What car? Rally on a budget.

EvanB wrote:

Aeromoto wrote: I know no one wants to hear Miata, but here in CFR we have some Miatas that do really well. One of them runs in modified and it's a friggin rocket. But yeah, 6'7" ain't happening in a Miata

Can't run a Miata with Rally America.

Personally I wouldn't worry with Rally America, from what I hear they may not be around for the long haul.

I'd recommend building to the NASA / SCCA rally specs, in which you can run a convertible if it has a factory hardtop. No aftermarket, must be factory

In reply to HiTempguy:

they aren't all gone, I still make my DSM that was a SCCA era car, with logbook, originally built by Nui. It's available for sale, but not "listed" anywhere. Price is cheap, but definitely wouldn't fit 6'7" as 6'2" is too big for it.

As for the OP, I'd look at a few options (some of which have been covered)

MKIII VW Golf, or MKIV (bonus for TDI in the MKIV, good clean MKIIs shells are getting tougher to find, as is parts support, which is there but fading which the exception of lower quality stuff, cost of entry in building a MKIII or MKIV would likely be cheaper then a MKII and you'll have a stiffer chassis as a starting point

Focus, bonus points if you get a duratec powered one.

16V first gen neon

BG chassis Mazda/Ford

Volvo 240

Civic hatch

B13 SE-R

Hyundai Accent, or even earlier Elantra. These are underutilized starting points, some guy named Millen will give great pointers and has a shed full of spare parts if you go this route as well.

Tercel or Corolla (manual trans of course) if you can score a Yaris in your budget that would work as well.

E30 or E36

Ford Ranger or Mazda Bxxxx pickup

captdownshift wrote: In reply to HiTempguy: they aren't all gone, I still make my DSM that was a SCCA era car, with logbook, originally built by Nui. It's available for sale, but not "listed" anywhere. Price is cheap, but definitely wouldn't fit 6'7" as 6'2" is too big for it.

And its "cheap"? That was probably the biggest modifier in my post, funny how that got left out :p

And a car not advertised is a car not for sale in my books. Or the person is literally the worst salesman on the face of the planet. Seems to be a common thing with rallyists though... Either way, your singular car does not change the fact that between the years I've listed, there was a glut of inexpensive cars needing updates, and most have been bought, raced, or are long gone.

Can't you just find a shorter co-driver?

Volvo 240s were mentioned earlier. If you have a really tall co-driver, that's the way to go. I'm 6'5", and with a sunroof, stock seats and wearing a helmet I still had several inches of headroom. They're also built like tanks, they're super common, really easy to tune and have quite tossable handling on loose surfaces. Because they were built for decades, and they are pretty much the default car in Scandinavian club rallying, there is a massive parts catalog available. The same also goes for 140s if you want to dabble in Historic since they are basically identical inside, and 740s if you want something newer.

I actually really miss my GT. Wish I hadn't sold it.

In reply to HiTempguy:

I agree and you're correct. Rallyist are amongst the worst about selling their cars. I think that we secretly hold onto hope that we'll sometime campaign them again. A logbooked AWD Talon TSi sounds so good on paper, and it legitimately quick with it's current setup, but it doesn't make it a fun place to spend a weekend.

Rally a Subaru Forester. Serious headroom in there, AWD, and usually WAAAAAAY cheaper than the same year Impreza/WRX/STI.

EvanB wrote:

Aeromoto wrote: I know no one wants to hear Miata, but here in CFR we have some Miatas that do really well. One of them runs in modified and it's a friggin rocket. But yeah, 6'7" ain't happening in a Miata

Can't run a Miata with Rally America.

Nor CARS (Canadian Association of Rally Sport).

It's a Forester and it's in Arizona:

http://www.specialstage.com/forums/showthread.php?74809-Forester-STI-project

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/datusn-510-racerally-car/101905/page1/

I like the 240. I love the 240. That was my first thought.

The MK3-MK4 golf is an idea and a TDi would be fantastic. Maybe a Jetta or Passat with 4motion.

I'm also thinking Fiero. Because Fiero.

Stop thinking Fiero. Because interior space. There is a rwd Corolla rally car I was trying to buy in that area, which fell through because the seller didn't want to deal with a long distance sale (can't blame him): Purple Panda!

A fiero might not be that bad, but ensure the windows of your race car are large enough for body extraction should you get into a wreck. I know of a team that learned the ahrd way that X 1/9 windows are too small to fit helmets through...

I'm not sure about the window size, Seems like the Fiero's window would be larger than a 240.

There is no problem with interior space, even with a celtic monster as a co-driver.

Never driven a caged one tho.

Saab 900? Built under GM for some years, FWD, and I doubt there are many that rally so its a bit of an oddity. I dont know how rally-x rules work but you can make some decent power with the turbos.

There use to be a lot of classic 900's in rally. Gearboxes can be a weakness.

AClockworkGarage wrote: I like the 240. I love the 240. That was my first thought.

Maybe this will help: a half hour of slidey Ovlovs. . And if you are fixated on FWD, 850s are increasingly popular as well. Manual transmissions for them are as close as Canada. Plus they have that awesome five-cylinder sound, so you can also pretend you're driving an Ur-quattro.

AClockworkGarage wrote: I'm not sure about the window size, Seems like the Fiero's window would be larger than a 240. There is no problem with interior space, even with a celtic monster as a co-driver. Never driven a caged one tho.

fiero... really? what do you do with your helmet when you don't want to carry it in your lap on transit? where do the snacks go, tools, small spares. the cage will eat up a lot of space really quick and leave no room for much else. do you have a backyard full of them, know where to get body parts? fiero's, x1/9's, mr2's have been used as rally cars but really are not the best choice.

the focus is the new mk2 golf, good cheap power and available. 240's (740's too) are available in your neck of the woods. plenty of fast neons out there, cobalts, merc 190's, and some cheap bmw? if you don't want an impreza what about a legacy? if somethings broke chances are someone else in the service park has what you need if you don't.

icaneat50eggs wrote:

EvanB wrote:

Aeromoto wrote: I know no one wants to hear Miata, but here in CFR we have some Miatas that do really well. One of them runs in modified and it's a friggin rocket. But yeah, 6'7" ain't happening in a Miata

Can't run a Miata with Rally America.

Why? What's the logic there?

Roofs that bolt on aren't real roofs.

Volvo 240 is a good choice, but a BMW e30 gives (stock for stock) somewhat better performance, has a larger aftermarket, and is more widely used for rally/rallycross so a lot more setup information (at least on this side of the pond). Parts ARE cheap (old enough that the "bmw tax" doesn't hit them) and easy to find anywhere from BMW shops or rockauto or amazon.

Biggest issues with the Volvo is that LSD options are less unless you plan to just weld the diff, whereas you can find e30 stock LSD diffs with ease. Though the do have Dana rear ends, so plenty of Jeep stuff can cross over depending.

Both could be reasonably competitive - and e30s are probably one of the top-5 competitive RWD rallycross cars in the country - but for stage you're running against more modern front-drivers that have more power that tend to be fast, depending on the surface, steup, etc.

I'd do some stalking on specialstage or even dirtyimpreza forums for rally-specific advice. There are some rally guys here, but I don't know that there are a LOT of us....

btw: I think someone 6'7 would fit in an e30 fine with a race seat mounted low. I've had 6'2 people riding shotgun with helmets in mine, and my passenger seat is at the upper mount height and has sliders. I could drop it down 4-5" with little difficulty.

captdownshift wrote: As for the OP, I'd look at a few options (some of which have been covered) MKIII VW Golf, or MKIV (bonus for TDI in the MKIV, good clean MKIIs shells are getting tougher to find, as is parts support, which is there but fading which the exception of lower quality stuff, cost of entry in building a MKIII or MKIV would likely be cheaper then a MKII and you'll have a stiffer chassis as a starting point Focus, bonus points if you get a duratec powered one. 16V first gen neon BG chassis Mazda/Ford Volvo 240 Civic hatch B13 SE-R Hyundai Accent, or even earlier Elantra. These are underutilized starting points, some guy named Millen will give great pointers and has a shed full of spare parts if you go this route as well. Tercel or Corolla (manual trans of course) if you can score a Yaris in your budget that would work as well. E30 or E36 Ford Ranger or Mazda Bxxxx pickup

also, I would agree with most of these suggestions. I'm just biased toward e30s :)

If it ever came down to a choice between an E30 and a 240, we would both choose Volvo, every damn time.

Volvo 240s are stout and the knowledge of exactly what to do is well known. You also have several car builders in the NW who know them well and can lend advice should you need it. If you are not trying to do something like replicating Bill Malik's fire breathing 240 they are cheap.
I ran a 144 rally car once upon a time are the are great cars. The desert rallies we have make running a mini pick up a good choice as they tend to make it to the finish. There are several people in the NW who rent rally cars at very reasonable rates as well.

 Tom

The live rear axle is stouter as well, and really well located. Even though E30s are plentiful, for North American conditions -- especially in the West -- I would rather deal with a live axle than four CV joints. Besides, RWD Escorts proved that solid axles work just fine in rallying, thank you very much.

The axle itself is a Dana 30 unit, as used in many, many Jeeps. There are parts to heck and gone for them.