I’m sure more of the MA racers can answer some of your questions but a lot of them are racing at Summit this weekend. Look forward to meeting and racing with you next season.

  • Ken
#3

Joe, You are going to think you have died and gone to heaven. You are moving to an area that is vibrant and the racing opportunities for you will be huge. My email address is sfoushee@somco.com. Drop me a line with your address, I have a brother and good friend in that area.

#4

Check the Mid-Atlantic NASA site for a list of shops who can do pre-race tech. I’m not sure of the exact location, but I know one of them is a BMW specialist and would probably be a good choice for you.
As for the paint job, that is not really exclusive to any area. If you want anything other than Maaco (which is generally ok for a race car) you’re going to spend $1000 or more. Maaco will blow paint on a car in one color for about $500. Regular shops really can’t compete with that. There’s strength in the buying power of Maaco, much like Wal-Mart.
If you’ve got a week of evenings you can paint it yourself at home like I am. People will laugh at you, but it actually does make a job that’s good from at least a 5 foot distance. A quart of paint, some foam rollers and you’ve got yourself a new paint job. :wink: Mine will be done this week, and I’ll get my photos up as soon as I can. I think you’ll be surprised. Total cost is about $100-$125. :blink:

#5

Dave Pallister will be a great resourse for you—he’s in VA Beach, but knows e30’s as well as anyone alive.

http://dpmotorwerks.com/

Welcome! Look forward to meeting you.

You’re going to love VIR!

#6

Spec Mid-atlantic es "caliente." Hot WIMEN… I’ve been to couple of 'vents at Summitt (HyperfEst)and you get to see tits 'n Ass. The wimen the mid=atlantic men bring are also good grub for the eyes. Nice package, nice ass, nice nice. I am building my car, but this series is the best. Friendly, and f**king nice.

#7

Joe,
Great to see some more interest in the area. My wife is currently at UMD getting a grad degree. We live just south of Baltimore and the commute is 30-40 minutes, hopefully this will give you an idea of how far out you can go and still have a comfortable commute. If you’re renting, might as well stay close and live in the nice area of Silver Spring. If you end up buying, Silver Spring can be pretty pricey. If you have any questions about specific areas, let me know as I’m pretty familiar with the area.

I don’t have a ton of room, but if you’d like to store your trailer for a week or two until you get your head on straight, I don’t have a problem with that (there is definitely room in the yard).

Paint: I’m in the same boat, let me know what you decide on.

A friend of mine and I are in the middle of our build. We’re looking at possibly doing a cage this winter. Next season will definitely be lots of HPDE’s and schools for us. We have a 318 with the suspension done and a 325 we just bought as a donor for the driveline.

Feel free to contact me anytime.
Jason
jls8177@yahoo.com
443-306-3540

#8

Jason Stephens wrote:

[quote]…If you end up buying, Silver Spring can be pretty pricey. …
[/quote]

he’s moving from Northern California, so "pricey" is probably relative … B)

#9

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Isn’t that the truth…

#10

Thanks everyone for all the great info. Yeah, home prices in California are pretty outrageous. It’s nice that MD is cheaper but it seems like they’re still expensive (depending on how far out from DC you go).

Jason, I really appreciate the offer to store the trailer at your place temporarily. I might take you up on that, but hopefully can find a long-term spot ahead of time. We’re going to make a trip out to MD in November to finalize a place to rent so I’m trying to line up storage places to check out on that trip, too. If anyone else has a lead on a fairly inexpensive place for the trailer that’s not too far out from Silver Spring (I know that’s probably asking for the moon) I’d appreciate any info.

Thanks again,
-Joe