Task List

Bogie makes a good point...where do we go from here? I'm going to list the items I can think of, but feel free to continue this thread (for those older users, that would entail "commenting" on this post) by listing anything you can think of that I have left out.

-Car (we'll start with the fun one)
- 4 cylinder (I don't remember if there is a displacement restriction for this class)
- 2 wheel drive...I know I know but we've got to start somewhere
- naturally aspirated...""
- < $4,000 blue book value
- As far as parts availability, we're probably looking for something domestic (or at least
main stream import - VW, the Jap brands, etc...)

-Racing Association
-All of the information I sent you guys yesterday was from the California Rally Series (CRS)
website. This to me seems like a logical place to start. All the races are in the South West,
they feature an entry level/amateur division which is about all we can afford at this point
but they do allow racers to ecru championship points. I believe points are based on your
best three or four finishes of the season and you don't have to race every race to
participate in the race for the championship. Also, though this won't matter as much for
us, drivers and co-drivers are awarded points separately.

-Paperwork
-I don't know if the car has to be registered, though I believe the nature of a rally car is
that it has to be street legal which would necessitate registering the vehicle. As far as
insurance, it obviously wont have a lot of value, and I know CRS insures all the events but
don't you have to have proof of insurance to operate a vehicle on the road...maybe just
PL then?
- Registering with CRS. This is a nominal fee of 30 dollars and that will get us a
membership card, a rule book and a couple of decals. I believe the only additional
paperwork will come when we sign up for a race...including race entry fee, any
additional waivers, and I believe you have to go through a pre-race inspection so they
can verify your car meets the class criteria
- So I don't think this is necessary, but you can become a certified navigator. It might be
worth it to study the actual art of rally navigation rather than trying to develop a
proprietary system for communication...we'll see.

-Driving

So we all know how to drive, but rally is something different all together. Dad says he's too
old to drive, but he definitely has the most racing/driving experience. I can drive, and have spent my fair share of time off road, but my immediate instinct was to
designate myself as navigator. Bogie. This is interesting because he seems to
be good at just about everything, but he's had his close encounters (accidents) that have
made him skiddish. He also can't drive a stick (yet) and while that seems like it should be
easy enough to learn, anyone who knows better will tell you that it's just something time
teaches you. We'll leave this up in the air for now but it's something we should think
about. It's important to keep in mind that while there is a certain amount of glory involved
in piloting the machine, the greatest glory comes from victory and victory will be best
achieved by fitting the proper players with their respective roles.

-Navigation

Oddly fitting that I make maps for a living, but I don't really know what kind of advantage
that gives me. From what I hear they are 1:50,000 Topo maps with highly detailed road
info. I think the requirement here will be be that the navigator develop a sense for the
the kind of information the driver will need to know and when and how to deliver that
information. Again, there is a methodology to this and it will just require some research.

-Mechanical

We're fortunate to have some mechanical prowess among us. Unfortunately the kind of
car we're looking at is of the more modern, possibly computer controlled, fuel injected
variety so tuning and especially rebuilding without diagnostic equiptment will be difficult
at best, but we'll have to see what we can borrow. (please feel free to correct me on any
of this at any time if I'm completely off base) I feel like a desert racing past will definately
help with suspension calibration, construction of an appropriate roll cage, seat and harness
mounting and what not. Practically, the car will have to be stored in Blythe, so provisions
might need to be made (Anderson speed shop :) or elsewhere but that will require some
travel for practice and prerunning/tuning.

-Financial

This is the tough one. These things almost always seem like they cost more than you think
they're going to. We're just going to have to play this one by ear. For now, we are a LOW
BUDGET operation until we somehow win the lottery or get a sponsor or two. I somehow
don't think we can depend on prize money just yet :)

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