Im a newbee and need advice

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Rallymech

Building a rally car is a big undertaking so it is best to only do it once!

It would be a very wise thing for you to spectate or better yet volunteer at a few rallies before you start. Try running a TSD rally in your street car so you get an understanding of the sport.

Good luck!

great advice, Thanks!

I have voluteered at one event so far and checked out everyone's rides
my street car is a 99 tacoma with all the fun stuff
my other street / first car is a 73 gold duster - so Im used to steering an open sea vessel on the roads of san francisco and else where (its surprisingly a great off-road vehicle, too or maybe just me fine driving)
the 83 toy in question may be already sold to someone else by now and there were some unanswered smog questions - so Im sure I will end up with suitable vehicle, but still have my heart set on the truck platform - will be looking into all the great resource suggestions - Thanks again



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2010 03:16PM by Littlelina.

I forgot about Bill Holmes, he's damn fast, no other 2wd rally car will touch him in CRS. If you're likely to run in CRS events, more than PNW, then a truck isn't too bad a choice. I would recommend 2wd as well, much cheaper to run and build. Toyotas, like your DD is a good choice, it has a coil-over front suspension, right..? The Tacoma I helped build this past year got a triangulated 4-link rear suspension designed by Jim Pierce, just like he/Jeff R. had/have on the Ranger, with coil-overs. Better way to go over leaf springs, but not cheap.

-Jon

Build the Duster!

no way man 4 years of labor its a show duster lol! but we cant talk about that stuff here

i did a search for 86-93 toys as someone suggested on SF bay area craigslist and NOTHING came up
i did the same thing for subs, guess what nothing

so whats the deal with not using 4wd on the tacoma it doesnt seem to be against the regulations??

there is ONE 94 toy for sale in my town from a lot with finacing available - UH-OH. cant tell if its 4x4 or not... gonna go check it
2wd is bumby as hell UNLESS there is a coil over converstion through the bed right??

Using a 4x4 isn't against the rules, just hard to drive, it'll understeer like a pig unless your heavy on the throttle. Leaf spring suspension tends to get a lot of wheel hop, as the spring loads up and releases. 4 or 5 link suspension is much easier to design to minimize that issue, much better bite.

-Jon

rally + truck = 2wd>4wd

If you are going to stick with a 4wd chassis because you already have it just yank whatever front drive parts off of it you can and still have the thing work and run it in 2wd.

4wd is zero advantage on a truck in rally compared to awd cars and would be a fun handicap.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/2034126611.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2032332205.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031484205.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031380609.html



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2010 09:23PM by alkun.

Quote
RallyTaco
rally + truck = 2wd>4wd

If you are going to stick with a 4wd chassis because you already have it just yank whatever front drive parts off of it you can and still have the thing work and run it in 2wd.

4wd is zero advantage on a truck in rally compared to awd cars and would be a fun handicap.

You know there is very well reason opinions that AWD is not the element which makes the well known cars go as good as they do, although it certainly helps some of those of average or not quite up to average skills/experience drive a bit quicker.

I cannot begin to even glimpse the tiniest bit of understanding of why a person would purposely saddle themselves with a vehicle so full of problems inherent in the fundamental design.

As Gene said, it was not uncommon for local guys to catch so called "National" guys in just a few miles. Shortest I heard was 4 miles.

And yes Bill Holmes went OK but actual time difference expressed in "seconds per mile", there were stages where he was barely 1 sec/mile quicker than my piddly little lowly 1969 Saab---in a vehicle that cost probably 20 times as much, and that doesn't seem like a good "dollar spent to performance return" balance.
The guy Jim Cox who talked endlessly about "I wanna do a truck cause they're sturdy and cheap," spent in the words of a mid-west local I trust "obscene amounts" of money, and routinely finishes in the middle of the lower half the field.
When he finishes.
Stock VWs and Sentras annihilate him.

But, that said it does depend on what yanks your cord, and if as Mirrilee says, speccies and gawkers adulation is important, or imagining you are doing something "different" or "unusual" then have fun!

Seems to me tho that driving a basic but well balance CAR with OK suspension and something resembling balance and steering and STRENGTH of the bodyshell
(I mean get serious, 2 rail chassi like trucks have are done because they are EASY and CHEAP for OEMs to make and trucks don't have to meet even the lax US crash standards; if there was any other advantageous reasons for CARS to use them maybe OEMs would still do it, but they're so weak that no car would pass even the mildest CAR crash standards with such a crap design---pfft cab plopped on in 4 or 5 places with rubber bushes...don't see how its even allowed...except maybe all the noise about rally safety is just noise...)


Maybe we should ask pointedly: Is there something wrong with an ordinary car?
Do you care if you will be near last forever?

Quote
alkun
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/2034126611.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2032332205.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031484205.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031380609.html

I see ya and I raise you:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2034529054.html $1400

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031495636.html $500

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031450130.html $850

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2023206062.html $1000

Maybe closer to home??

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john vanlandingham

Quote
alkun
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/2034126611.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2032332205.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031484205.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031380609.html

I see ya and I raise you:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2034529054.html $1400

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031495636.html $500

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031450130.html $850

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2023206062.html $1000

Maybe closer to home??

And I raise you a SMOG exempt 1975 244!!!!!! I would already have this thing if I wasn't storing Dave's car right now.
http://monterey.craigslist.org/cto/2006324699.html $900

Quote
Tim Taylor

Quote
john vanlandingham

Quote
alkun
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/2034126611.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2032332205.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031484205.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031380609.html

I see ya and I raise you:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2034529054.html $1400

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031495636.html $500

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2031450130.html $850

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2023206062.html $1000

Maybe closer to home??

And I raise you a SMOG exempt 1975 244!!!!!! I would already have this thing if I wasn't storing Dave's car right now.
http://monterey.craigslist.org/cto/2006324699.html $900

Ding Ding Ding!!!!

Timmy, I lurv yew.

Smog exempt, brou ha ha!!!

Quote
jrally
I'm not a truck guy, in 2wd they are hard to drive fast on dirt roads. But, I did help build a standard cab, short bed Toyota 4x4 for running in the SW. With how it got built, that thing handles amazingly well in 4wd, except for the odd on brake squirelliness and understeer. Not a big deal, just makes you drive properly, brake in straight lines and turn with your foot on the gas.

Didn't that Tacoma get its ass kicked by a near-production Golf at the last Gorman though?

Quote
john vanlandingham

The guy Jim Cox who talked endlessly about "I wanna do a truck cause they're sturdy and cheap," spent in the words of a mid-west local I trust "obscene amounts" of money, and routinely finishes in the middle of the lower half the field.
When he finishes.
Stock VWs and Sentras annihilate him.

Yeah I like trucks and even I never really understood that.

Quote
john vanlandingham
Maybe we should ask pointedly: Is there something wrong with an ordinary car?

Nope nothing wrong at all.

Quote
john vanlandingham
Do you care if you will be near last forever?

uhhh what? LOL

Yeah my attempt to be simple came out wrong. Not saying trucks are to rallying what 2wd drive rally cars are to awd. I just meant that if your going to run a truck you should not bother with 4wd as it is basically pointless and way less fun.

I personally like trucks because they are an available cheap and currently or very recently produced platform. Not the case with most available RWD's

That being said it is wrong to build a truck thinking it's going to be faster than nearly any car and sillier still to spend gobs of money making it faster and ruining the basic simple nature of the things that are fun enough to begin with. Any car could kick most trucks ass most of the time and when that's not true it's because of special circumstances like when stages are more like desert racing than actual roads.

Volvo's aren't easy to find everywhere that are rust free and cheap though. I have nothing against them and looked for a really long time just to find a rallycross beater and gave up after a long while. Not saying they aren't out there just that they don't grow on trees everywhere like they do on the West Coast. In any case I agree a million times over that building a Volvo makes more sense then a Golf.

I think over prepping and seam welding etc. is stupid in general but way stupid for one's first rally car. I think to get on stage get experience develop driving skills and most importantly have FUN a truck can make a fine vehicle if cars like Volvos aren't around or even if they are and you don't want to start with a 20-25 year old vehicle.

Plus once you get used to driving the goofy things a regular balanced car doesn't feel right anyway and you brain becomes warped and you develop a sick masochistic relationship to them LOL.

As someone who has owned and played with a proper rally truck I can say that they are not as fast but with the right setup they can be fun!!
But what no one has come up with is a Mazda pick up for the contingency money.....
Todd

Jeff Hendricks, Prescott, AZ runs an early Mazda truck, rotary even...

-Jon