RE: rusty a-go-goo
>I hope I didn't offend you with my comment in he other
>thread. I meant it only as a little harmless ribbing.
No offense taken at all. Special Stage is all part of the fun of rallying and I'm having fun. I'm glad people are comfortable enough to state their feelings. I'm just trying to sample the opinions that are out there because I don't want to make other teams unhappy if they feel our ugliness is hurting their sport. I want to continue to play with the rally folks, but I don't have enough spare time and money to do this rally thing "right". I've spent my money on tires and entry fees instead of sheetmetal and paint. I've spent my time on keeping the mechanicals in good shape and improving durablilty, instead of body work. I think I've made good decisions, but I'm a form-follows-function guy (engineer/geek).
That
>being said, yes, I think if you have the fenders in your
>garage, you should put them on. Joe is right, the condition
>of the vehicle is a reflection of the professionalism of the
>sport and of your team.
We're an amature team, in an amature sport. If someone wants to pay me to do this, I'll imediately send the truck to Maaco and begin looking professional.
>
>You could argue that you should be allowed to run what you
>want, but you should wnt to look professional. Don't get me
>wrong, I think you guys have made that old truck look as
>good as possible, and using the 50/50 rule (from 50 feet
>away at 50 mph) it looks as good as the rest.
You're being too generous. It looks bad and I know it.
However, fans,
>sponsors (and potential sponsors), and forestry officials
>get up close and personal in our sport.
I guess I don't see the benefits site of a club team looking professional. How does it contribute to happier forestry officals? How does it contribute to happier fans?
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to look professional, but if I have to choose between competitive stage times and looking pretty, I'll take the stage times. Also, if I have to choose between rallying in junk or not rallying at all, I'll choose rallying in junk every time!
>
>Also, ever wonder why you get more hassles than some other
>teams at tech? A vehicle that is rusty on the outside is
>always going to get more attention.
A fact of life I guess.
>
>When we bought Gail's Citation, it had been sitting outside
>for over two years. There was rust showing at the bottom of
>both doors, on the roof, one fender and under the hood. I
>spent a lot of time patching it up and making it look good
>for the first event, and still go around and touck it up
>after every event, brush the dirt out of the inside, and use
>about a car of white Rustoleum on the INSIDE before each
>national event.
>
>The "new" '82 car is a much nicer shell. Absolutely no rust.
>:7
Your new Orange car is NICE.
Jim