Introduction: A Small History of Motorsport with a DSM
Posted 02-20-2008 at 07:20 PM by Dave532
The Beginning
The Car:
I had purchased a red 1990 Eagle Talon in January of 2001 for just under $2000 with the intent in building it into a Rally car under the SCCA Pro Rally rules. I had a fair amount of experience with Mitsubishi (Starion\Conquest) and wanted to campaign an AWD car for the Midwest Club Rally Production GT Championship. The PGT rule set allowed for no motor or air intake changes. Boost was free as well as fuel modifications. The DSM appeared to be a perfect fit. After repairing an intake gasket leak, the car was ready to be converted. Over the next 4 months I gutted the majority of the interior (leaving the console, rear plastic and dash in per the rules) and welded in a 6 point rollcage. It was immediately apparent the low roofline of the DSM is not conducive for cages...especially extra thick Rally cages. Hence the greater appeal of the VR4. Corbeau seats and RCI 5 point harnesses were installed. The sunroof was deleted via rivets and a sheet metal replacement. The Rally community was a tremendous help at this point...helping me not make any 'first-timer' mistakes. The list of required equipment goes on: high-strength tow hooks front and back, beefier spare tire mount, two fire bottles, reflective triangles, toolbox (including spares), intercom, Rally Computer (hyper accurate odometer), spill kit, gauges, etc. Performance upgrades included a manual boost controller set at 15 psi, KYB AGX shocks with Ground Control adjustable coilovers, KC and Hella off-road lighting mounted to a fabricated light bar (switched with the hi-beam switch via the rules) and a bolted strut bar in front with a welded strut bar in the rear. I also removed the front sway bar in attempt to get the car to rotate. I purchased a set of barely used Michelin 16/65-15 ZEL rally tires and Raceline 15 x 7 magnesium rally wheels from a rally team parting out their equipment. I asked for the next available number from SCCA and they gave me 532. A few stickers later and the car is ready for the 2001 season.
The crew:
Driver:
Depending upon the amount of my expendable income, I had competed in various motorsports environments at a very amateur level throughout the years. I ran a '68 Olds Cutlass at local dirt tracks in the 'Bomber' class for a couple years in high school. Whenever possible I would drive an '89 Mustang on Track Days at Brainerd International Raceway or Road America in the early '90's. While going to college I would trash an '89 Conquest at any AutoX I could afford to drive to in the late 90's. After finally landing a decent-paying job I realized I could afford (not really) to compete at truly sanctioned regional amateur motorsports events. Road racing was still too expensive at this time in Minnesota so Club Rally become a viable alternative (due to so many rallies in close proximity). However, I couldn't do all this alone...I needed some help.
Co-Driver:
The Co-drivers function is never to actually drive but to navigate during the event as the driver has no previous knowledge of the stages. My younger brother Bob also had a strong interest in motorsports but like most of us, couldn't fund his desires. So I offered him the right seat and he jumped at it.
Support:
Rally racing is composed of numerous parts: Car, Driver, Co-Driver, support personnel, Service vehicle, spares, tools, etc. I had planned on asking friends to support the race during the weekend (Driving to remote areas and meeting us for service) which they were happy to do in the beginning. However, it became apparent my father (retired) was very excited to borrow his services and his new E350 van which was perfect as a Rally tow/service vehicle. ( he has been to almost every event since) The team was complete. I was responsible for the car, driving, tools and spares. My brother was responsible for not getting us lost and my father was responsible for meeting us at Service.
Our first event was going to be Headwaters in Park Rapids, MN on May 12, 2001. However due to a failed RR brake line on the way to the first stage, we had to DNS and went home as spectators.
Therefore, our REAL first event was going to be Arkansaw Sunset Rally Sprint in July of 2001.
-Dave LaFavor
#532
NASA PTC
Rally America PGT
The Car:
I had purchased a red 1990 Eagle Talon in January of 2001 for just under $2000 with the intent in building it into a Rally car under the SCCA Pro Rally rules. I had a fair amount of experience with Mitsubishi (Starion\Conquest) and wanted to campaign an AWD car for the Midwest Club Rally Production GT Championship. The PGT rule set allowed for no motor or air intake changes. Boost was free as well as fuel modifications. The DSM appeared to be a perfect fit. After repairing an intake gasket leak, the car was ready to be converted. Over the next 4 months I gutted the majority of the interior (leaving the console, rear plastic and dash in per the rules) and welded in a 6 point rollcage. It was immediately apparent the low roofline of the DSM is not conducive for cages...especially extra thick Rally cages. Hence the greater appeal of the VR4. Corbeau seats and RCI 5 point harnesses were installed. The sunroof was deleted via rivets and a sheet metal replacement. The Rally community was a tremendous help at this point...helping me not make any 'first-timer' mistakes. The list of required equipment goes on: high-strength tow hooks front and back, beefier spare tire mount, two fire bottles, reflective triangles, toolbox (including spares), intercom, Rally Computer (hyper accurate odometer), spill kit, gauges, etc. Performance upgrades included a manual boost controller set at 15 psi, KYB AGX shocks with Ground Control adjustable coilovers, KC and Hella off-road lighting mounted to a fabricated light bar (switched with the hi-beam switch via the rules) and a bolted strut bar in front with a welded strut bar in the rear. I also removed the front sway bar in attempt to get the car to rotate. I purchased a set of barely used Michelin 16/65-15 ZEL rally tires and Raceline 15 x 7 magnesium rally wheels from a rally team parting out their equipment. I asked for the next available number from SCCA and they gave me 532. A few stickers later and the car is ready for the 2001 season.
The crew:
Driver:
Depending upon the amount of my expendable income, I had competed in various motorsports environments at a very amateur level throughout the years. I ran a '68 Olds Cutlass at local dirt tracks in the 'Bomber' class for a couple years in high school. Whenever possible I would drive an '89 Mustang on Track Days at Brainerd International Raceway or Road America in the early '90's. While going to college I would trash an '89 Conquest at any AutoX I could afford to drive to in the late 90's. After finally landing a decent-paying job I realized I could afford (not really) to compete at truly sanctioned regional amateur motorsports events. Road racing was still too expensive at this time in Minnesota so Club Rally become a viable alternative (due to so many rallies in close proximity). However, I couldn't do all this alone...I needed some help.
Co-Driver:
The Co-drivers function is never to actually drive but to navigate during the event as the driver has no previous knowledge of the stages. My younger brother Bob also had a strong interest in motorsports but like most of us, couldn't fund his desires. So I offered him the right seat and he jumped at it.
Support:
Rally racing is composed of numerous parts: Car, Driver, Co-Driver, support personnel, Service vehicle, spares, tools, etc. I had planned on asking friends to support the race during the weekend (Driving to remote areas and meeting us for service) which they were happy to do in the beginning. However, it became apparent my father (retired) was very excited to borrow his services and his new E350 van which was perfect as a Rally tow/service vehicle. ( he has been to almost every event since) The team was complete. I was responsible for the car, driving, tools and spares. My brother was responsible for not getting us lost and my father was responsible for meeting us at Service.
Our first event was going to be Headwaters in Park Rapids, MN on May 12, 2001. However due to a failed RR brake line on the way to the first stage, we had to DNS and went home as spectators.
Therefore, our REAL first event was going to be Arkansaw Sunset Rally Sprint in July of 2001.
-Dave LaFavor
#532
NASA PTC
Rally America PGT
Total Comments 2
Comments
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Wow I always dreamed of rallying. It sounds awesome dude, keep up the good work!
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Posted 02-20-2008 at 07:38 PM by crimsondragon
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Thanks Crimson...the intention of this blog is to offer my experience competing witha DSM...hopefully some folks will learn from my mistakes and start rallying/tracking/racing their own car(s).
-Dave #532 |
Posted 02-24-2008 at 09:23 AM by Dave532
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