snow_bound26 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Hey everyone, Been looking at this forum for a while and glad to say that everyone seems pretty good natured and obviously loves their Legacy's. So now that I've started to turn mine into a project I've decided to join and sharing/collecting info with you all. So, I want to turn my 97 LGT into a stage rally car for both tarmac and gravel though I will be starting out doing auto/rally x to hone my driving skills. I've got a whole list of mods I want to do, but first thing's first; a roll cage and log book. I live in NY but am moving to CT. I've found one place that does roll cages, but they are very pricey, though the quality is top notch. I was wondering if anyone has done an FIA regulation cage here in the northeast and can give me an idea of cost and who I can talk to? Just really trying to get some estimates so that I know where the price I was quoted falls realm in the averages. Was quoted $4000 not seam welded. I know this is something I don't want to skimp on, but I also don't want to get raped on either. Let me know what you guys think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 You don't need the cage to do auto-x or rally-x. Instead of trying to build a rally car, have you considered buying something cheap that is already built to get some stage rally experience first? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow_bound26 Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 I have been looking, but it's slow going finding something within my price range that hasn't been beat to **** (repairing cracks and metal fatigue can be almost as expensive as starting from scratch). I know I don't need a cage for auto/rally x, but I would like to do my first rally by fall 2013. Auto/rally x is just to get me back into the spirit of things so to speak. I'm a former Nissan guy and have done several auto x's and played around with drifting when I did my 240 build. Always wanted to get into rally, and am not going to rush into it. I love the feel of the Legacy chassis even though most prefer the lighter weight of the Impreza (found more often for sale in the rally world). I want to start off doing tarmac and eventually move into gravel so that my car can be used for both. For me this is more about precision driving then it is about hp, so unless I find a car that is in relatively descent condition that I like I will continue to build this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated broknindarkagain Posted June 19, 2012 I Donated Share Posted June 19, 2012 For a spec roll cage, you're going to pay quite a bit -broknindarkagain My Current Project - Click Here COME AND TAKE IT "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 All these cars are WAY WAY less than you will spend even doing a partial or half-assed rally car build and come with nice parts: http://www.specialstage.com/classifieds/show-ad/?id=648 http://www.specialstage.com/classifieds/show-ad/?id=636 http://www.specialstage.com/classifieds/show-ad/?id=629 http://www.specialstage.com/classifieds/show-ad/?id=617 http://www.specialstage.com/classifieds/show-ad/?id=594 http://www.specialstage.com/classifieds/show-ad/?id=536 And that's just the cheap Subarus on the first two pages of the special stage classifieds. But if you REALLY want to build your own car, what is your budget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow_bound26 Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 Only 2 of those cars are open light class which is where new racers have to start with the restricted license. One of the cars is listed under 2 different ads, but is the same car. The other aspect is, when buying someone else's already raced car you still need to strip it down and check everything so that you can find out the real reason they are getting rid of it. There is a base minimum amount of work that will get it a log book. This doesn't mean it will pass technical inspection at an event, especially if it's been raced previously. Yes, on paper it looks cheaper to buy a car that is already built, but how well was it taken care of? Did the builder cut any corners financially? When were the struts last serviced? Was it seam welded/re-enforced? And so on.... You can shell out $10-$15k and still potentially have to shell out another $3000 to have the struts rebuilt for instance.What looks like a good deal may turn out to cost just as much if not more then building it yourself. Budget isn't the real question for me (though I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination), it's the time and patience I'm willing to invest. I have build experience, though not in rally. I'm not looking to start racing tomorrow. I want to do this right with a car that I'm comfortable with. I've started signing up to volunteer at events. I want to find a local team to help out whenever they need it. I want to get behind the scenes before I ever pull up to my first start. I've already invested just over $2000 in brakes and bushings/suspension components. I'm currently saving for a cage and coilovers. Once the cage is in, helmet and harness will be the next purchase and I'll start doing some rally x. Hopefully next spring. This is my project and I am willing to put in the time and effort to do it right. I enjoy the headaches as well as the successes of the build, only difference is this time I will be getting behind the wheel as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Well, sounds like you know what you're doing for the most part. I personally am more than capable of building a good rally car, have rallyxed, have worked at many rallies and helped out teams, and I would still go out and buy an already built car for cheap if I wanted to get into stage rally. It sucks a lot less when you wreck it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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