Class 3000 Car - Questions

[suzukirmzrider]

Guys, I am new to offroad racing, and need extensive input. I have been reading SCORE race info for Class 3000, and think that my car may be able to enter. I am running a 2.4 Ecotec (as class requires), and I am at 102" wheelbase at ride height (class requires 103" or less). I meet the main criterion, but will have to do major updates to my car, considering it is a mix between a sand car and offroad car. It has a custom fuel tank (not fuel safe!) that would need replaced, suspension upgrades to possibly add bypass (would make a world of difference, I know), new belts, etc. etc. I have come to you guys to see if you can help me with a couple of questions. Let me start first by saying I am located in Tecumseh, Kansas - so getting certain things done and lined out is what I need to do before even making the drive with the car, crew, parts, etc. to go race.

1) What offroad race would you suggest I would start off in? I know of success stories for people doing well in the 1000, but I was thinking Vegas 2 Reno or something like that, with a little less logistical planning.

2) For class 30, will my chassis need to be SCORE tagged or inspected, other than showing up at the races for inspection?

3) I see a lot about sealed engines by Turnkey. It never really states in SCORE if class 30 requires a sealed motor, it more or less says it needs to just be inspected. I need some input on this, as there again I do not want to drive 20+ hours to not have my **** together and not be able to race.

4) I've attached some pictures of my car. It is definitely setup more for going to the dunes than anything at this point, so I know it needs a lot of work. The picture of the seats show the seat belts in the wrong position - that is the pictures from the guy I purchased the car from. Do you see any potential in this car at all, or do I need to put my efforts elsewhere? If it can pass inspection for class 30, I want to run this car, since it is what I have and I want to get out there and give it a try.

Thank you ahead of time for any input you can provide.

 

[EOR1488]

Im not a class 3000 expert by any means but try to help out a little.

1) Personally I wouldn't race either the Baja 1000 or BITD Vegas to Reno for your first race. Maybe a smaller series or smaller race to get your feet wet. Less miles on the car, parts, easier logistics, pits etc. My 2 cents.

2) Yes it needs to be tagged if you are going to race a SCORE event. Its a relatively easy process as long as you dont have saftey issues.

3) Yes engine needs to be inspected then sealed by turnkey

4) Lat question really depends on you and how serious you want to be. If you want to race Vegas to Reno in that car and not break and be competitive there is a ton of work ahead of you. Probably more time and money then buying a used 1600 car and going racing tomorrow. Just glancing at it front upper and lower arms, new shock mounts, adding bypass, new spindles, possibly bigger hubs, breaks similar in rear. A Few more tubes, gussets throughout the entire chassis. Communication equipment, gps, radio, etc. Lots of spare tires and wheels. Anything can be done for sure just depends if you got the time and money.

Lastly as far as you are coming from make sure you get alot of test miles on the car and really run it as hard as you can before making that big trip and commitment to get to a race. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[dan200]

Entering the Baja 1000 or V2R for your first race is like jumping in the deep end of a pool to learn how to swim. And there's sharks in the pool. And the pool is the ocean. And you're wearing a cement life jacket.

Save yourself time and money by entering a less challenging event like any of the SNORE 'loop" races. Learn what your getting into at those. Consider it "competitive testing" for Baja or BITD. Then join a team and go to baja with them and learn about what its like racing down there that way. It is massively different in almost every way.

As far as your cars rules and help- Ill let the builders on here answer those questions. But, start saving your money. You're gonna need it.

 

[Zac Reish]

1. Bring it to a shorter race. SNORE 250 mile loop race or rage at the river. Don't waste your time or money on Vegas to Reno. That is a big race among all races. And takes a lot of logistics.

2. Car doesn't need to be sure tagged. Just needs safety equipment. Call SNORE for the requirements.

3. You can take your car down to get the engine tagged or remove the engine to get it tagged as its cheaper removed from the car. I believe they remove the oil pan and maybe the head and inspect.

4. Its hard to tell what it will be like but the obvious is you need to make room for bypasses.

 

[43mod]

go race Texas ,close to home. Everything you said is doable w time and money.
Pretty sure you can use other builders like wiks,Redline,CBM to seal the engine.
Good luck and have fun.

 

[Shoyrtt]

I was around at the time the current Class 3000 rules were adopted back in 2008/2009. Back then Ecotecs were not yet legal in Class 10 and Class 5 so there was a lot of interest in 3000. The rules were made to hopefully pull Trophylites who were not racing in a TL series event (111" live axle vehicles), Class 5 cars who were converting to a Ecotec powerplant (105.5" beam car with transaxle) together with the original 103" cars that Karl Scanlan helped build and develop in 2007 or so. The only other rule that I can recall that differs from the listed rules in SCORE is the engine tagging. The Class approved only three shops to tag stock motors: Turnkey, CBM and Wiks. With that background, here is my best shot at answering your questions:

1. Start out racing in a MORE, SNORE or Texas race. The Class seems to pull good numbers (10 cars or so) at Battle at Primm and Laughlin. Other than that, two or three entries is the norm. The Baja 1000 this year should have a great turnout with a lot of TLs racing and 6 to 10 of the normal cars but I wouldn't suggest that be your first race. Test the car out in a smaller series first.

2. The car does not need to be tagged for MORE, SNORE or the Texas series races. Just SCORE.

3. Yes Turnkey, CBM or Wiks.

4. This is the tough one. What transaxle and CVs are you running? You need bypass shocks in addition to your coilovers on all four corners. It looks like you need all of the safety equipment and maybe a fire wall behind the seats. If it costs you 20K to 30K+ to get this car race ready are you better off buying something that has already been raced and has all of the kinks worked out?

 

[drofmij]

I raced class 3000 and that is where I started. I am no expert by any means but the amount of money you are going to put in that car. You would be better off buying a car that is ready race. I picked up one of Scanlons old cars for 20k. I did put a lot in it to make it faster, but I wanted to win. If your goal is just to go do it for the experience, you might be okay doing some upgrades to your car and go race. If you want to compete and win. That car needs so much work, it is light duty and you will break it once you start running hard.
Score and BITD is high dollar racing compared to snore or more. Logistics are a lot easier when you are doing a 65 mile loop race compared to 142 mile loop or a point to point. There are so many little things to learn, its a lot cheaper to get the experience in a smaller organization and also safer. If you are off the pace and faster cars are coming, in bigger organizations they will run you over. That's not fun.