Rally 900?

[allessence]

In one of the posts Luke made he stated he would move up (down) to a 900 chassis for the next rally car.

Would the body need more bracing (like running 2X2 thick wall tubing down the lenght of the car both sides)? As well as the full roll cage?

I had always thought the earlier model 99's had a much more rugged/stiffer chassis and are lighter than the 900.

My 78 99 turbo was very ridged compared to my 900. The 99 could be jacked up at the corner and still open/close the door without the door catching the striker pin.

I find the 900's steering sluggish compared to the 96's. Mind you my 66 monte carlo is not nearly as fast but it certainly is more fun to drive and just feels like it can be thrown around almost like a dirt bike vs a harley. Zing, zing, zing. zagggg.

[DeLorean]

My 78 99 turbo was very ridged compared to my 900. The 99 could be jacked up at the corner and still open/close the door without the door catching the striker pin.

you know, some 900's do this, and some don't... my 88 you can jack up anywhere and the doors will still work, my old 86... forget it.

[Luke]

Yeah the rational side of me keeps thinking that I'lll build a 900 but these 99's are so so tossable, rugged and fun. I think both cars make good rally cars.

Advantages of a 99:
1 Lighter
2)More rigid chassis/strength especially in the front end
3)better tossability

Advantages of a 900:
1)better stability
2)more powerful engines stock
3)easily available body parts/shells/ mechanical parts
4)more service space

[james]

Yeah the rational side of me keeps thinking that I'lll build a 900 but these 99's are so so tossable, rugged and fun. I think both cars make good rally cars.

Advantages of a 99:
1 Lighter
2)More rigid chassis/strength especially in the front end
3)better tossability

Advantages of a 900:
1)better stability
2)more powerful engines stock
3)easily available body parts/shells/ mechanical parts
4)more service space

Not so sure of the lighter part- isn't your car around 2400? our 900 was 2500, fully gassed. slap a fiberglass hood and trunk on it and you'll get it down even farther. the new car is 2500 as well, with all glass and metal bodywork. perhaps a bit lighter- but not enough to really be a factor, imo.

james

you're right about the front end though- groo and i both had the wandering-north front ends.

[Luke]

Our car was 2350 with lexan rear side windows, stock hood and trunk. Since then we've subtracted with: a 12 lb kevlar hood, fiberglass trunk and lexan rear window and removed all undercoating.
But we've also added a rear bulkhead for the fuel cell, cage extentions, heavier suspension turrets in the front and a gigundous skid plate. I think no matter how you skin it a 99 will definatly end up lighter but like you said probably not enough to make a noticable difference.

[paulh]

yeah from the looks of it we are gonna go for the more sensible route and build up a 93 900 rather than the rusty old 99t. the parts availability is one of the big things, the fact that we have an essentially rust free 900 shell with no sunroof, and a really rusty 99 that would need firewall mods is one of the other factors. really though the difference between Lukes car at this point and a c900 with the same sort of mods would probably be nearly imperceptible, most of the things that were different have been changed out for c900 parts anyway (rack, engine). the weight is gonna be the only slight difference, and if it ends up being more than like 200#'s id be pretty surprised.

99's look way cooler though... :lol:

Paul

[allessence]

Has anyone thought of taking a 4door 900 and making into a 2door?

With a little sheet metal work, one could take off the rear doors and fit some panels over the openings and end up with a stiffer chassis?

Seems the 4 doors are a little stiffer. as with all 4 doors open they still can be closed even with the car jacked up. At least on the one's I've worked on.

[Luke]

I believe Groo told me his next project was a 4 door.
I think the stiffness of the cabin part of the body is not really an issue at all once a cage is installed. Also the long doors are nice because it makes it easier to get into the car. My car is hard enough for me to get into I cant imagine with the smaller doors. The extra doors behind would make it conveinent to get to spares and stuff that get stashed behind the seat and it would make it easier to weld the cage. Although it would be tougher to get cage pieces inside the car in the first place.

How about taking a 2 door notch and shortening it clown car style to use 4 door front doors, that thing would turn! weeeee

[Geoff]

I've always thought about taking a 2dr notchback and removing the section between the 'B' and 'C' pillars to shorten it up. It would be short but you'd still be able to get in and out with a cage in it because you'd have the full size front doors. It would just be silly sideways all the time!

[Crazyswede]

I have always liked the 4 doors and was looking for a 4 door to use as a rally shell for a little while. Seems like the best combo as you can access the back a lot more easily. Once the cage is in it doesnt make a big difference. it might be a little heavier due to the rear doors.

[Rallyho]

Well, pics of how a back-woods redneck would turn a 900 into a rally car are located in the photo forum.

My bet is that when it's all said and done, it will be a stiff shell. Interestingly, the cage would have been nearly identical going into a 4-dr or 2-dr.