Darkside

I would say its only a matter of time. The CAMS regs are one reason I cant be arsed respeccing my car and running at Targa West.... the shite roads and repeated stages is probably the other. CAMS have already relaxed their rules on exhausts. I expect injectors and fuel pumps etc will come soon to embrace the E85 phenomena. Then its just the silly ones like adjustable strut tops etc to get rid of and you are just about there.

^^^^ Thats the only lack of appeal to me of the dirt. I really like the idea of sliding around on a budget, but the ongoing servicing, repairs and maintenance, even if you run a clean rally and dont touch anything could get on my nerves abit. That said, i havent done it so am only speculating. tarmac, as long as you dont crash, quick wash, fresh fluids etc, and away you go.. Hmmmm.. group C RX 7 turbo..... Anyone who will pay sensible money (see what I have done there Woo ) want to buy a Targa Prepped TME? Is CAMS logbooked so will be good to go for next year.

Just read the press release.... Seems it is a CAMS event now for all octagon targa events but with the supp regs and rules as per previous octagon events. Main change will be the need to meet CAMS regs re rollover protection etc and also hold a CAMS national rally license as opposed to AASA. Apparently upside for the series is it now gets national recognition as a championship. Can read all about it below... Hopefully this link works... http://www.targa.org.au/CampaignProcess.aspx?A=Link&VID=4737124&KID=137560&LID=364595&O=http%3a%2f%2fwww.targa.org.au%2fLiteratureRetrieve.aspx%3fID%3d91409 EDIT: Bah....beaten by the woo yet again.....

If only the E30 was eligible for Classic. So for late classic, whats everyones pick of stuff that can possibly be afforded? From the nissan stable its a DR30 Skyline I guess? Mazda Series IV RX7? Rotor questionable reliability According to wiki 10 Sierra RS Cosworths were registered in the UK in 1985.... possibly drug money to buy and get parts for....and the RS500 wasnt avaiable til 87 apparently....Would it be any good anyway? Any other potential wolves in sheeps clothing out there?

Wasnt aware of the change over date being any different from Dec 2002 from EM to M. There is something in the regs about run on models but I cant be arsed reading them again. Oh, and feeling the love Bris and Woo. One day you too may realise your talents dont stretch to driving a proper car and you too will succumb to the EMO.

Feeling the love Bris?? You build it and I will drive it.... you seemed happy enough to let me have a crack in the RB20 of awesomeness at Benalia for some nuts....

^^^ I think as long as a model after the cutoff date is built to the 1985 spec you are all good, but would check with organisers/supp regs first.

^^^^ Completely agree. If you had the chequebook, something like that would be mental to see down there.

DO IT!!!!!!!

^^^^ Well it has been done, but I guess always best to check with Stuart first.

To be honest Woo I am not quite sure on all of it. It was mainly the ali roof, slightly updated ACD software (they are reflashing the factory ACD ECU's now so no biggie) the VIII MR had slightly more aggressive cams, (different cam timing stock, same lift and duration) and a different huffer and thats about all I got off the top of my head. You do pay a bit of a premium for the MR so maybe not worth it for largely a few kgs off the roof. There were some MR RS's but they were rare as the proverbial. As Tim suggested, doing a GSR to RS conversion can be done but it is a little bit of work. With my TME it was just a RS diff centre, driveshafts and "moustache" (diff support) bar and subframe to do the swap. Tailshaft was sweet. Centre diff was sweet as well. From my experience, you are best off trying to get as close a spec as you can out of the box rather than arsing around trying to turn something into something its not. A VII RS with ABS would be sweet if they exist, or possibly an 8MR RS if you can find one. Or an VIII RS I guess. Then its just a front bar, bonnet and rear wing essentially and you have a VII.

Retro fitting the ABS can be a right pain in the arse. The hubs on the RS dont have the hole in them to fit the speed sensor so you need for hubs. The driveshafts dont have the ABS gear on them so you need to replace them. Then you need the AYC ECU and the yaw sensors and then figure out how to wire it up. Preference would definately be to have one already equipped. Glad to hear the date isnt shifting. After looking into classics Stu advised that the date after being shifted to 1985, is likely to stay that way for some time to avoid the goalposts consistently shifting as to what is the best car to be in. Would have hoped they were doing a similar thing for EM. I guess a revision about once every 10 years would make sense. Apparently it was about 15 years before classic got revised from 1980 to 85. So a VII would be the pick out of the EMO range. Or really, get an 8MR RS and despec it to be a VII. The precedent has been set.

^^ Yeah, that one is actually able to be fully road regd so you are paying a premium for that one. No point really if you are going to strip and cage it and make it un road registerable. Hearing you on the ABS though Woo. Its the only electronic talent retained in my car. I dont think it makes you less of a man to have it.

So thats your secret...you are not merely a man, but more of a "handling related computer"!! I am with you though mate. I reckon the late model evos are boring as batshit to drive, although I have only driven the GSR with the full compliment of electronic talent. I am assuming the RS with the mech diffs woudl be a little more engagaing. You know I woudl love to run a 34 but if I owned one, I couldnt afford to race it. I had someone point me in the direction of these little jiggers as a classic competition car.... Still has the wrong badge for this forum but could have potential...

Thats farkin rich coming from you. Tell ya what. I will pull all the handling related computers out of my car and you pull all yours out and we will see which car still works.

If you want a VI, Ben Stack (that bloke in SA who seems to import a heap of rally reg stuff) has a TME RS (rare as fook) for 15k rally reg. Can get the cro mo CAMS approved custom cages kit for about $1500 delivered so woudlnt be too bad..... although once you put in decent suspension, wheels, brakes, seats, intercom, maybe a diff rebuild, wheel bearings, diff overhaul, gearbox freshen up, etc etc.. you are probabaly better off getting a VII or VIII that someone has done all the hard work on. Was considering selling mine Woo as I dont think there would be a better time, and you were first in line.... but I am a bit attached to it and have sunk alot of time (and a fair bit of $$ which i am too scared to add up) into it so I may as well hang onto it and enjoy it some more as it should be a good thing for a while without spending too much on it now. Need a new site maybe?? EMOAU?

Absolutely. Given the amount of guys still punting VI's in the gravel as well as tarmac, consumables like front bar skins and guards etc can be a little harder to come by from wreckers. That said you can still buy new from mitsi...just a little pricey. Parts common to the lancer (doors) are easier to find and cheaper. Its mainly the ali bonnets and front guards that can be hard to find. Although if you dont mind investing in spares, there always seems to be the odd front cut coming in from time to time so you can snap em up and put them aside. If you cant get factory, you can always get FRP or carbon bits from your ususal aftermarket people for the VII +. Much harder to get these types of things fot the VI.

^^^^^ Yep... I am guessing team Perini is in one?? Similar to yourself woo, I really liek the look and slightly old skool nature of the TME. And it just happened to come up at auction at the right price. But had I read the rules more closely and realised a VII was eligible, that probabaly would have been the car to build. And realistically, they are near enough to a IX (sans mivec) in VII clothing.

Hey Woo, so they are shifting the EM date???? Although doesnt seem to matter as it seems if you know the right people you can run an VIII/IX chassis in EM. My view is I reckon the 8 is the way forward, or if not eligible the VII. The RS is the go. (8MR RS??) The ACD (active centre diff) is a good thing and does add some genuine performance benefits. (and a little weight) The chassis also seems a little more stable so be better for the silly high speed stuff. I had an 8MR road/track car once upon a time and they have all of the electronic acronyms fitted. (AYC, ACD etc etc ect) and I found it a little dull to drive. Too digital.... I'm more for analogue. Was still very quick, and also vry forgiving. You could get stuff a little wrong, keep it buried and let the elctronic talent come to the rescue. There is certainly something to be said for a car that is a little more forgiving and allows greater consistency. Retaining the ACD but with mech diffs elsewhere would be tops. You will no doubt make a VI lighter, but I am not sure it will be hugely lighter if you really work hard on a VII-VIII. Heaps more parts around for the VII-IX too. All that said, nothing wrong with a VI/TME, but I think the CP9a chassis woudl be the go.

Hearing you Greg, it seems if they were being so blatant about it either they are very silly or arrogant, or what they were doing was legit so they had nothing to hide. I heard similar stories as I am sure many have about the legitimacy of Quinns engine in his 35. Stories like "its a 100k cosworth 4 litre" etc etc. I called a couple of people on it and asked how they knew.....silence.....So I suggested maybe they get some facts first. He certainly doesnt seem to be down on power, but I dont think making good power has ever been a problem for GTR's. And the reality is whatever car it is, it doesnt steer itself and still needs to be piloted to get the result. Shame to see this sort of stuff being peddled and tarnishing his efforts without any strong basis. (well i am not aware of any...happy to be enlightened) I am guessing these things start by one person saying "I reckon he's running a stroker" and the next time the conversation is had the "I reckon" has been dropped and all of a sudden its fact. I doubt anybody actually has the first hand evidence to prove the claim but some mud will always stick.... Seems to be plenty of "talk" around targa.....probably one of my least favourite parts of the event. Be keen to hear from anyone as to what capacity my evo finished up with by the end of the event. For me I dont think Targa will ever go better for us so I am quitting while I am ahead. The reality is the money tree has absolutely no foliage left on it. Despite the fact that the car wouldnt take much to front up again, its still a massive undertaking. Hopefully get back there one day, but it will be a while away. For now I will put a ridiculous wing and a front splitter on my car and do some track stuff here in WA. Awesome to have got over there once though and lived the dream. Such a unique event.

^^^^ Hmmm, maybe the missus needs to work on that. But definately was tough on her. Easier for the blokes to book in and then make use of the time in the queue. It was such an issue for the missus that she was choosing not to drink and hydrate properly because having a toilet break was too hard. Ideally thats not a situation the rules should be creating. We agreed that a portaloo roughly mid morning and mid afternoon wouldnt be such a bad idea, even if it was just for the ladies as there are a fair number in the field. After seeing other crews run into late time issues, and having Greg explain exactly what it was all about, the missus was right on to it, so felt under even more presssure not to blow any time on the side of the road having a comfort stop.

Well what a coupla weeks... Had an awesome time... Go the EMO Thanks to all on here who offered advice, support and lots of laughs during the event. Also a huge thanks to tassie local Greg (Targa Tom) who did an awesome job servicing the car and providing great advice and laughs for the duration of the event. Gotta say the event was way tougher than I expected. I expected a reasonable amount of mental and physical fatigue, but was struggling way more than I expected by the end of it. But in the end I think we just had a bit of luck on our side where some of the other guys didnt. Agreed with others that I think Riana was the most taxing stage for us. Was still fresh for Cethana and did a reasonable job of that....especially once I learnt on Mt Roland the day before that the car (tyres and brakes) will not hold up if you go like a nutter for the full stage. Taking the intessity down just a touch seemed to make it perform more consistently for the full stage. But sticking Riana straight after that just about made my brain explode. I just couldnt keep my mind on the calls and keep the intensity up. I had put a little note in the notes about the change of pace and rythym at the end as I figured i would be brain burnt by then, so that kept me out of the paddocks It definately has a different feel and pace to the first stuff. .... and second guessing how fast you can hit the crests..... frightening!!! Probably the biggest rush for me was MT Roland. First proper long and fast stage. Was super pumped by the end of that. Was thinking at the time if I invent a really cool drug I will call it Mt Roland....Just brings home what a mental concept the whole event is. Belting along a country road in top gear with your foot mashed against the firewall and trying to keep it there through sweeping bends and blind crests while the sensible self preservation part of your brain is screaming for you to back off....your speedo hits the 180 limit some time ago while the tacko keeps climbing toward redline....would seem like total madness to most....but somehow it felt just right You sure know you are alive...... And Snowy, WTF with that stage being easy to clean?????? Maybe in a GTR?? Thankfully I ignored you as always and pedalled like f**k, only to clean it by 1 second. But mate, thankyou for tryiong to help me be not so serious. You definately have mastered the laid back approach to motorsport. :)I have a bit to learn master!!!

Sadly, no one has built a super cheater spec evo VI that I know of. There were the extremes in the UK, but they actually werent that special... Z tunes give me a chubby. This is the one you were going to build wasnt it Snowy?? http://www.turbomagazine.com/features/0701_turp_nissan_skyline_gtr_r34/index.html

I think the EMO VII to IX is the same chassis (CT9A) but the IX has mivec engine, ali roof, improvements to the electronic talent etc that the VII never had. The clear cut way would be you need to have a car plated within the age group specified, and then you can mod it to the best spec available for that model/age like N1 for the GTR and RS for the EMO's. Allow you to start with a more affordable or easier to buy starting platform and go from there.

^^^ I always wondered about that. I thought it would have to be a plated 2002 car. But if not, there would be nothing stopping you putting a VII front and rear bar, wing and bonnet on a IX and calling it an EM car. Just a question of if the car has to actually be manufactured pre dec 2002 or if it just has to be built to the spec of the pre dec 2002 car.