I'm building a Lotus 7 clone that will primarily be a D Mod autocross car. However it will be track day use, and I'd like to do hill climbs.
What is required of the car and driver to run SCCA hillclimbs? I know I need a cage, and was planning on a 1.5"x.120 rollbar with bolt-on full cage of the same material for when I hit the track, but I can leave the weight off for autocross. When looking for specs I see that there are many different rules for different classes, and I'm not sure where I would be legal.
I'm also wondering about the fuel cell, harnesses, HANS, seat, and other requirements. I could make the car street legal and be exempt from much of the regs, but it seems my time and money would be better spent making the car safer than circumventing rules.
So, what class(es) can I run? This will be a fendered, ~1200lb, 1.6L (later 2.0L) car on slicks, although I'll probably have DOT tires as well. Among those classes, how do the safety regs differ? And, what do I have to do as far as driver's schools, licensing, logbooks, registering the car, etc.?
Sorry for all the basic questions, but the GCR and TT rules are a lot to process. It looks like I can do what I want with a well-designed bolt-on low-front-hoop cage and permanent rollbar, and may need a real metal-body bladdered fuel cell, but other than that my 6-pt 3" harness, Al race bucket (or foam bead seat?) plans fit fine anywhere. But before I buy and build, I'd love to get some feedback and make sure I'll be okay down the road!
-Philip Maynard
No weenies!