The Oregon Trail Rally is the home of one of the best rally events in the US. This year it is based in Portland and the Dalles, Oregon.  Starting on Thursday, May 13, the Fan Appreciation Day is happening at Pioneer Courthouse Square in Downtown Portland. Our latest rally build, a 2006 Madza3 Group 2 car will be on display downtown, and at the press stage at PIR later that day. Please come down and check it out! The Evil Eye Motorsports team of Dave Henderson  and Terry McDowell will be out challenging for a Max Attack podium, as well a Group 2 podium. This will be their 2nd event in the new car, and after a pair of 1st place Group 2 finishes, and 2nd 2wd OA at their Olympus Rally debut, they will be a team to watch.

Friday’s stages happen at Portland Int’l Raceway starting at 6pm. This is a great opportunity to get up close and personal with all of your favorite rally cars and teams. Every year the PIR stages get more and more exciting, and are filled with spectators. There were close to 10,000 out there last year. The best part about the PIR stages is that you can get to see much of the stages run from the spectator locations, and it’s right in Portland. Many times, in the woods, you get to see a few turns, not most of the stage. With that said, the flying gravel in the woods is what gets many people hooked on the sport of rally.

Saturday and Sundays stages will be run outside of The Dalles and Dufur, Oregon, on Wasco County Roads. There are some old and new stages that will be run this year. There will be spectating opportunities on both days. Go to www.oregontrailrally.com for more spectator info or if you want to volunteer.  The back drop of Mt Hood makes these stages some of the prettiest in the nation, and offer great photo and video opportunities as well. If you can’t get out to the stages, feel free to drop by the service area and say “Hi”. We’ll have at least 5 cars in the All Wheels Driven service area, so there will at least be several cars to come check out.. hopefully not to many “antics” though.

Very much looking forward to seeing some old and new rally friends at the 2010 Oregon Trail Rally. Rally On! B-

We are firm believers in building a solid rally driving foundation by driving a slow car fast. Regardless of  drivetrain layout, it’s the way to get seat time, and it’s the way to become a better driver. Learn to drive the slow car fast, then learn to Max Attack! The Max Attack! Series promotes 2wd rallying in it’s purest form. The level of competition and skill  in Max Attack is incredible. The sheer numbers of 2wd entries at the Max Attack events has seldom been equaled regionally or nationally in the last 10 years. Additionally, at the Idaho Rally this year 10 of the top 15 cars were 2wd, and the OA winners (Lauchlin O’Sullivan/Karen Wagner) were in a 2wd as well. These are the types of events that will yield the best competition in the US, and keep the drivers bringing out their best drives. Real competition. The best part is “smile per mile” factor.. All of the teams have huge grins at the end of a Max Attack event. Then they go back home, straighten out their bent car, and come back out to the next one , regardless of what stands in the way. That’s the Rally On! attitude.

Forgot to mention..there’s a fat purse for the top 5..:)

Thanks to Jake Himes for being the catalyst of Max Attack! His smiles and kind words will always be missed. So will his sideways driving style…

A couple Max Attack! videos from Idaho Rally:

Max Attack 2009 2WD Rally Championship – Round 1 Idaho Rally Day 1

Max Attack 2009 2WD Championship – Round 1 Idaho Rally Day 2 Review

My good buddy Matt Garner picked up this car new in 2005, and has steadily been building it since then. All of the bases have been covered well on this build..Power, brakes,. suspension, interior, wheels/tires, and even a roof rack.. Let’s not forget the custom carbon fiber front lip, rear spoiler, and rack fairing. All nice touches that add even more sex appeal to an ultra sexy ride. Talk about a sleeper! The STi’s need to watch out when this car is running around..:) Congrats to Matt for his 1st Place in the ‘05 up LGT class at the 2009 West Coast Subaru Show! It was well deserved.

Performance
AEM CAI
PDX 350 hybrid turbo
Perrin TMIC
Perrin BOV (full recirc)
AVO TB hose
TGV deletes
DW 740cc injectors
Crucial P&P + coated manifolds
BPM up pipe
BPM x-over pipe
PDE down pipe (full 3”)
Perrin mid & y pipe
Worx crank pulley

Suspension & Brakes
STi Pink springs
Perrin sway bars
Stoptech BBK
SS brake lines

Wheels & Tires
Powdercoated factory wheels
Yokohama S-drive 225/45-17
Exterior
Vacuum bagged CF front & rear lip spoilers
RBS grill
JDM CF eyelines
Cleared & painted headlights
5000K HID (stealth install)
3M clear bra
20% tint

Interior
Momo shift knob
STi pedal set
Casopolis dual 52mm cubby gauge pod
ProSport boost gauge
ProSport oil temp gauge
Subaru A/W floor mats

Audio
JL Audio Cleansweep
Boston GT-50 5 channel amp
Boston Pro 6.5” component front
Boston 6.5” coax rear
Boston GS 12” subwoofer
Custom aluminum sub box
Streetwires battery cables

and of course, a photo gallery..

Thought it might be a good idea to post some of the members of the All Wheels Driven rally car stable..  many things have changed since our first ‘90 Legacy PGT build. With that said, the Leggy is still running stages with no DNF’s since 2002..Not many rally cars can claim that. We’ve built a bunch of  rally cars since then, and many have gone on to win regional championships, and some all the way to compete in nationals. We’re proud of our roots within the regional rally community, and glad to have networked across the country with other teams and shops,  as well as overseas, since we started.  The key to keeping our sport growing is getting more new driver talent on stage at the regional level..In addition to the deep field of quick NW rally drivers, many new drivers have blossomed in the NW the last several years. We plan on continuing to prep solid cars for them and help get them seat time to take it to the next level.

The Mt. Hood Rally, this year, as usual, was one of the best events of the season. Initially, I was planning on crewing for the 4 car Tabor Rally Team, similar to 2008. I was still going to crew for them, but we would wind up needing another bay in service.. Just several days before the event, a new team, Dave Henderson & Terry McDowell of Hood River, contacted me about running the GTI. The wheels were set in motion , as the days were ticking off quickly to the event. Fortunately there wasn’t much to do on the prep end for the GTI. Checking fluids, a good detail, new numbers, flags, and names, and the car was good to go. Recce was mucky and wet, so we opted to run the mud tires instead of gravel tires. Fortunately, the weather got nicer on Saturday.. The muds wound up being a good choice.. The guys started in 26th place, at the end of the pack. By the end of stage one (Gilhouly, +-6mi), they moved up to 17th, and 4th in G2. They drove a steady, clean race, finishing 14th OA, 2nd in G2 their first time on stage.. a stellar debut. But it’s not Hendo’s first time in a gravel car. He normally runs a Modified 4 ‘06 STi in the local rally crosses, which helped him build a sollid foundation that carried over well to the stages.. We are looking foward to working with the Henderson/McDowell team  in 2010. These guys have been bitten hard by the rally bug..:)

All of the Tabor’s finished on the podium in their respective classes, free of _too much_ drama. Mark Tabor and Ben Bradley had a bit of an offroad excursion that “modified” the rear subframe towards the end of the event. To spite the car “crabwalking” on fast straights, they pressed on to the end, still finishing in the top 10 and 2nd in PGT. Matt Tabor and Jeff Zurschmeide finished up 3rd PGT in the ‘99 2.5 RS. Bruce “Papa” Tabor and John Elkin’s Nissan Sentra SE-R  would up ahead of the Tabor Ladies’ Acura RSX Type S in the production battle. The “Tabor Cup” has switched hands yet again, after the Ladies’ victory at WIld West Rally In Pomeroy, Wa. Congrats to the Tabor’s once again, for starting and finishing all 4 cars.

We needed a place for the rally photos and build pics. Lots of good images through the years. Also always looking for more to add, so feel free to email any to rally@allwheelsdriven.net . Thanks for looking!

This was the first successful Normally aspirated, EZ30 H6 swap into a ‘95 Impreza coupe. It was a long road to get it to completion, but it is one of the most unique swaps we’ve done. It features an ez30 , 3.0L H6, from a 2005 Subaru Tribeca. There were many custom bits built, as well as a full wiring conversion using a combination of H6, Brighton, and Hydra bits. The transmission is a WRX/Legacy Turbo hybrid with an RA gearset, a 12kg center diff and 4.44 gears. The LSD is a later Legacy 4.44 unit with Legacy rear axles. For engine management, the Hydra EMS was utilized. Which at the time of the swap, was the best unit available for the H6. For suspension, the car used Tein coilovers with camber plates and hardened bushings throughout. Heavier front and rear sway bars and end links were also used. Of course in addition to better power, the car needed better brakes. They were upgraded to WRX fronts/ Legacy Turbo rears with slotted rotors, better pads, stainless lines, and superblue fluid. There was no need for bigger brakes, as the car weighed in at close to 2600lbs. When the car came to fruition it was an Auto X weapon!

It was long overdue.. Many parts of the site has been “under construction” for many months or longer. We’ve been very busy building cars and going to events, which has kept the update on the back burner for too long. With the help of our long time webmaster and webmastress, the site will be better than ever. More content, more parts, and recent blogs with the antics of the events we’ve attended… Keep it bookmarked, because we’ll be updating it frequently. Thanks for your support through the years. Rally On!

Evo 3 2wd in Trinidad, OTW to the podium

This is one of our favorite swaps to date. A 2001 Subaru Impreza RS coupe that received a complete 2004 STi drivetrain. In addition, it also got the dash, cluster, HVAC controls, and center console from the STi. This is a clean and very potent car, although in a stock looking package. The end result is fantastic to drive.. Excellent power-to-weight ratio, stellar suspension, and brakes that stop on a dime. This car is the epitome of a clean swap..:D‘

For all the VW guys (and gals), check out this video.  This is one of the highest HP, most custom VW’s we’ve seen.  1200 wheel horse power, based on an Audi Quattro power train.  Super sick!