Cheap First Car for Rallying?

[PJN]

Fancying trying my hand at it sometime in the future?

What cars to people tend to start out with?

Ideally I'd just VTEC a 106 but since I don't have a bottomless pit of money at the moment, thought I'd start with smaller things :)

[ed-bradley]

205 Gti?

Suppose it'd depend on how serious you are at taking it up.
If you scouted about for abit..you could pick up a reasonable Impreza for £1000+

My dad did a Manx rally for the 1st time a couple of years ago.. He bought a Nova 1600 Iirc.

Perfect for a first, cheap rally/rallycross car.

[PJN]

Never been a fan of the 205's, and I can imagine an Impreza to be a bit big if i'm honest

[Si-Gore]

Classic mini's are where some people like to start out with. Mate of mine did it with his few years back till he totalled the fucker.

[PJN]

Classic mini's are where some people like to start out with. Mate of mine did it with his few years back till he totalled the fucker.

Yeah, always fancied a Mini, just don't fancy spending the rest of my life cutting out rust D:

[ed-bradley]

.....Saxo Vts? :D

[Mochachino]

Nissan Micra, im not joking either.

[Connor_scotland]

Pug 205s

[jonathon5]

Nova used to be popular or Suzuki swift

[Tommo87]

Nissan Micra, im not joking either.

Beat me to it.

It does make sense though cheap to buy,run,insure,modify and fix.

[shannon-ob]

mg zr, rover 25?

[Mochachino]

Beat me to it.

It does make sense though cheap to buy,run,insure,modify and fix.

yep yep. Also OP vtec 106? What rally you want to enter? Theyre not all as simple as doing a trackday you know.

[cloke]

Nova used to be popular or Suzuki swift

My brothers got 1l swift for sale for £500 if you(OP) want one

[CampDavid]

Find the rally series you want to enter, then find the car. To start out buying a ready built car will be the cheapest way in

[Colin]

Check the new MSA rules. Engine swaps between manufacturers is now outlawed.

I would say a Micra, Nova or 205.

Heres a tip.... buy a pre-prepped car and save about 12-15k. No joke.

[PJN]

yep yep. Also OP vtec 106? What rally you want to enter? Theyre not all as simple as doing a trackday you know.

I've no idea what I'd want to enter yet. Need to do some further reading into it. And yeah, a bloke on Rallye Register built a b16 106, lemme find the link.

http://www.106rallyeforum.com/forum2008/showthread.php?t=66989

[davidharvey]

I would say there is no cheap way into rallying, if you are looking for a cheap car then it suggests you will not be able toafford to compete. I know when I did the Scottish championship that fuel (for the rally car and towcar) was our major expense, and it was a hellova lot cheaper then.
However, if you want to continue, then buy an already completed car as Colin said, make sure it has been done right and comes with a spares package (engine, gearbox, diff, wheels/tyres etc).

And good luck

[PJN]

I would say there is no cheap way into rallying, if you are looking for a cheap car then it suggests you will not be able toafford to compete. I know when I did the Scottish championship that fuel (for the rally car and towcar) was our major expense, and it was a hellova lot cheaper then.
However, if you want to continue, then buy an already completed car as Colin said, make sure it has been done right and comes with a spares package (engine, gearbox, diff, wheels/tyres etc).

And good luck

Yeah, I'm probably being a bit overoptimistic. I'll wait a couple of years I suppose, see how I feel then.

[Mochachino]

Have alook in the motorsport prep section at other competitions you can enter alot more easily.

[PJN]

Have alook in the motorsport prep section at other competitions you can enter alot more easily.

Will do. Thanks all for the advice :-)

[dougieph2]

i seen that b16 106, he had to get the full front suspension custom made and when he done his first race the handling was all to fuck!

[AXracing]

What class are you looking to run in? One of the cheaper smaller engines classes like some of the 1.4 ones are generally a good starting point. I would recommend something like a Saxo, 106, AX or a small engined 205 as the way to go. The likes of the Nova, Corsa and Fiesta can all be made to work well but its a little harder and they generally take more money. A good starting point is a used car that had done well the year before. Then at least you have a known good car then and if your going slow it is simply because you are new to the sport. You will get better in time though. I really would recommend going to one of the many rally school out there. They don't cost that much and can save you a fortune if you listen to them.