edrach

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.

You should not have failed emissions for a high idle. If the idle is too high they are supposed to cut you out of line, have you fix the idle and re-test at no charge since they couldn't actually test for emissions.

Matt, some gearboxes whine in first; not exactly normal, but nothing to worry about. Hard shifting could be due to a mis-adjusted clutch; if you don't dis-engage the tranny completely the shifting can be mighty difficult. Check for clutch pedal play before you do anything drastic.

Just to re-iterate my earlier comments; early Legacy wagon with the manual transmission. Automatics seems to have "issues" around 100K and above all, avoid the air suspension--it's a dog and is lots of $$$$$ to repair. Aaron's Wrecking in West Seattle occasionally has cars to sell that are in a good price range; just do a carfax check and make sure it doesn't have a salvage title. Also check out Smart Services' website--they also have a classified section. It'll take a while and some luck to find what you're looking for in the price range you want but it's do-able. Good luck.

Oil pressure guage shouldn't be a problem. Get an oil sender unit and replace the pressure switch. My son and I went the other way (remove guage, install switch on his DL Brat) without any wiring changes required when we installed his rebuilt motor. Of course, he had the correct wiring for the pressure switch in the car already. In retrospect, I don't think I helped you with this, sorry. ---Ed---

Don't know why my previous post didn't take, but either day is fine for me. Count me in; just confirming my need for a permit.

I'll make either day also. ---Ed---

I don't know about how much "weight" I carry, but I'd like to be involved. Indirectly (and with others on the Board) I think we can account for an increase of about 20 cars in the rallycross series so I feel we should be involved. Maybe we can have a quick getogether this weekend to discuss some issues (if any) or if anyone has some thoughts, post them here and I'll bring them up. One issue that is bound to come up is moving the GL wagons (4WD versions) into truck/suv class from Production--already a done deal as far as I'm concerned. Sad that we've driven the Jeeps out of the class by our domination of the class. I'm not worried about the Durango's since they're not competitive unless the course is dry and fast.

My son, Eric, 1st in Truck/SUV Luke Ebert, 3rd in Truck/Suv Myself, 4th in Truck/SUV Jason, 5th in Truck/SUV 84soob, 6th in Truck/SUV Everyone except Jason and Luke in a GEN2 Brat; Luke in his Gen1 Brat and Jason in his '77 wagon. Looks like hot competition coming up for next year. It would be nice to see the class expand with more Board members!

I'm trying to arrange business in Portland that week to be there on the 19th.