Hey guys and gals. Im interested in building or buying a spec944 or spece30 and eventually competing in the nasa southeast region. I still have a ways to go with hpde's and developing track skills but I'm really interested in finding the right car. Spece30 seems to have more participation in this region, but the biggest hurdle for me is finding a a good car that is within a day's driving distance. To be honest my buddy down the road has already built a spece30 so I wouldn't mind trying the 944 route just to have a different challenge. So I registered here to listen, seek advice and hopefully find a 944 that I can race. If any of you know of a good 944 remotely close to the northwest Florida area please let me know. I'm not opposed to buying a built 944 but it will have to be cheaper than the standard $10k most seem to list for. What kind of participation is spec944 currently getting in this region? I'm posting from my iPhone and praying that I'm not triple posting

Spec 30 is by far the largest group in the SE, but if you want to be part of a growing group that is focused on building a quality series than consider 944. While this year we may only have 2-3, we are expecting 8+ for 2013.

One advantage that our group has is we pull together to do what ever it takes to grow our series.. You can see on the forums that if someone has the car and parts at the cost of a few beers he can get quality labor to put it all together.

Please contact Michael Dearstyne (JustMe Racing). He is the 944 Spec director for the southeast and will be more that eager to provide information.

Irb-

Welcome aboard. I think you will find the band of SE 944Spec racers small, but friendly. Michael is the only one of us to get his license thus far, but he is egging encouraging us all to get our cars together quickly. He is a good series-head and I think NASA did a good job picking him.

My son and I are planning the same thing as you have discussed, but we have gone the build-it-yourself route. We have progressed to the DE2/3 level with a stock 944. We just scored a HANS, thanks to Norman, so we hope to have a cage in soon. It is a work in progress, but we get to learn to drive while we prepare the car.

I now have the car in the air, getting new suspension, rebuilt brakes, and a host of other little goodies (I can hear Michael saying - finally...)

Where are you located? Maybe you can meet us at an event and we can discuss the series.

Thanks for the replies. I'm definitely leaning towards the 944 route, but it will come down to which car I find first. I do live the build get-to-togethers you guys have. The pics show some good times and all for the price of beer (I <3 beer). Do you have Michael Dearstyne's contact info? I'll be sure to get in touch with him to enquire about any good candidate cars for spec 944. Also was he at the recent nasa event in Tennessee? 2 if my friends ( 1 spece30, 1 miata) were there and spoke with a fellow spec 944 owner and I believe he was a director. I saw pics of his 944 with the Gulf Oil themed paint job, which looked awesome in te photos. Again thanks for the input.

I have passed your info to Michael. I know of two 944s that the group has worked on that are for sale. One was our first build party. Brian will have the details of the two as they are currently stored at the Chicken Shack.

Hi Irb-

We do have a couple cars for sale at the shack- one is a turnkey racecar with SCCA, NASA and PCA logbooks. Michael would know better than I would but I think all it needs is a 2nd door bar and it would be ready to race.

The other car is our project car- an 83 with factory manual steering. We started it in January and put it on hold to build Jason's car. If you want to participate in the build of your car this one would be good- it's already been gutted and has had the bottom end of the engine rebuilt, a new head, and the timing belt has been replaced. It still needs the cage, suspension, etc.

We're having another build party this weekend to finish Jason's car and you are welcome to attend and see the cars in person. The shop/shack is in Cumming, GA (north of Atlanta)- PM me for the address.