Rolling E30 chassis with roll cage and fresh paint

#1

Hi Everyone,
My name is Avery and I am new here. I am a metal fabricator here in Tampa Florida. I have been building roll cages and preparing cars for racing for quite some time. Recently I opened a fabrication shop since my former employer closed the doors last year (XAT Racing). I have been a E30 fan since I was a child. I was considering preparing my car for racing, with intentions of selling a freshly painted Spec E30 rolling chassis. If I was to strip the car remove the motor, build a roll cage and then paint the chassis. In essence I would be selling a freshly painted car with all the safety equipment minus a motor. Is there a demand for a new spec e30 rolling chassis. If so what would the car be worth?

#2

I think there would be demand, Florida is ready to take off in SE30 and the SE is strong. Maybe leave the motor and save some $$, and you should also consider doing the sunroof delete and weld in.

I dunno on cost - figure to do it separately would be $1K for chassis or let them bring you one, $800-$1000 for interior and exterior paint, $500 to strip interior (including the sunroof), $1700-$2K for cage, sunroof weld, some added premium for the convenience of getting it all in a roller - maybe $3500 if they bring you a car?

#3

You may want to check out this link. I have no connection. This guy was trying to sell a caged roller when a customer flaked on him. He was asking $4500. Don’t know if it ever sold.

http://spece30.com/component/option,com_kunena/Itemid,86/func,view/id,31502/catid,16/

My opinion is that there are some personal preference/custom fit items in a cage (e.g. harness bar height) that you would have to leave undone. The tub-up build guys are outnumbered by the build-it-while-i-do-DE guys, but there’s probably a market out there.

Steve D.

#4

Thanks for the info, but I want to paint the engine bay properly and I figure a racer would like to put a fresh motor in a virgin car, but in order for me to put the chassis on the rotisserie I have to remove the engine.

#5

you might get some takers, but remember that spec e30 is a budget series - some just use junkyard replacement motors, etc.
cheers,
bruce

AvoE30 wrote:

#6

Thanks for all the info.

#7

Steve D wrote:

[quote]You may want to check out this link. I have no connection. This guy was trying to sell a caged roller when a customer flaked on him. He was asking $4500. Don’t know if it ever sold.

http://spece30.com/component/option,com_kunena/Itemid,86/func,view/id,31502/catid,16/

My opinion is that there are some personal preference/custom fit items in a cage (e.g. harness bar height) that you would have to leave undone. The tub-up build guys are outnumbered by the build-it-while-i-do-DE guys, but there’s probably a market out there.

Steve D.[/quote]
How many engines does the typical E30 racer go through in a year? Are bolt in cages an option?

#8

Do you currently work at a shop or ?

Could you e-mail me at: michael@mabrahams.com if you have a chance?

Any photos of your weld work?

There are in fact a lot of Tampa people interested in cage work and fab; but there are not many who know the rules (more drag shops than ‘road’ racing shops).

I am interested in speaking with you on some more details though.

#9

AvoE30 wrote:

Most guys I know will run junkyard engines and spend the money they save on a weld-in cage. And I think most are in the years-per-engine category, not engines-per-year.

Steve D.

#10

Engines per year? Wow! That’d be a whole new world.

#11

There’s a couple of kit options - I think Autopower has a bolt in, and Evil Genius Racing makes a bar kit that the buyer welds in himself.

Maybe you could pull the motor, spray the car, then powerwash the motor and put it back in? Or just spray the underside of the hood.

#12

AvoE30 wrote:

The only time you will hear that word around this crowd is when the Malt Liquor Tech guys are trying to decide how to cook a possum. :blink:

Steve D.

#13

bavarian3 wrote:

[quote]Do you currently work at a shop or ?

Could you e-mail me at: michael@mabrahams.com if you have a chance?

Any photos of your weld work?

There are in fact a lot of Tampa people interested in cage work and fab; but there are not many who know the rules (more drag shops than ‘road’ racing shops).

I am interested in speaking with you on some more details though.[/quote]

I have more pictures at www.myspace.com/avo456
feel free to call the shop 813 333 1100