Hi John,
Big one. Many questions, many answers to each question.
Pretty much the only real advantage to buying a new one is that you know it's pristine. On the other hand, many teams will buy a new car from 600 racing, then chop the front and back clips off, and put them back on with their own jigs, or put new ones on with their own jigs. It seems that their is a feeling that the quality control isn't quite there for wilding up the clips. They tack the clips into place them weld them at a later time, sometimes the length of time between when the clip was tacked on and when it was final welded is sufficiently long enough that the clip has sagged and is no longer true. I can't comment on this personally.
As for the engine... You can get the sealed 1250 basic, or get it with the pinned cam, heavy duty valve springs, heavy duty clutch, and steel sleeves. This will make it a longer lasting engine, and should keep it's refresh cycle at more than double the basic engine.
Is built engine faster than the basic engine? Not sure.
I bought a used car. For this, I'm not at all sorry. This car has been well tested, and the previous owner is a great racer. He knows his car, and is a pro at setups. This car runs beautifully. So by buying a used car, I've managed to save a little money and come away with a car that is a proven winner. I will however have to rebuild the engine next year. I should be able to make it through this season. But there again is the difference between a well built engine and a basic engine. This engine has seen 3 1/2 seasons already. It's been at the front of the track for most of that time, yet it still pulls strong, and the compression is still good.
How experienced a driver are you? If you're new, you can afford to get a used car that is just so good. If the clips a pretty straight, and the chassis hasn't been beaten up, you probably won't be able to realize the benefits of a really cherry chassis for the first year. After that you can decide to either upgrade or fix the old one. You can always sell it off after the first year and look for a better one. If you're experienced and are good at setup, you'll be able to overcome some deficiencies, but then again, you'll be able to spot the really bad ones before buying. If you have an eye on a car, ask around from others at the track it's raced at. They'll usually let you know if the car is a good runner or not.
The difference between a $6-7k and 10+k car? Extra goodies. Like newer, stainless exhaust, heavy duty clutch, red box ignition, built sealed motor, better rims, body and chassis in cherry condition, some extras like brake bias (Don't forget new Inex rules on those. Any more than one and you'll be removing them.) Tac with memory. Gear indicator lights. Fire suppression system. Don't forget to look for aluminum spindles. (Another change to Inex rules. Going to need to replace steel spindles.) Better quality springs. Cut new tires instead of old tires. Many things to add onto a car to drive the price up. But really, the biggest reason for a $10+K car is the owner thinks it's the bomb and is worth more than the others. Once in a while they're right! Sometimes they are worth even more.
You could start off with a roller and throw in an unsealed motor and save some money if you're good with engines... I was tempted, but wanted to have a surer bet for my first car. I may yet do that for a second car for my wife. Means I can absorb the cost in stages, and buy as I can afford.
There is nothing wrong with an unsealed motor. I've seen unsealed and the front of the pack. If you're a good builder, you can make a really strong motor. The advantage with a sealed motor is less hassles with inspections and between races. Then again, you incur a much higher cost to rebuild a sealed motor. You have to send it in to 600 racing. They only have two sites that will be building motors. You can expect some wait times for this. If you're a good mechanic, you can put your own motor together, and rebuild it for much less money. (Thousands cheaper potentially.)
I can't say if a fresh motor from 600 is going to competitive enough. Anyone? I know that some out there have bought one and gotten anywhere from 1 to 6 races and kabloom. Is that from the way it was broken in? Don't know. I know someone else that had to buy a brand new motor at the nationals and install it the night before, and did pretty good with it until others in front of him tangled him up. It's likely a good motor, and will serve you well, but there have been a few dismal failures.
As you pointed out, used cars have the advantage of often coming with spare parts. If you're just starting out, this can be a really cheap way to get yourself geared up for racing. If you can buy a car from someone getting out of legend racing, all the better. You'll often get things like tools, setup jigs, wheel base gauge, quick jack, extra rims and tires, sometimes even spare bodies as well as lots of spare rods, heims, rear ends, bumpers, etc. That can save you a couple thousand in spares you will likely have bought before the first season was out. If you're really the deal may even include a spare engine ready to race, but with a dozen or so races on it.
I'm sure some more experienced racers will have lots more advice for you, but here's my little piece of it!
Good luck, and go for it!
Mike
