The car is a 2.0 16v powered VW Golf that is now turbocharged. Would be considered a DSP car by solo standards, con turbo. When I did AutoX, it was SP legal last year, as I ran in FSP with the 8v engine in it. The only changes from then to now are under the hood.
Sounds like Street Modified so far... The interior: rear seat is out, carpet out, rear section interior plastics etc out, dash is intact, passenger side door panel is there, drivers door panel is not and the door is gutted because I have nascar style door bars. Now, am I going be to be allowed in SM, or will I be booted to S2 in 07 because of my drivers door, which was altered in the name of safety?
I have not kept up with the Street Mod rules, but from how it used to be you would not be allowed in Street Mod because it sounds to me like you pretty much gutted the car except for the dash and driver seat. Jeff Fazio would no more than me about it.
The only thing you can really remove from the interior in SM are the rear seats. Everything else has to stay. You would have to put the carpet and plastic back in.
As per the new rollcage rules, it appears you are allowed to remove door panels to accomodate door bars.
You are allowed to change steering wheels and seats.
I do have the passenger seat still in place, but there is no way to put the carpet or interior pieces back in the rear of the car. The only thing that I dont get, is how removing less than 5 lbs of useless stuff in the rear and replacing 5 lbs of door parts with roughly 12' of 1.75" DOM provides a competitive advantage that warrants my car being put up against the wild stuff that shows up for the S-classes. It is what it is, I will run S2 if I have to, but it doesnt make much sense IMO.
IMO I think the turbocharged engine would be the problem. I presume your golf is a 1985 to 1992 (because you stated it had a 1.8 engine). Is the engine a 16valve that you turbocharged? I run a GT-3 golf 16v and turbos are not allowed in that class. I would think it would bump you to a special class. This is only my opinion. See ya Paul
1987 Porsche 944
1988 VW GTI 16V GT-3 #46 Geely scooter Friend of Old # 7 1970 Porsche 914-6
Ae long as the engine make matches the make of the car (VW engine in a VW), you can do anything to it ... he could put twin turbos and a supercharger in it and still be legal for SM (street mod).
Brandon, I understand your point, but I don't make the rules.
All I could say is maybe it offers a much bigger advantage for other cars.
Even so, it could just be that no one has ever petitioned them to allow it.
Remember, the rules are a set of allowances.
A few of us petitioned last year to get fiberglass/carbon fiber hoods allowed for mid-eninge cars and they granted that. Previously they only allowed "engine covers" to be lightened which screwed those of us with engines in the back.
Brandon,
If you have carpets and seats in the front, you should be okay. Keep in mind the tech inspectors will usually support anything being removed from the back to allow rollcage bars. If someone wants to protest you on that, it will usually be thrown out for the sake of saftey. Gutting the driver door for bars is allowed.
You sound as though you should be okay in Street Mod with a small addition of front carpets. That should be simple, right?
Dave Yeager, EL&M Auto Recycling, S. Jersey
H/P Rabbit GTI, National Club Racing
ITC Scirocco, Regional CR, Time Trials
MKIII Golf, LeMons/Chump car
V1 TR4, Vintage/ Historic
Formula SAE, SOLO II
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500 Late Model Parts Cars
dspgti wrote:Brandon,
If you have carpets and seats in the front, you should be okay. Keep in mind the tech inspectors will usually support anything being removed from the back to allow rollcage bars. If someone wants to protest you on that, it will usually be thrown out for the sake of saftey. Gutting the driver door for bars is allowed.
You sound as though you should be okay in Street Mod with a small addition of front carpets. That should be simple, right?
Assuming I could find carpet for this, I guess I could butcher it back in there around the cage feet and the drivers seat somehow. Is the carpet really all it would take? Are there any tech inspectors reading this that would care to clarify?
As far as I know, the tech inspectors for the hills only check the car for safety, not classing. Classing seems to be self-policing and/or done by folks who challenge cars that are not appropriate.
mckee wrote:When Bill Rutan from NEHA runs his gutted, turbocharged VW Scirocco he is placed in S2.
That car is a whole different level than mine. I have VW everything in a VW that it is supposed to be in, it is just turbo'd and has standalone management both of which are fine for Street Mod, I just dont have a drivers door panel or a carpet.
As Jeff said, tech inspectors are concerned with safety issues not car classes. Proper classification is based on the current rules, and while we may not always agree with them, without them is chaos. The other drivers in whatever class you decide to enter will make you aware if you're in the wrong class- if only by their protest.
As Dave said, it might be worth it to go to a salvage yard and pick up the interior pieces you need.
Joe Foering, Chief Tech Insp.
Joe Foering wrote:As Jeff said, tech inspectors are concerned with safety issues not car classes. Proper classification is based on the current rules, and while we may not always agree with them, without them is chaos. The other drivers in whatever class you decide to enter will make you aware if you're in the wrong class- if only by their protest.
As Dave said, it might be worth it to go to a salvage yard and pick up the interior pieces you need.
Joe Foering, Chief Tech Insp.
I agree 100% Joe, that is why 3 posts ago I said:
"I guess we'll see. I dont want to start any static, so if someone protests the way I show up I will run in S2."
I have no interest in investing time, money, or effort in butchering up little plastic parts and carpet to make my car "street" legal in the eyes of SM rules.
I would like to have a pow-wow about this topic at the first event of the year with the SM guys, we'll all gather round #79 and figure it out, I will bring the decals for S2 and SM
Geely scooter Friend of Old # 7 1970 Porsche 914-6
