RumbleSoft Racing

Products and services ready to rally.

Last week we finished up the roll cage fabrication and installed the rebuilt engine. Today, Kevin took the car back to the ‘Way Too Fast Racing’ garage to get started on the daunting task of putting the interior back in. This is one of the items the team has chosen to do themselves to save the budget. Since the car is going to begin it’s life in the Production class - it needs to retain as much of the interior as possible: plastic, moldings, dash, door panels, etc. All these items need to be placed back in the car.

As with any big project, we had a small setback. Ours was with the racing seats. Corbeau makes great products, but unfortunately they no longer carry any FIA certified seats in the United States. After some frantic rule checking, we confirmed that NASA requires FIA certified seats in its rally regulations and thus the new seats the team had ordered and unwrapped did not carry these requirements. We are looking into a Cobra seat for a suitable replacement. I’m sure we’ll have to fabricate some seat brackets for these as well.

The teams next goal is to get the wiring and basic interior in for the CRS Rally School in two weeks. There is also hope that by that time they will have enough miles on the new engine to rallycross on Sunday - we sure hope so!

We made a lot of progress on the roll cage this week. A large number of the cross bars have been sized and the grinding and welding continues. We reinforced a fresh sub-frame and started our seam weld preparation. The seats have arrived from Corbeau and as expected the brackets will need some modification. With the cage above and close proximity door bars, the seat must be as low to the floor as possible to accommodate the driver. As suggested, the team went with an adjustable sliding driver seat. This allows anyone to drive the car in a pinch and is a great selling point for future owners. The co-drivers seat will be in it’s optimal position - all the way back and on the floor.

The team is rebuilding the engine and should have that ready for the car in about two weeks. Our goal is to rallycross the car at the CRS Rally School in Ridgecrest, CA. in March. Cage, seats, engine, fresh struts and springs - all ready for the dirt!

RumbleSoft Racing is going to be at the CRS Rally School with BOTH Dodge Neon rally cars for you to see first hand! Kris will be there to answer any questions you have about building and racing your first rally car. Make sure to mark off March 3rd - 4th and sign up for the school here.

More updates to follow!

The single most important feature of a rally car is it’s roll cage. Safety, reliability, and strength will be gained. Expect to spend at least $2500 in steel and labor for a basic 10 point roll cage. If you get quotes above that, start questioning what extra items will be added, such as sound proofing material removal, seam welding, etc. “10 point” means that the cage is tied to the car in 10 locations. The front strut towers (2), the floor of the A pillar (4), the floor under the main hoop (6), the C pillar or trunk (8), and the rear strut towers (10).

With cost in mind there is no need to remove all of the sound material for your first rally car. Down the road should you deem it necessary you can always clean out more. Seam welding is also very helpful for the cars longevity, but can add thousands to our budget. We will be seam welding some key points on the Neon and the front of the car to the firewall, but not much else.

If our goal was to compete in a spec racing series we would send the car out for an acid dip and seam weld the entire chassis on a rotisserie. In this case our goal is to get Kevin and Jake out there and experience rally for the first time in a safe and reliable car, not shave seconds off their established stage times.

We have started by clearing away sections of paint and material and plating the areas of the chassis that will accept the roll bar tubing. This spreads the force from the cage should a roll occur. The next step is to start with the main hoop and the rear of the car. Once seats arrive we’ll carefully adjust the cage to fit the seats and the occupants.
Be sure to check out the gallery for pictures of the progress.

When Kevin and Jake approached us they had been warned about building their first rally car. If possible it’s often best to find a car, ready to run, for the money. After searching for several months they discovered a lack of entry level production rally cars on the used market. This would have forced them into a more powerful car, or having to take a G2 or G5 car and putting it back to showroom stock.

The first thing we did is sit down and go over a budget with them. We talked about their goals and what experience we had to offer. With our Dodge Neon club contacts, we were able to find a suitable donor car fast. A one owner base model ‘plum purple’ 4 door was located and purchased for $600. The engine had coughed out a timing belt and a black widow had taken up residence in the battery tray. Other then that the car was clean. A California car with no rust and no damage was exactly what we wanted. “We love it! Let’s gut it!”

The Neon was promptly gutted and the engine sent out to a machine shop. Stritctly to spec the engine was cleaned, repaired and will be rebuilt in our shop. Watch for that soon. The car is ready for a cage and that’s where we’ll pick up next time!