I am trying to make my 87 into a streetable open track car (but since I am a poor college student that may not be happen until 2039) but I figured the vast knowledge of the interwebs could help me figure out where to start.

What needs to be done to make a Fox track worthy? I'm not looking to tear up the track but I don't want my car to disintegrate either. Eventually I will change the suspension and whatnot but I just want to get on track!

Where to start?

 

I'd say to start replace all the bushings in the car with urethane pieces. I think both Prothane and Energy Suspension sells "total bushing kits". The next and probably most important thing to do is chassis bracing. Strut tower brace, subframe connectors (full length preferably), K-member brace, and maybe even a rear shock tower brace.

Then I'd look at shocks/struts/springs. I recommend Koni or Bilstein, stay away from KYB, I have the AGX adjustables and they don't seem to be any better than stock. You can choose to keep the conventional springs and buy something like the Eibach Sportline springs (lower stance than their street series Pro-Kit and higher spring rate I believe) or you can convert to a coil-over setup. A coil-over kit will allow for sharper handling without having some ungodly 850lb spring rate and bruised kidneys.

For the rear of the car you need new upper and lower control arms. Don't get cheapo ebay arms, I'm hard on for Maximum Motorsports stuff so I'm always gonna recommend them for about everything. I have their "standard duty" tubular steel lower control arms which have aluminum bushings at one end and progressively stiffer urethane bushings at the other. They recommend simple FRPP upper control arms which are still rubber but twice as stiff and the same spec as SN95 uppers. They don't recommend urethane bushings for the upper arms because they can bind when pushed hard on track and make handling worse. You can also install a panhard bar which will help keep the rear in place when you're carving but a few months ago I learned from SVOpaul about Watts Links: http://www.fays2.net/fays2_watts_link_17_.html. I'm sure they'll work better than a panhard bar but they're a little pricey.

Brakes, very important and very expensive. SSBC, Baer, Brembo; I've heard nothing but good things about all of them. This is when you can swap to 5-lugs if you want, a 5-lug conversion would allow you to run brakes from an SN95 so instead of spending 2,000 bucks you can spend about 600 or so and have decent Cobra-spec brakes, but they won't be nearly as good on track as the big brake kits.

Then theres the hardcore stuff like a tubular K-members and A-arms. They reduce weight, can increase wheel base, and can allow the engine to sit lower and further back. Griggs sells SLA front conversion kits which is the same setup that supercars have. Theres also small stuff like caster/camber plates which allow for more alignment adjustment. Aluminum steering rack bushings, solid steering shafts which eliminate the rubber rag-joint and remove the play from the steering wheel. Theres lots of smaller stuff that can all add up to make a big difference in handling.

Tires are also very important, good sticky tires. They won't be cheap and they won't last long. I'm not sure whats a good open track tire but Michelin's Pilot Sport is supposed to work well, I'm sure you can find good tires for cheaper though.

Browse around at www.maximummotorsports.com and http://www.griggsracing.com you can find a lot of info there as well as prices.

I'm sure I missed some stuff and hopefully didn't get anything wrong. SVOpaul is a road-course guy and I'm sure he'll chime in with his recommendations.

 

^^^ that pretty much sums it up, though IMO, do the chassis bracing first so the suspension can do its job a little better - some good tires, and you can never have too much braking power... kind of redundant, but try and scour e-bay for some good deals. IIRC, SN95 brakes.com or something like that is a good resource for 5-lug conversion knowledge and parts listings.
hope you are able to pull this off.

 

My question is the same as budders and am begging to follow some of the posted advice. I purchased a Prothane total kit. The instructions and advice I received say to use a coping saw and torch to cut and melt the rubber away to make room for the urethane. Quite a job. Does this sound right. The first control arm has been a bear. If so hopefully my skill curve will climb quick.

 

Getting the rubber bushings out for even professionals is a pain. The rubber is kind of stuck where it is (melted?) and does not usually want to move, and since it isn't a solid you usually can't get away with just pushing them out. I would suggest taking a look at MM's "tool" that they sell for the IRS bushing removal and fab something like that up for your specific use to help the process along a bit.

I agree that chassis stiffening should be first, then worry about bushings. Often times the convenience of new control arms trumps the price difference.

 

re: suspension bushingsor you could just buy a master bushing kit and have everything you need