Build vs Buy - the untold stories...

I look for car fixers for extra cash. If your rally car is done and your just lacking event funds. Watch Craigs list for a good deal on a fixer. maybe needs a trans or head gaskets. Fixer up on weekends or after work sell it and go rally. Fix 4 or 5 cars a year that should get you 2 or 3 events. Could be any thing if your a web designer, plumber, electrition theres always side work to be done.

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First rally 2013
Rally car type AWD subaru
Total rallies as driver 6
Total rally cars built 2
Total rally cars caged 3
Total rally cars repaired from offs 4
Total years racing exp other then rally 19 yrs
Like 31motorsports on FB!
Check out 31motor sales on ebay for used Subaru parts

For all the people in this thread that can't decide if you want to build a rally car or not. If you've attended a half dozen stage rallies and have spectated/worked, crewed or co-drove, you either know it's something you gotta do (got the bug real bad), or you don't really want to do it and probably never will. And if you haven't, go co-drive (that part is relatively cheap) and that should set your mind one way or the other. Just My $.02. Flame away. As has been said several times, you don't need anything other than the safety equipment, some used tires, and some decent new stock type suspension to get started. Build from there if you really like it.

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Don Kennedy

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Reamer
I look for car fixers for extra cash. If your rally car is done and your just lacking event funds. Watch Craigs list for a good deal on a fixer. maybe needs a trans or head gaskets. Fixer up on weekends or after work sell it and go rally. Fix 4 or 5 cars a year that should get you 2 or 3 events. Could be any thing if your a web designer, plumber, electrition theres always side work to be done.

Always a way to turn a buck!

that is the truth
all my cars have started stock and went from there

good shocks and safety gear and rally

seat time will get you more than lots of pricy parts

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I would rather drive a slow car fast as a fast car slow!
first rule of cars: get what makes you happy, your the one paying for it!

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tdrrally
that is the truth
all my cars have started stock and went from there

good shocks and safety gear and rally

seat time will get you more than lots of pricy parts

And gearing for $15*-185 will get you more laughs while you get seat time.

Seat time seat time.. Black white seat time GOOD, no bad

Why think?
What me worry?

Some might suggest that there is good seat time and there is mediocre seat time and OK seat time and good seat time and real good seat time..

Just because it may cost THOU$AND$ fior alternate gearing for what junk it is you or you or you drive, it doesn't cost much for so.

And eventually, one day a person is going to need to learn to modulate power and learn about the most critical thing in all racing: when do to stop with the full throttle and go to maximum braking.

Some might suggest the sooner one learns things the better,
But Shirley I could never comment.









*Yeah got a perfect 4.3 final drive for $15

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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.

Holland has two 87 Autotragic Supras and an 86. Was told $250, then $150 for the pumpkin today when I snagged a back half of the driveshaft off one for the LeMons car. Only saw the LSD OIL ONLY sticker on one of them.

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Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

I've never even been to a rally and I'm building a car. YouTube is the shit.....

My rally car was half done when I went to my first rally. I competed in my second rally I went to. You Tube is the shit! To bad Sponsors dont seem to realize that!

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First rally 2013
Rally car type AWD subaru
Total rallies as driver 6
Total rally cars built 2
Total rally cars caged 3
Total rally cars repaired from offs 4
Total years racing exp other then rally 19 yrs
Like 31motorsports on FB!
Check out 31motor sales on ebay for used Subaru parts

Quote
fiasco
Holland has two 87 Autotragic Supras and an 86. Was told $250, then $150 for the pumpkin today when I snagged a back half of the driveshaft off one for the LeMons car. Only saw the LSD OIL ONLY sticker on one of them.

OttoTragique is 4.3, snag it. We oughtter be good and PM Mark Hille down in deepest darkest Cornyeticult see if he has anything yet.

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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.

Quote
Reamer
My rally car was half done when I went to my first rally. I competed in my second rally I went to. You Tube is the shit! To bad Sponsors dont seem to realize that!

Glad I'm not the only one that dove right in lol.
For years I've been wanting to get into racing. Only 2 have gotten my attention. Rally and drifting. So I'm building a car that will do both.
Some people have called me insane for dumping money into something I've never even seen in person. "How do you know if you'll like it?" Deerrrrrrrr...... who WOULDNT want to slide a car around?! I do it anyhow when the conditions are right, why not be able to do it balls out without worry of traffic or a ticket haha!

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deaner

Quote
Reamer
My rally car was half done when I went to my first rally. I competed in my second rally I went to. You Tube is the shit! To bad Sponsors dont seem to realize that!

Glad I'm not the only one that dove right in lol.
For years I've been wanting to get into racing. Only 2 have gotten my attention. Rally and drifting. So I'm building a car that will do both.
Some people have called me insane for dumping money into something I've never even seen in person. "How do you know if you'll like it?" Deerrrrrrrr...... who WOULDNT want to slide a car around?! I do it anyhow when the conditions are right, why not be able to do it balls out without worry of traffic or a ticket haha!

Exactly the correct reasoning. Big thumbs up.

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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.

cheaper than drugs in the long run

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I would rather drive a slow car fast as a fast car slow!
first rule of cars: get what makes you happy, your the one paying for it!

Since some questions are being asked on how to afford this, here is what I was fortunate enough to do in my early rally days: My original rally buddy, John Bell, and I both wanted rally cars but lived in different parts of the county (Iowa and Va). We were both handy with cars, liked all aspects of rally (driving and co-driving), and we ended up both building pretty much identical cars. We could trade info on some of the things we did and that helped.

But the big help to both of us was that he would run events for a year or 2 and then I would run events for a year or 2. Whoever ran their car for that year would pay most of the costs and the other would co-drive. That made it pretty easy for us both to keep rallying year after year for most of a 7 year stretch; life changes for one would still leave the other open to keep their car and finanaces prepped for rally. And we could each run a series of events and get ours driving skills honed a lot better over a year. Sometimes we had others co-drive for us, like the few times when we both ran the same event.

Seems like some of you who live near others who rally might oughta consider this. The cost sharing could be as you agreed; the deal we used was good in that when the rallies ended for a spell, no one felt he was owed anything. And we had a good level of comfort with each others' driving. (Well, after I got that first big crash out of my system! John never did.) The personal comfort level is key.

Mark B.

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john vanlandingham

Quote
fiasco
Holland has two 87 Autotragic Supras and an 86. Was told $250, then $150 for the pumpkin today when I snagged a back half of the driveshaft off one for the LeMons car. Only saw the LSD OIL ONLY sticker on one of them.

OttoTragique is 4.3, snag it. We oughtter be good and PM Mark Hille down in deepest darkest Cornyeticult see if he has anything yet.

Yeah, I probably should go back and get it, just didn't want to tie up the cash or credit on something for the shelf...but if Mark wants to get it, I already loosened a couple bolts and the driveshaft. Tried to beat them down to $100, but no doing, especially since I didn't have enough $20s left in my wallet.

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Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

So I'm building not buying, I find as much enjoyment in building as I do racing and like any engineer I have feature creep on it. Sure I don't need a repainted inside and out shell with wilwoods, hotbits, a tdi engine, a kaaz diff and an air to water intercooler setup to go rallying, even if all don eon the inexpensive... just as i don't need a host of other things in my life... but that said I still love the car and the rally world. Thanks to some good friends and a hopeful sponsor I should be hitting at least the mt.washington hillclimb along with a host of other climbs next year.. and if all works out maybe NEFR... but its a labor of love, its what got me through my divorce, my rebound relationship and now its help to bring me and my GF closer together.

To the original point... there are a host of lost/forgotten rally builds out there.. ones we may never see and ones that people like me will drag home after seeing some dimly lit CL photos and a one liner. With all the best intentions in the world to rip it down the stages, but to that end they are serving a purpose, fostering dreams and making people happy.. thats what we're all here for right?