Escort with a Lift!

[SgtRauksauff]

that's awesome, Paul!!

[JPmotorsports]

How'd it go---couldn't find you on the results page---sorry if you posted results in another post. Funny I got Chuck's "blacky" rallycar in today to set it up for the track on Thursday and we're basically removing the helper springs/lowering ride height...It looks very similar to yours!
Crazy gaps with the road race tires on---looks kinda funny...

[ajax]

Hey Jim, I DNFed. I think I got water in my MSD box and the spark stopped firing. The first video I posted in this thread is a 30 second clip showing about how wet it was.

I spy Hotbits on another car! I think I see the tubular rear lateral links too. Can you use those to adjust the rear camber? My car was pretty squirrly at LSPR. I don't know what my alignment was up to (I probably should have looked into that along with the other 50 things I should have done). I went up about 2.5" in the back and had pretty much 0/0 for rear camber and toe when I started.

What do you use for top mounts too? I didn't notice any big hits but I definitely bent my Cusco top mounts and broke one of the stock rears.

BTW, a friend of mine is planning on running the Baja 1000 this year.

[JPmotorsports]

Bummer! Is the box inside the car?? We've used the hotbits since the beginning---I think Jrally was the one who actually got the measurements to them. They're on both Chuck's cars and Jrally's---we're using the hotbits upper mounts---they are bulletproof, but don't allow adjustment...I had a feeling you'd bend those cusco's.

Those are tubular/heim jointed rear lateral links---allow easy adjustment of camber/toe and they are .250 wall, so they will not fail. We also sell a set of thinner arms if your concerned about weight---Jrally has run a bunch with them and had no issues whatsoever.

Are you going to be at the 1000 this year? I'm still working on getting a drive, but confident I'll end up driving someone's class 10/scorelite car.

[ajax]

The way things are going, I might not have a job then so I was thinking about going down to help out Bill Caswell. I don't think he knows what he's in for. Jim Cox was telling me some stories about when he was down there for the 1000.

[jrally]

Sorry you DNF'd, always a bummer to do. Yeah, I had HotBits build spherical mounts for all four corners, the fronts are chamber adjustable, the rears are fixed. Both are made out of 10mm (3/8") thick plate steel, pretty much unbendable. Part of your issue might be your spring lengths though, a 10" spring probably only has about 5" of travel before coil-bind. Typically I try to run a 12" front and 14" long rear springs.
I did come up with a fix for the rear stock mounts when using coilovers, I might have a picture somewhere. It's basically two thick washers welded together, one helds keep the other one centered. My first rally in the Escort, I used rubber mounts and end up blowing both rears out like in your picture. If you ever have questions just PM me or call, I'm easy going and like to help.

-Jon

p.s. The year Jim Cox was down for the Baja 1000, that was a week from hell for all three of us. Break-downs, wrecks, bad weather, etc., and I didn't even do the Mexico part of the trip with the two Jims.

[ajax]

Jon, I totally forgot that you guys all know eachother. If you're going to be around, we should try to meet up. Here is a picture that Bill sent me from SEMA.

[jrally]

Yeah, Jim Cox and I spent the week out in CA, helping Jim with an endurance race up at Infineon that year. After that race, they dropped me off in Oakland, I had to get back home and go to work. They then went down to Baja for another couple of days or so of bad luck. I'm not making it up to SEMA, I wish, but I'll be just outside of Vegas next weekend, for a rally, Seed 9. I'm bringing the Celica project along, for a couple of people to check it out.

-Jon R.

[jrally]

I was at Seed 9 Rally over the weekend, in Jean NV. Jean is 25 minutes outside Vegas. To my surprize, I saw the Baja BMW sitting on a trailer at the gas station across from our hotel Saturday afternoon. It was on a 2 car trailer, along with a rally Porsche. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry to get out to service, otherwise I would have stopped to check it out a bit, take pictures.

-Jon R.

[ajax]

Yeah! Bill told me that he saw you guys. How weird is that? Of all the gas stations that he could have stopped at, he ends up crossing paths with Seed 9.

[jrally]

Seed 9 is goofy, so damn close to Vegas, on the highway that goes to CA. I don't know why we don't just stay in Vegas for the race. Hopefully, he finds a good place to finish the build before Baja. Otherwise, there is always the 500 in the spring!!

-Jon R.