Every red-blooded car collector has at some point (or many points) in their life looked at some cool little race car and wondered, “Hey, wouldn’t it be fun to buy that and go racing?” Certainly, many people have over the years, but for those who haven’t jumped in, the prospect can seem plenty daunting. As someone who has been involved in all aspects of vintage-car racing for over 40 years, it seems appropriate for me to use this column as a platform to discuss the basics of what is involved.
My approach is that any racing car has two fundamental value sets: “collector” values and “weapons” values. The collector ones are not today’s topic. Weapons values have simply to do with how much fun you can have going out and playing with a car. If you want to get involved in weapons-grade racers, there is simply no reason to do so if you aren’t willing to play with them on the track.
That said, let’s set out the basic things that should be understood and considered before committing yourself to going vintage racing. I am going to try to do this through a series of aphorisms. To wit:
Vintage racing is about having fun and being social, not about winning.
There will always be a few serious guys out front trying to prove something. Let them go. Bring your wife and kids, wander around and talk with people, enjoy the day and the participatory car show. Driving fast without a nagging conscience is a joy.
The cheapest thing you will ever do in vintage racing is buy the car.
Old racing cars seldom change value much. Assuming that you are careful and rational in the purchase, and you don’t destroy it, any racing car will be worth some variation of what you paid for it when you choose to move it on.
What will end up costing money are start-up costs (a helmet, driving suit, HANS device, etc., will be well over $3,000) and consumables (tires, brakes, fuel, engine rebuilds about every 30 hours, routine maintenance, and fixing the inevitable whoopsie).
Also, how do you get the car to the track and who maintains it? This is not a small issue. At any level, racing is a very expensive pastime.
After the early 1960s, there is no such thing as a decent combination racing and touring car.
Technological change that accelerated in the mid-1960s caused a permanent split between being fun for road use and being competitive on the track. If you want a single car that does both, buy something earlier than 1964. Otherwise accept that your racing car is for track use only.
Make friends with your local vintage-racing shop.
Whether you want to do it all yourself or hire some level of support, these guys have been around the block and have already made most of the mistakes so you can avoid them. They should always be happy to help.
Do not try to convert your old sports car into a racer.
You can’t afford it and will be disappointed anyway. Buy some other guy’s dream project. Trust me on this.
Do not assume that you know how to drive a vintage race car.
Race driving at any level is a skill, like skiing or skateboarding, that you learn and improve over many hours of experience. It’s easier for some than others, but everybody starts out clumsy and slow; the only solution is hours spent doing it. Keep the mistakes small while you get better.
Being fast at a track day in your late-model Porsche 911 says nothing about driving a 50-year-old vintage racer.
Modern technology has spoiled most contemporary drivers. Working with skinny tires, marginal brakes, flexible chassis and unsophisticated suspensions requires skills that must be learned. Unless you started young on gravel, snow or ice, it’s not intuitive.
Don’t be in a hurry to have a fast car.
Speed is relative. You can have every bit as much fun skittering around the track in a Sprite or a Lotus as scaring yourself (and your fellow drivers) in a romping V8. Learning how to drive a slow car fast builds skills that translate to faster cars; having lots of horsepower can be a crutch that gets in the way of learning.
Starting out in a car with less than two liters is far smarter than impressing your friends. I’ve seen far too many people ruin their dreams and wallets trying to go too fast too soon.
If you love old machinery, adrenaline and the joys of playing on the edge of performance, vintage racing is the ultimate experience. It can be intimidating, but it shouldn’t be. Go talk to some friends, consider the advice I have offered, and enjoy the experience.
Thor Thorson is president of Vintage Racing Motors, a Seattle-area collector-car dealer and vintage-racing support operation. He has been actively involved with racing for over 40 years, dealing with racers from Ferraris to Sprites, but is mostly seen driving Elva sports racers.