NGTD
Dork
5/9/13 2:04 p.m.
HiTempguy wrote:
http://jerseyshore.craigslist.org/cto/3741756699.html
Great durable car in your price range, sounds ready to rally. Fly out, drive back (depending on what "new subframe" means).
Damn that's a good deal. I should be getting the FIL's pick-up and a trailer and leaving now.
Tom1200
New Reader
5/9/13 9:32 p.m.
OK as someone who has actually used a stage rally car as a daily driver I will share what I know. I used to co-organize Seed 9 Rally here in Vegas and had a Volvo 144 rally car. I used the car for rally-cross and used it as open car for our event. In the 7 years I was one of the organizers we had 3-4 competitors who drove from SoCal to Vegas ran the event and then drove home as well as driving to other events and they used the car as a DD. Keep in mind that West Coast rally events tend to be rough, as it's almost impossible to find roads free of nasty washouts.
Here is what all these cars had in common:
They were mostly low bucks cars bought on the cheap. (under your 6K)
The motors were stock.
The bulk of them ran take off / used rally tires.
The drivers erred on the side of caution, no flat over crest wannbe Finn heroics.
While they managed decent finishes and even won their class it was mostly through attrition.
The drivers were mindful of mechanical sympathy.
They had a backup plan in case the car broke. ( a way to get themselves home and eventually get the car back home as well)
They had an alternate way to get to work in a pinch, rent a car, a running parts car or a small emergency fund to buy a beater car.
Your budget of 6K should easily get you a car, it is still possible to find a rally car sitting that needs tires and new belts for $2500 (They are never advertised), they key is do you have the discipline to drive the car 8 tenths were the road is visible & smooth and then drive slow in the rough stuff. If you do then it could work for you.
As for budgets, you absolutely do not need a 20K budget to do stage rally:
Used tires, steel wheels, packing your own food will go a long way towards the budget. On rallys that are two day events they often have a one day entry, If the events are close enough you can drive to the event run that day and then drive home. If all you can afford is a 2 events a year then that's what you do. If you can't afford to wreck the car then don't wreck it. As an example there are a couple of events that are 2-3 hours from me. The entry fees are for one day are $400-500 range. It would take about 35 gallons of fuel total, call it $125. $30 food. So yes I could do this for $600-700 for two one day events and yes I'd be one of last running cars figure 15th-20th BUT it's alot more fun than sitting around wanting to do it. Even if you did this for one year and then sold off the car it would still be great fun.
The thing to do is get involved locally and then you can figure out which events you want to do. Oh and for God's sake don't get hung up on the type of car, anything from an old Volvo to a stock Subaru with all the safety gear.
Tom
http://www.modified.com/projectcars/0103scc_datsun_510_rally_beater_part_1/
http://www.modified.com/projectcars/0105scc_datsun_510_rally_beater_part_2/
http://www.modified.com/projectcars/0106scc_datsun_510_rally_beater_part_3/
Have you thought about doing a rally school? Have you did nay other types of racing?
I would try and find something that is a close to be ready and commonily rallied in your area. I ran a production scirocco and had a blast with it.
What Tom1200 said x1000 (I think we may have met at North Nevada Rally last year?)
I'm one of the California guys who can drive their stock engined non-turbo Subaru to events and back and drive at 8/10ths while racing (actually more like 6/10ths since my fiancée and I switch off driving and navigating and she is pretty cautious) It is still great fun!
I have about $10k into the car and safety equipment for both of us and my dd is a different car that is challenge priced... I may have been able to do it for maybe $8k if I did the minimum of everything but I was erring on the side of safety and reliability (overbuilt cage, well maintained car and real rally wheels instead of steelies -I knew about this last part after having bent steel wheels during RallyXes)
Which brings me to my next point:
+1000 on starting with RallyX too, I did 2 years before getting the (half built) rally car and I still do about 8 rallyXes for each stage rally since I can only afford one stage rally per year.
One other thing: in addition to Rally Anarchy and Special Stage, I would suggest looking at dirtyimpreza.com they have some good threads about the cost of (cheap) rallying.