Event Coverage Does anyone here participate in road rally events?

Peking to Paris. La Carrera Panamericana. Trans America. All incredible challenges, and to participate in old american iron to me is nothing short of automotive heroism. Daydreams of storming foreign countryside are often shot down at the thought of shipping costs and other logistics. Are there more approachable events out there to get a taste of the experience? What does it take to get started? Is a H.A.M.B. rally within the scope of reality?

 

lmao....LeMons Rally is more my speed! And you get bonus points for the older the car is. I've done it in a Edsel, Corvair, LaSalle, Hudson, and the Wedge.

But yeah, it would be neat to go on a "real" rally some time. Although it sounds like a lot of work!

 

There was a 40 Ford coupe that ran the Peking to Paris run. I think I read about it here or it could have been Jolopnik. Worth reading if you can find it.

 

I'd love to, but way beyond my budget. Especially like the cars run in the early years of the Carrera built or driven by US racers and hot rodders.

 

At one time in recent history a fellow member of the '54 Ford Club of America competed in the La Carrera Pan Americana and did quiet well, Carson & his daughter Lauren( navigator) drove car 433 for 8 years in a row and won their class in 07 & 08. HRP

 

Well it helps if you own the local Coke-Cola bottling plant as the gent who owns the red Chevy in the middle does.
The three cars in the photo, Ford and two Chevys raced in the Peking to Paris race in 2014 or 2015. or at least in that time frame. I don't remember the names of the other two but believe one owns a large orchard operation. It takes some serious money. Those cars were either built or prepped by the top builders in the area with advice from some of the top race car folk in the area.

The Blue 38 Ford down past the 54 in the bottom picture is Bill Ross's flathead powered Bonneville car. Bill Now retired was an electrical contractor for years who built some pretty nifty rods and customs in his hobby shop over the years.

 

I did the Great Race twice, that's gotta be the closest thing in the USA that's open to whoever has a car that meets the rules. The courses have gotten shorter in the last 20 years, my first race was Washington state to Boston, took a month. Now I think it goes a week or two, and you can just do a single day if you want. I would really like to do it again.

 

SCCA Road Rally events are accessible and inexpensive. 25 years ago I ran a Valiant which I had built as a replica of the cars that competed in the 1964 Monte Carlo rally. Now I’m nearly finished with my OT ‘67 Mustang which I will use in events here in MI. Classifications are based on type of navigational equipment rather than vehicle type. Go to the SCCA website to see which region you are located in, then check the regional website for dates and location of events etc.

 

FYI. Here is a photo of my rally Valiant. Try to ignore the nitwit next to it. I didn't look nearly as dashing in photos as I did in my own mind.

 

Interesting! Just wondering, were you able to find, and / or use any of the "official" MOPAR racing parts that were available to the very early TransAm teams, like Bob Tullius' Dart?

 

Interesting you should ask. Scott Harvey, Sr. was the Chrysler engineer who headed the Valiant Monte Carlo effort. He drove the first of the three entries with my good friend Gene Henderson as his navigator. For the inaugural season of Trans Am, 1966, Scott ran the Team Starfish Barracuda effort.

When I started my Valiant project I spoke with Scott and he offered me some parts he had left over from the old Valiant effort, as well as negatives of promo photos. I was thus able to equip my car with a roof light, a Grimes interior navigational light, and Heuer watches which Scott had used.

In terms of vehicle prep, Scott had published a brief guide, though I can't remember now where I saw it. I did use that info to help with suspension set up, though technology advanced considerably between 1964 and 1992, so I used more modern parts.

 

Wow. Another mini-side bar you might be able to shed light upon... I had a photo professor in college, mid-1970s, who had some sort of homologation special car like yours. I'm not sure how he got it, but I remember it as a Barracuda, not Dart or Valiant. Regardless, he was pretty proud of it. Sadly, he "loaned" to a fellow student who was getting married. That guy traded it in later on a new Honda Civic without telling my professor about it. Livid? The operative question is, were there homologation runs of these "rally" cars in the late 60's?

 

I'm in MI as well, when I make more progress on my car I will definitely look into some SCCA events!

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My one road rally experience involved my wife navigating while I drove.
Probably the quickest way to ruin a great relationship.
Fortunately she forgave me, it is never mentioned in our house!
KK

 

How he did it I don’t know, but Scott got Girling disc brakes homologated for the front of the Valiant. He used station wagon rear springs, as did I. I don’t recall what torsion bars he used, but mine were A body big block bars. I used Volare spindles and disc brakes and a later Dart 8.25 rear axle with lsd. My engine was a built 318 rather than the 273 Scott used, but they looked alike. Trans was, of course, an A833. I also used later 5 on 4.5 wheels.

The Valiants all returned after the Monte. Scott continued to campaign one and I believed the others were sold and campaigned by their new owners. At least one was “rebodied” as a 1965, I think (but don’t know) by Scott. In 1967 I saw one parked on State Street in Ann Arbor and wondered why it had no rear seat and all those funny lights on the front. Of course I knew virtually nothing at that age.

 

Go to drscca.org, the Detroit Region website and click on the road rally button. Lots of info there, including a beginner’s guide written by Scott Harvey, Jr. If you’re shy about driving your car on gravel, don’t bother. All Michigan rallies are primarily unpaved.

 

Sounds like big fun, got any action photos?

 

You're not going to believe this, but the professor I mentioned went to school in Ann Arbor ! ! ! ! His name was Douglas Stewart, but has since passed. He was one of my graduate advisors at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL. Small world. Thanx for posting all this info.

 

Hey @Ryan , here ya go. Why not a sister event to the HAMB drags only in Rally form!?!

Personally I have been wanting to do a hillclimb event here locally ever since I saw the Scandanavians doing it in gravel pits 20 years ago.

 

There used to be and probably still are, outlaw race rallies on backwoods dirt roads. The organizers went to great lengths to keep them from any publicity. These were/are pro races with the entry fees paying the purse. I remember the courses were chosen to keep the speeds below 40 mph so crashes were not too serious.

 

Second the hill climb idea, like the one in Colorado! At an established course would be even better.

 

The original Colorado one was my original inspiration. glad it came back. Been busy with the kids football and have not made it tho!

 

The comparison between self image and reality can be brutal. Lol
Especially for the non photogenic like myself.

 

This is for sale at the moment in uk,took a bit of abuse by the look of it but would still make a good project

 

Rally Historico Tranpeninsular, a thousand miles on pavement beginning in Ensenada and ending in Cabo San Lucas, I don't know if they got it off the ground. I've done a number of races in Mexico and elsewhere in a variety of contraptions, I'm slowly scraping together parts for one last racer

 

Interesting, are those Ontario license plates?

 

My new hero ! Luv me a Val !!!

 

HAMBer @Erik Andersen has a 1950 Olds 88 that he participates in various events amongst other driving challenges https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...n-a-1950-olds-88.1022181/page-2#post-13167668

 

Gonna go sideways a bit here, but @foolthrottle throttle mentioned the rally down the Baha to Cabo San lucas, reminds me of a fun story, there has always been an illegal bike race from Diago to Cabo, its about 900 miles, and the winners are doing it in less than 9 hours, so over 100 mph average. I have done it ( not raced) and sure, there are places where its baron desert to run flat out, but there are also many places where the highway runs thru cities big and small. and hope to not see a herd of goats at 120 mph

 

Would love to do the Paris Peking one. Have done the 24 Hours National Rally of Wales many times in My O/T car. We would normally do about 800 miles in the 24 hours. It's motorcycle rally and I could enter because it's classed as a motorcycle combination (motorcycle and sidecar). We won one year because even against superbikes we could corner far quicker and those who know Wales will know how many corners in an 800 mile trip around Wales. They changed the rules so that a trike could not win after that. Shortly after that two people were killed as a result of rider fatigue and the 24 hour element was stopped.

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