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.

[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.

[69Cobra]

Something else to think about if thats the ET range you want to run (high 10's low 11's) is do you want a car that will run a -1.00 under the index or something that will run -.50 under the index. You are going to pay a lot more money to go -1. under than you are to go -.50. If you are concerned with trying to be at the top of your class for heads up runs and still be in the ET range then you would be looking at a good E, F or G car. If you don't care about being -1. under but you still want to run in that ET range you might find a some what outdated -.5 under B, C or D car. Hope that makes sense.

[JThomas]

I am also not a stock racer but after reading this forum there are more important things than picking the correct car. You have to come up with at least 50 reasons why you will not participate at most events. Some popular reasons I read are- 1/8 mile isn't a real race, no heads up,no class,not enough tear downs,entry fee too high, payout too low, bad track, not enough contingency,no scales, no fuel check, no qualifying, no ladder, too early, too late, too hot, too cold, too many cheaters,too many new cars, too far away and anything to do with IHRA.
Once you find the 1 or 2 races per season that will fit your idea of a perfect race to attend, you can choose a car to fit that schedule.

[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.