Lets discuss buying a Mark VIII for a weeknd racer project

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KyleH

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I know I cant be the only one who thought of this. Find a Mark VIII that maybe has a problem or two, perhaps a 93 in need of a trans rebuild or some airbags. Strip all the weight out of it that you possibly can and make it a cheap weekend racer to take to circle tracks, drag strip and auto x events/tune days.

Has anyone investigated this seriously or done it?

I figure a set of gears, a lot of weight reduction (I mean A LOT), a shot of nitrous, and a built trans would make a pretty reliable and quick/fun car to do this with. Even if you don't break out of the 13s just the excitement of driving a car that'd be significantly lower, lighter weight, no sound deadening, A/C, or Dash would be fun.

I am thinking I could get away with this for like $2000-2500, does that sound reasonable to you if I spent $700 on the car?

I miss the days of having a project and having my supercharged Mark VIII but dont want to get the reliability problems of a Supercharged Mark VIII or really the cost.
 
this guy aaron turned his 93 into a drag car, but its 100% road legal still, he said he can take it on any road but the car doesnt like to drive at low rpm! its pretty gutted though, stock door panels and dash thats all thats left inside it.

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and this is it currently with fresh paint. i was just on the phone with him a few days ago, he has this 93 and another deep jewel green 95 he has bought stuff off us for both cars. nice guy too.
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Any idea what its got for mods, times and weight? By the looks of those wheels I am guessing that's got a narrower solid axle under it?
 
KyleH said:
I know I cant be the only one who thought of this. Find a Mark VIII that maybe has a problem or two, perhaps a 93 in need of a trans rebuild or some airbags. Strip all the weight out of it that you possibly can and make it a cheap weekend racer to take to circle tracks, drag strip and auto x events/tune days.

Has anyone investigated this seriously or done it?

I figure a set of gears, a lot of weight reduction (I mean A LOT), a shot of nitrous, and a built trans would make a pretty reliable and quick/fun car to do this with. Even if you don't break out of the 13s just the excitement of driving a car that'd be significantly lower, lighter weight, no sound deadening, A/C, or Dash would be fun.

I am thinking I could get away with this for like $2000-2500, does that sound reasonable to you if I spent $700 on the car?
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That's funny that you are asking these questions. I was thinking about doing the same thing to my '93 today while driving the '98 to work. I really was just thinking of stripping it down to nothing and running it down the strip a few times all in the name of having fun.

If you seriously wish to do this, I have a '93 that runs well in my driveway taking up space. It needs to go elsewhere. Well within your price range too :D
 
If you're looking for the novelty factor of doing it a mark 8. All power to ya.

But there are other vehicles available that will make life much easier and things quite a bit cheaper to be competitive at drag racing or auto x etc.
 
kyle it has a chromoly tube chassis back half with a ford 9 inch rear, all forged internals and runs mid 9 seconds i believe on the bottle. i forget how big a shot he runs though. its far from stock i know that!
 
thats sick. i have thought about it too. a t-45 swap, 3.73s, and a 150 or a blower and you would lay waste to TONS of people on the street and they would never see it coming.
 
maxmk8 said:
If you're looking for the novelty factor of doing it a mark 8. All power to ya.

But there are other vehicles available that will make life much easier and things quite a bit cheaper to be competitive at drag racing or auto x etc.
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It was more my knowledge of the cars, the ease of finding them in not destroyed/riced condition, and price.

I am open to your suggestions though. I am not really interested in being "competitive" but if something can go faster for cheaper without a ton of effort (I.E. I could put a 500CI caddy motor in a fox body and put a nitrous plate on it with a TH400 behind it for pretty cheap, but that's a lot of work.)
 
maxmk8 said:
If you're looking for the novelty factor of doing it a mark 8. All power to ya.

But there are other vehicles available that will make life much easier and things quite a bit cheaper to be competitive at drag racing or auto x etc.
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Anyone can make a fox body mustang fast :D
 
Put a good drivetrain behind the 4.6 with nitrous and the Mark VIII on a serious diet could compete with most 'street legal' drag cars.

Start with a stock car and a built tranny(the weakest link), add a serious high stall converter(4000+ stall), 3.73 gears and a 'stock friendly' 75 shot with a good tune. Upgrade the valve springs to allow 6500-7000 rpms. Ditch the fuel tank for a fuel cell. Even adding some bracing and you could still easily strip 500+ lbs out of the car. I'd say you should be able to get in the 3000-3500 weight range. That should be good for low 12s, possibly high 11s. A bit more on the edge and you could be asking for a cage. :D
 
KyleH said:
It was more my knowledge of the cars, the ease of finding them in not destroyed/riced condition, and price.

I am open to your suggestions though. I am not really interested in being "competitive" but if something can go faster for cheaper without a ton of effort (I.E. I could put a 500CI caddy motor in a fox body and put a nitrous plate on it with a TH400 behind it for pretty cheap, but that's a lot of work.)
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Camaro z28/SS with the LS1. You can have one for under 10k now in GOOD shape.

here is one for 5500 (in my area) http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/914979923.html this will smoke any mark VIII down the 1/4 and around a track.

The mark VIII is meant to be a cruiser and not meant to go like a bat out of hell down the 1/4 mile. This camaro will be loud and uncomfortable and it has a nasty interior. But hell you don't care since you want a weekend racer.

The camaro is already at 3400 lbs or so and has 305-320 rwhp...

You would seriously need to gut a mark and snap on a blower to even keep up :(.

You also may want to consider a retired P71... slap on a blower...
 
I think its very doable especially if you are cool with a 13 second car. Take a few hundred pounds off, do a 150 shot of nitrous and 4.10 gears (minimum), stall converter/exhaust and it should be good to go till it blows up. :D
 
maxmk8 said:
Camaro z28/SS with the LS1. You can have one for under 10k now in GOOD shape.

here is one for 5500 (in my area) http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/914979923.html this will smoke any mark VIII down the 1/4 and around a track.

The mark VIII is meant to be a cruiser and not meant to go like a bat out of hell down the 1/4 mile. This camaro will be loud and uncomfortable and it has a nasty interior. But hell you don't care since you want a weekend racer.

The camaro is already at 3400 lbs or so and has 305-320 rwhp...

You would seriously need to gut a mark and snap on a blower to even keep up :(.

You also may want to consider a retired P71... slap on a blower...
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Thats all true but it just wouldn't be as much fun. ;)
 
max it may be intended to be a cruiser car, but its a hell of alot more impressive to see a 12 second mark or faster vs your million of them on the road camaro. i love seeing marks done up to race, you cant tell me the green one i posted pics of doesnt give you a chubby, i think the car looks bad ass.
 
jamies98lsc said:
max it may be intended to be a cruiser car, but its a hell of alot more impressive to see a 12 second mark or faster vs your million of them on the road camaro. i love seeing marks done up to race, you cant tell me the green one i posted pics of doesnt give you a chubby, i think the car looks bad ass.
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lol is that a technical term?

Yea I think its great as I said... novelty factor is there for sure. But hey with money you can make anything go fast. I'd love to have a tricked out mark that loves low 13/high12s but that would require more money than a better comparable car is worth :(. And I'd never get it back ...
 
maxmk8 said:
Camaro z28/SS with the LS1. You can have one for under 10k now in GOOD shape.

here is one for 5500 (in my area) http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/914979923.html this will smoke any mark VIII down the 1/4 and around a track.

The mark VIII is meant to be a cruiser and not meant to go like a bat out of hell down the 1/4 mile. This camaro will be loud and uncomfortable and it has a nasty interior. But hell you don't care since you want a weekend racer.

The camaro is already at 3400 lbs or so and has 305-320 rwhp...

You would seriously need to gut a mark and snap on a blower to even keep up :(.

You also may want to consider a retired P71... slap on a blower...
Click to expand...

Under 10,000 hahaha I am talking about like 2000 and if I slapped in a posi and a set of 4.10s and dropped 500lbs from the Mark VIII it'd probably keep up with a Z28 but cost around $1500 for a 93. I'd love to have an LS1 but I dont have 5,500 to be dropping on a toy. I am 19. I live at home. I dont have a "real" job. (Or at leasta job where I make much money.)
 
KyleH said:
Under 10,000 hahaha I am talking about like 2000 and if I slapped in a posi and a set of 4.10s and dropped 500lbs from the Mark VIII it'd probably keep up with a Z28 but cost around $1500 for a 93. I'd love to have an LS1 but I dont have 5,500 to be dropping on a toy. I am 19. I live at home. I dont have a "real" job. (Or at leasta job where I make much money.)
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How are you going to keep up with a car that already weighs 500lbs less than a mark and has an extra 100 RWHP... ?! 4.10 ain't going to help.

Besides running that quick in a mark will break parts... and to do it right you need to spend some money...

Didn’t you fry the transmission in your 98 after slapping a supercharger on without getting adequate cooling?!
 
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