Greetings, Bricksters, and a safe and Happy New Year to you all, from Cleveland: Well the 2003 SCCA Rallye season is upon us and it looks like the Detroit and NEOhio groups of the Central Division are gearing up for some fun this year. I guess I'll get back into the swing of it and drag my butt out of the house and into the snow for some winter motorsports. The question, of course is whether or not I should buy the old 240 diesel that's sitting in the neighbors driveway, and has been for some time, and set it up as a vintage-class machine. I'll have to think about that a bit, but I'd like an opinion. I'm looking at the low-end torque, since the winter events are pretty low-speed, through the snow deals, that rely more upon accuracy than giddy-up. The more important question is how many of my fellow Bricksters have prepped a 200 series for rallying, what did you do, what did you add to the car, and how successful were you. Understand, I'm not about to spend a boatload of dough on the car, but thought that perhaps a skid plate, a reweld of the exhaust, and the addition of tons o' lights would be a good start. Any other 'low budget' mods done on your cars? I'd be really interested in your rally histories, since I've been out of the sport for quite a while, having run MGs, a Datsun Sentra, and a 260Z back in the '70s and '80s. Any rallye programs that might run on a laptop? Do they need to be tied into the odometer with some typr of interface? Oh' hell, I'm going 'stream of consciousness' now. I'm getting out of here....

Brad

Brad,

You can't dangle the subject "Rally" out there without eliciting a response from me and probably George before the end of the day.
I assume you are referring to "road rally" here, public roads, follow the routes instructions, checkpoints along the way, legal (if challenging) speeds. The 240 is well suited there since it is comfortable, roomy, handles well and had enough power to handle any legal speed. The higher than average ground clearance helps on some of the more rugged events. Suggested mods would be an adjustable odometer(stock odo on a 240 is tough to read at night). We use both an Alfa-Pro and TerraTrip. Aux lighting for night events is essential as is some interior lighting for the navigator. A bash pan under the engine is only needed on the worst of road events. A neat way to stiffen up the suspension and increase clearance is a set of '79 GT springs, 260 springs or Diesel springs (on a gas car). Besides that, a good running car is all that is needed.
George and I run his 242Gt in performance events in the NE and Canada. These events are more race than rally. The competition actually takes place on gravel and dirt roads (stages) at max speed. These stages are connected by public roads (transits) to get to the next stage. Georges car is an '80 GT with a '93 front clip (to meet the 20 year rule) and is heavily modified including roll cage, custom springs, modified Bilstein's, special rally tires(Michelin or Kumho), gutter interior, interior routing of gas lines, elecrical, relocated battery, lexan windows (all except windshield), lots of extra lights, you get the idea.
The engine is a race built B-23 punched out to 2.6L with a UNITEK 531 head, headers and dual DCOE50 Weber carbs. It requires 110 octane race fuel and will develop 260hp when fully sorted out. Transmission is an M-45 with Quaife close ratio gears. It's a purpose built race car with license plates. Even so, we are marginally competative against lighter FWD cars such as VW GTI, Ford Focus and others. In winter races, we stay home. A very small number of top rally drivers have been successful with RWD lately.
History wise, I was doing road rallies in the 60's in a 544 but only got into ProRally in '99. Totally different stuff but great fun

Skip

Skip: I knew I'd sniff you out eventually (see my reply to your post of a few days ago regarding your new purchase) and I sincerely thank you for the reply. Yes, at present I'm talking about a straight TSD event in the snowbelt of NEOhio (Ohio Winter Rallye) which is, or is not on paved/gravel roads depending upon the weather. I wanted to ease back into the sport and was looking for opinions as to how good the RWD Swede is in this situation. The mods you suggest are what I'd figured, but thanks for the 'heads up' regarding the ground clearance...I hadn't thought of that. I'm not yet ready to get back into the pro-rallye scene, having crashed our Capri in the woods of Northern Michigan many moons ago...Major ouch! My speed events have therefore been relegatd to autocross and watching the professionals on SpeedChannel. Looks like I'm ready to rock (in a minor way, of course) and frankly, since I've been driving RWD cars almost exclusively for quite a while, I'll make the most of it. Who's your supplier for the clock/odo bits, in the event I want to ramp it up a notch? Thanks for your input.

Brad

Brad,

They all come back! I did a lot of TSD in the 60's and 70's, until the oil embargos just about killed recreational motorsports. Then I discovered performance rally at STPR in '98. I knew I wanted in.
There really aren't many "performance tsd" events around me. Most have been scared off by population sprawl. That's why I switched to stage rally. I only manage 3 or 4 events a year but hope to do about 6 in 2003. Don't get me wrong about competitiveness. On "good dirt" the Volvo can be wicked fast and is a real crowd pleaser. That tail out attitude is more exciting than a GTI pulling itself around. When the roads turn slick, we do need to back off. For odometers, check AlfaPro at http://rally.cc or Terra Trip at www.susquehanna.com The AlfaPro is a popular line for tsd and the TerraTrip is seen more often in Pro events. It will put you in a higher class in tsd but the stock odo is a challenge for the navigator to see. You can place a sensor through the backing plate in the front and not worry about slippage. The biggest trend for co-drivers these days is pace notes, like the WRC uses. Keeps us co-drivers busier and makes the drivers faster.

Skip

well, although I haven't prepped a 240 for rallye, I sure am an enthusiast of the sport though! I go to school in Southern Ontario, and have seen George Thompson race a 242GT two or three times now--he's out of Pennsylvania and I'm sure he'd have tons of pointers for you...he's occasionally on the 'board...his name here is Gorgo and his co-driver's name is Skip...they know a pile about it...maybe look them up and send them an email or something...hope this helps and good luck! If you get it going, you should come to some ontario rallies...they're fun!
nate gundy