Okay, here's the deal... I plan on running the Canadian Rally Championship next year, as my boss has offered some REALLY generous sponsorship. My only question is... what car should I run...

I've been torn between running a '74 VW Beetle, or a '92 Toyota Tercel... i've thought about some advantages and disadvantages:

Tercel
------
Pros:
Reliable as a toaster... change the oil and clean the windows after a race
Can be pretty pretty quick while being kept close to stock.
Awesome handling with the right parts
Cheap as hell to get spares for
Has heat.
I have the perfect donor car (my blue car's twin)

Cons:
Soft body panels
Somewhat boring car, but it should look cool when I'm done
somewhat weak suspension design (although, there's a guy running a bone stock Paseo in the series, doing VERY well, same chassis as a tercel)

Beetle
------
Pros: It's a Beetle, and I'll get lots of media attention
Proven off-road design
easy to set up for higher ground clearance
cheap parts
pure simplicity
I have a pile of them

Cons:
I'm gonna need to install a floor because I don't want to install a roll cage in one of my pristine cars.
Underpowered
No heat... and there are some COLD rallies.
4 wheel drum brakes



Any suggestions? I'll be running in a stock class... but you CAN get away with some little mods, like different injectors, milled heads, etc.

I vote for the Tercel. Seems the cons on the Tercel are a lot more manageable than the ones on the Beetle.

beetle, VW OR GO HOME

Nismo... you're such a strudel tool

Bandi, go with the Tercel as they are, i hate to say this, a disposable car. They're everywhere and when you ding one up, you've got others waiting.

I'd hate to see a pristine Beetle get destroyed... it would break my heart.

Samurai

Actually, you've got a really good point there, and yeah, if I wrecked a bug, I would cry.

The Tercel I'd be using cost me $100 at the Toyota dealer.

You know, I was gonna say the Beetle, but the point about the disposableness is so true... I didnt think of that! lol

The Tercel is a manual right? *pardon, I havnt read all the posts about it previously*

-Cody

Yeah, I have to also go with the Tercel because it doesn't become a funeral when you lose it.

you should use the Datsun 510 ;)

The 510 is gonna be a long term project, although it's solid, it needs just about everything else, and the cage is super out of date.

(Oh, and the Tercel is a manual)

Oh, I also was thinking... the car I would be using for the rally car is the same year/model/colour as my daily driver Tercel, which would be convenient for plating, insurance and emission testing purposes. Just don't tell anyone.

So I'm gonna use the Tercel... with one little twist. I'm going to run a front wheel drive Corolla GT-S engine. The 4AG is only 100 cc larger, which would keep me in the same class, and I would imagine it'd be ridiculously fast in a Tercel.

Any suggestions, ideas, whatever... let me hear them!

sexy.

Posted by bandi So I'm gonna use the Tercel... with one little twist. I'm going to run a front wheel drive Corolla GT-S engine. The 4AG is only 100 cc larger, which would keep me in the same class, and I would imagine it'd be ridiculously fast in a Tercel. Any suggestions, ideas, whatever... let me hear them!

...they don't need to know what the engine came out of...

Samurai'

Well, group 2 (what i'd be driving in) allows any engine made by the same manufacturer as the car, up to 1600cc, as long as it uses the same layout (ie, FWD Transverse mounted) and that the engine not be modified.

Works for me!

mmm, find a volvo 240 or 244 and use one of those. We have a 240 and a 242 DL (I think), used to have a 240 DL until a few weeks ago. The weight is balanced fairly well on the sedans and they are tough as fuck, rear wheel drive, large engine bay if you ever want to get something bigger than the standard red block.

This is probably my favorite 240 vid:

http://www.youtube...atch?v=SCDNICXOqhk

I had a 242 Turbo for a while... I dunno, I liked it, but I can't see myself spending that much time building a race car I wasn't really interested in.

Plus, the last Volvo I saw at a rally kept having to be pushed up hills by spectators. We called that the "Swedish hillclimb",