Hi, Newb here!

Hi everyone,

First off my name is James and I am new here. I have been in to rally racing for 17 years now. Ive attended several events and watch all the coverage I can on TV and the internet. Ive been watching it and dreaming of the day I could actually drive in a race. The only racing I have actually done has been autocross. I have 5 years experience with autocross and 2 rallycrosses under my belt.

Finally after all of that time I am building my car. I have always wanted to build my own car so I didnt even want to consider a used rally car. I know it is much more difficult and expensive but it is more fun for me.

My car is a 2002 Mazda Protege 5 and I am preparing it for G2. I am about 50% done with the car. I plan on having it finished before the 2013 Sandblast rally. I plan on Sandblast 13 being my first event.

I will get pictures of the car whenever it isnt dark out. I work during the day and get there so early and leave so late that it is always dark. I have a carport for the car which sucks.

I am sure I will have many questions along the way so be prepared for that!

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http://rallyhq.weebly.com/

Welcome James! Good for you for building your first car, that to me is a huge part of the experience. Would love to see the pictures.

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phlat65
Welcome James! Good for you for building your first car, that to me is a huge part of the experience. Would love to see the pictures.

No! No! No! Sean. Gawddammit youse been around long enough ferfawkssake, you have to start repeating the old dogmas one of these days.


I'll help youse out:
Try this [phony British flat hat and pipe on] Wull Laddie, don't build your car, go out and buy a used rally car. You see if you buy a used car, you will be into your first rally sooner, right? Mind ya! nothing in your life is more important than quickly satisfying your every whim, dya see that , Laddie? So just buy a used car, and make sure it's slower than sheeeet, son, cause youse gotta LEARN TA DRIVE, thas the important thing"[/phony British flat hat and Briar pipe off]

No if if you can do that in a 1960s Midlands Shop Steward accent, ( that was the "Wull laddies...) then all the better.

Now go back and try it again, you'll get the hang of it.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Hey James,

Good to hear from you and best of luck in the build. Lots of good advice herein, some conflicting, based on the writers' prefereneces and expereience. (But what else is new in this world?) SB is a good 1st event choice. and you are in a good area for a good number of rallies being within striking distance of Columbus (Geez, I went to grad school at OSU 'cuz there were more rallies nearby than MIT or Caltech.....how's that for having your priorities right!?!) I presume you are builidng to meet both RA and NASA rules? And keep and eye on CARS; Ontario is not that far.

Regards,
Mark B.

Yeah my build is for RA and Nasa rules.

I have a couple of pics of some things ive gotten. No pics of the car yet. Daylight savings time soon so I will be able to get some after work. Or maybe on sunday.

OMP WRC seat. My co-driver still needs to find one.


Cheap wheels to test the Dmacks


Dmacks 175/70 14

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http://rallyhq.weebly.com/

http://www.aggressiveautoculture.com/wp/

big brake kits and rear link kits and lots of other stuff
friend of mine the link are my parts and the brakes will be done soon.

not my first choice of car but if your are married too it. the formula i like is
tons of spairs for the parts you know will go south like trans and get fast at
changing it.

if you need anything we have a mazda test car. adjustable front controle arms are next.

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TSSFAB.US No HYPE just parts!!!! And check us out on Facebook!!!

Hello James,

There are several good rally people in Columbus. send me a PM and can put you in touch with some of them. A P5 is a pretty good car. Plus you get Mazdaspeed contingency money.

Have you talked with Eric Burmiester about what is needed to make that car rally worthy? He took great pains to put the rear suspension out of that car into his monster Mazda3 so it can't be all bad.

I built my car in Columbus, OH. Who is doing your cage? Since Rahal lives in Cbus there are a lot of good racing resources in town. And I wished I still lived there from a towing perspective, lots of rally choices that are a fairly easy tow away.

Looking forward to seeing you at SB next year.

Cheers,
Andrew

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SteelSolutions
http://www.aggressiveautoculture.com/wp/

big brake kits and rear link kits and lots of other stuff
friend of mine the link are my parts and the brakes will be done soon.

not my first choice of car but if your are married too it. the formula i like is
tons of spairs for the parts you know will go south like trans and get fast at
changing it.

if you need anything we have a mazda test car. adjustable front controle arms are next.

This is a little bit of a misnomer here. The "weak" transmission was a problem with the Mazdaspeed protege limited slip differential failing. This was a very limited production unit that had a rather major engineering flaw.

The box in the car is the old Mazda / Ford IB5 that while not the best transmission in the world it is not frail enough that someone would need to get get fast at changing it. This was a popular transmission in both product lines and has aftermarket support.

This will be a killer car. I am always bummed how bad I get whooped by that damned red mazda 3...

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Looking for Volvo 242? PM me, I probably have a line on one for cheap...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2012 07:14PM by alkun.

Got a few pics. Id say I am not quite 50% done like I thought. I did some work on the weekend. Replaced the motor mount inserts on all but the rear mount. Replaced the alternator/water pump belt and the power steering/air con belt. Tightend the power steering belt a bit too much and caused it to whine a bit. Also fluid started coming out a lil. Loosened it and the whine went away and so did the fluid leak. Drove it a few miles and all seemed well. I hope it stays fixed.

Next on the list is:
Dry ice sound deadening removal.
Sand and paint fender.
Remove other side skirt.
Replace hood with non bent one.
Door panel removal.

Even though it may not be pretty it still drives well and the mechanical parts are good.

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http://rallyhq.weebly.com/

That engine looks like its been stored underwater!

So glad I'm living in Colorado now b/c I remember seeing stuff like that all the time when I lived in MA!

Dave

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DaveK
That engine looks like its been stored underwater!

So glad I'm living in Colorado now b/c I remember seeing stuff like that all the time when I lived in MA!

Dave

Yeah it does look terrible. It works perfectly though thankfully.

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http://rallyhq.weebly.com/

Due to a damn hernia I had to get surgery. That has put me behind on the build. I have done only what ive been able to. I cleaned up that mess of an engine, sanded painted and primed the fender, installed a new standard protege front bumper, installed new hawk pads and standard rotors.

Next on the list is getting rid of some rusty spots around the car. The more i work on this the more it makes me think i should have bought a used rally car. That would be no fun now would it. Hahahahaha.

Oh well im in too deep now. Im going to do a few rallyx soon to make sure the car can even survive bumps in the road.

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http://rallyhq.weebly.com/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2012 08:04PM by electric_eel.

Welcome to the rally world. Does your car have a sunroof? If so, you will need to weld a plate into it as sunroofs are no beuno.

Hello and welcome!

50% complete? What have you done that gets you to your first rally? Cage? 2 seats? Harnesses? First aid kit, triangle, tow strap, fire extinguisher and spill kit? Skid plate?

My point is that it is critical that you prioritize and stay focused. Basic maintenance is vital, painting is not.

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Robert.

"You are way too normal to be on Rally Anarchy." Eddie Fiorelli.

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Rallymech
Hello and welcome!

50% complete? What have you done that gets you to your first rally? Cage? 2 seats? Harnesses? First aid kit, triangle, tow strap, fire extinguisher and spill kit? Skid plate?

My point is that it is critical that you prioritize and stay focused. Basic maintenance is vital, painting is not.

No cage yet and skid plates yet. Ive got all the other stuff you listed. Im waiting to get a suit and hans closer to my first rally. I know that painting isnt critical i just felt bad for not working on the car at all because of my surgery. Ive only done what ive been able to.

I should be back to normal soon and i can get some more work done.

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http://rallyhq.weebly.com/

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electric_eel
I plan on Sandblast 13 being my first event.

I think Sandblast is probably one of the worst 2WD rallies to enter in my opinion. Roads just don't suit 2WD that well. Heavy ruts, very loose surface.

Being from Ohio, have you considered Sno*Drift or STPR Winter Rally? Even 100AW is not that much further away for you than Sandblast with far better roads that you can enjoy in a 2WD car.

But if you got your heart set on Sandblast, go for it!

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BillyElliot

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electric_eel
I plan on Sandblast 13 being my first event.

I think Sandblast is probably one of the worst 2WD rallies to enter in my opinion. Roads just don't suit 2WD that well. Heavy ruts, very loose surface.

Being from Ohio, have you considered Sno*Drift or STPR Winter Rally? Even 100AW is not that much further away for you than Sandblast with far better roads that you can enjoy in a 2WD car.

But if you got your heart set on Sandblast, go for it!

I dont actually have my heart set on it. It was basically just to give me a goal to work toward. I have my doubts about having the car ready by then. I had planned on entering 100AW after Sandblast so 100AW might end up being my first event.

Too many unforseen problems with the build. Extra expenses for the car and unexpected medical expenses.

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http://rallyhq.weebly.com/

Well I put new stock struts on. (yes i am using stock for now because i want to get on stage first then worry about 3000 dollar suspension later)

I had an unbelievably hard time getting the endlink nuts off. I had to grind one off. I did finally get it all sorted. I put my mud flaps on as well.

Not too much more to do now. Just a cage (haha just a cage), skid plates, driver safety stuff. Co driver is buying computer and intercom.

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http://rallyhq.weebly.com/

make sure to bring yourself a few more stock struts along for spares.

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Respecognize!

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Gravity Fed
make sure to bring yourself a few more stock struts along for spares.

Hey you could mention that it hain't $3000 for good boingers...
Your suspenders are loaded into the car ready for UPS.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Well I took the car to a local rallycross just for a shakedown. The car seems well sorted. The handling was well on the stock suspension. Well the stock rates anyway. The struts are gas instead of oil. The dmacks provided much confidence in the dry conditions. It rained during the lunch break and turned the field to mud. It was like driving on grease. I also wanted to get the hang of driving the front drive car rally-ish style. I rallycrossed stock awd in a Legacy and it is a totally different style of driving.

Now that I have "tested" the car I am going to focus all my time and money on stage rally. Rallycross is just a pain in the arse for not much return on investment. e.g Fun. Not much fun to be had. 60 bucks for 5 minutes of racing. Multiply that by 10 events and youve got a big chunck of money to throw at the rally car.


Here is a pic before it got dirty. I had to put the old bumper back on because the new one i put on fell off. It was a bumper for the sedan and didnt fit too well. The internets lied and said it would fit. So I bought it. It was cheap luckily. I will just have this one painted up with a rattle can to make it look a little better.

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http://rallyhq.weebly.com/

Well I went out on Saturday to do a little work on the car and I'll be damned if something else didnt just break.

I went to move the car out of its spot so I could get ramps under the front wheels so I could start working on the exhaust and the power steering went out.

As I was backing out I tried turning the wheel and it was easy at first then it became very difficult to turn. This happened off and on like using a light switch. Off and on every second. And when it came back on there was a squeal from the engine bay. Kind of like a loose belt. I checked the tension and it was fine however there was power steering fluid all over the pump. No hoses were broken or unattached.

Any ideas what would cause that?

Time for a new power steering pump I suppose. Sucky because that just puts me farther behind in my build.

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http://rallyhq.weebly.com/