My last ORL article laid out some of what lays before us in creating a car to run the 2025 La Carrera Panamrericana. The delivery of the ’73 ES that was “almost ready for paint” opened the door that I was unsure if I wanted to pass. But we’re on the way now, so there’s no putting a foot on the middle pedal.
Irv Stein and I stuck the deal that I would finish what Duane Matejka at R Sport Engineering had started. Irv saved me from dealing with getting the cage installed, and I can attest that whoever he took it to did one outstanding job. My first task – painting the car — is likely going to be the easiest for me, because my P and B Motorsports co-conspirator Dave Buettner was the one who did all of it.
Dave is the body man/painter. Most assuredly I am not. So, in essence, I handed Dave a blank check and said do whatever needs to be done. He’s a pretty proud guy who does not have “it’s good enough” in his vocabulary. Engine bay, underside, cockpit, and exterior all needed to be done. Sanded, primed and painted. And a bit of structural welding.
107 work hours later, here’s what the car now looks like.
The next steps are downright intimidating. I have to create the list of needed purchases, get it all ordered and install it. Can it be done by 2025? We’ll see.
The Carrera is probably North America’s most famous, or infamous road rally. It started in the 1950 as the Pan-American Highway was completed and Mexico sought to exploit it to increase tourism. Over the years is developed a reputation for carnage. Both figuratively and literally there were no guardrails. It was a flat out, pedal to the metal event on regular roads, some of which offered a long trip to the bottom of gorges when things went awry. It was the last shunt for many “pilots” and their navigators. As a result, the rally race was cancelled after five years, to be revived in 1988. My Volvo racing colleague Jeff Babcock lectured me on not being an idiot when I suggested I was going to run this event.
The early days of the Carrera are chronicled in a short YouTube vide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmgNjpVdXhQ
It appears to me that things have changed. Based on my read of the rules and requirements for a car to pass scrutinization, the organizers realized that destroying cars and killing people was not a way to sustain an event and have changed significantly what is and is not allowed.
The 3000 km event takes place over seven days in October. Each day is a separate stage consisting of timed speed segments over paved roads closed to regular traffic. Starting order for each subsequent stage is determined by the previous day’s results. Cumulatively the actual vs. designated time determines the overall winner of La Carrera Panamrericana.
Cars are classified into four groups and a number of categories, depending on engine displacement and the number of competitors in each class These include:
- Pan American Cars — Sports, GT, and production cars from 1940 to 1954.
- Historic Cars Group — Sports, GT, and production cars from 1955 to 1985.
- Porsche Panam Cup — Modern Porsche cars,
- Exhibition Cars — Cars that don’t fit into any of the other groups or categories. These include street rods prepared to resemble 1932 and later model year and replicas of period prototypes or production cars from 1932 to 1956.Our ES will be running is the Historic A+ class, which includes mass production and limited production cars up to 2L built from 1965 to 1975 and more recent models aesthetically and mechanically like those of 1975. Some modifications are allowed. The displacement can be increased by up to 10% of stock. A bit of bodywork is allowed to accommodate wider wheels. If a car had fuel injection at production it is allowed; if not, it is not. Sequential and dogbox transmissions are forbidden. Fiberglass for weight saving is OK. For the most part, they are to be run pretty much as they came from the factory
The 150-page rulebook is daunting but lays out what one need to know in creating a car for the event. Safety is the really big deal, and detailed drawings of roll cages, mounting points for seats and safety harnesses and fire suppression system are included. Upgraded brakes are encouraged.
Each day’s run is broken into times transit and speed stages. The speed stages are where the difference between the modern Panamrericana and that of the old days is most obvious. In out class we are limited to 114 mph in the speed stage, constantly monitored by a provided GPS unit.
As this project’s steam builds, I’ve been in contact with the Carrera scrutineering master (we call it tech in the US) to make sure we don’t get to Mexico only to be told a bunch of changes need to be made. We’re hoping a couple of Volvo masters, Duane Matejka and Cameron Lovre can be part of our team, and we’d not want to ask them to work night and day due to our lack of foresight and preparation.
Almost ready for paint – Car as it sat at Duane’s, without cage completed. Note new jacking point under the door, just like that of 1 Red.
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