Autocross Car - Which to choose?

[weairy]

Well, we've started looking at Autocross, seeing as we're about an hour from Bendigo.

Figure I'll play the 1600 class. So what I'm chasing is something with a 1.6lt, manual (pref 4spd), rear wheel drive, light, pref. coil springs or similar (or space to bolt in some coil-overs). What can you suggest? Budget is pretty high by Autocross standards, so fire away.

[Psi-Pop]

Escort?

With some Dollars you will have access to everything that made them good in rally.

[Zedjay]

if you can find one ...id say gemini!!
or a Dato 1600 / 180B

[weairy]

See, I was thinking Escort, but they're starting to get a bit hard to replace bits on etc. Same thing with Datos (brother in law is trying to build a 1200 coupe and you just can't buy bits for em)

Gemini was my idea, but I'm not sure they'd handle quite right for the job. The one we had in the paddock had some motor work and was pretty hot, but a handful to drive and felt like it wanted to roll over.

[wrongwaynorris]

No brainer , Escort . Nice BDG , Quaife box and Hewland rear end , they wont see which way you went for dust . Dato 1600's are too heavy and only a poor mans Escort anyway , one of the most grossly overrated cars of all time .

[Jimmyd]

Want to start out cheaply? KE71 Corolla - last of the rear drive, coils all round, 5spd, rack and pinion steering, from factory with a 58kw 4ac sohc 1.6lt - easy conversion to 100kw a twin cam 4age.

Cheap to buy, simple easy to work on design, parts plentiful and cheap; and no one will want to castrate you when you stick it in to a wall....

[michael_ozzie]

Hey Weairy,
Having just got into autocross myself, it does depend on how competitive you want to be. Last 2 VCAS rounds I have raced in, front wheel drive cars are on average 10 seconds quicker over a 1 minute track. But the rear wheel drive cars are much more fun, and easier to work on.

I have a Nissan Pintara, and though very heavy in terms of an autocross car, it is old enough to be on club registration which means I can drive it 90 days a year. In fact, I purchased it, insured and club registered it all for under $1000.

Have a look on VCAS website, plenty of useful info on there too.

[FreddyDUZ747]

Toyota Sprinter 4AGE twin cam 1600 or an 80s rear wheel drive corolla with said motor(the square shape last of rear drive)

[Andy777]

I say escort but i am biased

another option ae71 corolla - with the 4ac - you can bolt up the 100kw twincam motor using the same cross member and gearbox

[EDManual]

I have had a few autocross cars,

escort 2.0 good susp etc (fun and fast but not fast in the way that you get good times...)

triumph tr7 (fun and fast and a fair bit faster than escort)

hyundai accent (fun and very fast and a lot faster than escort and triumph! I won a few times out of 40 to 50 entrants)

subaru 4wd wagon (lightened by a few hundred kilos and with light flywheel, alloys etc) Lots of fun as it is light enough that the relatively low power of the 1.8 now has enough power to get it into 4 wheel slides, and was quite fast! Nearly as fast as accent.

I would go a suby wagon. Cheap and fun and can get sideways but also have the grip of the front wheel drives.

Actually where are you? We are wanting to sell cheaply our autocross wagon!

[makattkd]

Ive seen a few people do well in impreza RS just make sure it has a slippery diff in the rear and a good centre diff

[Tobey]

Do they run anything like this in Sydney?

[max_torq]

a fun little ford could be the TX3 AWD Laser

[350125GO]

MX5.... You'd be crazy to go anything else unless you prefer the oldschool coolness of an Esky (which wont't handle anywhere near as good anyway).

Lightweight, RWD, Newish, Manual, cheap, loads of parts, jap reliability. They were designed for handling...

[Mr Hardware]

I came in to post exactly what JimmyD said.
KE70, 4age conversion, 5-speed, coils all round. Win.

[jjw]

early mx5 would be a fun way to go autocrossing

If you consider FWD, maybe a Civic could be quick

[EDManual]

civics are not quick, as they only have power high up. you need an even spread od torque and power to come out of corners in an orderly fashion in a fwd to be fast on dirt.

[XT3VCruiser]

Datsun Stanza ?

[Franco Cozzo]

I'm going to go left of field, offer something you don't want but i'll mention it anyway.

WF Festiva, it handles like a boat stock though, 57Kw 1.5L Mazda B5 engine, but it weighs 960kg for the bigger 5 door one, they come in 5sp manual, wouldn't cost much to buy, spend some dosh on suspension and bushes, set of good tyres, remove the rear and passenger seat, ditch the sound deadening and you'll basically have a go-kart.

What is auto cross by the way?

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by 350125GO

MX5.... You'd be crazy to go anything else unless you prefer the oldschool coolness of an Esky (which wont't handle anywhere near as good anyway).

Lightweight, RWD, Newish, Manual, cheap, loads of parts, jap reliability. They were designed for handling...

Early MX5 for sure!

If older cars are your thing. An Escort would be very good. Or a lttle beasty that I had and that ripped along dirt roads, 1974 model Mitsu Galant / Chrysler Valiant (aka Galiant) which were Australian rally winners in their day. That thing had really good balance

[michael_ozzie]

Big Damo,

Google search VCAS and have a read up of what autocross is about at Victorian state level. There are also clubs that hold their own events every month.

[MattSAU2XR8]

Don't know if you could still find one without rust but a Holden Gemini 1.6 from about '76 to '84 with an early model header (4/2/1) and a Datsun 240k/260c/280c carburetor (rejetted and converted to mechanical secondary with a spring replacing the diaphragm) and some ball bearings stuffed down the vacuum hose for the EGR with said hose pierced on EGR side of the bearings, and the front springs squashed from jumping speedhumps and 3/4 of a coil cut (!) off the back springs is pretty good on a dirt track so long as it's not too bumpy :-)

[Zedjay]

latter model gemini's with RTS handle heaps better than pre RTS gems..
but like someone else sugested...LASER TX-3 4WD TURBO is the go..
they are like a poor mans WRX and parts are cheap as

[JoelBluexh]

From what ive seen, is that FWD cars do go faster, but RWD's are funner, A TX3 AWD would be ideal, but finding one that hasnt already been flogged to death is the hardest part. IMO a Pre 90's carby fwd is the go, easy to work on, and with a simple mods they get up and go.

[weairy]

Just finished watching the khanacross club day at Bendigo. Aparently even the Hyundai Excel's outrun RWD cars. The old point-and-shoot FWD style is way more controlled. But mind you, I watched a guy flog round in a KE70 witha 1.8lt in it and have a hell of a lot more fun.

[ebxr8240]

Early Mazda with coil rear suspension..
Leaf springs don't handle as good..
With latter model piston engine...
Depending on $$$ a turbo version...

[Polyal]

Dont forget about cortina's too, everyone goes straight for the escort and your right, they are becoming expensive to maintain because of their history and rep.

Even the 80's cortina's would go alright, IIRC there was a Factory Rally one at one stage.

Also E30 BMW's would be ok? They are bread and butter cars and shouldnt be too bad for parts.

[weairy]

considered a cortina but theyre too heavy and to get any go out of em you need a crossflow, which isnt in the 1.6 category unfortunately..

[lockieoc]

Toyota Starlet GT 1.3l Turbo. bit of tweaking and some suspension mods and you will have a quick little car. Trouble is finding one in good nick.

[Polyal]

What about a Pulsar SSS?