85 SVO in Wisco

[gbeaird]

Welcome! We got our '86 as a dedicated autocross car after hooking my wife on the sport, and her not wanting to tear up her 98 Dakota R/T. We drove it for many years in F Stock/G Stock until replacing it with a C Prepared car. When we showed up with our new CP car, one of our former G Stock competitors came over and thanked us for moving to a different class. :-)

The car has been undergoing a rather long, slow restomod project ever since. Just about finished.... I hope!

With the mods on your car, it looks like you'll fit into CP/CAM/ST* classes using SCCA Solo classing rules. It'll still be fun! Enjoying your build thread so far.

[whoyacallem]

Thank you Gene, I wasn't super concerned with what class I would end up in when I started on this car. If I never win or even come close to placing but have a huge grin on my face it'll be good for me! I say that now but maybe that will change Most everything I've said I wouldn't do at some point I end up doing so this will probably be no different.

I do hope to get some input on what I should do for ride height. Modern fashion trends want everything slammed and I'm not very familiar with how to properly set this car up, I'm sure if I search this site (which I haven't yet) I can find some help but any advice will be appreciated.

[SVOeric]

I have a set of ford B-springs on the front, they aren't bad, but not the end-all... they are a spring you can auto-x AND drive without your kidneys fighting back.
The old eibach sports are better for auto-x -- but worse for street driving.

REARS are a entirely different story == the ford B's are junk.. too much bounce, I'm lifting tires when I'm hard left or right.
the eibach sports are better, but still suffer from the same issues.

HHR also has a pretty decent set of springs, but I don't have first hand knowledge.
bottom line, to keep both tires of that straight axle on the pavement, you'll need to look at something like a watts link, or panhard bar.

NOW -- I throw my normal disclaimer...
IF you're going to auto-x -- it's wonderful fun... trust me!!
but once the car is 'solid / dependable / consistent' even with BONE STOCK parts.. .the first thing to fix, is the loose nut behind the wheel. (yes, that's a joke, but still serious)

You need 2-3 seasons of driving the car AS-IS, with some instruction (this don't have to be paid high-dollar instruction, just your local guru's -- most are happy to ride with you and give pointers)
before you start throwing the parts at your SVO.

That's my spheell. .. hope you enjoyed, and do enjoy!

[whoyacallem]

For sure on the driving ability. The amount of time lost due to lack of driving ability cannot be made up with parts or power most of the time. With the limited time I have spent on the track, the difference between spirited driving on the public roads vs what you do on the track is a major shift in mindset.

Thanks for the input guys.

Ryan