ALCAN 5000 Vehicle

Have had an entry for the 2010 ALCAN 5000 for over a year. Due to bad knees (recent surgery) will not be able to ride Off Road/DS Bike

Looking at inexpensive Rally Type vehicle instead of bike

Mazda 332 comes to mind

Cost is a restriction for this trip

Will sell bike (Buell Ulysses) to build ALCAN 5000 vehicle

Newer Suburu would be choice if cost not an issue choice

Thoughts?

Will need to be semi comfortable for 5000 miles of the event plus the 3000 mile portage from NC to Washington

Thanks

323 GTX is a good rally car, if you can keep the transmissions together.

I competed in winter 2008 in an '85 Saab 900 Turbo my friend bought for $250. I think the odo started the event with about 265,000. We put a lot of effort into making the car reliable beforehand, and had zero issues. Point is not necessarily to recommend a Saab but to illustrate that the event can be done on a grassroots budget.

A majority of the cars running the event were Subarus. If I didn't have a strange fascination with old Saabs, needed a car to do it again, and didn't want to spend a lot of money, I might look for an older run-of-the-mill 5-door Impreza. A bunch of TSD'ers who don't want/need a WRX/STi use them. That way, if something goes wrong, there'll be about a dozen other people who can help you out. Not that you don't want to plan on being self-sufficient, but it certainly helps.

Whatever you choose, get something refined and comfortable enough to chew through the miles without making you sore or crazy.

Oh, for summer, you WILL need a new windshield when your done.

Thanks for the input

Sounds like Jerry and the Gang did a good job

I've known Jerry since he was the rally master for the

One Lap of America in 1983

Thanks

I have absolutely no experience with the Alcan, however, I always imagined doing it in a Volvo 240, if not a SAAB 900. Seems like Swedish cars would be perfect for this. Again, no experience. Volvo 240 prices start at free, and there are a whole lot more of them than 323 GTXes.

Carson

Not a bad thought either.

Thanks

already prepped rally car by GRM

The Alcan is a great drive( I've done it 5 times!). Very pretty in the summer. WAY smoother in the winter though if you can deal with -20 degree temperatures. By the way, having the throttle freeze open at 80 mph is pretty scarry!

Saw Tom's add

Sent him a message

Waiting for response

Thanks

Miata? If so, get a hard top.

But seriously, that sounds amazing

Looking at the list of past winners, I think a subaru SVX would be cool ( I dont know if they are reliable enough though). A vw or a neon would work if you didnt care about awd or having a really comfortable car.

Wait, so you're unsure if a SVX would be reliable, then you suggest a VW?!?!

Haha, just kidding. I'd like to see it done in an SVX, that would be cool.

Travis_K wrote: A vw or a neon would work if you didnt care about awd or having a really comfortable car.

I have been considering a second neon as a toy, probably as a rallyX toy. Now I have some serious motivation.

Compared to a Buell Ulysses anything with four wheels will be comfortable.

Thanks

Realibility of the vehicle.

Figuring we need to get 10,000 miles out of the vehicle.

Approximately 3,000 miles from NC to Kirkland WA, 5000 miles for the event and 2,000 miles for shake down prior to the event.

I'll be doing the AlCan in June. In a motorhome :)

What i should have said was a stock svx, if it would be reliable enough, or a vw if you didnt mind going though the entire car and replacing all the worn out parts. It is my opinon that stock poorly mainntained mk2 vws are some of the worst driving cars in the world.

Never heard of this event before, now I'll have to add it to my bucket list of races...

Gearheadotaku wrote: Never heard of this event before, now I'll have to add it to my bucket list of races...

Not really a "race", just keep that in mind ;)

A SVX won the event in 1991.

In reply to HiTempguy:

True, a TSD rally is not a "race". I guess I threw the term out there instead of "competition". I'm just grouping it in with my race list anyhow.

The Cannonball was a race, the One Lap and the Alcan are TSD events, that have long stages of boredom interspaced with High Speed tests.

Lots of fun to be had by all

Thanks

Gearheadotaku wrote: In reply to HiTempguy: True, a TSD rally is not a "race". I guess I threw the term out there instead of "competition". I'm just grouping it in with my race list anyhow.

Just thought I'd check, reasoning explained below ;)

Racing_Computers wrote: The Cannonball was a race, the One Lap and the Alcan are TSD events, that have long stages of boredom interspaced with High Speed tests. Lots of fun to be had by all Thanks

No, thats not quite right; the One Lap has high speed tests (tracks, dragstrips, etc). An actual TSD event (since the roads are open to the public) will at best have an average speed BELOW the speed limit for the road being driven on (in the TSD or "regularity" portion). Not that that hasn't been challenging before, I've been on plenty of TSD's where meeting a 52km/h average was tough in a regular ol' fwd car.

The reason I am emphasizing this point is that many TSD organizers and supporters will go out of their way to make a TSD seem like a "race" or just simply call it a "rally" rather than a TSD. Obviously quite a few people here have never heard of the Alcan, and it would be unfortunate to misinform them.

A half way decent SOHC/5spd neon starts around free. Booger bushings: $20 second gen neon R/T or acr rear sway bar: $50 auto trans neon throttle body: $10 DOHC neon muffler: free at the junkyard or $35 from walker used snow tires $100

You have yourself one mildly good sub $500 rally car right there

Racing_Computers wrote: Saw Tom's add Sent him a message Waiting for response Thanks

Sent a reply, I'll call in about half an hour.

Hope to find a great home for the car! I've always wanted to do the Alcan, so maybe this will be the next best thing. Thankfully, the heater in the Neon works like a charm!