How Would You Build Your Racecar for Under $30K?

After many years of watching from the sideline and getting my feet wet with high-performance driving schools, I’ve finally decided to commit and begin vintage racing.

The nice thing about vintage racing is that you can get going with as little as $10,000 or less, or go crazy and spend millions. In my case, I set a budget of $30,000 for buying and fully preparing a race car. Naturally, it had to be an Alfa Romeo.

I decided to go with a 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti that already had all the necessary modifications to get started in racing:

– Lightened bodywork (i.e. stripped of everything unnecessary including crossmembers, door panels, etc.)

– Alfa Romeo 2 litre motor with hot Petatori cams, Speri head, 11:1 compression, total 186 HP

– Marelliplex electronic ignition

– Shankle headers

– Side exhaust

– Limited Slip Differential

– Race oil pump and oil cooler

– Shankle sway bars

– Sparco race seats and 5-point harnesses

– Ward & Dean springs with Koni shocks

– Upgraded brakes

– Half roll-cage

– Fuel cell

All in, the purchase and setup has cost me $26,000, leaving me enough to eventually fix up the body blemishes and paint it properly.

So, how would you build your ideal vintage racer if you had a $30,000 budget?

Photography by Aaron McKenzie for Petrolicious