Need Your Opinion:75 Astre

[lsxSim]

Hey Guys,
I found this cool 75 Astre for sale. I’m trying to get into drag racing and thought this would be a good light weight starter car. Let me know what you think of it and what you think it’s worth. So far, I know the car is setup for a sbc, it has stock front suspension and has a ladder bar back suspension. The car has been narrowed and tubbed and has 5 lug Strange axles in the back. In addition, it has a 12 bolt posi rear end with maybe 5.67 spool gears.

[lsxSim]

More pictures

[Fasterthansome]

IMO I would pass on it regardless of price.

[lsxSim]

IMO I would pass on it regardless of price.

Why?

[Fasterthansome]

The money and time involved in making that car track worthy would far exceed the cost of a decent rolling chassis IMO. To be honest I see nothing of any use on that car. If you could find a semi clean bone stock chassis at a reasonable price you would be further ahead.

[cjbiagi]

Looks pretty rough even for race car standards. Why not consider the Baldwin Vega that's been shown here?

[chevyart]

that car scares me. look for another one. there are plenty cars out there that are ready to go rolling chassis. good luck art

[lsxSim]

Thanks guys, I appreciate your comments.
The seller wanted 1300 for it, that’s why I considered getting it. I have a slim budget, so I can’t afford the Baldwin Vega. I guess I’ll keep saving up.

[cjbiagi]

Drag racing (or any type of racing) is not cheap. Like anything else it's "pay me now or pay me later" when building a car. I always believe in spending more money upfront to get the best possible car to start with instead of buying something real cheap and pouring tons into it.

[Fasterthansome]

Be patient you can find a better start for 1300. Even a stock chassis will get you there easier and less time and $$ than the car you posted.

[SeniorSavage]

when we used to drag race out at the old Gimli airstrip the guys had a joke which went ..

"how do you make a million dollars drag racing?" and of course the answer is ..

"you start with two! (million)"

meaning that drag racing is a VERY expensive sport. a literal money-pit. I figure that it cost us about 10 thousand dollars every second we gained on the track so .. all i'm saying is be prepared for a LOT of money to go into your car with little or no hope of ever seeing it again because once you customize or hot rod your car its only that valuable to you! you wont ever get a fraction of what you put into your car when its time to move on to another. its saddening when it happens but thats the nature of it i guess..

honestly, i'd look for something else as well - that car has the benefit of a few racing mods (the cage, rear end and the racing dash) but you're also getting a TON of problems and heartache for your money. I've built a dragger from the ground up and i wouldn't take that car unless it was FREE.

sorry.

and good luck,
Todd

[Bullet]

There's different strokes for different folks, the great thing about drag racing and why its growing by leaps and bounds is that anybody can do it. I live 2 miles from an awesome track, Thunder Valley, Bristol, TN. and I've watched as the crowds and participants have gotten bigger and bigger. That car is ruff, like a dog goes ruff, and I agree with everyone above on that car. Don't let the money pit scenario scare you off racing though. It is what you make of it. Find something light weight, put a strong but reliable motor in it, and go have some fun. You can have a blast racing class racing and not put a fortune in it. I know a guy here local that races all he can, he's been running the same car with the same engine for 15 years now, other than general maintenance and freshening the motor a couple times, he hasn't dropped any significant money in it since he built it. The expense is directly related to the E.T., that's a fact and I agree that you can certainly get to a point that you're paying $10g per each second faster, or even each tenth faster, but you can also just go out and race to have a good time. Myself, I can never go fast enough so I just have to put what I can into it as I can which means I spend a lot of time down while waiting for the cash for the next improvement but the build is what I enjoy most. Seeing if my work and ingenuity can out run the other guy's ingenuity. There's something in drag racing for everyone.