Rally/Hillclimb Car Ideas

So I've been lurking here for a while, and after spending this past weekend at Pike's Peak, it's time for a new project!!

My budget is ideally under $5k, but I can stretch that a bit if the need arises. That's just the cost of the car, parts etc. not included.

I live in Colorado, and would like to build a rally/hillclimb car.

My biggest concern is altitude. Is a forced induction car necessary? The lowest altitude I'd be racing the car at is ~6000 ft, but a lot of times would be much higher.

I'd like to pick a platform that has big potential for growth so that the car can grow with me.

Needs: Good handling.

Wants: AWD. Fuel injection. Turbo(s).

So far I've come up with an E30 or a Z car (cheap + fun, right?), but it's slim pickings out here from what I've come across so far.

Any ideas, no matter how crazy, are appreciated.

"Wants: AWD. Fuel injection. Turbo(s)."

Subaru.

Turbo truck LS swapped S10 with G body circle track suspension(this bolts up IIRC) and a Astro van transfer case. The craptastic nature of GM products is made up for wholly by the parts bin nature of them.

Or just go vanilla and buy a beater WRX.

DSM maybe? I'm not really into them but they tick the right boxes and have done well enough in rallying etc. If I'm not mistaken there's basically an Evo drivetrain under there, right?

Volvo 242 with twin turbo 4.8.

Are these AWD?

I'd imagine if you didn't need it be road legal you could find some cheap no-title salvage/flood Subarus.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: Turbo truck LS swapped S10 with G body circle track suspension(this bolts up IIRC) and a Astro van transfer case. The craptastic nature of GM products is made up for wholly by the parts bin nature of them.

Now ya done it... the gears are turnin' in my brain now

More inspiration:

That's a Blazer used for hillclimbs.

The_Jed wrote: "Wants: AWD. Fuel injection. Turbo(s)." Subaru.

Beaten, I was gonna say GC Impreza. Use aftermarket management with a reference MAP sensor to adjust the boost to compensate for altitude.

Some seriously awesome replies here. Need road legal for the time being.

I was originally thinking Impreza/2.5 RS/WRX, there's a million of them here in Colorado, but they command a HUGE premium. Like $10k for 10+ years old and 100k+ miles. Those boxer motors also take some serious $$$ to get higher HP numbers out of them.

That Blazer... I like the idea of a small truck... hmmm...

And the Audi quattro? Probably one of my favorite cars of all time. Really difficult to find one around here though. I'm not sure I've ever seen one for sale.

I don't know for rallying in the state, but up here, rally cars must remain road legal.

And for the Blazer, you could put something like this in it.

Join various the Rally and SCCA forums, and probably up your budget a bit and buy an already built car with a log book. It'll be waaaaaaay cheaper in the long run.

I've seen ready-to-run rally cars on SCCAforums.com for not much more than your budget.

I'm a Subaru fanboi to the core, but I'd still start with an E30. Cheap, simple, tough, RWD, easy parts availability, plenty of room for more power later.

Miata.

DaveEstey wrote: Miata.

Agreed.

Autocross

Rallycross

Hillclimbs https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3975152785257&l=9100509840171394877

I suggest the most durable car you can find. Something that has a reputation for being cheap to maintain. Miata fits the bill, Subaru fits the bill, older VW fits the bill. Older BMW.

Concentrate on reliable and inexpensive parts. It's a hell of a lot more fun driving a slower car than fixing a fast car. It's far more friend to visit with friends at the these events than having your nose under the hood.

e30. You can find a good driver in decent shape for ~$3k and then have some money left over for prep and improvements. Plus there are many engine swap options available that are basically drop-in.

Cutlass.

In reply to pres589:

SC/Rambler

He said "rally", not "rally-cross". That's the bit that you guys seem to be missing. Different safety requirements closer to GCR than AX/RX/TT and will almost always make buying an already built car cheaper than building one.

Hillclimb and Rally safety requirements are a near match. Our tech guys are also the tech guys for rally America.

DaveEstey wrote: Hillclimb and Rally safety requirements are a near match. Our tech guys are also the tech guys for rally America.

Class? I've been told/read a rally car needs a full cage, vs. the roll-bar set-up that can be used in many street (autocross) type classes in Hillclimb (a budy of mine is a tech for the SCCA/PHA series up here). There was a big huff a few years about a move to requiring full cages in most cars. A few guys quit because they didn't want to put a full cage in thier car.

From what I remember you can't use a Miata in rally america but you can in NASA.