TheSamba.com :: View topic - Planning to complete a 2000 mile rally in a 40 hour time frame.

Fri Nov 18, 2016 10:16 pm

Howdy!

I'm hoping to participate in a rally in 2018 from East Coast to West Coast. The car can't have a purchase price over $3000, although you can spend what you want to upgrade it. It has to be "vintage" as well (Pre-1985 I believe).

I'd like to use a VW to do it.

I hope to work it over so I can get it in shape to make the run in 40 hours with a 3 man team. That discussion is probably best in another part of the forum. What I wanted to ask here is 1) what do you think is the most practical framework for such a rally (beetle, ghia, type 3, etc.) and 2) has anyone done such a trip, and do you have any tips?

For MPG and coolness reasons, I'm leaning toward a Ghia. However, three people in a Ghia for 40 hrs sounds uncomfortable.

Fri Nov 18, 2016 10:51 pm

As a Ghia owner I would not recommend a Ghia for 3 people unless you are all under 5 foot 4, cause that's about the tallest person that can sit upright in the back seat. Karmann Ghias that have back seats (the back seats were deleted in the early 70's) have what most would consider the "notion" of a back seat. An early squareback might fit your cool factor standards and have a usable rear bench and cargo space as an added bonus.

Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:33 am

From a cost standpoint, I would think a 68+ beetle will be your best bet. You may be hard pressed to find a decent Ghia or Type3 for $3k, whereas you could probably find a fairly rust free Super Beetle in that range.

Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:38 am

yes definitely not a ghia unless they have short stature.
71 -74 super beetle is my vote.

Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:45 am

Get an engineless late bus roller for 3k and then get to work on the upgrades. Subaru engine, Westy interior so the off duty driver/navigator can lounge back in the crew room.

Sat Nov 19, 2016 7:31 pm

Early Bay window bus with a 1776. Run that thing nonstop and sleep in shifts. I'm guessing 2000 miles in more like 32 hours.

Sat Nov 19, 2016 7:58 pm

So, the consensus seems split between a bus and a Super beetle. There's certainly more room in the bus, and I'm supposing that it can carry more fuel, though I imagine that the MPG in the beetle is better.

I'm leaning toward the beetle (because I like them more) but we'll see what turns up on the market in the next while.

Tue Nov 22, 2016 8:51 am

pre '85 car and just for a rally.... my vote goes for a toyota (or similar) of your choice.....not what you want to hear but if you actually want to win you'll have a better chance, and depending what time of year this takes place A/C could make a huge difference with 3 guys piled in for the long haul... good mpg and better comfort...

If it's $3k total including upgrades you'll be hard pressed to find any VW worthy of a road trip of that distance.. now if it doesn't matter what you spend on upgrades than a late bug is the way to go if you are sold on using a dub...

Tue Nov 22, 2016 12:16 pm

I am going to also suggest a bus. I would think the room alone would be well worth it. Fuel mileage shouldn't be a concern, just hook up a large fuel cell. You will have plenty of room for spare parts, snacks, beverages and the passengers will be much more comfortable. Your average speed will have to be 50mph, this will not leave a lot of time for fuel and restroom breaks; the fuel cell should take care of the fuel stop issues, you and your passengers can just get creative with the other.

If you do this, take pictures and post the story, it sounds like a lot of fun1

Mon Nov 28, 2016 8:05 pm

63 vwnotch wrote: pre '85 car and just for a rally.... my vote goes for a toyota (or similar) of your choice.....not what you want to hear but if you actually want to win you'll have a better chance, and depending what time of year this takes place A/C could make a huge difference with 3 guys piled in for the long haul... good mpg and better comfort...

If it's $3k total including upgrades you'll be hard pressed to find any VW worthy of a road trip of that distance.. now if it doesn't matter what you spend on upgrades than a late bug is the way to go if you are sold on using a dub...

Yeah, I see where your coming from, but I have my heart set on an aircooled VW. Luckily the $3k is the purchase price. Upgrades are after that (not that I want to dump a whole lot of money in this).