"RallyDork" (pelijep)
02/18/2014 at 08:07 • Filed to: Mazda, 323, GTX, RallyAmerica, NASA Rallysport, SnoDrift, Subaru, Classic Car Club, MFD Classic Motors, Michigan, Pure Michigan, Rally, Rallycross, Lights, Rallylights, CoDriver, Driver, hot dogs, beer |  19
|  40 |
Hey Guys, Saw all this talk about rally and maybe even a little talk about a GTX, Raphael?, and thought I’d throw this out really quick.
After a long period of wanting to get some rally time on the stars finally aligned with the right crew, right shop, funds, location etc… to finally get some stage time in. I found this little red GTX online and almost ready to go. With a limited amount of time, a very limited budget, and not a whole lot else we made SnoDrift and had a lot of fun doing it!
I’ve been crazy fortunate when it comes to some driving experiences whether it was driving some of the coolest cars the industry has ever seen with the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! where I worked for a few years to driving rare concours beauties and vintage racers at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! here in Michigan, I’ve lucked out.
However, I can honestly say that the 3 days at SnoDrift a month ago were probably the most exciting and just straight up the best times i’ve had in the car world and this is with a car that, with a turbo, in 1988, made 132hp. The same goes for spectating too. Bonfires, booze, hot dogs, bonfires, booze, tow warmers, hot dogs, rallycars. What’s better than that?
It’s all about the camaraderie even between teams. There’s a “we’re all in the -35, shit nasty weather, glazed maze of roads” that you just don’t really see at a track.
When we had one lug left on our rear left wheel I thought we were completely toast. All it took was a quick jog through service yelling “Studs! Studs!” and we were practically given a set from some neighbors and waved off back onto stage! We were pulled out and we pulled others out. Rally karma is a force to behold!
And given our lack to prep time we admittedly needed as much Rally Karma as we could get.
- Only time in car before stage was doing doughnuts in a parking lot before driving into trailer.
- No RallyComputer… no time.
- Co-Driver didn’t know where we were going most the time. It is really hard.
- Driver (me) planted the car firmly in about 3-4 ft of snow a half mile from the finish of a stage… Bending the aluminum sheet of a skid plate under the car…
- The suspension was originally set up to climb up Pikes Peak, had sat for 2 years, frozen up, and became unfrozen at some point during the rally… kind of.
- We never really had the time to remap and tune the engine having gone from turbo to NA for Rally America Novice requirements.
- The doors didn’t match the car.
- Every wire in the car had to be checked and possibly redone.
- There was no handbrake. Was it frozen? Was it broken? Who cares! It’s A: not going to warm up anytime soon and B: if it’s broken we sure as shit aren’t going to find another one! Because GTX.
- Something plastic lit on fire on transit. It went out at some point about 4 miles later. Eh?
- Rear left wheel started coming off and rubbed off thread on studs. Had to make it back to service (3 stages) to figure it out.
- Steering wheel almost came unscrewed, twice from different spots. Screwed the remaining 2 screws back in with a drill bit about 2 minutes before going hot on the last few night stages.
- We lost heat on second day. It was cold.
Thank the RallyGods, we finished.
We DID get a local monster bombing superhero nasty fabricator to update our cage though! Not to mention an awesome rockstar monster bomb pair of crewmen who saved the day multiple times!! The chief of which is currently down at 100 acre wood with Kaltek racing so wishing them the best!Definitely a requirement. It’s one thing to run out of time and money fixing wiring or buying a seat that’s big enough for your ass but a cage that doesn’t stay a cage just isn’t a very good idea.
The GTX I’ve gotta say is a forgotten beauty of the vastly under-appreciated Group A period. There was a great article recently on just that.
The small wheelbase allows it to swing back and forth with very little effort if the weight-transfer-rhythm is getting on. It’s also light, very light compared to the bigger Subaru’s. This is without the turbo as well so once we plug that in it should push it into the stupid region of fun with trees region. The car WAS worked on a hell of a lot back in the day so it isn’t exactly stock under the hood... but maybe later.
It’s such a fun little car on stage I’m sure driving a good stock one would be a blast if you could find one that hadn’t been ravaged by a pimply teen from 1990. Anyone have any experience with one?
Of course there are draw backs to the car. These mainly consist of the fact that the cars don’t really exist anymore. Parts are hard to come by. The guys at my local shop who are usually pretty good literally laughed in my face when I asked about stock struts and springs.
Transmissions are often described best as “ glass” along with most of the other drive train bits and these are not easy or cheap to replace. Nor is the suspension.
So when I was told NOT to build my own rallycar by many more experienced than I, I heeded it. When I was told to buy something readily available for parts. Eh, not so much. Because GTX?
I’ve always thought of Rally as the greatest form of motorsport. The camaraderie between the spectators, drivers, and teams is just unparalleled. Sure the rally may be in absolute bumble &$#@ but who cares?! That’s the best part.
Some local hero gave us his heated garage and all we knew about him was that he had a thing for Budweiser. He called us every morning to say he had turned up the heat before he left to work and every night he came out and drank with the crew. True story. He also likes PJ’s. It’s the people, really.
Everyone with any kind of itch for motorsport should look up the nearest RallyAmerica National or Regional, or NASA RallySport event and go. It’s far more fun than YouTube or ANY track event short of the Indy 500 (Jim Nabors) and there isn’t even a price for entry, just beer and hot dogs. The teams could use your support and what’s cooler than watching completely grassroots teams run the same race as Higgins, L’Estage, and Block?
So all ‘n all the little redhead we lovingly dubbed LL… for personal reasons, made it to the end and on Friday set some decent stage times. We’ve got a WHOLE lot to learn. This shit’s expensive. Holy hell. Pace notes are hard, both to read and to hold in your head. Who knew? But we’re planning on hitting up a few more regionals this year so hopefully we’ll have smoothed out some rough spots. So any wave or shout out to the little red GTX you’ll always get at least a honk. Hopefully in the future a solid handbrake turn? Maybe? Because GTX.
Moral of the story? Go spectate, go drive, go co drive, go VOLUNTEER!!!!! It’s always gonna be an adventure no matter what.
1: “Find the biggest tree and stand behind it” - a man much wiser than I while marshaling/attending my first Rally New York.
2: “Press on Regardless which translates to F#@* it and go”. - my cousin who used to co-drive in the old Michigander rally.
3: “There are two kinds of rally cars/drivers, those who have rolled and those that will.”
4: and something cool that Vatanen said about driving fast through the countryside with pretty women. Or something close. i think.
Thanks Erik Olsen!
Oh, and the alternator went on the way home. Just for fun. Rally on.
JEM
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 08:44 |
|
Awesome!! I had a regular Mazda 323 hatch back in college and loved that car.
jariten1781
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 09:26 |
|
Good to see a GTX still out there...haven't seen one in person since the mid-90s.
Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 10:10 |
|
Kickass car, kickass write-up. Just kickass, man.
Dusty Ventures
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 15:12 |
|
Welcome to the rally brotherhood! Great write-up! Hopefully some of this can help on the co-driving side of things (shameless plug)
jalop-ho
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 16:32 |
|
You took a 323 GTX and made it non-turbo? Why didn't you just get a Subaru?
D
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 16:35 |
|
There's two GTX's for sale on my local Craigslist... the want is unbearable
Raphael Orlove
> D
02/18/2014 at 16:41 |
|
wait, link?
redmouseball
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 16:51 |
|
Owned an '88 GTX 10 years ago. Most fun car I've ever had.
Driving-ms-paisley
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 17:05 |
|
I'm sorry, i grew up with a gtx as the family car. There is no way i will believe it is a good car for anything. It was a piece of junk. SO much black vinyl.
Racescort666
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 17:06 |
|
Did you meet up with Erik Zenz while you were at Sno*Drift? He's the guy that rocks the white 323 GTX
Miata26
> JEM
02/18/2014 at 17:09 |
|
Me too, it was my first new car — red '89 SE w/ the GTX spoilers. Last I heard it had 225k and was still going strong.
|
RallyDork
> jalop-ho
02/18/2014 at 17:21 |
|
It came with the turbo off by I still have it. It'll be easier cheaper to turn it into an open class car eventually. Unless I break something huge then a Subaru would've been a good idea.
|
RallyDork
> Dusty Ventures
02/18/2014 at 17:24 |
|
Thanks! Ha ya we will be going over that i thinks. Cheers!
|
RallyDork
> Racescort666
02/18/2014 at 17:25 |
|
Yes. Very nice guy and great driver to watch! Hopefully we'll get our business together and rip it up with him in open class.
Stuttgart Shuffle
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 17:26 |
|
The poor man's integrale. Awesome car. Needs more digital dash!
Oran J Sands III
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 17:45 |
|
The drivetrain issues were mostly due to breaking axles when dropping the clutch on pavement. On gravel there was more slippage so it wasn't so bad. But still...
I watched these run when they were new. I always liked them.
Dave Kern
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 18:02 |
|
The suspension on the car was never used at PPIHC, the GABs were for rougher events. The guy who bought it from me didn't pony up for the DMS 40s, so you got the spares package shocks. :)
Wonder what happened to the real skid-plate I made for it, as that was bomb proof! Glad to see you got the ol' girl back out in the woods, hopefully we'll run into each other at a rally soon!
|
Dave Kern
> Dave Kern
02/18/2014 at 18:08 |
|
Oh, and if you race the GTX with the center diff locked (I always did, way more predictable), there's zero need for a handbrake because it will lock all 4 wheels up. The car is so twitchy due to the short wheelbase, a nice little scandi-flick is all that's needed coming into those tight corners. Handbrake is more of "plan b" or "plan c" with that car if things don't work out as you expect. LOL
Corvettefan
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 18:25 |
|
So like, just how expensive is it to do a single rally?
|
RallyDork
> Dave Kern
02/18/2014 at 18:29 |
|
Haha ya the skid plate got bent when we were towed out of the snow bank. Must have caught on something.
Wasn't entirely sure what the story was with the suspension.
I was experimenting a little bit with the diff but I found early on that it didn't understeer as much if it was open? I usually don't like using handbrakes it was really just for the spectator areas where the hairpins were more or less glaze ice and there was... short notice? Probably really just looking for something to hold onto!
i'm glad to have gotten it back on stage! Love the car. Hope to see you out there.
|
Dave Kern
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 18:39 |
|
Yeah, does understeer more with the diff locked, but if you adjust your driving style, you'll find you can steer it with the throttle since it has the nice mazdacomp LSD in back. I always found with it open, you never knew which end of the car was going to grip first, so it made it a bit more unpredictable. As you get comfortable with it, try hucking it into the corners with a little opposite steering first to upset the rear end, then as the back starts to rotate, jam on the throttle and hang on!
|
RallyDork
> Dave Kern
02/18/2014 at 18:51 |
|
heh can't wait to get on gravel. Doing Magnum Opus in June. I also remembered reading something Zenz wrote on SS about the diffs lasting longer if you left it open. That also was a big part. I'm not in the place right now to go on an expensive parts hunt!
|
D
> Raphael Orlove
02/18/2014 at 19:02 |
|
Whatchu up to, Raph?
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/433367…
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/433201…
If the first one were for sale this summer I'd be all over it
|
RallyDork
> Corvettefan
02/18/2014 at 19:03 |
|
It's expensive. Once you get past the whole having a car thing you still have to deal with entry fees, stickers, food for how many?, lodgings for how many?, gas for how many vehicles? Lost work wages etc...
I'm trying not to think about it.
|
RallyDork
> Raphael Orlove
02/18/2014 at 19:04 |
|
I've seen a few others out there... Parts war!!!!
|
Dusty Ventures
> Corvettefan
02/18/2014 at 19:05 |
|
Budget for at least $2,000
FlimFlamMan
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 19:18 |
|
Nice read. I can only do rallyx right now but hope to hit the stages in a couple years. Good luck!
Aaul00
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 20:18 |
|
HEAVY SWEEP TEAM MEMBER HERE! I wasn't part of the crew that pulled you out (as you can see I was taking photos), but I was there nonetheless. I remember seeing the skid plate dragging as you guys pulled away and being bummed that it happened to such a cool car. Congrats on finishing the rally!
Also, I volunteered to work Sno*Drift with a couple buddies and we drove about 8 hours from PA to do so. It was one of the coolest experiences I've had in a while. Everyone should try it.
MINI STIG
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 20:35 |
|
I had a GTX from 1989-1992 and loved that little car. Other than the rubbery gear lever and stupid amounts of driveline slap which forced you to become super smooth with the clutch and throttle so as to not upset the chassis it was a total blast to drive everyday. I sold it with about 45,000 on it and it never gave me any trouble other than a shock that went bad and was fixed under warranty and new spark plug wires when it developed a miss. I replaced the stock 185/60-14's with a set of 205/50-14's and the thing was glued to the road plus great in the snow. Just hit the diff lock and go driving or just have silly fun in a parking lot the GTX loved being thrashed around no matter the road conditions.
Oh, and the factory A/C blew so cold that it pumped visible vapor out the vents!
I sold it for a beater car and my first Kawasaki Ninja.I still miss that car.
|
jalop-ho
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 20:37 |
|
Alright alright, since you didn't make it non-turbo I'll give it a pass. ;)
i-do-strange-things
> RallyDork
02/18/2014 at 20:45 |
|
Good story! Did I spot a camo 510 in the background of one pic?
|
RallyDork
> Aaul00
02/18/2014 at 20:56 |
|
Awesome! Ya it took the crew a little while to bend it up enough... Car was fine though! Thanks for the pic!
Volunteering is a great time. Used to do it out east.
|
Aaul00
> Aaul00
02/18/2014 at 20:57 |
|
|
RallyDork
> i-do-strange-things
02/18/2014 at 22:16 |
|
That would be the long term project of the nasty pants Fab man.
|
RallyDork
> Aaul00
02/18/2014 at 22:21 |
|
sweet. thanks!
DUCK-HAMS
> RallyDork
02/19/2014 at 09:24 |
|
In an afternoon I put a VLSD from an early miata into the rear diff housing of my GTX, if you are thinking of upgrades.
The brakes can be made into floating rotors fairly easy too. Google will find that for you.
I'm glad you like your GTX. I loved mine but we never got along so I eventually sold it. RWD rally is in my future.
mazdaspeed2
> RallyDork
02/19/2014 at 09:28 |
|
I spy some spicy orange protege next to you in one of those pictures! (My car is a spicy orange mazdaspeed protege haha).
Brianthebear
> D
02/19/2014 at 11:02 |
|
I have two of them as well here in Los Angeles. One of them is for sale and currently registered. Email is brian.esquivel at gmail dot com
DreaminShelby427
> RallyDork
02/19/2014 at 12:42 |
|
Found one for $2500. Looks pretty sharp for you east coast heads
http://newhaven.craigslist.org/cto/4332751694…
Jonathan Harper
> RallyDork
03/04/2014 at 22:09 |
|
Fantastic to see a CCC alumni doing so well!! Cheers Jimmy.