Hello. I am building a felica stage rally car, its a 1998, 1300. 136 mpi engine. I need advice on the following items please......1/ Is there any parts i should change to make the car more reliable?...2/ is there any mild performace mods i could do to get a few more horsepwer? i intend taking the head off, can this be skimmed?...etc. 3/ Can i do anthing to the suspension? and how can i make the skoda handle better? 4/ Does anyone sell performace parts for these cars? 5/ What engine oil should i use? syn, semi syn or normal oil? also how about the gearbox oil? 6/ Any advice at all would be most welcome as ive built rally cars before but i am new to skodas....thank you...stew

1 - the car is generally very reliable, the only major common problems are the alternators and the temp sensors (do a search see if my thread about both my alternators is still around)

2- the usual induction kit and bigger 'zorst are the only ones i can think of but im not a mechanic - the 1.6 engine would have been a better one to start with

3- 'Pinkskud' has got coilovers on his felly you would be best off pm'ing him about it, he knows most about it

4- No one here sells them but just search in google for 'skoda felicia performance' or something similar, 'jorily skoda' sells a few things on ebay, look for the shop

5 - pass, but i have a funny feeling its semi-synth, i only had mine for 5 months and never changed the oil

Good start... Favorits/Felicia's make excellent rally cars - as they've proven, and you have a good base to start with - being a high compression 1.3. I'dve said the 1.3 would be better than the 1.6 for rallying. Much better gear ratios and a fair bit lighter.

1. As stated, they are pretty reliable - front suspension cups rot out (but if you're replacing these it wont bother you.

2. Depends on what regulations you have to adhere to? The Mpi cylinder head is already the best Skoda 1.3 cylinder head from the factory. You could always go with aftermarket injection system, a camshaft regrind, throttle bodies etc but I have a feeling you'll be limited by the rally regs? Remove the cat (it will probably still pass MOT emissions) and fit a better flowing exhaust. You'd probably not want Power Steering either if your car has it.

3. HP Suspension do Coilovers for Felicia's and they have a very good reputation.

A mate of mine runs CPMS, a Skoda Specialists in Peterborough. His ebay name is boroskoda, or call 01733 324251. Ask for Chris and tell him Rob gave you his details.

He looked after a couple of ex-trophy Felicia Rallycars and knows them inside out.He sells all sorts of new and used Skoda spares, inc performance parts/rally stuff etc solely for Skodas and is a factory trained mechanic with 20 odd years Skoda knowledge under his belt and was even mechanic for the Trophy winning team in the 90's.

If he hasnt got the bits you need, he will know a man who has, and he can advise on mods etc.

Good luck with it, they make great Rallycars.

We've not heard anything much from him but ISTR there being a member who has what I suspect of being a genuine Skoda Challenge car. Try a search for Skoda Trophy or Skoda Challenge, and look for threads in the new members section, then PM him.

I run a Felicia rally car. Mine has a 1400 Fabia MPi engine in it on suzuki throttle bodies, with a skimmed and ported head, works-spec inlet and exhaust manifolds and system, a paddle clutch, limited slip diff, HP Sporting coilovers and wilwood four-pot brake calipers with vented discs. I run in the non-homologated class (Though the felicia is still homologated in groups A and N). Makes about 116bhp and 103lbft torque.

They are tough little cars. Apart from the usual seam welding etc, then there are one or two tricks to watch for.

Most people I know run with a big 1/4" thick washer between the end of each driveshaft and the hub. This stops the shafts pulling out of the diff on full droop, which can cause over-revving if you lose a shaft.

Also, the front ball joints are a weak link - most people I know change these regularly if doing gravel events.

I've never had any troubles with the lower arms bending, but I know that they are sometimes either plated over or have strips of box welded to them to strengthen them (not allowed in groups A or N).

It used to be possible to get uprated solid engine mounts and front arm bushes, but these seem to be rarer that rocking horse poo now. You could probably get some made up, and they will make a difference.

Particularly if you don't have one, fit the 22mm anti roll bar from the felicia pickup - this makes a massive difference to the handling.

Find some way of fastening the oil filler cap down - mine has blown off in the past. An oil cooler is worthwhile on this engine too, though if left alone, they are reliable little lumps.

In terms of tuning parts, there's not a lot that's easily available.

RallyBazar & Speedpro shop - Plzeò vše pro automobilový sport a tuning is a czech rally site, which often has skoda parts. They speak english (by phone or email) and will ship to the UK. I've just bought a 4.5 final drive from them.

Google HP Sporting - they make really good coilover sets for the felicia - about £550-600 quid a set. They prefer German if you don't speak czech, but will ship to the UK if you pay by bank transfer.

If you are using the standard brakes, Mintex do 1144 and 1155 pads for the standard brakes - they are the same as the rear pads on some sierra cosworth models.

Gripper do make an LSD for the felicia, but they are reluctant to make a new batch without at least three orders. There are a couple of people on the "other" skoda forum who would be willing to enter into a mini group buy, for this (about £575). You can run these in either group N or A (or indeed, and it makes a massive difference.

Let me know if you have any other questions - its always good to see another felicia out on the stages.

Cheers

James

i'v got an old trophy car rolling shell if your interested? its had a bilstine rear coilover conversion done, and the shell has been re-welded all round. it also has all the mounting points for a cage.