edrach

I've been a long time dis-liking SCCA for a number of reasons. However, it's a necessary evil. In our litiginous society, one has to have insurance, and rallycross wouldn't run without the $5M insurance policy that SCCA provides.

Matt, I asked his permission and he said okay. He's quite motivated to get his wagon running properly.

Second tow truck guy finally showed up. Cool guy--he knew what a Brat was. Says he just bought a yellow '84 wagon with a turbo. He needs someone to replace the headgaskets and is looking for help. His name is Ron and number is 206-423-9241. He wants to fix it up so "he can go out in the woods and play." He does have a real turbo since it's also an automatic tranny. His other comment is "If you ever need a tow, call me, I'll go anywhere. I even towed a guy home from California."

What bites even more is after waiting an hour for the tow truck, the operator claims he can't take the car without damaging it further and we have to wait for a "swing truck" which will be dispatched out of Seattle.

Can't just wipe the slate clean and re-classify. The problem is that the RallyX classes need to be commensurate with SCCA's classes for the Club and Pro Rally series. There's where part of the problem lies. The rest of the problem is the same as in Open where Subarus also dominate and I don't hear any complaints there.

Since I'm slightly superstitious and I believe things happen in threes--this is a warning:dead: Last Wednesday, my Brat was rear-ended while waiting for a traffic light to change. Luckily, minimal damage, but still damaged. Tonight 84Soob was coming to our house to pick up his seats and was cut off by an Expedition:madder: trying to pass on the right. Unfortunately, the wheel hub was broken at the steering knuckle and we're currently waiting for AAA to tow his car home. So park your Brats for a while until the Trio Curse is abated.

I'm quite partial to the Hakki's (from Nokia) but I've driven on the Toyo Observe also and it too is quite good. Price for the Hakki's in a 14" size recently came to $420 for the set of four with all the extra charges and tax. This was for the all season tires listed on their website and not the Q series which are specifically for the winter season. Miles is correct about the fact that taller, skinnier tires work better in deep snow.

Check the ORG website and check out the classes as they now stand. The Brat (and the wagons too) certainly fit in Truck/SUV. It would be ludricous to move either vehicle into PGT since there is a minimum adjusted displacement of 2650 cc. Even more ludricrous to move them into Open (for the same reason and thensome). Frankly, the Brats (and wagons) are not outclassing the trucks and Durangos because of any inherent advantage in suspension or engine.....it's just that there were almost 12 of them running in the class during the last event (with some pretty good drivers too). And in spite of that, the lone Durango still won the class that day! And on an overall basis, the Durango still came in 2nd for the second time in two years. Granted, that placing was surrounded by Brats but that's only because 6 or more ran for the series. The real key here is not the difference in the cars but the skill of the driver. Show me 6 Durangos with 3 or more year's experience running the series and they'll likely move up in the standings---or force the Brat drivers to get better!

Ken, I think the real problem is that ORG is trying to adhere to the SCCA Club rally classes and decided that the Brat would be best in the Truck/SUV class. I'm personally against moving the Brat to PGT running against turbos and other such more exotic cars (not that it wouldn't be competitive with the right driver). I feel the same about moving the Brat into Open. Realistically, I think the most fair solution would be to split the truck/suv class into two classes. Or leave it alone, the Durango is obviously competitive in that class with the Brats based on the year-end finishes of the only Durango to run the series for the last two years. It did disappoint me that we did manage to chase the Jeeps and "actual" trucks out of the class.

Thanks Rick, I knew it was one of you "southern" guys. Sorry, we couldn't touch base this week when I was in Portland.

I had the pleasure of being at the meeting. Jason, Mudrat, and Nels from our group were also there. Here's a quick synopsis of what I got out of the meeting. I encourage feedback on some of the proposals and will post my ideas as soon as I organize them in my mind. Oregon Rally Group Meeting 11/19/2003 A number of things were discussed including plans for a Rally School in March to be held at the Hillsboro site. A two-day weekend event with instruction for navigators and drivers (including rallycross driving). Looks like a fun weekend; I’m reserving the time as soon as I know more. Some discussion about getting more people to join SCCA/ORG. A suggestion was made about limiting year-end awards to SCCA members only. No final decisions were made. Rallycross discussions: Serious consideration was given to randomized run order within a class to avoid the “stay at the back of the pack” syndrome. Lots of ideas that would be difficult to implement, but the best suggestion seemed to be to have six (or more) lines at the starting grid and randomly direct the order of which line runs 1st, 2nd, etc. Ideas were tossed about in an effort to get more than 3 runs in per car, per event. Thoughts on shortening the course and limiting the entry somehow were discussed. Most sensible suggestion came from an ORG member saying that the club could be more diligent in sticking to the proposed time schedule and that might be the most practical way to get in more runs per car. Safety Steward was adamant about there being no “spin cones” in future course designs since they are the most likely to possibly cause a roll-over event. Darn—I was just beginning to get the hang of doing that maneuver. This was one of the few things actually decided at this meeting. Car modifications were discussed to some degree and it was decided it was too difficult to tech modifications so things were left as they are. The “Brat problem” was discussed at length. I’m still not sure what the “Brat problem” really is, but it has something to do with how SCCA classifies cars for Club Rally events (which is the basis for the rallycross classifications). Also complicating things is the fact that the older 80’s 4WD wagons can be considered MPVs (i.e. SUVs) and as such can run in the truck/suv class. An un-named Durango owner made the suggestion that the “Brats dominate the class and discourage other cars from competing in that class.” Further it was suggested that Brats (and other similar Subarus) be run in PGT(stock tires) and Open(rally tires) class to allow for Jeeps, Durangos, and “real” trucks to be competitive. Your thoughts on this are welcome. Suggestions (keep them tactful and constructive) can be made to the current rallycross chairman, Chris Hale, at rallycross@oregonrally.com. I forgot to mention, that some of these things will be decided and voted on at the December meeting. My thought is to put those decisions off until the January meeting to get away from the holiday distractions.

Lots was discussed, but nothing voted upon or decided at that meeting. However, it was interesting. I'll summarize and post in a new thread what I think I heard. Next month's meeting will be when things are decided. After you see what went on, you can send your comments to rallycross@oregonrally.com

Come on, you Portland guys. Help jdub out. What's the name of that company in Portland that rebuilds distributors?

Fiind the post from Matt (Superrallyvovo or something like that) about failing emissions for my thoughts on that. I've been assured my Brat (weberized) will pass emissions from my favorite professional emissions guru but haven't had the time to take it through yet. As far as not idling, I'd say you're missing a vacuum line somewhere. My son has an '83 wagon and you're welcome to compare vacuum lines if you like (we're in Bothell now so it shouldn't be too hard to get together).

Matt, when you get that timing light (you could borrow mine next weekend when I get back from Portland), check all four cylinders for consistent spark by putting the clamp on all four ignition wires one at a time. This is an easy way to check for a mis-firing cylinder.

John, the name of the shop in Portland begins with a P; I have it saved among my favorites on my other computer (which is still "bellyup" at my old house). I'm sure one of the Portland guys will come up with it. I might have a usable used distributor in my collection of spare parts at the old house. It'll be up for sale soon when I get around to sorting out my old garage.

Interesting, the new vendor for emissions claims that all tests after the second one are charged the $15. I could have been told bogus info by the guy at the Redmond station. I'll check it out--actually, Matt, why don't you check it out for us.

Jason and Mike, I'll be down tomorrow (I hope). Can you find out where and when the ORG rules meeting is for me? Matt Tabor would know but my email is not yet up so I can't get to him.

Austin, look at the weather reports lately. Last year we were at 5000 feet elevation (I think--qman, bail me out on this). I suspect we'll have snow. Take the lifted wagon with the gnarly tires; I'll be bringing my Brat and keeping my fingers crossed.

I'm with rallyruss--"take it to someone who knows what he's doing." Take it to the guy in South Seattle (call me and I'll give you directions--or ask Austin); he'll charge you $39.95 plus tax IF you pass; if not, there's no charge. How can you lose? He's state certified (he has to be to be legally in business) and carries complete "sniffer" equipment in his portable van. If he can't get the emissions down, he will tell you EXACTLY what is wrong without any guessing and you can decide where to go from there. Remember if you fail emissions testing again, every test after that will cost you another $15 (no more freebies after two failures). Matt, you're a bright kid and I know cost is an issue, but do the right thing!

I've found good technical support and information at http://www.carbsunlimited.com/. Besides that (and prices on the "small stuff" being very good) they are located in Fife, WA just off of I-5--you can see their shop as you drive by going to Tacoma. Bow-wow in Lynnwood is good also, but has limited stock on hand. Shop around and do a price comparison and let us know what you find.

Not likely. A 38/38 is designed for a much higher displacement engine. I don't think you could even re-jet it properly to work. Check http://www.carbsunlimited.com for info. I have a weber manual and as soon as I unpack it (we just moved) I could give you more information on this. My two cents--go with the 32/36 and get it with the electric choke option.

Matt, do yourself a favor and talk to Austin about the guy in South Seattle who will make your car pass emissions or not charge you a penny for the work. He will tell you if you need to change the air cleaner, plugs, correct the advance or anything else that YOU can do to get it ready for him to properly adjust. Do the right thing and make it pass legally and at the least cost to you.

Mike, I should be in Portland this week (hoping to get to the ORG Rallycross Rules meeting on the 19th--by the way do you know the time and place?). Either I'll see you there or you can send me the check at my new address: Ed Rachner 715 232nd St. SE Bothell, WA 98021

Take the top cover off the air cleaner and "set" the choke by depressing the pedal all the way down once (sorry if I'm too basic here) and see if the choke is closed all the way. If not check the linkage for the choke and see if there's an adjustment. Worst case, check the website for where you bought the weber and see if they can talk you through it.