WWGRMD- Tow or Legalize Racecar?

rcutclif wrote: don't most rally cars need to be street legal anyway?

For stage rally yes, for rallycross no. And rallycross cars are probably the majority of "rally cars."

In reply to NONACK:

Insurance - no idea. The algorythms used to set rates for different cehicles are beyond my meager mental capacity.

FWIW, if you're curious about registration fees for different weights, search for MV-70S on the PennDot site.

I called, it's actually $15/yr for the GMC- unless it has a commerical VIN, then I'm berkeleyed. I will drive it and see.

rcutclif wrote: said: don't most rally cars need to be street legal anyway?

Stage rally cars also have minimum weights- they can afford to have all the heavy E36 M3 that my rallycross car can't. Plus, when I (hopefully) get a stage rally car, I'll still need to tow it, street legal or not.

NONACK wrote: I called, it's actually $15/yr for the GMC- unless it has a commerical VIN, then I'm berkeleyed. I will drive it and see.

I'm confused. You still live in New Hope? Or is the $15/yr to insurance increase?

stage rally cars are required to be legal, tagged and insuranced due to the transit stages taking place on regular open to the public roads

NONACK wrote: This or this are the 2 current contenders for "buy truck, rent trailer." Thoughts?

Out of those two, I like the Chevy. Lower mileage, auto transmission, crew cab. Shifting a manual in a truck sucks. I'd much rather have an auto.

I like these alot more:

top pick - these 99+ trucks are so much better than the older ones: http://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/4282165055.html others: http://newjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4308547044.html
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/4324999097.html
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/4321144031.html

In reply to Ian F:

That's the insurance increase... and yes, still in New Hope.

2002maniac wrote: **Edit** You can buy the 3-day registration HERE for $1.00

Bookmarked! This made transporting purchases made after local DMV closure a heckuva lot cheaper and more legal.

In reply to amg_rx7:

I'm not really looking at the pre-99 Fords unless I find an amazing deal. I agree that the later ones are better, but the V10 scares me a little from a maintenance standpoint. What makes the rest of those better than the GMC?

I like #3. 4x4. 351W engine. One of the last of the 'old school' trucks, albeit with IFS and a somewhat modern interior. If I wasn't buried in vehicles right now, I'd be tempted to look at that one.

A couple of things bug me about the Chevy. One, it just seems really beat on hard and put away wet. A lot of wear for so few miles. Chevies seem to rust a bit more. While that truck wouldn't look out of place in my neighborhood at all (a few work trucks w/ utility boxes on my street alone), a truck like that may not go over well if you live in a less "blue-collar" area. Some areas have regulations about work trucks parked on one's property.

captdownshift wrote: In reply to irish44j: So you're not letting him drive it again thus creating this conumdrum. For shame (just kidding i know that isn't the case)

It's for his own benefit. I need to learn to drive faster. Chris needs to learn to not break his cars

NONACK wrote: In reply to amg_rx7: I'm not really looking at the pre-99 Fords unless I find an amazing deal. I agree that the later ones are better, but the V10 scares me a little from a maintenance standpoint. What makes the rest of those better than the GMC?

V10 shouldn't be any different than the V8 in terms of maintenance unless I'm missing something. The V10 power levels are pretty close to the Diesel power levels. I know more about the 99+ F250 since that is what I chose. There seemed to be less issues with the Fords than the equivalent GM from the research I performed at the time I was looking. Don't know if they are any 'better' than the GMC but maintenance by the PO will be the main determinant at this point in their lifecycle.

I would be cautious about anything that looks like it was used for snow plowing. That really seems to work the transmission pretty hard.

Good luck.

Don't rule out the vans!

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/4330531220.html

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/4283947745.html

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/4330704536.html

amg_rx7 wrote:

NONACK wrote: In reply to amg_rx7: I'm not really looking at the pre-99 Fords unless I find an amazing deal. I agree that the later ones are better, but the V10 scares me a little from a maintenance standpoint. What makes the rest of those better than the GMC?

V10 shouldn't be any different than the V8 in terms of maintenance unless I'm missing something. The V10 power levels are pretty close to the Diesel power levels. I know more about the 99+ F250 since that is what I chose. There seemed to be less issues with the Fords than the equivalent GM from the research I performed at the time I was looking. Don't know if they are any 'better' than the GMC but maintenance by the PO will be the main determinant at this point in their lifecycle. I would be cautious about anything that looks like it was used for snow plowing. That really seems to work the transmission pretty hard. Good luck.

ditto, I know a number of guys who plow, and they replace transmissions frequently, even the guys with the Allison setups. Plowing is hard on transmissions. I'd never buy a former plow truck, personally.

Don't even know its back there most of the time. Never heard of any T5 tow problems.

I'm in the opposite corner here as I'm trying to find a way to drive a road race car(improved touring) to events. My plans include; making it emmisions legal (catalytic convertor), adding a trailor hitch since my car is underweight anyhow> Find a nice trailer for wheels/equipment> I already have AAA+ for just incase. This would be for tracks within 1.5 hrs reach. Is it legal to drive a caged car on public roads anyhoo?

westsidetalon wrote: Is it legal to drive a caged car on public roads anyhoo?

"...in Jersey anything's leagal, as long as you don't get caught" - traveling wilburies

In reply to westsidetalon:

I'm guessing that depends if you have inspections in your state and if they'd have an issue with that. Out here we don't have safety inspections and I've seen a few people drive caged cars on the road.

Of course here in NV we can also tint the windows pretty dark so it might not be visible that you're rocking a full cage.

JoeyM wrote:

westsidetalon wrote: Is it legal to drive a caged car on public roads anyhoo?

"...in Jersey anything's leagal, as long as you don't get caught" - traveling wilburies

Same in PA. I drove my TDi around for 2 years with expired inspection stickers... and while the registration and insurance are current, the sticker on the plate is dated 2004 (I keep the current sticker with the registration card). I've been stopped for a few things over the years, but I've never been questioned about them. I think because being an older diesel, it only gets one inspection sticker (safety only, no emissions), and it throws them.

I doubt I'd have a problem getting a caged car through inspection here, as long as it passed everything else (especially emissions). Of course, I'm sure my mechanic would give me no end of ribbing about it.

westsidetalon wrote: I'm in the opposite corner here as I'm trying to find a way to drive a road race car(improved touring) to events. My plans include; making it emmisions legal (catalytic convertor), adding a trailor hitch since my car is underweight anyhow> Find a nice trailer for wheels/equipment> I already have AAA+ for just incase. This would be for tracks within 1.5 hrs reach. Is it legal to drive a caged car on public roads anyhoo?

Just a FYI for AAA if it is involved in a accident they will not take it, unless you pay for the tow. It may be legal but is still a death trap with all that metal tubing.

trigun7469 wrote:

westsidetalon wrote: I'm in the opposite corner here as I'm trying to find a way to drive a road race car(improved touring) to events. My plans include; making it emmisions legal (catalytic convertor), adding a trailor hitch since my car is underweight anyhow> Find a nice trailer for wheels/equipment> I already have AAA+ for just incase. This would be for tracks within 1.5 hrs reach. Is it legal to drive a caged car on public roads anyhoo?

Just a FYI for AAA if it is involved in a accident they will not take it, unless you pay for the tow. It may be legal but is still a death trap with all that metal tubing.

Yeah never thought about that with AAA ( I did get an overheated Rx7 back to Cleveland from Mid Ohio using AAA+) Roll cage is heavily padded in all the right places, is that still dangerous? From what I heard SCCA Improved Touring cars used to be driven to the track back in the day? I kinda would like to revert back to that style but just don't know the legalities.

I thought I'd update this thread- I went the "Buy the tow vehicle, rent the trailer" route and ended up with this:

1993 Suburban 2500, 454, 4x4, rebuilt trans, lots of new parts. I'll be renting a trailer from uhaul and cruising to the event in highly inefficient comfort next weekend

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Excellent choice.

check around your local hardware/trailer rental type places. I have a local hardware store that rents their own flatbed car haulers far cheaper than U-Haul, so it can pay to shop around.

In reply to NONACK:

Good choice. Flat bed U-Haul trailer, I hope. Right?