'91 legacy into rally car

[dave_t]

what would you suggest doing to turn on einto a rally car?

[J-MoNeY]

Interior strip, plexy(sp?)glass windows, full roll cage, racing seats with 5 point DOT approved harnesses, a good set of rally tires, mud flaps, big IC, more boost, straight exhaust, crazy driver.

[douglas vincent]

You don't even have to have boost to do well. A 1990 NA legacy placed fifth overall on Sunday at the MT Hood rally in Oregon!

[dave_t]

You don't even have to have boost to do well. A 1990 NA legacy placed fifth overall on Sunday at the MT Hood rally in Oregon!

thats good.. cause the one i want to buy to trun into a race car is N/A... untill i find a doner turbo legacy

[rally370]

Mines a N/A Rally Legacy and will be competing at Laughlin in Dec www.rallyusa.com for details.
The car was built by Barrett Dash of Bend OR.Since I got the car I updated quite a few things as the tracks in CA are a little rougher that in OR.
Engine/Driveline/brakes are nearly stock.Car performs very well but does suffer from lack of power on the up hill sections,but that makes you drive harder everywhere else!

Cheers

Chris

[dave_t]

Mines a N/A Rally Legacy and will be competing at Laughlin in Dec www.rallyusa.com for details.
The car was built by Barrett Dash of Bend OR.Since I got the car I updated quite a few things as the tracks in CA are a little rougher that in OR.
Engine/Driveline/brakes are nearly stock.Car performs very well but does suffer from lack of power on the up hill sections,but that makes you drive harder everywhere else!

Cheers

Chris

mine will be a very low budget rally car... for now atleast...

my plans are:
buy the car for cheapest possible price
gut the car leaving the dash board and front seats
fix problem areas(front suspension, probably some other things)
possibly have roll cage made
possibly replace glass sunroof with fiberglass roof scoop
learn how to drive better
race
look for turbo + AWD swap

[greg donovan]

well if you are new to rally and want to participate in Rally America sanctioned events you may end up having to run w/out turbo for a while as they are putting some restrictions onto the cars that true rookies are going to be allowed to drive.

the details are not final yet so i dont know exactly what the resulting ruling from RA will be. but the goal is to keep inexperienced drivers out of high HP cars and to mimize the liability risk to RA, organizers and the insurance companies. thus making lowered ins costs a reality which will hopefully lead to lower entry fees.

it appears that they may allow low hp awd cars in rookie hands.

drivers will have a driver "log book" to keep track of their behavior during competition.

im not sure how i feel about this. i agree that some cars arent for beginners but i hate to see huge restrictions on what can be used.

i would like to see more non competitive rally school schools instead. 2 per year per region would be ideal.

as far as prepping a legacy for rally its not much different than any other car.

focus on safety and durability first.

do a full tune up and replace everything that looks questionable like alternator water pump and anything that looks like it could break and keep you from finishing.

also go over all the hardware and bushings in the suspension.

i would reccomend getting group N mounts for the engine and tranny.

where will you be competing? that is a big factor in how you will prep the car.

here in the midwest our rallies are a bit smoother so you can get away w/AGX and ground control coilover conversion kit.

if your region has alot of night stages spend some money on some good lights and fab up a really solid light bar that will stay in place and not bounce allover.

you will also want to build a sturdy sump gaurd/skid plate to protect the oil pan and headers.

you also need to get a skid plate to protect the gas tank or put a fuel cell in the trunk.

some underbody protection for the floor is a good idea too. some use Ultra High Molecular Weight plastic. the UHMW plastic is tough. around 1/4" to 1/2" should do the job. low density polyethelyne LDPE is good for the mud flaps and to fasten to the rear suspension to keep it from being sandblasted away to nothingness by the gravel you will be spraying.

buy wheels. lots of them. at least 10. try to get 15's but for starting out 14's are ok. also for starting out used rally tires are ok too. dont go with anything less that 1/4 tread depth left though. that could be trouble.

you will also want to get new rotors. oem ones are fine for now. but get some good pads that work well cold and hot. you also should get some really good high temp brake fluid.

you will also need some tipe of a rally trip computer. terratrip will get the job done. so will a brantz unit. and wont break your bank.

get good seats. spend a little more here. you will be in them for up to 12 hours two days in a row at some events. i like the sparco pro 2000. very comfortable. if you are bigger get the pro 2000 evo. sit in them before you buy them. go to a rally and sit in as many cars as you can and ask how they like the seat. aspecially the cars of peole similar in size to you.

sa far as belts go the cam lock oare nice but not necessary. te latch link get the job done and you get out just as fast. it is the getting in that the cam lock really helps ou with. get pull up lap belts and pull down shoulder belts. in a tight space it is easier to pull up on the lap belts.

[dave_t]

i basicly want the car to do targa newfoundland with... i don't know if i would ever get into real rally racing

[greg donovan]

i basicly want the car to do targa newfoundland with... i don't know if i would ever get into real rally racing

well in that case. depending on the class all you would need is some good tires, struts/spring, and brake pads.

try to talk to Andrew Comrie Picard (ACP) musketeerracing is his username here. i believe he ran targa last year. from what i hear traga newfoundland is a great event and is a ton of fun.

[JasonGrahn]

You don't even have to have boost to do well. A 1990 NA legacy placed fifth overall on Sunday at the MT Hood rally in Oregon!

Incorrect. Barret Dash's (white legacy) car is a turbo.

Gabe's (red) legacy is a non turbo.

[ultrasonic]

i basicly want the car to do targa newfoundland with... i don't know if i would ever get into real rally racing

There are two different levels of participation in Targa Newfoundland, last time I checked.

The full competition Targa level involves several (5?) stages of tarmac rally. You'll need roll cage and prep similar to performance stage rally.

There is also Touring class, which amounts to a TSD rally, which would require much less car prep.

http://www.targanewfoundland.com/

Sounds like fun either way.

[fishbone79]

I’ve been to tons of rallies, participated in a few, and I am still an NA purist. Rally is all about driving ability, the performance of the vehicles is less important (although still of very high importance), at least in my opinion. At the last Maine Forest Rally this summer, I watched some moron in a lifted Stingray beat the some douchebag in a WRX simply because he knew the limitations of his vehicle, and didn’t try to push it too hard. Having NA doesn’t put you at a disadvantage, I don’t think… at least not as much as a lack of skill would. However, that is all just my opinion.
Cheers!

[ultrasonic]

I’ve been to tons of rallies, participated in a few, and I am still an NA purist. Rally is all about driving ability, the performance of the vehicles is less important (although still of very high importance), at least in my opinion. At the last Maine Forest Rally this summer, I watched some moron in a lifted Stingray beat the some douchebag in a WRX simply because he knew the limitations of his vehicle, and didn’t try to push it too hard. Having NA doesn’t put you at a disadvantage, I don’t think… at least not as much as a lack of skill would. However, that is all just my opinion.
Cheers!

That rally Corvette is Doug Jenkins, who is certainly no moron. Check out the car here:
http://www.dougjenkinscustomhotrods.com ... te_01.html

And check out the kind of work Doug does on all kinds of cars.

I agree with you that the most important thing is the skill of the driver. I also think that an NA car can be fine, especially for someone just getting into the sport.

[rally370]

So why did I pick N/A? I've done Rallies in FWD and RWD (MK2 Escort) so it was time for some AWD .Old Audi? Eclipse or Subaru? My friend Rob had a Rally Turbo Legacy and I was amazed how well the car did without to much prep work.Then I saw Barrett's N/A for sale ,took the train up to Bend with Rob and drove it for 13hrs back to LA.Price was the thing for me at $4500 for a ready to go rally car it was a bargain.Ok so I've spent nearly that again on wheels,Clutch,suspension,new belts and tow dolley but I still feel it's a bargain car.
Problems? only supension and skid plate. OK suspension problems could be fixed by going the DMS route but at $3500 a little out of my price range.So I went for 04 STI road struts/springs.Ride height is good and spring rate is a little more than the King spring KSFR-26 I have now.
Skid plate was attached to the front valance via captive nuts,these ripped out of the body and took out the header on it's exit! So lots of metal needs to be added up front.
Engine? can't fault, it but just needs a little more power as up hill is only about 30 mph! On the flat and down hill I'm sure we are up there with the rest of the Turbo PGT.
I like N/A also because it's easier to work on the car , less to go wrong and less under bonnet heat .
There will be three Legacy's at Laughlin.If you are close come and join the fun.


Cheers

Chris

[ultrasonic]

rally370 makes some good points. Certainly it will be cheaper to run a NA car. Less overhead means more budget for entry fees, travel expenses, and driving school. Experience and training will increase your performance more than forced induction will, at least at this stage of the game.

[rally370]

I did forget one thing! Rob's turbo motor blew on the last rally and it was a big problem trying to find another good one.In the end we found one for $1000 and them had to get it fitted and change many things.N/A's ten a penny!!! and cheap.Thrash it,break it,throw in another!!

Cheers

Chris

[dave_t]

i've been informed the car is AWD i thought it was front... and i can probably get it for $500 (cdn)

[fishbone79]

I spoke to him, and he wasnt very friendly... so I deemed him "moron." However, since hold him in regard, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. And indeed, the car in impressive.

[douglas vincent]

Sorry, Gabe in the NA was 8th, not 5th, overall on Sunday. He is forced to compete in the Open division because he has modified something or another, but not the underpowered motor.