Open Class Rally Bench Racing- What Car?

In reply to sachilles:

Really?! I was under the impression SUV was a no go. Think they would let me run this beast? Its in need of some good hooing

I ran as a co-driver in an open class Tacoma in 2010. We did well in both events, but better over the season as we finished every event. It was a built 2.7, reg cab, short bed. While it did not match the speeds of the boost buggies, it was flawless all season without failure.

Jim Cox built exactly what you are a talking about years ago and ran it out of MN. Very cool truck that went through a few revisions.

I do not recall if Jim Pierces out of LA areas truck was open and awd or group 5 and rwd.

There is also a grand cherokee that showed up a few times. I don't recall how it did.

There is definitely precedent for your idea. I think the competitiveness will depend on the region. In the SW the roads are rough and tough is better than speed. Other areas that are smoother would reward the outright quickness over the durability.

JohnRW1621 wrote: I think the Olds Bravada versions only came with AWD if you want to start with this odd and retired badge.

the bravada you want is 97 or older for real AWD, they are the same drivetrain as a typhoon but 4 doors instead of 2, the V8 swap isnt any different then doing it in a 4wd s10/blazer so all the parts are out there and cheap.

or if you want to do a s10 just swap the bravada transfer case (Borg Warner 4472) into a 4wd s10 and its the same recipe, i think you also need the bravada front driveshaft too

Nissan pulsar gti-r with a 5.6 V8 swap from a Titan.

Metro 6r4 done.

Souped up LS power hooked up to a s10 front axle and then beat mercilessly. Yeah, no way that's going to grenade on you. The Chevy ifs wasn't a bad setup when used in normal driving conditions, but they won't tolerate abuse.

Subaru SVX. Even if the fragile auto trans keeps you from getting wins, the double glass windows will get you all the ladiez.

And I found one on Trax. I will never look at these cars the same way again

I really didn't need to see the SVX on tracks.

In reply to sachilles:

It's amazing, right?

1UZ in the back of a matrix

NickD wrote: In reply to sachilles: It's amazing, right?

It is....and I hang out with and work with too many people that could make it a reality......this could be trouble.

2wd mk2 Golf..

sachilles wrote:

NickD wrote: In reply to sachilles: It's amazing, right?

It is....and I hang out with and work with too many people that could make it a reality......this could be trouble.

It's either a bad idea in a good way, or a good idea in a bad way. Hard to tell.

There's a Chevy Tracker in my area on a set of these tracks and I once saw it come flying across a snow-covered field at about 45mph. It was greater than the other 99% of all Trackers.

While you could do well in events with perhaps a Tacoma or something (by finishing and not getting damaged), there's really nothing else out there in the open (AWD) class that is going to compete with the Subies and Evos, realistically. You know what Rally America and NRS results are in recent years, and it's pretty obvious. If there was some oddball/inexpensive/reliable AWD silver bullet, someone probably would have found it by now.

The only thing I can really think of is a DSM or Galant GS-R or a Lancia Delta (legal for import now!).....but at the modification it would take them to hang with the SubEvos, you probably wouldn't ever finish an event, lol. And of course they aren't NA either, so nevermind.

Also, I may be mistaken, but I think RA and/or NRS just changed the language regarding engine swaps, allowing non-marque engines in open. Thoguht I saw that recently, though I didn't pay much attention to it since I'll be running G2 with you this year.

Saw e30 IX mentioned....ZERO chance it would compete with them. IXs are probably slower than RWD e30s if what I've seen at rallycross holds true. Plus they use a lot of different parts from regular e30s and spares can be an issue. And you hate e30s anyhow, so that's automatically out.

Curious as to the "why" of this question. Already tired of the RX7? Or are you looking for a redux of the rallycross Mustang and all of its frustrations by finding something oddball? Or is this just a "for fun" discussion...

Aren't there AWD Cadillac CTSs?

Btw...Chris you've seen Berk's H6-swapped Impreza at rallycross. I'd bet that it would do extremely well on stage...great power, AWD, N/A, and reliable.

irish44j wrote: Curious as to the "why" of this question. Already tired of the RX7? Or are you looking for a redux of the rallycross Mustang and all of its frustrations by finding something oddball? Or is this just a "for fun" discussion...

Just for fun, I like to daydream- but maybe someday...

I've always loved the Envoy Pike Peak truck

Comanche Rally Truck? Maybe add a procharger?

This is why somebody needs to challenge the Subaru to AWD wars. They can't be the OnLY company making rally worthy vehicles! In ten years will will all be stuck rally racing cvt hybrid imprezas!!!!!!!! And nobody wants that to happen! Mitsubishi tried, but lost the intergalactic war with the Pleiades. (Ask me more about my insane conspiracy about the space war that was settled on our planet.)

Another vote for the s-10/s-15 chassis. Before we got rid of the wife's Jimmy, I used to rallycross it around my backyard. Despite being kinda stupidly heavy (2 door Jimmy weighs around 3800 lbs IIRC) and having a 180 horse Vortec V6, in 4-HI it would plow furrows in the yard- including some pretty steep grades with off-camber downhill turns. It was a blast.

The thing about them is they use a torsion bar front suspension, which is kinda good but can be hard to lower and stiffen. There's other 4x4 compact pickups out there with CV joint IFS which is really what you're after. Possibly a 2 door Exploder with a Thunderbird IRS swapped in place of the 8.8, and a worked-up 302 up front.

In rallycross, like everything else, it's 10% car and 90% driver. A good driver could really wring a decent lap out of a well-prepped mini 4x4 SUV.

irish44j wrote: While you could do well in events with perhaps a Tacoma or something (by finishing and not getting damaged), there's really nothing else out there in the open (AWD) class that is going to compete with the Subies and Evos, realistically. You know what Rally America and NRS results are in recent years, and it's pretty obvious. If there was some oddball/inexpensive/reliable AWD silver bullet, someone probably would have found it by now.

I think it has a lot more to do with big money and talent going into the WRX's and Evo's. There are a lot of capable cars out there, but no one driving them is spending weeks practicing between championship rounds. Also, the drivers of the other cars are often self-sponsored and a little more concerned about wrecking compared to the factory drivers.

Trackmouse wrote: This is why somebody needs to challenge the Subaru to AWD wars. They can't be the OnLY company making rally worthy vehicles! In ten years will will all be stuck rally racing cvt hybrid imprezas!!!!!!!! And nobody wants that to happen! Mitsubishi tried, but lost the intergalactic war with the Pleiades. (Ask me more about my insane conspiracy about the space war that was settled on our planet.)

Alright, I'll bite. Tell me more about the space war on our planet.