Special Stage Forums banner

Missouri area rally fans

16K views 35 replies 16 participants last post by  Drzy 
#1 ·
So there's at least 3 new guys in our area that have signed up here and I've seen a fair share of other MO guys lately. With two area rallies, we've seen a boom in people interested in rally whether it be spectating, volunteering, or competing. I think we're up to 14-15 local cars now and seems there's interest in more.

So starting this thread to help those new guys that want to find out more about rallying and can't find the info they want on their own. We hold a rally social in StL once a year in early February at a local auto service shop called EcoTech. We have our regular 100AW organizer meetings in the fall and winter. There's the Perryville and 100AW websites and FB pages, too, but am guessing we could still do more to get the word out on how to get involved. For instance, there are several local guys willing to loan out suits/H&N restraints/helmets/belts, etc. to first time rally competitors. That may not be obvious to most people looking to get into this.

Feel free to post here or email me - I'm the chairman for the 100AW. Or there's plenty other guys on the forums including Mark and John Huebbe, Lee Hilliard, Rob Wright, and Kim Demotte that live in the St. Louis area. Plus we know rally people in other parts of the state that we could hook up you up with, including Rolla, Perryville, Salem, Kansas City, and southern Illinois.
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Good to know there's help out there. I've been a rally fan but have never even been near a rally car, and I've already given the bug to a fellow Wal-Mart employee lol. We almost left work when we found out what was going on in perryville (we work in fredericktown). I would love to turn wrenches on a rally car so if anyone needs a seasoned mechanic let me know!
 
#4 ·
Noob first post alert!!

I'm just across the river near Chester, IL.

So where do I start. . . . 3 years ago at the 100AW I was chatting with a young open class driver from Michigan. I expressed my interest in getting a car, throughout our conversation he was very encouraging. Once I told him I had a hauler, trailer, shop and tools, his reply was "you have everything but a car, that's the easy part"

Fast forward to today, I am not getting any younger (37) and seriously want to get a car. I know there is a lot to learn. A low budget, get my feet wet 2wd car is what I'm looking for. Something similar to the Escort GT sold here a couple months back. There is currently a Saturn ION on ebay. Someone check it out and tell me what it would take to get a log book for that car.


Thanks-brad
 
#5 ·
Brad,

First of all welcome, I'm not far from you. Live in Festus and work in Perryville. I just entered my first rally at Perryville this year. If you have any questions feel free to pm me and I can probably help you out.

Secondly, you have a good plan it sounds like but if that ION is what I'm thinking of, DO NOT BUY IT. It was built as a "show car" only and isn't legal for any rally series and would require a complete rebuild of the cage to make it legal at the very minimum. Someone else chime in if I'm off the mark but it seems that car surfaces every other year or so and gets posted with the same misleading info about how it's a "rally car". I would suggest reading through all the documents on this page paying special attention to the "roll cage" illustrations: http://rally-america.com/rules when looking at used cars. Unless the car already has a logbook and can be grandfathered in. I think as a general rule of thumb most people would advise against buying anything advertised as a "rally car" that doesn't have a logbook.

Good luck with your search, there is a lot of good advice to be had on forums like these, as long as you're good at sorting out experience from b.s. :rolleyes:
 
#6 ·
Hey thanks, we should meet up sometime so I can see your car and ask ?????

While you were typing I dug deeper into the inter webs and the ion is "that" car. Looks like this is it's third round for sure on eBay. I can't help but think the ion would be one fun street car for $4,000 though.

I'm not in a hurry and don't want to get something I will regret. A car to enter next year at Perryville would be a goal.
 
#7 ·
Yeah definitely, although right now my car isn't much to look at. It's basically nothing more than a stripped out stock Jetta with safety equipment. I'll be gradually performing upgrades as I go along.

That Ion is actually priced really well for the amount of goodies it has on it, but I just didn't want you to think that you could buy it and go rallying with it tomorrow. It wouldn't be such a bad investment for someone who's willing to spend probably over 10k extra to make it legal, unless you can do your own fabrication work on the cage. But at that price point you'd have to be pretty excited about running a saturn ion specifically :p
 
#8 ·
If you want to buy a built car, I guess just keep your eyes open. If you plan to build, there are plenty of guys in the area that can point you in the right direction.
There is that DSM that Clayton has in central IL that looks to be a project, but it is already started which would save time over a street car. It's on here in the classifieds.
 
#9 ·
HI, I am Lee Hilliard and I currently serve as the Chief of Controls for the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood and one of the organizers of the 100 Acre Wood Winter Rally Social held at EcoTech Import Auto Service.

If anyone has questions about working events, please feel free to contact me.

Like Curt said, we have lots of cars in the area, with a need for workers for events, crew for cars, and even some more competitors.

Specifically, for those looking at building cars, Rob Wright is the man to talk to. He's your local Rally America tech guy, and can assist you in answering questions about car builds.
 
#10 ·
I would make you a heck of a deal on my DSM that was mentioned above. It's still mind boggling how big of a following the STL area has in the rally scene. It's extremely exciting. If you are interested in my car hit me up.
 
#11 ·
Im interested in being on a crew for 100aw or rally worker, wherever I can get the most experience. I have been crew for drag racing and dirt track before. Did some racing myself as well and built one car.

Millhouse, while your car seems like a sweet deal I would be afraid to get it log booked under the tight safety regulations
 
#13 ·
Hello, I'm Dennis Garrison from Joplin,Missouri. My "rallyist" ( a term I invented for a over serious rally fan) began back in 1981 with my attendance in the SCCA Pro Rally 100 Acre Wood in Rolla, Mo. A college student at the time,I got a chance to meet and see drivers such as Rod Millen and John Buffum, in their prime days. It was the only "real" event in the area at the time and remember there was no internet for any coverage. I worked one event at the 100 Acre Wood event at Rolla Holiday Inn lobby, back in 1981, distributing copied spectator maps and obtaining waiver signatures to everyone that received one.( anyone old enough to remember having to sign a waiver to get a spectator map? ).
Though I've dreamed of being more than a spectator onto a driver/co-driver, financial considerations of being a family man and still putting a daughter through college/graduate school ,and my age (53) ,can limit most chances. What is amazing is for all my attendance and interest ,I've never been in a rally car.(Sounds stupid ,but true). Still I enjoy attending every year and have seen the 100aw event grow well in attendance and hope for it to continue.Hope to have to always meet and talk to other "Rallyists" when I can.Take care.
 
#16 ·
Remember, age is a state of mind.

Old is that guy 10 or 20 years older than you are.

We just ran the Big White Rally in B.C. and got beat by some "old guy" (Taisto Heinonen).

Just get out there and do it. And have fun!



press on,
 
#14 ·
Dennis, I'm 10 years older than you and still competing. I may be a little slower because I know how long it takes to heal now. :) And I'm working this year, not competing because I just had shoulder surgery. But 53 is not too old to start. Well, unless you want to be the champion. To do that, you should have started competing about 40 years ago. LOL
 
#15 ·
I just moved to central IL and am looking to get into rally. I was rallycross racing in TX last year and I hope that the St Louis rallycross series gets started back up. It's a great way to get people interested and help them get some car control experience. I plan to go to 100 acre woods to spectate or volunteer depending on my work schedule.
 
#17 ·
I mentioned in an earlier post about the rally social. It is coming up Feb. 1 at Ecotech Import Auto Service in St. Louis. Address is 8512 Watson Rd, St Louis, MO 63119 and all rally fans are welcome. I think it's around 4pm to 8 or 9 and is a byo event, so everyone brings a beverage, snack, maybe a chair. There will be rally cars present to look over and a lot of the 100AW committee will be there as well as local drivers and co-drivers.
 
#21 ·
Rally cross events are the only other type of events going on. The amount of work to put on even a small rally is so difficult that there just are not enough events. This leads to the further problem that because there are not enough events close enough, no one builds a car. So we don't have any cars because we don't have any rallys because we don't have any cars. Or which came first, the chicken or the egg? :)
 
#23 ·
I would definitely like to see more events around this area. Where can I found out more about rally cross events in MO? It would not seem so bad if there were events closer to MO but it seems most of them are SW - CA, AZ, NV or NW - WA, OR, ID, or NE - NY, PA... I think Mid-MO has a lot of potential beyond the 100AW.
 
#25 ·
The StL area SCCA rallycross program has gone silent for the last year or so. Used to be 5-6 a year within 2 hours of StL. None now, but they are working hard to get the program going again. Just need some dedicated people to get it and keep it going. The Ozark Region of SCCA is active in rallycross, so google them and see what you find.

MN and MI have their share of rallies and it's not that far.
 
#26 ·
Awesome, thank you. looks like the Ozark region rallycross is still active with 4 events for 2014. :D
Rallycross:
April 13
May 18
June 29
Aug. 10
I will research whats going on in MN I may be able to make it up there every once in a while.
Looks like the KC SCCA is active with rallycross as well but the site doesn't give much info about it.
http://www.kcrscca.org/our-racing/rallycross/
Next Event – RallyCross #1 at Garnett
 
#27 ·
Thought I'd bump this thread back up. There are a number of MO area competitors planning to run Ojibwe. A few people are hoping to go volunteer too. If there's anybody in the area looking to go up and help, let us know as I'm sure we can find you a ride or place to sleep.
 
#28 ·
Hi guys I live in Columbia, MO and have been volunteering at the 100AW for the last five years and although I'm a ways away from getting into a stage rally car and competing I would like to help spread the news about events and help draw in more people in the area. I know this area falls under the stl rallyx region and I might know someone that has some land the we can hold some events on.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top