Wanting to get into stock eliminator. MAYBE

[Marco]

I have a 15 year old son who has had an incredible run in Juniors and will be moving up next year. since he has been particularly good on the tree and seems to be very sharp at the finish line we thought going to stock eliminator would be the natural choice.

I have seen a couple of IHRA crate motor cars for sale that run F,G,H,I/CM my question is would this be a good place to start, are these cars much more expensive to maintain than your average hi 10 low 11 second bracket cars. It seems that IHRA crate motor may be a bit less expensive than NHRA stock eliminator but that is where we would ultimately like to end up. Is it a big jump cost and maintenance wise between the two?
Is it difficult to convert a crate motor car to stock or even at all possible?

I ask these questions because I have been a long time competitor in super comp and high dollar bracket racing and will continue to do so and I want my sons to focus more on races like these as opposed to the local bracket races which i would like to keep them away from as much as possible since they seem to be steadily falling apart. I realize that local bracket races serve a purpose I just don't want it to be the main focus.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Mark Young (no the other one in Florida)

[pauldilcher]

Build the NHRA car first , then you can go anywhere you want .

[69Cobra]

I would also build or buy a NHRA car until IHRA's new owners show just what they are going to do.

[ALMACK]

A NHRA "dime rocket" as they are referred to on this site, might be a starting point for a beginner.
Something in the slower classes of Stock.
As posted above, if it is NHRA legal then he will have more choices of places to race at.

As far as IHRA, another possibility to get into the Stock category would be Pure Stock.
My '95 Pure Stock Mustang cost me less than $5K to be class legal. (3,500 for the car plus wheels, tires, and required IHRA equipment)
However, I am limited to where I can race the Pure Stocker so I bought an NHRA car that can run both HRA'a.

[jmcarter]

While I agree with Paul and others in principal, a CM car bought reasonable is an okay route but only if the car is in the NHRA class guide such that you could put in a NHRA legal motor in when one becomes available. Don't know if you have any brand preference but there are always NHRA legal cars around, Everett Hill's unique Comet wagon comes to mind and it plus others are listed in the classified section here. GTX John has a gorgeous Road Runner for sale if you can stand the transport from Nevada. If you buy CM and the car has been modified for the IHRA legal wider tire you'll have to be prepared to change it to a legal 9 inch tire. An NHRA legal motor built new is expensive to buy and maintain unless you do a lot of the work yourself (gee, maybe I agree with Paul completely).

One more note; if you're in Florida you can run the SSSSA races, but go to places like Bowling Green and your CM/Pure Stock car cannot be run even in their combo races, they and others are NHRA legal all the way.

[Ed Wright]

If you buy or build an NHRA car you can race anywhere.

[Dave Ribeiro]

Marco,

You are getting very good advise , buy a running complete car that car run both NHRA & IHRA ... Don't get boxed in , buy the right car the first time it's always cheaper ... Also, bring him along slowly ,don't get too fast
of a car to begin with ? Good Luck, you will Love it ....

[HR9121]

All good advise above. I am also building my first stocker and although I mostly run IHRA I decided against a crate motor car because I wanted the option to go run NHRA which I will probably do more of in the future. My suggestion is that you find a good car and buy it, I will be able to build my car a little cheaper I think but am doing it all myself except for the motor and several expert advisors down the street. If you are looking a GM product pm me I can put you in contact with a real fast H/SA car at a great price.

[Mike Carr]

I, too, would build/buy (buying would be cheaper in the long run) a car that can fit both NHRA and IHRA both, for all the reasons stated above. You have more options. Racers that live out west, for example they are, for the most part, are stuck as NHRA only, as there are not many IHRA events out there as NHRA. Also, Bowling Green/Ohio Valley do not allow IHRA cars at their monthly combo's (which is dumb, but whatever).

There are quite a few cars on here for sale, some as low as $5,000 (mine is one of them). Check them out, and don't be afraid to go to a race or two and ask questions of fellow S/SS racers. Also it will depend on how quick you want to go. Some people have the mentality of "if it runs slower than 12.00, it ain't a racecar to me". Others have made a living in slow cars (again, me being one of them). To each their own. One of the wonderful things about Stock--you can run an 8 second new factory car, or a 16 second FWD car, or anything in between, and have fun doing it.

[Larry Hill]

I would buy a good LT1 car at the race track, you can always make it fast later.