The Dodge Rally Neon needs a few things: Front skidplate ‘work’, control arm bushings, exhaust wrap, new mud flaps, some dents removed, and a general ‘going over’. We’ve got a full set of Silverstone 505s from Gorman and with no punctures, I’m inclined to continue using them over the Kumhos. Not being able to get Kumho spares in time for Gorman really pushed me off. I even wrote a letter to them – pleading for help – and got a polite: “Nope – we don’t have’em… Can’t get’em.”
I found a trailer to rent from the rally community and I’ll be bolting the crazy heavy ‘class III’ hitch Christine ordered onto the back of the Blazer this weekend. I’d like to find a used car dolly for $500, but they’re nowhere to be found. If you know of one in the LA/OC area – drop me a comment.
The one thing we thought would be a problem was getting a crew out there. It’s a long drive and quite a commitment and expense for our volunteers in Southern California. Fortunately the AZ2GNT crew stepped up! It’s a tight knit group of 2nd generation non-turbo DSM guys. They run the same engine block (420A) as the Dodge Neon, and a bunch of them will be helping us in Arizona!
When you wire up the Blazer for the trailer, trust me, wire up a 7-way RV connector with brake controller support. It’ll be a little more expensive but the 7-way will allow you to buy inexpensive adapters to run any trailer you happen to rent/borrow/buy/steal for a particular event. A full pre-fabricated 7-way bumper to bumper wiring loom should cost less than $40. Jack’s trailer we borrowed for Maine was a 7-way so a 7-way, Class III, and brake controller is now on the Explorer. KC’s trailer is a 6-way. U-Haul trailers depend on whatever happens to be available.
Glad to hear you should be able to bypass most of the snags. I wish you guys luck on the re-assembly work.