by Cahuna » Fri Feb 29, 2008 1:09 pm
Rust isn't a problem as long as the vehicle is stored properly. Our old Escort rally car was bought by dad as a road car in 1976, kept in a garage all its life the only spot of rust was a small bubble behind one rear wheel arch after the paint was chipped and it wasn't treated properly.
I love the Mk1s but ended up buying my Corolla for rallying just because of parts availability and reliability/ease of maintenance. For my application having a modern car running bog-standard parts was more appealing to me (a mechanical noob) than having a 40 year old car with old technology being pushed to the limit to match the modern machinery. For a stylish roadie YMMV. (and if I had unlimited money for a competition car I'd probably buy a Mk1 BDA for Targa work - can't beat the style of them!)
Moneywise it isn't cheap to buy a good one - I got $3500 for mine when I sold it and that was without advertising it. Good ones get snapped up for up to $5000+ and sent back to the UK where they are rebuilt into classic rally cars.
We know that four-wheel drive doesn't work in a racing car, and I proved to myself that it doesn't work very well for rallycross. I'm absolutely convinced that it has no future in rallying, either, even if the regulations allowed it. - Roger Clark (rallying legend), circa 1976