Just a few thoughts... don't race a car you can't replace in a heartbeat, or have general feelings about. As Neil McCauley said "Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner." An Alfa Bertone 1750 makes a beautiful vintage track car, provided somebody can spend the 60-80k on it, but once you bin it, you're out of the fun ride for the few weeks (months) as it is getting rebuilt. Have some mechanical ability or get ready to spend a few grand every race on your mechanic. It is _not_ that hard to change/bleed brakes, or take rotors to a machine shop to have them turn your attempts of "bedding in" race pads down. Take a cheap and plentiful (japanese) car, I personally wouldn't shy away from an E90 3-Series but only because I already have Beemer exposure - maybe buy an E46, but be wary of rust in the rear axle carrier panel, also I wouldn't buy an E30, they are getting ridiculously expensive and truth be told, they are not that great handlers. Suspension, brakes and tires are your best helpers. The best companies making custom racecars almost never touch or tune the engine but will spend half a million in research just to raise the rear diff an inch. Spring for an adjustable suspension or you'll find out why there's a grand difference between the same company's unadjustable shock. No need for 5-way, remote reservoir spacecraft stuff, just a regular 3-way and you'll be flying over corners you previously had to lift for. Brake pads, what Jack wrote... there are more than a dozen companies making racing pads, Hawk, Pagid, Endless (if you can swing it - the MA45B is worth every damn penny) - these companies will help you choose a suitable combo, and always use new pads on a new/newly-turned rotor. Tires, again, like the brakes, these are wear items, you can literally buy anything with a semi-slick compound then hear somebody in the pitlane talk crap about them. Can't go too wrong with the ones the performance manufacturers like AMG or the M-Group are putting on their cars. And try to have fun.
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