1985 world rally

[K58]

How about John Buffum in the 80's driving a Quattro?
youtube has some great videos

[Zeitgeist 13]

I got infected with this stuff because I grew up in Olympia and "worked" one of the the road crossings during a stage of the Olympus Pro Rally, back in the very early '80's. I knew the names Mouton and Buffum, before I really knew what they were famous for... I can't believe we Merkins aren't more enthusiastic about rally, given our proclivity for mud, speed and car wrecks
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH
'01 Weekender --> full camper
NEAT, no ICE.

[CTB]

I think it's a case of exposure. Most Americans have never seen or heard of it, though Subaru has helped change that somewhat. Being a racer myself, my social circles are of course skewed since we're all car people. But I have noticed that once someone sees world rally, they're hooked. I've had people approach me after seeing the first time. "That stuff is awesome!" Yes, it is. Imagine the impression it made on a 15 year old kid in 1985 when his first exposure to extended rally footage was Group B on ESPN. I had loved rally cars forever, but you could never see rally in the US on TV before that.

Love that Vanagon with the Quattro-style box flares.

I saw Buffum driving a Ford Escort at Mid Ohio when I was 5 years old. I didn't realize that until about 6 months ago when I found a website with pictures from those old races. Buffum is probably America's biggest rally great.
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[Zeitgeist 13]

I think the pic of the Vanagon with the flares was proven to be a photochop some time ago...but it sure would be cool
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH
'01 Weekender --> full camper
NEAT, no ICE.

[K58]

This thread made me dig up my old FIA rally tapes.
I've got a few VHS (lol) tapes featuring rallying from all over the world.
Even tapes of Paris to Dakar which is only history now.
I never imagined there would be this much interest from the Samba.
now if I can only get the cobwebs out of the tape machine....

[CTB]

I have hours of that stuff from 1983-1986, as well as several compilation DVDs, like Too Fast to Race, The Rally Supercars, Greatest Years of Rallying - 1970's and 1980's, many single-event Group B reviews, and season reviews for 1985 and 1986. I also have a great Rothmans promo tape that is the source of the most brilliant co-driver moment of all time, the semi famous Ari Vatanen Opel Manta 400 run in the 83 Manx where he nearly writes it off at great speed, much to the co-driver's (I believe Terry Harryman) chagrin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwvIRuCLbyg
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[Zeitgeist 13]

Does VAG no longer contribute anything to the WRC circuit?
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH
'01 Weekender --> full camper
NEAT, no ICE.

[CTB]

They ran with Skoda a few years ago, notably with a run by Colin McRae prior to his untimely death. Also, Seat ran for a while and may still be in the lower classes (I'm out of touch this year). However, VW and Audi brands are notably absent from the WRC circuit.
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[Jedi]

Yah But VW is killing dakarr rally year after year. Audi seams to have gotten kick out of every field except DTM 2wd
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1961 Westfalia SO23 Mango Green/Seagull grey
1961 Westfalia SO34 T/BW
1961 Westfalia SO34 SWR
1964 Westfalia SO33 pearl white
1965 Westfalia SO42 Velvet green
1986 Syncro Wolfram grey with black int GL
1986 Syncro Doka
1987 Syncro Sevana beige Adventurewagen
1987 syncro Sevana beige GL
1973 Pumpkin orange Thing
2 1963 Rag top bug's
1965 Manx
1970 Single cab
1971 combi
1990 Vanagon GL
2007 Audi A4 3.2L quattro

[suebicum]

O guys stop it

I watched some you tube and... memory's.
After I realized I wasn't quick enough to be a driver (ok I held a international C license for a while ) I took classes and became the guy with the stop watch.
I worked on some local rally's in the late 90's- just the "small" stuff was good enough

[mellow cat]

Steelhead, I don't know where you found that pic, but gawd dammit, that thing is awesome. It both kick me in my "thought I had the cool van balls" and also inspired me to give some thought to a "proper livery" for the old van.

Thanks a ton for sharing that photo.....made my day!!

mc

wait....saw the pic...posted then read through the thread.....Faked, photoshop....? maybe I can still fly the "cool guy" van card? At 40 with 2 kids, the cool guy card really doesn't mean much anyway.

[CTB]

[suebicum]

[CTB]

Not the best video, but recent footage of Walter behind the wheel nonetheless.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/24/video-walter-ro...e_autoblog
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[IdahoDoug]

So, I guess this would be the thread to mention that I spent a weekend with Ms Mouton's backup Group B vehicle on the streets of Detroit? Unbelievable. I was a Product Planner at GM for Sporty and Prestige Luxury vehicles (cough, yeah I know) in the mid 80s. The keys ended up on my desk and it was Friday about noon. Pontiac sent it over to get interest in AWD. I went to see what they'd left in the garage for me and immediately left with it and did not come back.

On the passenger seat was a binder with EPA, DOT, and NHTSA waivers so I could drive it on the street. There was also a printed card "What to do in an emergency" with the home numbers of GM's legal staff. Had to use that once on a RHD Toyota MR2 with a supercharger but that's another story.

I spent the weekend hunting Vettes, hotted up muscle cars and exotics. Actually sweated so much I got dehydrated at one point and had to stop somewhere and drink water - that thing was work. One memory I have is launching it from rest with all 4 tires slipping and there was no tire screech. The rubber was so soft apparently it wouldn't make the sound. Kind of unnerving when cornering at the limit as well - dead silent. Not that I would have heard much over the rest of the racket. Did I mention it was freakin' scary?

A once in a hundred million lifetimes opportunity and I made the most of it.

I'm also a former Quattro owner and so it feels like home to recently re-enter the VAG world with the Syncro. To top it all off, I'm in MC's zip code!! That's one sweet SynQuat he's got.

DougM
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1993 Toyota LandCruiser, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[CTB]

This would indeed be the thread, and I hate you. What a great memory that must be! The sound must have been tremendous. The closest thing I've ever done to that was to get a ride in the factory Ford Focus WRC rally car in 2000 with Thomas Radstrom driving. It was on a controlled tarmac test track, but it was still something I'll never forget.
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[IdahoDoug]

Nice experience - there is quite literally nothing else like getting a ride with a professional driver like that. It matters not how good a driver you are (or think you are). When you see how a pro does it, dancing back and forth over the line that separates controlled and out of control constantly then you get an inkling of what a race is like. Awesome. Did your neck hurt the next day (usually helmet weight and unused muscles getting cranked on for a few minutes will do it)?

Here's another random Audi experience. We were testing various AWD vehicles in an area we called Black Lake at the GM proving grounds. A large rectangle of Jennite(sp?) had been prepared (artificial ice). At the end of the day, I wondered if I could get the Audi 200 to do a full 360 down the length of it (perhaps 400m long) and gather it up straight again before running off the slick back to regular dry black tarmac. So, I did a big loop on the dry and came into it at a slight angle at 80mph plus annnnndddddddddd......totally miscalculated or the Quattro hooked up or some combo. I merely got it perfectly sideways and then exited the ice out the other side. Excellent German suspension development was my friend as I felt the chassis bang down onto the bump stops and majestically slid perfectly sideways to a complete stop with the entire interior filled with rubber smoke (all windows were down). I drove around and did another halfhearted attempt kind of hoping onlookers might be fooled into thinking that wasn't as stupid as it looked, and kinda because I was so shaken it was all I could think of to get a few minutes to get myself composed.

To this day there is a nice new starched shirt in the closet with black rubber dots melted into it here and there. My "Audi" shirt, a momento to trying stuff..
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1993 Toyota LandCruiser, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[suebicum]

O, guys would you stop it

I envy your experiences, I had my own but not that good.
I rode with my race instructor the GP course of Monza and then tried it my self for a couple days
Well his Audi RS2 Avant went a bit better then my Opel Vectra 2000
the best thing I was allowed to handle was a (Opel)Lotus Omega.
377hp / 0-60 in 5.3s / 0-100 in 11.5s.
I drove it for all of 15min and sweated through a T-shirt (even thow the ac was on )
Ok at the same time I had tickets for the DTM race (including Pit lane) in Hockenheim for 2 years in a row. And did not pay a dime for them
For stuff like we're talking about you got to have connections

Michael
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1986 Vanagon GL Syncro

[buspor63]

I remember in the early 80's I went to the Chimney Rock hillclimb in Chimney Rock, NC. Buffum was there to attempt FTD and course record with a Quattro. He was still beat by the specials, big tires, wings and rotary powered.

Two memories that I keep still are, the "chirping" the Quattro tires made in the corners and the deafening sound an unmuffled 13B makes on the rev limiter at launch!
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Imagine that, theres not an "h" in either Westfalia or Syncro?

[taigagreen]

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88 Westfalia Club Joker syncro AAZ i/c
99 Transporter syncro 2.5 TDi