so far so good. although after what john told me, i literally have been having reoccurring dreams about shit breaking on the car. im just wondering, should i really rally an open class car with the amount of experience that i have, or dont have? maybe i should take a course at dirtfish and i would be good to go? ooorrr what options would i have for dropping an NA engine with a rwd tranny into the car? well anyways, here it is...










Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/01/2011 02:11AM by WRCWRXSTI.

I think you could go three ways with this.
1. gather your co-efficiants via NASA and Team O'neils, run it as it is.
2. cut is up put spend months or years putting a duratec and a T5 in it...
3. swap in a BP 1.6-1.8 and run it open light.
of course i could be wrong on either of these points but i would shoot for option 1 or 2 or some variance of either. goood luck.

Miata driveline. Fun, cheap, rwd. RA legal. No transmission issues.

I think the massive amounts of bodyshell cutting needed to get a N-S drivetrain in that thing without a real shop would be a recipe for disaster. If you're gonna do that, throw money at TSS and get the Focus project going.

Go pound the everliving snot out of it at local grass-o-crossy things and then find NASA events to go play for real.

Parts for those things are getting rare...very rare.

They make decent power, but the lack of torque from the 1.6L and the terrible gearbox spacing will really begin to bother you.

Be easy on the gearbox, it's probably more fragile than the Suby 5 spds.

Check your exhaust manifold, it's probably starting to crack.




Also, probably the most important part, something is funny looking with that cage. Looks as if the back stays actually sit beside (outside/ontop) of the main hoop, and are maybe even bent at the top, and form the "half laterals" as well (go across the door opening, down windshield, down a-pillar to floor). Definately have a techie go over that cage...it's hard to tell from photos.

That car with no rust and with that cage, it would be an awesome winter beater. Rally car...mehh... I would have to treat the gearbox as if it was made of glass.

Those cars are pretty fun, go hoon it up

If you are going to change it, get the NA motor and go open light. Thant car would be a handfull RWD, a handfull of shit.

Try to take good care of it and you might live the imposible dream and get your money back when you sell it to someone with a bunch of them.

Can't add much to the advice list here, but man, that car's in nice shape. Gearbox and wheelbearings, those are the weak spots, shift carefully and have at it. I've rallied that drivetrain for at least a few events and have yet to break a gearbox. Use torco 85x140 or a 50-50 mix redline mtl and heavy shockproof. Make damn sure to drain and fill the centerdiff as it has its own oil spupply.

Go have fun with it and start saving $$ for your next car. Expect when anything breaks that in the process of fixing said problem, you'll break something else and have to fix that too. That said, they're awesome little cars, super tossable and fun to drive...but feel sketchy at speeds above 80mph. LOL

If you have any experience, you can petition Rally America for a waiver to be allowed to run AWD & turbo. Since your car stock makes 30 less HP than a good open light car (read: 2.5RS subie), its not that much of a stretch. If you're car's got adjustable boost, offer to turn it down and there's a good chance they'll grant you a waiver.

Be gentle with the gearbox (slooooow shifting, off the throttle) and the gearbox should hold up ok (NO POWERSHIFTING EVER!), and when you're on slippery surfaces, run with the diff locked as it'll make the car much more predictable. Once you're off stage, unlock the diff to reduce stress on the driveline.

Dave
-former GTX owner

Man, regretting not buying that local GTX now.

Are the brakes upgraded on that thing yet? If they aren't you should do the Galant rotor/Escort-Miata caliper + a 929 master cylinder upgrade strait away. I have a spare set of Miata caliper brackets in the drawer if you need some. You'll need to do the wheel bearings at the same time so it's a good introduction to what you'll be doing a lot of. Get back to us after that...

those are fun cars, but rallying one might be a bad idea, parts are hard to get.

Am I blind or .....do those rear stays/a pillar run past the hoop, and do not connect on CL?

Well since you are close enough to play with me at Idaho & Mendocino, I'm saying Open Lite Bring It !

oh and i forgot to mention, it came with 2 spare transmissions that the guy said are ready to be dropped in at any moment, 1 spare engine, a truckload of spare suspension parts, over 2 full sets of rims and tires, spare rear hatch, hub assemblies, light bar with lights, and logbooks for NASA rally sport, and RallyAmerica. the dude said that the only thing that needs updating for me to be totally legal is the safety harnesses, which expire this year.

as for the brakes, they do appear to be upgraded.

Quote
WRCWRXSTI
oh and i forgot to mention, it came with 2 spare transmissions that the guy said are ready to be dropped in at any moment, 1 spare engine, a truckload of spare suspension parts, over 2 full sets of rims and tires, spare rear hatch, hub assemblies, light bar with lights, and logbooks for NASA rally sport, and RallyAmerica. the dude said that the only thing that needs updating for me to be totally legal is the safety harnesses, which expire this year.

as for the brakes, they do appear to be upgraded.

I would talk to one of the tech officials that are in the NW. I see a few things with that cage that strike me as odd. I would do it even if it is a previously log booked car.