2wd minitruck as a multipurpose rallyx/autox vehicle?

I'll have to disagree with the notion that minitrucks suck for hooning. I did it for over four years non-stop with an '88 Ranger.

Whether it was dirt, wet pavement, snow, frozen lakes, I could hold a slide for as long as I wished.

There was a mini-round-about on my way to and from work back then that I could just drift gracefully until I got bored or other vehicles came near.

Transition was great. That truck made me look like a stunt driver. Obviously not the fastest way around a track but the notion that they're not fun as can be is just flat out wrong.

I knew of but never witnessed in action an S10 that was built for rallying. I would think that would be a good logical platform because of the number of classic trucks and cars that also use this frame as a chassis.

My other suggestion would be a VW Caddy (rabbit pickup). I couldn't tell you how much it weights compared to a MK1 VW Rabbit off the top of my head, but it would probably be a good candidate. The only limitation I could see would be a lack of performance options for the stock motor. You can easily swap in a 2.0 liter 8v 4 cylinder from a 93-98 VW or a 16v from a scirocco or MK2 GTI though if that doesn't kill you for SCCA class designation.

There has been more than one S-10 purpose-built for rallying, one supposedly even had a Nascar North V6 in it (there have also been Rangers), however they still don't do well against anything else in their class.

The exception to this has been in the SW. Rally trucks can "stretch their legs" in the more open areas and be competitive.

To the OP - you would be better off putting snows on your Caprice and taking it to a Rally-X.

I'd recommend looking into bro-lite. It's an off-road spec series for 2WD 5MT I4 rangers.

Im always surprised that there aren't more sport modded minitrucks. I think a 2wd early taco with a 2rz would be fun as hell.

Also this..

Look up the original project drivabeater. Its an s10 built for autocross and track with mostly junkyard parts.

In reply to carbon:

What. The. ???

In reply to ebonyandivory:

More information: http://vimeo.com/93566294

In reply to stanger_missle:

Have to love the driver's attempt to right the off-kilter pickup by shifting his body weight. Or it could be an involuntary response to taking an E36M3 in his drawers...

carbon wrote: I think a 2wd early taco with a 2rz would be fun as hell.

I DD an early Taco. '99 xtra cab 2rz 5-speed. It's fun in some ways, but some of its driving dynamics (mostly flywheel/transmission and rear leaf springs) are very trucklike.

NGTD wrote: ... Rangers), however they still don't do well against anything else in their class. To the OP - you would be better off putting snows on your Caprice and taking it to a Rally-X.

BRS results... look for the Ranger

They can still do well in the NE too- it's all about the driver.

ebonyandivory wrote: In reply to carbon: What. The. ???

Its not a taco......there is nothing truck there other than a body shell.

Yeah, the tube frame taco is cool, but I'd be a bit more on the, ahem, budget side of things haha

the drivabeater project, if anyone is interested:

http://www.s10planet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17252

yamaha wrote:

ebonyandivory wrote: In reply to carbon: What. The. ???

Its not a taco......there is nothing truck there other than a body shell.

I don't care what body is on that, I love it!

As much as I love low buck builds, sometimes there's nothing like extreme excess!

@ Yamaha, Nigel's truck doesn't really apply, just thought it would bring some smiles and inspire.

@ Twolittlebroncos, I think if you're going to make a sporty mini truck it needs to be a standard cab

This suspension setup is probably biased toward looks rather than handling but i think you could set one up to be fairly effective.

G_Body_Man wrote: I'd recommend looking into bro-lite. It's an off-road spec series for 2WD 5MT I4 rangers.

The guys who run bro-lite actually brought two of their trucks to one of our rallycrosses in 2013 (I think one was a ranger, the other was a Toyota). Looked like a ton of fun, but were not very competitive against the other mod RWD rallycross cars, even when driven by guys who KNOW how to drive them fast. But really, they're not built for the tightness of a rallycross course.

seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/4811306981.html

Drift slut. $500.

This build restored a bit of faith in those guys.

And these are still cool to me, you could build a clone for dirt (aside from the unobtanium bodykit.

Yeah, I do like old S10s, too. It would be between that or the Yota. Always wanted to drive a Syclone or a Typhoon just to see what they were like.

In reply to gearheadE30:

The syclone guys seem to like axis spins....

In reply to Carbon:

The AWD Bravada has a very similar system to the SY/TY awd.....it held up to Lingenfelter building a turbo lsx for that stupid sonoma build.