thanks pete, ill consider that....
im thinking my final choices will have enough support (except for maybe the 240sx)
thanks!

oh and TOPI, will an e36 325 work??
---------------
- That's a great choise! 2.5 liter, 192hp, good tranny, modern chassis, etc
- When you start rallying you don't want to get into extensive re-engineering, swapping rear ends, swapping trannies, swapping brakes, etc. There're too many sad projects collecting dust in the garages right now who started with a wrong car and lost lots of money and labor.
- Also, if you get tired, or go broke, and want to sell who's gona give you anything for an odd, non popular car?
- My other choises, other than BMW, would be the last gen Mazda Rx7 or a Mercedes SLK320 with 6-speed. This is a sweet car! Or even 4-cyl Supercharged althought I don't care for that complicated SC much. These are not cheap cars BUT you will get most of your money back and they're easier to get serious sponsors behind you. Nobody's going to sponsor an old, outdated car.
- Volvo's are OK but only in Sweden! They don't have any image here and you need way too much re-engineering and work to make them good.
- XR4Ti was a failure when new and hasen't gotten any better in 20 years... No brakes, the worst rear suspension aligment, boat anchor engine, bad tranny and list goes on. You CAN change all that but if it was easy we'd see many at the rallies but we don't. There must be more X-ratties "under construction" than any other make in the US?
- The only car I ever saw was the ugliest of all - Mr Green's in WA. To his credit he did rally it, at least. There's a reason for it - too expensive and too complicated for most of us.
- JVL has done a great job at promoting this car but it's just too much money and work to make happen, specially for the beginners.
- What you gonna built is up to you. I just don't want to see an other one to make a bad choise and quit with a bad taste in the mouth.... And remember; To BUY a car is the easiest and cheapest. The BIG money goes to build and rally it. See all those Sube WRX and EVO owners? They don't have money to run them anymore. One big crash usually takes them out of the game.

---

- RWD rocks -

im liking the sentra more and more because its cheap, and im sure theres alot of support out there......... i think thats what im going to do, i really wish i could go rwd, but i think for me starting out i just want to get a cheap reliable beginner car. unlesss something of a rwd platform pops up!!


Topi- does the e36 have any rally support?? i havnt seen any at the rallies ive been too. it does sound like fun, but how hard would it be to get "rally parts"??

Topi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>> - My other choises, other than BMW, would be the
> last gen Mazda Rx7

You're kidding, right? Those cars are so flimsy that the suspensions fall apart on the street. Mazda had to issue a few rounds of updated parts just to make them last long enough on the street to make it through warranty period.

I don't know why, either, it's just a 9/8ths scale Miata, you'd think they would have experience with that sort of thing.

---

Pete Remner
Cleveland, Ohio

1984 RX-7 (rallycross thing)
1978
Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver.

Body parts for the last gen RX7 CAN'T be cheap or plentiful either.

---

Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish

ya thats def. a no go on the 3rd gen rx7.....

i was thinking more in terms of 2nd gen

Topi are you suggesting not using a 240 for sponsorship considerations?
I still owe you a ride on gravel.

90% or more of us are rallying on our own money, so sponsorship tends to not be much of a factor.

Depape the X-Ratty can be a lot of fun. Keep it close to stock under the hood and don't blow it up. Give it real suspenders and brakes..... At least the car can be had for free to close to free.

I've got a whole bunch of Gp-A 4X4 shit for a Sierra/Escort Cossie if any of you guys are looking for such animals.

---

JohnLane

Overkill is consistently more fun

I think toni has some grunt in that thing. Well balanced and Toni is a world class driver after all.

Still the nice thing about that car is we can have something basically equal. I am farily sure there are no fancy electronic bits and dark magic going on. Pleny of power, big brakes (did you notice the disc is craked in the photos) a good gear box and nice struts with a Limited slip rear end.

My only problem with going it that direction, I think turbos make power cheaper than N/A, and I can turn the boost down and drive on the street with pump gas. In my next car I would like to have 275 to 325 realiable HP, have the car be streetable to some extent, and be RWD.

Toni has me thinking that is for sure, I think he might have demorlized the field ont he first stage.

Derek

---

In the long run reality always wins.

Hey Pieter,

Can you make it up to WV in early Aug to help us at Rally WV? I'll PM you here to get you my contact info.

Thanks,
Mark B.
Rally WV Chairman

hey Mark,
ya id love to help at the rally.

just depends on the drive. where exactly is it??
and whos holding the event, nasa or scca??

thanks and hope to see you there.

Xr4ti or sentra
ill keep you guys updated

Well, then the BIMMER's for you!
--------------------
3.2l-24v I6
Euro Version 236 kW/321 bhp 5.5 s. 155 mph / 250 km/h (electronically limited)
U.S. Version 177 kW/240 bhp 6.0 s. 145 mph / 225 km/h (electronically limited
--------------------
- Just get the Euro engine and rally as is, like most do in Finland; Stock engine, gear box, rear end and brakes. Only rich guys, like Toni, have extras.
- Or import a complete car for parts.
http://www.mobile.de/cgi-bin/index_cgi.pl?sprache=2

---

- RWD rocks -

well topi... dont think ill start with the M3 , maybe later one, right now i wanna start off with something cheaper.

thanks for the help

Topi Wrote:
--
> - JVL has done a great job at promoting this car
> but it's just too much money and work to make
> happen, specially for the beginners. who are also at the same time getting married, buying their first houses, having their first babies, building garages etc

Hej Topi, fixed.

> Member of Swedish "Fart Förening"

---

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.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2007 10:37AM by john vanlandingham.

depape Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> im liking the sentra more and more because its
> cheap, and im sure theres alot of support out
> there......... i think thats what im going to do,
> i really wish i could go rwd, but i think for me
> starting out i just want to get a cheap reliable
> beginner car. unlesss something of a rwd platform
> pops up!!
>
>
> Topi- does the e36 have any rally support?? i
> havnt seen any at the rallies ive been too. it
> does sound like fun, but how hard would it be to
> get "rally parts"??

There is nothing off the shelf rally for any BMW.

Here's something you could try:
Kevin OBrien wrote:

> Dear Merkurfolks:
>
> I am selling my 86 XR4Ti 5 speed with 236,000. It has been my only car, and daily driver for the past 6 years. I have kept it as stock as possible with no boy racer stuff added. I'm located in Louisville, KY.
>
> If you're interested, check out the link to autotrader.com for detailed info and pix.
>
>
> http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=217852123
>
> Thanks,
>
> Kevin O'Brien
> dblbassoon2003@yahoo.com

---

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.

What is your budget?

Or, how much expendable income do you have each month after you pay your bills.

Pay only in cash for all rally parts. Going into debt for rally is almost the stupidest thing one can do.

Alot of what I recommend depends upon this.

With the new FIA rules, expect to pay around $3000 for a roll cage.

If you buy something that has a homologated cage available the cage will cost $500-1000 less.

I stick with the Impreza 2.2L PGT car as being the best beginner route.
$1000-2000 for the car. $1000-1500 for seats. $400-500 for belts. $300 for skidplates. $2500 for a cage. Go rally. Then spend $1500-6000 on suspension as soon as you can. Wheels, tires, porterfield pads. Upgrades to rear brakes, better diffs, and turbo motors are common and well documented.

If you want to spend more money and have a crazier car, build something else.
My XR4ti will be around $15,000 without going crazy on the motor. I'm sitting at $13,903.96 spent so far and still need a bit of AN hose and a few other crucial parts.

Buying a built car is the best route. Period.

I wonder how much the Reiger's for Toni's M3 run. Probably really cheap. At least in comparison to the ones on his WRC car.

---

Grant Hughes