I was wondering how I could get together a rally car?

I REALLY want to rally. I am 18 and live in northern California.
I was thinking of buying a Datsun 240Z or 280zx or maybe even a 510 to start of with.

I was wondering what modifications I would need to do to be able to rally it in CRS (California Rally Series). Maybe I could Auto-X to. Need to attend a rally course or school?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Also tell me if and how any of you got started in rallying.

Thanks

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take a class, too bad there isn't one around here. I wouldn't choose a Z car because they are rear wheel drive and are harder to drive in loose surface. How about a Mazda 323 w/ AWD.

try starting out with Rally-X, it's like Auto-X, but on dirt. you don't really need any modifications to do it, and can run pretty much whatever car you'd like (within reason). in terms of cars, RWD is going to be harder to control than a FWD or AWD car. older Subarus, Audis and such often make pretty good Rally-X rides, and from there you could decide what sort of direction you wanted to head in.

oh, you could also go with an AWD car like an Eagle Talon, or some other dodge/mitsubishi designed car. i'm guessing you'd have a better chance of finding one of these for sale cheaply and in relatively good condition than you would an Audi or Subaru.

Well it all depends on your budget. Most people start with a simple cheap car and then move up to AWD. The 510's are very popular, but hard to find body parts for them.

We did a KA24(240SX motor) transplant into a 210 as our first rally car...and boy was it fun.

Datsun=Lego....many parts are interchangeable! ;)

www.specialstage.com is a rally forum and they have a California section where you can ask the locals about things.

Plenty of good info on there and buying an already built rally car is much easier than doing it yourself....let me tell you!

If you need any more information...pm..I know a few Cal people I can hook you up with for more information.

Tina

rallycross is an excellent way to start building your dirt driving skills.

As far as your first rally car, buy somebody's used vw golf or something. What you want in your first car is something slow and strong. Your first year out you won't win (since there's so much more to winning rallies than just driving fast), so get a car that's not too expensive and slow enough that it'll keep you from killing yourself. :)

The SF Region forum on SpecialStage is a good place to contact the local rallyists, and I'm usually at the Union City Krispy Kreme tuesday night meets. You can't miss my car, it's the blue subaru! ;)

Sweet,

Thanks for all of the input. I am really looking forward to rallying this summer.

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also check out www.bensrallypage.com you'll find lots of used cars for sale. both street, and built rally cars. as well as lots of other info.

where in Nor Cal you from? I am going to use my Impreza RS to do rally crosses and the such.

I have a '95 Impreza, awd This would be a decient rally car, correct??

I have a '95 Impreza, awd This would be a decient rally car, correct??

the cheapest starter race car is the one you already own. i think you'd be just fine starting with a '95 AWD impreza.

thats good to know, Thanks

Originally posted by dropkick_muppet
in terms of cars, RWD is going to be harder to control than a FWD or AWD car.

Just wondering what kind of rally experiance you have?

RWD is one of the best ways to learn how to rally.

two of my friends are running RWD for the current rally cars.

One is a 1977 Dodge colt with a 2.6L in it.

secound is a 1984 RX7

great cars, RWD offers you tons of oversteer which is something you want for rally.

nothing like my secound rally, where i was co-driving entered this water splash and understeered right off the road. this was in a Dodge Neon set-up for production class.

My sugestion is get a car you are going to love.

other wise you may not like the sport as much.

My car is a 1995 Subaru Impreza. the reason i got it is becouse i love subaru's and i'm a subaru mechanic so all i work on is Subaru's i can get stock and aftermarket stuff cheaper and i know tons about the cars. Plus Subaru's are Lego's.

My car is going to morph into a 2.5rs Open class car.

I wont win but putting a very torquey motor in, doing anything i want to the car will make it handel great and teach me what driving a fast car is like but slow.

you got to walk before you run. or else you will hit something.

Erik S.
finelinemotorsports.com

Originally posted by 2.5RSMatt
where in Nor Cal you from? I am going to use my Impreza RS to do rally crosses and the such.


I live in a small town called Fort Bragg. Its tiny compared to most.

But yeah, where are you from?

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I'm in Sac.

Buy a cheap, well prepped car that's mostly done. There are lots for sale right now. It's a buyer's market.

The California Rally Series(CRS) has great support for new drivers. Check out the CRS forum on www.specialstage.com and ask questions there.

Although it's great to buy a car you love, it's better to buy one you can afford to compete in and maintain. Subarus aren't too bad on cost, but some others are cheaper.

I would recommend spending money in a rally driving school if you can. I waited four years before I did and wish I had done it the first day I thought of going rallying! It would have saved me money and made my time behind the wheel much more fun! :-)

Good luck! John

Marc,

Check out www.californiarallyseries.com on July 1, when the entry forms and flyers for the next two rally schools will be posted. The one in Ridgecrest (about 3 hours north of Los Angeles) is Sept. 13 with a RallyCross on Sunday Sept. 14, and the Northern California school is Saturday, Sept. 27 with a RallyCross the next day (Willows, California and Thunderhill Raceway). Hopefully you can attend - they're really cheap (less than $100 and include lunch and dinner) intense all day courses with hands-on practice for drivers or co-drivers. The co-drivers don't even need a car! Bring your street car for the RallyCross the next day as well, at either school - $25 or $30 entry fee for a lot of fun.

yeah definitely check out the ridgecrest rally school and rallyX. big wide open area, so no worries of destroying much more than tires.

as i always recommend, bring a full sized spare or more and protect your paint if thats important to you. (clear bra + mudflaps)

oh yeah, and you need a helment to run.

Huy
www.gravelcrew.com

Here you go...CRS Rally School registration now open. Two class in No and So Calif. September. (Thunder Hill/Willows and Ridgecrest)

Bring your baby or a beater out and learn everything you wanted to know with the CRS instructors.

Saturday Rally school $70. includes lunch and dinner (Ridgecrest)
Sunday optional Rally X entry $30.

Can't beat it for a buck.

Sign up and info at:

www.californiarallyseries.com

Does anyone have any info on any rally-x or rally driving schools in the Pennsylvania area? I'd love to get started but I'm having trouble finding anything in my area.
Thanks

After reading a few responses let me chime in and give you some very very sound advice. Buy a Prepped car I cannot tell you how important this is because you then have a log book which is imperative. You will probably need to spend a good chunk of change on whatever car you buy because it will need different small repairs and perhaps have enough problems to really drain your budget, whatever cars people are selling there is always a reason if it is so great then why are they selling it? Try to purchase a car that has never been rolled. All of this being said I wiould tell you to not purchase a car but instead to co-drive first and learn the most important skill which is event management. From start to finish this is onw of the most difficult things to do and learning to co-drive first will help you understand what is going on better. Now you will completely ignore this last piece of advice so back to the car. Purchase a proven rally car my vote would be to purchase a golf if you are going to get a FWD or a RX7 for RWD or toyota starlet but those are a bit difficult to obtain. IT is real important to buy a prepped car because building a car takes a lot of time and a lot of $$$$ trust me on this one (our Group N car is still only about 75% finished). Next, sorry to burst the bubble of many different people on this board and the SCCA but completely Skip Rally X, I repeat SKIP RALLY X it is a totally useless exercise and it may be fun but it does not really teach you much for real rally. Better to find a real road (you said that you were interested in CRS) in your area there are tons of roads that are appropriate and learn how to drive on a stage since you rarely are out of 2nd gear on a rally x course so the conditions are not similar (European RallyX is totally different then the USA so that is why European Rally X has produced some good drivers Petter Solberg notably). Once you have your car and you have done a bit of work on the car get a co-driver, one with experience (not your buddy) because you will be stressed out enough during your first rally. With an experienced co-driver you can focus on driving and how he/she runs the event and the service crew you will thank me for this advice later. Next practice a few times and learn the car inside and out, this will help you direct yor crew to problem areas. Now you are ready for your first rally, enjoy it and remember you just want to finish so you can move out of seed 8 and then you can use notes which will make you faster. After your first event you will have learned a tremendous amount of info that you can apply to your next rally.

Now whatever you do do not do the following. Do not attempt to build your first car from scratch you will spend twice as much and the build will take forever. Do not be lured into the temptation to get into an AWD car right off the Bat, 2wd will teach you hings that will enable you to be faster when you move to AWD. Do not be seduced by HP or turbocharging since HP means that more parts break and turbocharging means that there is more tuning required and another part to fail. Lastly no matter how well you do Dave Richards is not going to helicopter in at the end of the stage to hand you a WRX drive so take it easy, have fun, and be safe.

Good resources are:
Specialstage.com
Rallyclassified.com
Rallycodriver.co.uk

Good luck

didn't really read through everything. but check sfrscca.org. there is a rallyx and rally school coming up this september. I went last year (school) and it was great. I won't be going to the school this year, but I'll be there for the rallyx. :)

First of all thankz everyone for all of their responses I really apreciate it! I know now to get myself a pre-made rally car which does make sense. Well thank you all, and RALLY ON!

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