Ask Jack: Ten Grand to Go Fast?

Speed costs money; how fast do you want to go? It’s the kind of thing you see on the back of T-shirts worn by grey-haired men at “Cars and Coffee,” but that don’t make it not true.

With that said, there are a million different ways to spend your speed-seeking dollar, some of them better than others. Which brings us to this week’s $10,000 question…

Reuben writes,

After a couple of rough years paying off all that student debt, I’m ready to go into debt for something a little more worthwhile. I figure I can borrow $10,000 on a personal line of credit and use it to put together an autocross and trackday car. Should I buy a $5,000 car and put $5,000 into it, or buy the fastest $10,000 car I can get? I don’t care if it has two seats or a convertible top as long as it’s track-legal.

This is the kind of question that, strictly speaking, should generate a few clarifying questions from me before I answer it. Is this your only car? Can you tow it? What’s your local track? How competent are you likely to become behind the wheel? You get the idea.

For the moment, however, I’ll make some core assumptions:

* It’s not your only car and it doesn’t have to be dead-nuts reliable;

The standard answer to this situation is a five-grand Miata with five grand’s worth of upgrades to ensure reliability and lower the laptime. It’s hard to make the case for anything else, really — but I’m going to try. I found this stick-shift New Edge Mustang GT which is a no-bid at $5,200. It looks like these New Edge GTs tend to fetch about seven grand, so let’s use that as a baseline. I’d have all the fluids changed and have any iffy-looking radiator hoses, brake lines, or other rubber components replaced. Plan on a thousand bucks for that.

That leaves us two thousand dollars for performance upgrades. Seven hundred dollars gets us a set of the “Hoosierstone” RE-71 tires in the original factory 245/45R17 size. Another seven hundred dollars will put Hawk Blue brake pads, 600-degree brake fluid, and fresh rotors all the way around. And we still have six hundred bucks left over for something like a used Sparco bucket seat and/or a better shift linkage. Maybe some replacement shocks, if the car needs them.

Expect to be thoroughly disrespected by the know-it-alls at your local track — and expect many of them to eventually point you by, however reluctantly. The New Edge Mustangs have 260 honest horsepower, are capable of running a 14.5 in the quarter, and handle surprisingly well on decent rubber. When you’re ready to spend a little more money, you will find out that the aftermarket for these cars is truly outstanding. It’s easy to take a few hundred pounds out of the interior, and you have a clear path to eventually racing the car in NASA’s CMC or American Iron classes.

Most importantly, these ugly old bricks are a real thrill to drive and, if you put a couple grand into the engine, they start to become scary quick. And they sound like real race cars once you open up the exhaust. Those Miata owners might never admit it, but they’ll be envious each and every time they hear you roaring down the front straight. Isn’t that half the battle?

[Image: Ford Motor Company]