I have been racing the same 66 nova for almost 20 years. It was just a rolling body when I bought it at the Pomona Swap meet for $1500.00 and it took me several years to turn it into a race car. No windows, no motor trans, no interior, no wiring, just a body and a really crappy frame.
I worked on it all the time.
It went 12's and then over time I kept working on it until it got in the nines.
A friend helped me do the body work and paint, and after years of racing it became a good car. Won a lot of races, but most importantly I got to meet lots of great racers along the way.
Recently I did a back half and a new cage. First pass out after all the new work I crashed it. Hit the wall in the front hard and then bounced back and hit the other wall with the rear hard.
Front frame rails bad, the rear frame rails bad, and the body ruined. (roof and doors still good).
Not sure why it crashed and I didn't get hurt.
Now I need to decide if I should fix or replace.
I have been looking for a 66 or 67 nova roller but no luck yet. Would love to find one and put my motor and trans in it and go racing again. But its hard to let go of the car that has been such a big part of me for so long.
Chassi guy says lots of work and money and time. I might be able to buy a roller for less money and get back to doing what I love.
But if I spend the money, and the time to fix my car, I will have my car back....
Its hard to say good bye.

Any advice from the racers out there?

I know how it’s hard to part ways with something like that, I raced my monza for 22 years but never crashed then built a new car and right now monza is sitting in my shed. I would got rid of it if I didn’t have a roof to park it under but for what I figure I would get for it I have held onto it incase something should happen to my monte.

Fix it. It has already shown it's loyalty to you. Return the favor. Take care. Tom Worthington

I would find out why it happened before making a decision what to do.

Strip everything useable off of it, find a new car and move on

^^^^^^^^^^^ Wise Financial advice X2

And since when has owning/racing a car you race had anything to do with financial sense?! Want financial sense? Stay the h*ll away from racing. Take care. Tom Worthington

quote:

Originally posted by Tom396:
And since when has owning/racing a car you race had anything to do with financial sense?!

If you are not financially limited then your analysis would make sense.

The wreck you own now is not the same car as before the wreck.
Time to write a new chapter in a new car.

quote:

Originally posted by markemark:

quote:

Originally posted by Tom396:
And since when has owning/racing a car you race had anything to do with financial sense?!

If you are not financially limited then your analysis would make sense.

You mean I am not financially limited and just didn't know it? Take care. Tom Worthington

I owned and raced my 69 Chevelle for 19 years, and I thought I would own it until I died. It was much like your story - bought it as a street car that needed restoration, slowly made it prettier and faster, won a few races with it, including two Wally's (a National Dragster Challenge and a King of the Track), etc. I loved it. Then two years ago a guy made me an offer to trade it for a car that had always been on my bucket list (a super nice 65 Impala) and I made the tough decision to let it go.

And here's the punch line - I have never missed the Chevelle, not for one minute. I still love it, but the new car brought new challenges and new enjoyment, and just a nice change of scenery. And it's slower than my Chevelle, but I don't mind that either. I've learned that (for me at least) bracket racing a slower car is just as much fun as racing a faster one.

You should move on to a new car.

quote:

The wreck you own now is not the same car as before the wreck.
Time to write a new chapter in a new car.

This!! I crashed my roadster twice. First time I had it fixed. Took it back to Brogie and he put it on the jig and 3500 bucks later I was back in business. About a year later I hit the wall again.

This time I said "no more" and decided to build something longer, more stable and yes, quicker and faster. Although I sometimes miss that ole roadster I certainly don't regret my decision.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Cars are inanimate objects.

Even though we get "attached" to them from years of care and nurture, they don't have feelings.

If you miss one thing on a crashed car it could cost you your life,not worth the risk.

I would agree that it's time to move on to a new car, especially if you're trying to consider the financial aspect of rebuilding vs. purchasing.

I would still try to determine what happened and why so you will not do it again.

I was going to tell you the same thing happened to a friend of. Then I realized it was you.
Get a new car Scott.

Scott,
If you find a good car to replace it chances are you will be paying less (maybe a lot less) than 100 cents on the dollar, if you fix it you're paying 100 cents on the dollar.............Good Luck.

Race Cars are tools to win races. I've raced my current car a long time, paid for itself over and over and I'd push it off a cliff if I needed to. Just a tool

quote:

Originally posted by Scott Creed:
Race Cars are tools to win races. I've raced my current car a long time, paid for itself over and over and I'd push it off a cliff if I needed to. Just a tool

Scott has a very valid point. If you view your hot rod as strictly a tool with a singular function of turning on win lights, it really does have no other value. I recently lost the engine in my Camaro after 40 years of faithful service. It was my daily driver, my occasional driver, and my "race car". I am planning on burying that old 396 in the backyard with a marker. Seriously. I know. I must be a total moron. Take care. Tom Worthington