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DSC,
Got your message, sorry for the delay!
Cost to go IT racing: It took me 2 years to get the program on track. A typical weekend can be very expensive, but there are ways to cut costs, like camping etc...
The real question is how competitive do you want to be? Someone mentione Bob Stretch's car being 35k, that is what it takes to run up front in IT. Do you have to be upfront to have alot of fun... no. But understand that fact before you get discouraged.
Here are some numbers from a typical weekend last year:
Tires: 600-800, will last 2-3 events
Gas: 50
Entry:250-300
Food: 50-100
It is the equipment that leads up to getting TO the track, like personal safety equipment, tow vehicle, trailer, tools, spare parts, coolers, food & drink, fuels jugs, race car tie downs, plastic bins, ez up tents, getting tire mounted and dismounted, lawn chairs. Not all of this stuff is absolutly necessary, but as you do more, you will find being comfortable becomes very important. It is the little stuff that really eats up your extra cash, fast!
As for the actual car itself... come to reality, anything that becomes an IT car really needs to be towed. Too many what if's drivng it to and fro. What if... i blow a motor... get hit... brake a suspension piece... get in a wreck on the street and kill myself on the roll cage without my helmet on... i get caught in a rainstorm on treadless track tires heading home... I have seen people drive their car to the track and have always thought, Man thats a tough way to go. Plus, do you really want to be driving a stiff, uncomfortable car to work everyday? (Also consider many IT do not have drivers side window due to the door bars)
Back in 94 I built an ITA CRX, drove it on the street, got my license, ran out of money, license expired, got discouraged and hung it up for a few years. I learned it is a building process, you really need to develop a program, with a budget and timeline. It seems you have definately put some thought into it, but make sure you are looking at the big picture. It's much more fun when you are prepared (IMO).
Here are my thought on your choices. I pick 3) same as 2 but buy prebuilt ITA s13. Lower cost over all but more money all at once. Not quite as fun as building your own, tho a few thousand dollars cheaper may be worth it. While it is fun building a car, it is expensive and time consuming. Another thought, instead of building an S13, I know of a very nice S14 ITS car with a trailer, lots of spares, tires and wheels that is ready to go racing ;-)
Alot of this stuff is much easier to convey in a real conversation, if you want to chat PM me and I send you my phone number.
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