Cheapy rally car for starting out
Discussion
Long story sort I want to get into rallying, It’s been a long time coming, since I was a nipper its always been on the cards, but after seeing the Tempest rally a few weeks back Im well and truly hooked!
Now, I don’t have a magic money tree at the bottom of my garden so I’m going to have to start off low budget, plus my skills aren’t quite up to Burns / McRea standards (just yet :P ). Am planning on joining the local motor club within a few weeks (Farnborough Distrct MC) who run quite a few autosolos and auto tests throughout the year. Im thinking 12 months of attacking this kind or event will give me a bit of the know how on how to ‘hone’ the ol’ :drive: skills.
This is the big questions - WHAT CAR?!?! I’ve got a few on the cards and wanted to know what you bunch thought…
Version 1 / 2 classic Impreza sti, always wanted one - but all the people I speak to say that ‘you’ll be up against the big guns in the 4x4 class start off in the 2wd. IMHO weighs quite a bit and a good friend has an extremely well sorted one so I’ll probably get a bit disappointed with any thing which doesn’t have a similar power out put.
Or
Pug 205 gti 1.9 / mi16, loads of them out there, cheap as chips but I’m thinking they are getting a ‘dated’.
Or
Pug 106 GTi, Cheap as chips again, light weight but only a 1.6 but little bit ‘plastic’ if you know what I mean?
4x4 and rwd are more appealing as its some ting I’ve not driven before, but then would that not mean sticking with what I know (fwd) is the bet idea?
Was thinking either a standard road going car I can adapt or an already sorted / project rally mobile (there’s a nice impreza in the rally section down in Cornwall I nearly went to see over the weekend a bit too much tho)
Oh budget… about £2,000
All suggestions welcome!
Now, I don’t have a magic money tree at the bottom of my garden so I’m going to have to start off low budget, plus my skills aren’t quite up to Burns / McRea standards (just yet :P ). Am planning on joining the local motor club within a few weeks (Farnborough Distrct MC) who run quite a few autosolos and auto tests throughout the year. Im thinking 12 months of attacking this kind or event will give me a bit of the know how on how to ‘hone’ the ol’ :drive: skills.
This is the big questions - WHAT CAR?!?! I’ve got a few on the cards and wanted to know what you bunch thought…
Version 1 / 2 classic Impreza sti, always wanted one - but all the people I speak to say that ‘you’ll be up against the big guns in the 4x4 class start off in the 2wd. IMHO weighs quite a bit and a good friend has an extremely well sorted one so I’ll probably get a bit disappointed with any thing which doesn’t have a similar power out put.
Or
Pug 205 gti 1.9 / mi16, loads of them out there, cheap as chips but I’m thinking they are getting a ‘dated’.
Or
Pug 106 GTi, Cheap as chips again, light weight but only a 1.6 but little bit ‘plastic’ if you know what I mean?
4x4 and rwd are more appealing as its some ting I’ve not driven before, but then would that not mean sticking with what I know (fwd) is the bet idea?
Was thinking either a standard road going car I can adapt or an already sorted / project rally mobile (there’s a nice impreza in the rally section down in Cornwall I nearly went to see over the weekend a bit too much tho)
Oh budget… about £2,000
All suggestions welcome!
The BMW RWD Challenge is probably the cheapest RWD Rally series.
http://www.205cup.com/
Edit: Is the £2k just for the car?
http://www.205cup.com/
Edit: Is the £2k just for the car?
Right for a starter form of rallying you need to look for a road rally car, these events are cheap to enter and can be done in a standard car, although most people tent to run with roll cages, buckets, harnesses etc. find out if your club does 12 car rallys, they are a great place to start.
A full road rally incorporates gravel and tarmac, starts at midnight, finishes at 5am. Is about 160 miles in lenght, and also includes breakfast for two. They are about. 60 quid to enter. THe only main rules are non turbos and 4 cyl max.
If you want anymore info let me know
A full road rally incorporates gravel and tarmac, starts at midnight, finishes at 5am. Is about 160 miles in lenght, and also includes breakfast for two. They are about. 60 quid to enter. THe only main rules are non turbos and 4 cyl max.
If you want anymore info let me know
EDLT said:
The BMW RWD Challenge is probably the cheapest RWD Rally series.
http://www.205cup.com/
Edit: Is the £2k just for the car?
Yeah just for the car, will probably put the same again into 'modifications' and the usual fees etc etchttp://www.205cup.com/
Edit: Is the £2k just for the car?
Pwig said:
Right for a starter form of rallying you need to look for a road rally car, these events are cheap to enter and can be done in a standard car, although most people tent to run with roll cages, buckets, harnesses etc. find out if your club does 12 car rallys, they are a great place to start.
A full road rally incorporates gravel and tarmac, starts at midnight, finishes at 5am. Is about 160 miles in lenght, and also includes breakfast for two. They are about. 60 quid to enter. THe only main rules are non turbos and 4 cyl max.
If you want anymore info let me know
I've heard of a 12 car event via the FCMC forum, sounds like good fun! Will do some research into it, but obviously that rules the impreza out!A full road rally incorporates gravel and tarmac, starts at midnight, finishes at 5am. Is about 160 miles in lenght, and also includes breakfast for two. They are about. 60 quid to enter. THe only main rules are non turbos and 4 cyl max.
If you want anymore info let me know
Good shout that man!
motorbreath said:
I've heard of a 12 car event via the FCMC forum, sounds like good fun! Will do some research into it, but obviously that rules the impreza out!
Good shout that man!
I ran amd impreza road rally car until a couple of weeks ago, i put a 2.5 non turbo engine from the legacy in it. Good shout that man!
Also buy a ready done car as its much much cheaper. Http://www.britishrally.co.uk is a great place to start
43034 said:
205 XS? Rare as f
k but there was one for sale on here for £600 IIRC.
Here's a prepped one for a bit more: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3173229.htmk but there was one for sale on here for £600 IIRC.(Oh thats a 106...where's me glasses? Still looks like a good place to start)
Good luck on getting started,
Shop around in the classifieds section here or take a look at rally24.com.
I've been thinking of buying a 205 or a BMW or build a Freelander to sit alongside my Range Rover Classic Rally car. I just need to make some room in the shed first.....
Don't forget ( and apologies for teaching to suck egggs etc) that you'll need a van/towcar, trailer, workshop facilities too. They'll soon eat into budgets.
All the Best and welcome to the sport!
Shop around in the classifieds section here or take a look at rally24.com.
I've been thinking of buying a 205 or a BMW or build a Freelander to sit alongside my Range Rover Classic Rally car. I just need to make some room in the shed first.....
Don't forget ( and apologies for teaching to suck egggs etc) that you'll need a van/towcar, trailer, workshop facilities too. They'll soon eat into budgets.
All the Best and welcome to the sport!
Rover 214/MGZR
With little work you'll have a reasonably competitive 1400cc car that would be good in the BTRDA 1400 championship. Cheap to run, loads of bits and a pretty good engine to boot. (Yes I know it's a K but we've been running one for a couple of years now and the engine has never let us down.)
The Rover I compete in has a standard engine/gearbox, bigger front brakes (ZR160), decent suspension, and a proper exhaust, plus all the standard safety gubbins (weld in cage, seats, belts, extinguishers etc).
On single venue stage rallies this year we've finished in the top 3 in class a couple of times, often the only cars that have beaten us were bike engined cars which are banned next year anyway.
I think the car cost my mate £200 with HGF and he picked up a donor engine from a scrappy for next to nothing. He had the cage put in by a proper motorsport prep company and did everything else himself.
ETA: We used to run a 205 GTI and had nothing but electrical issues with it, on it's day it was brilliant fun and went like the clappers but far too often it left us standed in the middle of nowhere refusing to start. (A particular highlight was towing all the way up to Derbyshire from Somerset only for the bugger not to start when we tried to unload the trailer. Turned around, drove home and when we went to unload it back at his house it started first time....
)
With little work you'll have a reasonably competitive 1400cc car that would be good in the BTRDA 1400 championship. Cheap to run, loads of bits and a pretty good engine to boot. (Yes I know it's a K but we've been running one for a couple of years now and the engine has never let us down.)
The Rover I compete in has a standard engine/gearbox, bigger front brakes (ZR160), decent suspension, and a proper exhaust, plus all the standard safety gubbins (weld in cage, seats, belts, extinguishers etc).
On single venue stage rallies this year we've finished in the top 3 in class a couple of times, often the only cars that have beaten us were bike engined cars which are banned next year anyway.
I think the car cost my mate £200 with HGF and he picked up a donor engine from a scrappy for next to nothing. He had the cage put in by a proper motorsport prep company and did everything else himself.
ETA: We used to run a 205 GTI and had nothing but electrical issues with it, on it's day it was brilliant fun and went like the clappers but far too often it left us standed in the middle of nowhere refusing to start. (A particular highlight was towing all the way up to Derbyshire from Somerset only for the bugger not to start when we tried to unload the trailer. Turned around, drove home and when we went to unload it back at his house it started first time....
)Edited by Cyder on Wednesday 16th November 09:42
motorbreath said:
...WHAT CAR?!?! I’ve got a few on the cards and wanted to know what you bunch thought…
Version 1/2 classic Impreza sti,
Or
Pug 205 gti 1.9 / mi16,
Or
Pug 106 GTi, Cheap as chips again, light weight but only a 1.6 but little bit ‘plastic’ if you know what I mean?
Learn your 'trade' in something which needs momentum to carry speed. Also, allow some of your budget for a decent lesson & licencing. A car in this series will teach you plenty about car control and have great fun without blowing the budget (too badly, because you will blow your budget Version 1/2 classic Impreza sti,
Or
Pug 205 gti 1.9 / mi16,
Or
Pug 106 GTi, Cheap as chips again, light weight but only a 1.6 but little bit ‘plastic’ if you know what I mean?
).If it helps as well as Farnborough MC there's also Craven MC in Reading who have loads of folk with experience of the various classes.
volks al said:
Hi Al, Come to Autosports in Jan, all the major series will have stands there to chat with the organisers.
I was considering the Freelander rally before I chose circuit racing.
Good shout mate, looks like they have a new rallying section so should be quite helpful. Thankfully I would of finished exams by then so will be a man of leisure! You heading up there?I was considering the Freelander rally before I chose circuit racing.
motorbreath said:
Good shout mate, looks like they have a new rallying section so should be quite helpful. Thankfully I would of finished exams by then so will be a man of leisure! You heading up there?
Yes I'm planning in going one of the days, prob a trade one. Will try sort you a ticket if you want to go. Depends on what you want to get out of it, and the kind of events you are looking to do. Your budget is quite small, so becareful what you go for. Also make sure you've considered all of budget when competing.
If you look at single venue events, then entry will tend to be around £190 + fuel + tyres etc, however you won't need tax or insurance. Where as if you want to get into the forests you will be looking at around £400 entry, and if they are multi venue you will need insurance etc.
When running in the BTRDA we normally budget around £1200 a round - not including damage - which as we discovered in 2008 can happily very easily
So on your question. While its tempting I would try and steer away from Impreza's for £2k. There are a lot around, and even in basic trim they can still be costly to run, plus there are so many specs making sure you get the correct spares can be tricky. That said they are great fun, real bang for your buck.
But depending on what you want - running an Impreza will put you in the same class as all other 4wd cars, so you end up against £40k + cars. If your not too bothered about results then they are great fun but be realistic on expectations.
We started out in the Skoda trophy, the Felicia was a great car for learning - not too competitive against other cars in the same class. However many of those cars are now cheap to buy and run - a great place to learn as it's all about keeping your momentum up.
We've also had a 106 Rallye - great fun and can be competitive in the 1400 class - 100 BHP, and very revvy, again parts are pretty cheap now and there are plenty around. Really good fun.
Otherwise has mentioned BMW 325 from the RWD challenge are great fun, with quite a few kicking about now.Or Nova Sr can be picked up for that kind of money, or even Mk ii Astra Gte!!
205 XS on ebay - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Peugeot-205-xs-Rally-Tra...
Good luck - drop a PM if you want any more info on our experiences - happy to help out.
If you look at single venue events, then entry will tend to be around £190 + fuel + tyres etc, however you won't need tax or insurance. Where as if you want to get into the forests you will be looking at around £400 entry, and if they are multi venue you will need insurance etc.
When running in the BTRDA we normally budget around £1200 a round - not including damage - which as we discovered in 2008 can happily very easily
So on your question. While its tempting I would try and steer away from Impreza's for £2k. There are a lot around, and even in basic trim they can still be costly to run, plus there are so many specs making sure you get the correct spares can be tricky. That said they are great fun, real bang for your buck.
But depending on what you want - running an Impreza will put you in the same class as all other 4wd cars, so you end up against £40k + cars. If your not too bothered about results then they are great fun but be realistic on expectations.
We started out in the Skoda trophy, the Felicia was a great car for learning - not too competitive against other cars in the same class. However many of those cars are now cheap to buy and run - a great place to learn as it's all about keeping your momentum up.
We've also had a 106 Rallye - great fun and can be competitive in the 1400 class - 100 BHP, and very revvy, again parts are pretty cheap now and there are plenty around. Really good fun.
Otherwise has mentioned BMW 325 from the RWD challenge are great fun, with quite a few kicking about now.Or Nova Sr can be picked up for that kind of money, or even Mk ii Astra Gte!!
205 XS on ebay - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Peugeot-205-xs-Rally-Tra...
Good luck - drop a PM if you want any more info on our experiences - happy to help out.
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