Scott at Team Harco

Given enough money and spare parts - Porsches are excellent rally cars. 911s have always been the preferred model. My father used a 912 until about one year ago when he moved up to a 911. See attached:

Scott at Team Harco

Here is a shot of the 912. This car was originally built to compete at La Carerra PanAmerica. After winning his class in 2001(?), dad decided to make it a rally car for the SCCA ProRally series (Historic class in ClubRally).

Luis de Prat

Campeck, you go for it. Don't let the 911s get all the credit. After all, which is the better balanced car, eh!

(Photo courtesy of alpenweissisnice)

Scott at Team Harco

OK - as if that weren't enough....
Here is the 356 he used for La Carrera in '99 (again, not positive of the year - give or take, one).

macnewma

Don't forget about the Dakar 911 and 959.





Go for it man! But I would find a beater of a body and fix up the engine. Also, LSD can be a big help and don't forget to mod the hell out of it for safety. I would look at an early 944 or 924, the advances of the later models or turbos isn't worth it in my opinion unless you are a serious racer.

Max

ERAU-944

i like the dunlop sticker on that 911... that's sporting michelins... tee hee

-Mike-

Scott at Team Harco

They do make great tarmac rally cars...

Scott at Team Harco

Not so good in the snow...

Kurt

Awesome pictures. I would imagine rallying an older 911 would just be a blast. And 944s a little too easy or boring in comparison? I'm just guessing basically, no real facts besides some Vic Elford publications to back that up.

Dave

That's how I feel about snow, the guys who store their cars in the winter don't get to have as much fun!

hoffman912

Campeck

maybe 35-45 mph was tops. and not for long. my ride height is a little high, but still i didnt have a skid plate underneath, so i didnt want to chance botoming out. also i wanted to keep a safe distance back from th guy infront of me.. this was my 1st time off tarmac. (i was riding his *** most of the time anyways exceopt at first when i gave him alot of room)
also note.. this was a one lane dirt road, felt like a courduroy road.. there were some pretty boig rocks sticking out of the groung in the center (between the tire tracks) which also caused concern (ie no skid plate).

if you want to rallye.. rhinop lining wont do **** to save the bottom of your car.. you will want a big ****in skid plate

ok..how do you think the 911 first broke through as a viable race car?

vic elford... monte carlo 1967...

hoffman912

Porsche® 912s were raced when first introduced, especially rally events. Factory Rally Kits were available that included anti-roll bars, racing brake pads, and a dead pedal rest. In 1967 the 912 played a part in Porsche rally history that should not be forgotten, when independent driver Sobieslaw Zasada of Poland drove a 912 to win the European Rally Championship for series touring cars. That year, he and his 912 actually scored more points than the much better known, Monte Carlo winning, factory 911S driven by the driving team of Vic Elford and David Stone. In October 1967, Zasada took his Porsche 911 (could it have been his 912 with a different engine??) to Argentina and entered the Grand Prix of Argentina, a five-stage, 3307 kilometer road race patterned after the Carrera Panamericana. His was the only Porsche entered out of 376 competitors, and he won.

Scott at Team Harco

To add a little Porsche rally history here in the US:

Sobieslaw Zasada won the 1975 Press On Regardless rally here in a 911. Rather than ship the car back to Poland, it was sold to an American. That American was John Buffum. Buffum has won more national championship rallys (maybe events, period) than anyone else. Many of the early ones came in his 911.

In the mid-80s, Jeffery Zwart used a 911 Carrera 4 to take the stock class at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb several times. He also took one outright victory at a ProRally out west (Oregon or Washington, if I recall).

Recent years have seen a few 911s in the ProRally series. Here is an example: http://www.vintagerally.com/cars/chizm911.htm
Perhaps the most frequently seen Porsche is the one of Bob Olson, from Minnesota. (see car #93, in earlier post).

To my knowledge there are no 924/44/68 series cars competing in ProRally. Craig Seko does use his 944S in many Canadian events, but most seem to be on paved roads (or on ice). See more here: http://www.seko.ca/

Rally Guy

I think your choice of a 944 as a rally car should be made based on your love of the marque - not the inherent capabilities of the car itself. As a beginner - you'll probably be better served by a modestly powered FWD car - like a Golf. Look here for LOTS of rally cars for sale...

http://www.cwl.com/bensrallypage/#classifieds

As Scott will attest I'm sure - a RWD open dif car might not be that much fun. Esp in the snow. You'll spend lots of time just being stuck. But I've been spoiled with 5 years of AWD and limited slips all around.

But these concerns aside, I don't think there's any reason NOT to do this. The 944 seems like a damn solid, well balanced and well supported (Parts, upgrades, expertise) car and that WILL make for a successful effort.

Be advised though - going rallying is a big dollar undertaking. Try some smaller navigational events first to see if you like the concept.

And the man-hours involved are stunning. Unlike track racing - where you can sometimes get away with a quick visual inspection, oil change and brake bleed between events, in rallying you typically have to REPLACE several bits after every event. At a bare minimum - you'll spend hours just CLEANING the frickin' thing before you can even see what you've busted!

But when you're out there sliding sideways, the pace notes are bang on and you're connecting corners - well there really is no feeling like it in the world!

Happy rallying!

RK

Campeck

WOW..
that sight has some truly awesome cars for super cheap...
hmmmmm an 86 audi 4000 for 350 bucks!!!