Epic Story: Man buys $500 E30, enters the WRC Rally Mexico, and places 3rd!

Seminole · 03-22-2010, 01:14 PM

An amazing read: http://jalopnik.com/5497042/how-a-50...k-rally-racers

A guy with no previous WRC experience, buys a $500 1991 BMW 318i beater off Craigslist, swaps in a M3 engine, and enters into the WRC Rally Mexico race. He has no pit crew, a co-driver that he never had any driving time with, and course notes from a Peruvian team in Spanish. He comes in third place in his class.

Quote:

This is the multifaceted tale of Bill Caswell, a man who bought a $500 crapcan off Craigslist to run against the $400,000+ rally cars in the World Rally Championship's Rally Mexico race earlier this month. It is a tale of a guy who had a welder, a bunch of credit cards, and a lot of free time but no real backing or funds. It is a story of a dude who taught himself how to build an FIA-legal roll cage, with no prior experience, because he wanted to spend the fabrication fee on race tires instead. It's the story of an enthusiast who drove a rustbucket to a third place finish in a FIA-sanctioned race

Crimson92 · 03-22-2010, 01:22 PM

awesome

edit: scratch awesome, fucking epic

aut0sh0cker · 03-22-2010, 01:29 PM

"This is the kind of Awesome that happens when you have the balls to stop second guessing things that you should definitely be second guessing."

Caswell is my new hero.

Schm · 03-22-2010, 02:00 PM

So much epic-ness

*off to Craigslist to find my own $500 e30 *

DBFIU · 03-22-2010, 02:01 PM

"Fuel pump seized with three stages left. I took it out, banged on it, borrowed a knife from a police officer and cut up some random cockpit harness to reverse the flow and banged on it until it worked again. But we were a few minutes late. We hauled ass and caught up. Was going to make the last two but got lost and was ejected for day. Oh well."

anthony @ eas · 03-22-2010, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crimson92

awesome

edit: scratch awesome, fucking epic

This.

ibeclueless · 03-22-2010, 02:19 PM

nice

Spec 1 · 03-22-2010, 03:58 PM

Those freakin 91 318i's are the shiz.

This guy, also awesome. Maybe he cna pick up a team now that they see he's beating guys with much better hardware.

335iheLLraiseR · 03-22-2010, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spec 1

Those freakin 91 318i's are the shiz.

This guy, also awesome. Maybe he cna pick up a team now that they see he's beating guys with much better hardware.

why only the '91s?

btw,i just took a took at '84 318 for $400.

jc_lbc · 03-22-2010, 05:15 PM

Oh man, that is soooo unbelievably cool! I've been purposely avoiding having anything to do with following the current season as it ruins the fun of watching the WRC recap shows once they start coming on TV but I'm so glad I found this story. I hope they get some video and document this in the episode for Mexico.

Joonsup · 03-22-2010, 05:29 PM

the key thing was that he got 3rd in his class. I kept searching all over the wrc site and the Mexico rally page and couldnt find more information on this guy. Pretty cool story. When I first read it I thought he got third overall. Didn't know there's different classes.

OT: So is Ken Block in a different class than Sebastian Loeb?

jc_lbc · 03-22-2010, 06:02 PM

Yeah, there would have been no way for this guy to finish anywhere near the top overall in that car against factory backed teams with million $ cars—hell, even Petter Solberg had a great deal of difficultly staying reasonably competitive last season on car that was only a couple years back spec' wise and with a full team of smart mechanics. WRC is in many cases a simple battle of attrition and IMO this guy was able to do so well due to a metric ton of think-on-your-feet ingenuity and a hell of a lot of luck. But when you don't have the big bucks that's what it takes in that sport more often then not. It's also what I love about it most I think.

Scorpion · 03-22-2010, 06:51 PM

Haha that's crazy.

OlivaresAnthony · 03-22-2010, 09:30 PM

Thats amazing...I wonder if he considered buying other cars or specifically wanted a BMW..

FrankiE90 · 03-23-2010, 04:11 AM

that man deserves a cold beer, i mean keg.

Kiemyster · 03-23-2010, 07:47 AM

wow this is amazing! He chose a great car, and with all those disadvantages to still come out third, its definitely an epic win.

EmPower · 03-23-2010, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiemyster

wow this is amazing! He chose a great car, and with all those disadvantages to still come out third, its definitely an epic win.

I hope BMW is watching this. It will make for a great positive PR story... and they should sponsor this guy and give him a team. He obviously knows what he is doing. Mario Theissen, are you watching this???

DBFIU · 03-23-2010, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmPower

I hope BMW is watching this. It will make for a great positive PR story... and they should sponsor this guy and give him a team. He obviously knows what he is doing. Mario Theissen, are you watching this???

He's busy designing the new FWD 0 series green hybrid electric 49 mpg BMW.

J-lou · 03-23-2010, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joonsup

the key thing was that he got 3rd in his class. I kept searching all over the wrc site and the Mexico rally page and couldnt find more information on this guy. Pretty cool story. When I first read it I thought he got third overall. Didn't know there's different classes.

OT: So is Ken Block in a different class than Sebastian Loeb?

Ken Block is in the same class with Loeb but he just hasn't been fast enough...atleast not yet.

dr.jay · 03-23-2010, 08:12 AM

Awesome fucking story, side note: why the fuck cant I find a E30 for $500??

tyler9595 · 03-23-2010, 08:18 AM

Reminds me that the right combination of Joe Sixpack, grit and determination can still KICK SOME ASS...

Awesome.

DBFIU · 03-23-2010, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyler9595

Reminds me that the right combination of Joe Sixpack, grit and determination can still KICK SOME ASS...

Awesome.

Git-R-Dun!

03-22-2010, 01:29 PM	#3
aut0sh0cker meh 125 Rep 1,752 Posts Drives: E92 335i, 997.2 C4S Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: 91362 iTrader: (2)	"This is the kind of Awesome that happens when you have the balls to stop second guessing things that you should definitely be second guessing." Caswell is my new hero.
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03-22-2010, 02:00 PM	#4
Schm Colonel 165 Rep 2,731 Posts Drives: e90 330i Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Missouri iTrader: (3)	So much epic-ness off to Craigslist to find my own $500 e30 __________________ 2006 E90 330i. Last edited by Schm; 03-23-2010 at 11:43 AM..
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03-22-2010, 02:01 PM	#5
DBFIU Crack Addict 99 Rep 759 Posts Drives: Fast Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hollywood, Florida iTrader: (0)	"Fuel pump seized with three stages left. I took it out, banged on it, borrowed a knife from a police officer and cut up some random cockpit harness to reverse the flow and banged on it until it worked again. But we were a few minutes late. We hauled ass and caught up. Was going to make the last two but got lost and was ejected for day. Oh well." __________________ 2009 - Titanium Silver - Steptronic - 135i - Nasty
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03-22-2010, 02:19 PM	#7
ibeclueless What 142 Rep 9,325 Posts Drives: E92 328xi Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Quincy, MA iTrader: (1)	nice __________________ E92 328xi Space Gray Aero Lip \| M3 Side Skirts \| CF Performance Spoiler \| ACS Roof \| Gloss Black Grilles \| LUX H8 Angels \| BMW Performance Exhaust My E92 Photos
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03-22-2010, 03:58 PM	#8
Spec 1 Faster in the Corners 58 Rep 1,062 Posts Drives: '91 E30, '05 ZX6-R, '06 300C Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Portland, OR iTrader: (0)	Those freakin 91 318i's are the shiz. This guy, also awesome. Maybe he cna pick up a team now that they see he's beating guys with much better hardware. __________________ '91 M42 E30 - All sorts of goodies.
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03-22-2010, 05:15 PM	#10
jc_lbc Private First Class 5 Rep 189 Posts Drives: 318ti Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Long Beach, CA iTrader: (0)	Oh man, that is soooo unbelievably cool! I've been purposely avoiding having anything to do with following the current season as it ruins the fun of watching the WRC recap shows once they start coming on TV but I'm so glad I found this story. I hope they get some video and document this in the episode for Mexico.
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03-22-2010, 05:29 PM	#11
Joonsup Lieutenant General 328 Rep 17,315 Posts Drives: E92 M3, E30 325i Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (8) Garage List 2008 BMW M3 [9.50]	the key thing was that he got 3rd in his class. I kept searching all over the wrc site and the Mexico rally page and couldnt find more information on this guy. Pretty cool story. When I first read it I thought he got third overall. Didn't know there's different classes. OT: So is Ken Block in a different class than Sebastian Loeb?
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03-22-2010, 06:02 PM	#12
jc_lbc Private First Class 5 Rep 189 Posts Drives: 318ti Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Long Beach, CA iTrader: (0)	Yeah, there would have been no way for this guy to finish anywhere near the top overall in that car against factory backed teams with million $ cars—hell, even Petter Solberg had a great deal of difficultly staying reasonably competitive last season on car that was only a couple years back spec' wise and with a full team of smart mechanics. WRC is in many cases a simple battle of attrition and IMO this guy was able to do so well due to a metric ton of think-on-your-feet ingenuity and a hell of a lot of luck. But when you don't have the big bucks that's what it takes in that sport more often then not. It's also what I love about it most I think.
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03-22-2010, 06:51 PM	#13
Scorpion Major 166 Rep 1,210 Posts Drives: Nothing Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Nowhere iTrader: (0)	Haha that's crazy.
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03-22-2010, 09:30 PM	#14
OlivaresAnthony Colonel 101 Rep 2,095 Posts Drives: 2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD OR 4x4 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: San Diego, CA iTrader: (6) Garage List 2019 Toyota Tacoma ... [0.00] 2015 BMW 535i [0.00]	Thats amazing...I wonder if he considered buying other cars or specifically wanted a BMW.. __________________ E90 325i\|Sparkling Graphite Metallic\|Steptronic\|Black Leatherette/Dark Burl Interior\|OEM Alarm\|35%Front/5%Rear Tint\|RD LED License Plate Lights\|Rear Fogs Activated\|Debadged\|Smoked Sidemarkers\|Blacklines\|Depo P90v2\|Matte Black Grille\|BMS PBX\|AFE Drop In\|Charcoal Filter Delete\|Air Scoops\| RM Silicone Intake Hose\| Magnaflow 14815\| 19" Avant Garde M310\|Continental DWS\|M3 Lip Spoiler
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03-23-2010, 04:11 AM	#15
FrankiE90 Major General 669 Rep 8,800 Posts Drives: Krooked Sk8board Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Pasadena, Ca iTrader: (11)	that man deserves a cold beer, i mean keg. __________________ FrankiE90 AKA:.[The TANK] *CLICK THE SIG E90s (been gone but not forgotten) • KW clubsports • • • • • • • • • • 18" BBS GT4 // Build E30 (pending) + E46 M3 Wagon ESTORIL Blue
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03-23-2010, 07:47 AM	#16
Kiemyster Bimmerpost Resident Marijuana Consultant 476 Rep 3,202 Posts Drives: 320i, 325xi, 335Xi, 335i, M3 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Queens/NYC iTrader: (4) Garage List 2010 BMW 335i [0.00] 2011 BMW X335i [0.00] 2006 BMW E90 325xi [0.00] 2011 BMW E90 335xi [4.00] 2011 BMW M3 E90 [7.00] 2006 E90 320i [0.00]	wow this is amazing! He chose a great car, and with all those disadvantages to still come out third, its definitely an epic win. __________________ "AMG What! S-Line Who? If you ain't got that M I got no respect for you!" '06 Alpine Weiss E90 320i \| '06 The Green Machine E90 325xi \| '11 Alpine Weiss E90 M3 ZCP \| '10 Silverstone X5M \| '11 Alpine Weiss E90 335xi
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03-23-2010, 08:12 AM	#20
dr.jay Lieutenant 14 Rep 465 Posts Drives: 2011 135 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Greenwood Always Up to No Good iTrader: (1)	Awesome fucking story, side note: why the fuck cant I find a E30 for $500?? __________________ "Barzini is dead. So is Phillip Tattallgia. Moe Green. Slacci. Cuneo. Today I settled all family business so don't tell me that you're innocent. Admit what you did"
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03-23-2010, 08:18 AM	#21
tyler9595 Captain 48 Rep 723 Posts Drives: Boring Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Indianapolis, IN iTrader: (1)	Reminds me that the right combination of Joe Sixpack, grit and determination can still KICK SOME ASS... Awesome. __________________ Previous - 2015 M4 - ZEC, M DCT, ZLP, Adaptive M Suspension, HK Audio Previous - 2015 X3 xDrive35i - BSM, ZPP, ZCW, Nav, HK Audio Previous - 2013 135is (N55) - Carbon Black, ZPP, ZTP, DCT, HK audio, heated seats Previous - 2010 e90 335i (N54) - BSM, 6AT, ZSP, ZPP, ZCW, Hi-Fi, Nav, BMW PPK & PE, Dinan S2 Previous - 2007 e90 335i (N54) - BSM, 6AT, ZSP, ZPP, ZCW, Hi-Fi
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