Nick_440 said:yeah the snowmobile engines I'm thinking about using are really trick, lets hope I can afford it. plus the 2 speed only weighs 45 bs, I think i can build this thing under 1200 lbs.
as to where I've been: hooning cars, washing dishes, and working on robots in Rockford Il. I moved up to Williston ND when I got out of high school in October and now I'm making enough to race.
I'm all for the Imperial in rallycross, just as long as you're totally clear that it will absolutely not be competitive in rallycross, no matter what you do to it. But awesomeness factor alone will make up for its slowness,as long as you're ok with that.. The real key is to make sure you build it to not break, since rallycross is hard on cars (in some cases, harder than stage rally, especially suspension lateral loads), and breaking sucks.,whether going slow or fast. I know nothing about Imperials and how stout their body, suspension, etc is, so I'll assume you know better than I do on that account!
So as to the stage rally thing.... I want to preface that I totally dig your creative thinking, and I LOVE to see old cars rally (usually my '85 BMW is one of the oldest cars at any given rally). And man, I'd love to see that. But, for your sake I'll also dump in as the voice of reason here, since I've been rallying for several years now. A few things to think about:
1) I haven't looked at NASA Rally rules too recently, but I sure don't remember any way you could put snowmobile engines into a 1930s car and make it street legal (a requirement for stage rally). Same goes for CRS in Canada. I could be wrong, but if bike/snowmobile engines were legal, I would assume people would already be using them.
2) NASA rally is slowly dying (in my opinion), at least in the easter US where only Sandblast is left. If you build a car for NRS rules, it may not be able to be used in ARA, which sanctions most of the rallies in the US these days. And I'm quite sure that the snowmobile engine thing is not legal for ARA, nor a 1200-lb weight, etc.
3) Nothing sucks more in rally than DNF'ing due to a mechanical failuer. So my advice for rally would be to build a platform that can be built to be reliable and strong within the rules. There's some freedom to do oddball cars (hell, we had an early-90s Thunderbird at STPR this year), and they're crowd favorites but rarely competitive or reliable.
So while that sounds like a cool idea, read the rulebooks before you actually start anything. Not trying to be a killjoy, but rally rules are extremely particular about what you can and can't do, especially when it comes to drivetrains and safety. . and don't want you to spend a lot of time and money on things and then find out you can't compete in it. Because we definitely need some more old, oddball cars on stage - even if they're not radical with snowmobile motors. A 30s ford with a big block would be just as awesome :)
As to making enough to rally: No idea what you make,or how much you've looked into it, but budget a bare minimum of $2000 for a single rally. And that's if you're sleeping in a tent and crewing for yourself and it's not a super-long tow. We do it pretty low-budget and I think most ralllies cost us $2500-3000 staying in cheap motels or crashing with friends. The entry, license, crew licenses, etc all add up quick. Not to mention the price of cage, seats, harnesses, HANS, helmets, trailer/tow rig, and all the other gear that it's good not to cheap out on!
Also, you should run gravel tires, if you can. The stiffer sidewalls should be way less likely to debead than snows, with a heavy/understeering car in rallycross. They come in 14" and 15" sizes so should fit the smaller wheels yo'd probably run on the Imperial.
So.,sorry to be the boring one citing rules and stuff lol......I'm still excited to see what you're going to build. Make sure to document it in the build section here on GRM!