GeddesB said:
I've looking for a Rallycross beater as well. My searching seems to land at about $1200 for a cheap compact car, Focus, Cavalier, etc. Their parts are cheap, parts yards loaded with spares, and you can be picky when shopping. Manuals are not so common but are available and don't draw the premium the way they do in a Miata or 350Z or mustang.
If I wasn't married to the RX-7 ecosystem, I'd seriously look into a Cobalt. They are simple, reasonably tough, and make more than enough power stock. Possibly too much power. Look for a car with four lug wheels for a wider wheel selection, and also faster wheel swapping.
The automatic's a plus in that chassis, too.
$600 Datsun project
Join the Rally North Texas group in Facebook, people post things like this when they see them.
BTW there are 11 rallycross events between dfw, Austin and Houston in the next 9 weeks.
The lumina should be fun.
Bring the Lumina! Do it! I dare you!
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
The STs that I have seen were unimpressive. Too big of a car, turbo engines have problematic power delivery too, hard to maximize acceleration. That Volvo I ran in PF had a manual boost controller and I'd turn it all the way down to 4-5psi, at which point the engine was making about 110-120hp. It was faster that way, easier to modulate the throttle. And this was a smaller car, with rally tires.
That'd still be nice to HAVE, at least.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
You gotta enjoy what you have. I know the Subie RS only has around 150hp, and it seems to do okay. I was very close in time to the prepared 4, WRX in front of me. I'm going to change tires before the next event and see how it pans out. No matter how you look at it, rallycross is one heck of a fun time.
Maybe try local newspaper classifieds or something like the Penny Pincher/Power magazine classifieds. I also think it might be timing. A coworker of mine picked up an 01 Intrepid with 65k miles for $500 (granted the trans is on borrowed time but still).
I know my friend Matt's car was probably a $500 purchase. He uses it at North TX rallycross and has a lot of great videos on his YouTube channel. HIs friend (and now mine too) Scott probably got his V6 3rd gen F body for near that too. Get a car. Come drive it, and have fun. Bring the Lumina. Everyone will welcome you and it's a blast. I will be there on 4/4 unless something really unforseen happens.
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
I did the last event of 2020 and had a lot of fun, good group of people too.
Missed last weekend's as I was camping (rv) with the family, will miss next as I will camping with my son's cub Scouts and the 4/4 is Easter so I'll be with family.
Looking forward to attending again. Trying to decide between taking the jeep xj like I did or the new to me kia forte sx. The jeep was a lot of fun and don't have to worry about it. The Forte hasn't been driven in anger and in dirt much.
Edit. I think the event #3 from April 4th has been moved to march 28 and #4 is April 18th
NoBrakesRacing said:
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
I did the last event of 2020 and had a lot of fun, good group of people too.
Missed last weekend's as I was camping (rv) with the family, will miss next as I will camping with my son's cub Scouts and the 4/4 is Easter so I'll be with family.
Looking forward to attending again. Trying to decide between taking the jeep xj like I did or the new to me kia forte sx. The jeep was a lot of fun and don't have to worry about it. The Forte hasn't been driven in anger and in dirt much.
Edit. I think the event #3 from April 4th has been moved to march 28 and #4 is April 18th
I'm going to have to check. #1 was cancelled due to muddy conditions. So the last one was really #1.
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
Yes#1 was the one I could have made, the Sunday after the snows. The jeep was ready...
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
I had a first generation lumina that could hoon very well. The second generation I had later was not as responsive but still did well.
Here's what I concluded after lots of cheap rallycross car shopping.
Logic would tell you the best place to go shopping is fb marketplafe or Craigslist. Problem is that you have to deal with people. People that think their rusty POS is worth 4x what it should go for.
I used a different tactic which paid off well for me. I went a public auto auction where local dealers are looking to offload their trade-ins. I watched the sales list until they had a couple versions of the car I was interested in and allowed myself plenty of time to inspect them.
Turns out at an auction, there isn't too high of demand for a silver mazda3 sedan manual transmission with 170k so I got it for $800. I replaced the front swaybar end links and went racing.
I was patient, did due diligence, and I think I scored a great deal by eliminating the personal connection and simply made a business transaction with an auction house that wanted to move onto the next car.
NoBrakesRacing said:
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
Yes#1 was the one I could have made, the Sunday after the snows. The jeep was ready...
Yep you are right. #2 (3) will be this weekend on the 28th, and the next one is April 14th.
spacecadet (Forum Supporter) said:
There's a $500 rallyx car cadidate for sale on our own forum.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/cars-sale/fs-1997-audi-a4-28l-v6-210k/174387/page1/
price dropped to $300..
i know locally a few people have ran the 1.8t version of that fairly competitively
I still think a 2.8 B5 would be a great STOCK CLASS car.
Sadly, that car sounds like it'd cost about $4000-6000 to be Stock legal.
In reply to spacecadet (Forum Supporter) :
Look at old rich guys cars. I like Jaguars, but big Benz and BMW that have sat for a long time and aren't in running condition usually sell for very cheap.
The nice thing about those is mechanically they tend to be great shape once non start issues are solved. Rotten interior? Big deal, remove it all and replace it with a race seat. A/C not working? Remove it all. Etc etc. it will get massively lighter and more ground clearance.
Less weight is a good thing. Big torquing engines another good thing.
Jerry
PowerDork
3/22/21 6:45 p.m.
I did a little looking a few months ago, since WRX went bye-bye. I did see a high mileage Civic for about $800 and someone shared a Chevy Aveo or something for about the same price.
In reply to spacecadet (Forum Supporter) :
And another forum member, " russ mill" is offering a '98 for FREE in the Cars for Sale section.
NoBrakesRacing said:
96 civic $950 but will probably take less.
Just need to find some used springs
He probably spent $800 on the fartcan muffler. He also has a ton of money tied up in cheap spray paint.
Nobody over the age of 22 should be allowed to drive something like that. 
I actually really like the way the early W-Bodies handle smaller bumps and jumps. They're very composed. Don't know how they handle the really big stuff though. All the ones I drove were Olds. Way different feel in the rough stuff as compared to say an F-body.
Want to hear more about the Lumina. What trim level and engine? I have a suspicion that the lower trim levels will be better for rallycross than the higher ones having driven multiple trim levels of W-body myself. More compliant springs, slightly higher ride height, narrower wheels (not sure if good or bad), less cladding/"ground effects" on the lower trims. Another good thing about the W-bodies is their Corvette-style IRS with the leaf spring, though I dunno if the spring is going to want to break under rallycross conditions after all these years. With a car like that from GM in those days you might expect a beam axle, but no. Of course you lose some ponies in the lower trim levels. The ones with the four-valve 3.4 felt a lot stronger than the 3.1 models we had. Not sure what limited-slip options there were -- all I drove had one if I remember right.
