What started your starion build?

[RiceThief]

There is alot of major builds either in the making or almost done and it made me think about my own build and how its gotten out of control.

I bought my gsrv from JDstaz45 last year with the intention of keeping it stock and just enjoy driving it. It started off simple enough, I joined IWMAC started autocross and decided to look into getting a forged block so it would be reliable.

It was when I found out that wantsom was selling his mpi dash setup that things got out of hand. I then proceeded to buy some rims to race on, turbo, aluminium radiator, coil-overs, bigger brakes, then some more rims because the old ones wouldnt clear the brakes.

So what was the catalyst for you that started your build?

[enthuzed]

It was more of the case of building a stable of starions... :roll:
Can relate to the "outta control" scenario though.

My motor had gotten tired in my second JA Starion (first one was a lemon so I fixed the blown head gasket and sold it immediately) because I'd put 50,000 kays on it over 6 years, with some of those being hard competitive kays. It started oiling up the plugs really badly. So an engine rebuild or another car was the question...
I made enquiries about other cars and got in touch with a guy that used to have a half-finished Black rally car in his backyard. It had since been sold to his navigator who then finished it off (roughly), did two events in it, then left it lying around. After buggerising for a couple of months he made the call to sell it and I bought it. Turns out it was someone else's abortion, it even got an engine rebuild before I'd had it 12 months! And I was still looking for a replacement engine for the daily!
At an event, a guy approached me about his light blue JA Starion. Thought this might be my answer and bought it for a song, whacked a permit on it and drove it home. Then I dropped the motor from that into the white car, so I could rebuild my original, but as soon as I changed the oil, the bitch started smoking like a crack whore. Didn't matter what I did, thicker oil, oil stabiliser, valve stem seals, etc. So I was still looking for an engine. That light blue rolling shell was moved onto a mate for a future project and the smokey motor was ripped out of the daily and stripped down.
Somewhere at this point I was thinking about a dedicated sprint/circuit car and was keen on the building one my way having now experienced ownership of someone else's abortion.
So I settled on the idea of having three Starions, one for daily use and motorkhanas, one for Rallies and autocrosses, and a third for Sprint/Circuit events.
Incidentally, that mate who has the light blue car, ended up selling me his white JA rolling shell, which will be the basis of my sprint car.
Around the same time I found a rusty white JB that had an LSD so I snapped that up for use in the Rally car. Still haven't stripped that JB engine down, I've got enough of them lying around right now anyway!
The daily now has a new engine and has just started the running in process, the Black rally car will end up being painted White as soon as the daily is fully operational, then will get onto the sprint/circuit car.
So that will be 3 white Starions. It's all time and money...:roll:
So with effectively 3 different projects, there's shit everywhere:
Collected a couple of MPI manifolds, ECU is lined up for the Rally car, potential 2.4 block lined up for the sprint car (more research!), 2.4 L300 head gathering dust too. I'm a bit light on for cash right now but there's still plenty to do...including excess parts to get rid of... :glare:

[RiceThief]

Any reason why you are building two seperate race starions? Couldnt you set one up to do both your autocross/rally as well as sprint/circuit, otherwise costs will just double. I was thinking about building a second one for track only, but sanity got the better of me thankfully.

[Entaran]

Suspension setups would be wildly different. Would require some DMS coilovers and a lot of expensive strut tops and camber kits to be able to realign between event types.

Still probably cheaper to do DMS's than build 2 cars.

----

I personally have a Galant VR4 fetish not a starion one. I'm onto my 4th and will probably hit the $100k spent on vr4's with this one. I'm already in the 80's i think.

I don't even want to know anymore. Coilovers and cams arrived today.

[Alspos]

I needed a big shelf in the garage for timber and the like and figured another cheap staz would fit the bill perfectly.

[enthuzed]

Suspension setups would be wildly different. Would require some DMS coilovers and a lot of expensive strut tops and camber kits to be able to realign between event types.

Still probably cheaper to do DMS's than build 2 cars.

Bao, as Entaran said, the suspension requirements are totally different. I haven't spent much nor do I intend on spending much on the Rally car, it's only for club events so I don't plan on being ultra competitive. So it doesn't need monster brakes and suspension (whereas the race car does). And I couldn't be bothered swapping in/out suspension setups and doing realignments all the time.

I figure that if I happen to bend or break one, I know I'm not without a car and I can still race at some level. And If I'm unfortunate enough to bend or break a second one then I'm still able to enter events! Now that's a huge benefit.
So many blokes I know need to repair their car and until they do that's the end of their racing...bugger that!

[WANTSOM]

My track car started when we came across a smashed up Starion with all the 'good' bits in it. I wanted something to play at the track in rather than use Marie's nice road JA which was her daily driver. The smashed car did have the good bits was unusable as the smash had got into the rails. So we bought a nice JB with a tired motor and used that instead as the basis.

The twin cam motor project was something I just wanted to do from an experience point of view. That believe it or not started with buying a water pump of www18U for 20 bucks!

It was all meant to be just a simple 5k track hack. About $50K later its basically an Improved Production race car just not log booked.

[WidebodyWoody]

I bought the widebody with the intention of just upgrading slight bits like turbo exhaust that kind of thing, then it turned into a little bit of a competition between me and this honda owner who kept spending thousands and thousands to try and just even my times. But then I got a real feel for racing, and decided to start upgrading for the intention of racing. Unfortunately whenever I started to make headway with parts/cash, things kept jumping infront of the car like Wedding, Holiday to Japan, New home, Baby. Best thing is my wife supports my end goal to have a nice well rounded track car, and wants it to happen and will never let me sell the car, but its just unfortunate that the banks stole the money for the upgrades.

Also my priorities changed recently with it too, as I will be doing the steering and suspension upgrades before the engine especially as it would yealed better results on the track then HP would. I never meant for it to get out of control but thats what happens when you upgrade, its never enough.

[RiceThief]

It was all meant to be just a simple 5k track hack. About $50K later its basically an Improved Production race car just not log booked.

Have you been learning your budgeting skills from the QLD labor party? :D

[enthuzed]

rofl

Pick a parliamentary group, any group!!! Don't think that they're special in Queensland... LOL

[redzone]

^^^ seriously dude, they are the kings.. made the state go broke through a resources boom! that shit takes talent!

[enthuzed]

Okay then! I guess I stand corrected. I tend to live my life in my own little bubble a bit here in Melbourne, so I wouldn't truly have the faintest about what your people in the North are doing. Yep, dead set legends right there! LOL

[OLD FART]

My jb has been improved :? ??? as $$$ became available but I didn't realy intend to do any improvements other than tyres in the beginning so lets see how good/bad my memory is :) 1 = tyres 2= 3inch exhaust 3 =fuel cut defender as no 2 made it overboost and kept cutting out just as the fun started 4= too much grunt now so in went the 3.9 LSD 5= Kings springs all round 6= Adj Konis + poly bushes everywhere 7 = K&N filter 8 = small IC 9 = Turbosmart boost controller 10 = Rallyart copy cam 11 = ported /polished head with 3mm os ex valves 12 = Front spoiler from Peter Fitzgerald 13 = Engine rebuild factory pistons 14 = app 220 hp atw now :D 15 = MPI= hALTEC + 580CC Inj + 600x300x75 PWR ic with custom tanks = app 260 hp atw 17 Broke a ring land after 60000 + k's so a forged stroker rebuild went in + more dyno work = 280 hp atw and heaps more torque 18= Shitty tune by the self proclaimed xpert resulted in a stuffed 3k old motor at 220 k's at QR no top on no2 plug = scored bore,bent valves, damaged turbo etc :x character building stuff !!!!!!
So pissed off it sat in shed for a year then I met Lee Thomas who I had met years ago and if I had hooked up with Lee earlier a lot of agro and $$$$ would have been avoided
Lee said bugger it why don't we Twin Cam it seeing you have a motor in the shed ???
So we saved the rods,pistons & crank and started with another block ,a Wantsom water outlet , P&P head , Kelford cams & springs , EF tb on a cut&shut inlet manlfold , custom split pulse ex manifold with an external gate, A Lee Thomas spec ar 84 turbine with a gt35 compressor turbo, 200SX ps pump , custom altenator pully , complete computer rewire ( due to Buzz engines failure to use colour coded wires, 800 cc inlectors, Wideband oxy sensor ,EF idle speed controll , A Jim Berry solid centre carbon puc clutch as well as a rebuilt cyro theated gearbox (thanks Greg )and rear shafts for strength ,
And somewhere along the way there was a brake upgrade with Evo4 discs,Nissan 4 piston calipers,Willwood bias adjuster , front coilovers, KMAC camber plates , 17s , strut brace ,Velo race seat and 4 point harness
Note I have had all the mods Blue Plated as required and advised my insurer Shannons as well
PS braided brake and clutch hoses JD 3 piece rear spoiler from US courtesy of Oscar the Grouch and soon a JA bonnet with the vents made larger and functional + recessed bonnet pins as I didn't want to put holes thru the JB one
PPS ARP head & main studs
I think I have an acute case of STARIONITIS LOL

[JJH]

Wanted to do Targa Tassie.
Bought a JA for $1500.
Fixed it up.
Did Targa Tassie.
Next...call QLD Treasury to acquire additional funds rofl

[bridgey]

the need for speed