t only took one turn for all my doubts to disappear. It had been four and a half years since the Rally beater last turned a wheel in anger, and I was, only moments earlier, quite skeptical that it could still do it. After a few rough but glory-filled years of dirt and hammers, the 510 had been sitting idle in my various driveways as I was distracted by a newer rally car and various other things not rally related.
When I finally dropped the hammer at the start of stage one, I still had no idea if the car would handle right. A week of commuting in a rally car will tell you if your radiator leaks, but nothing you can do on the pavement tells you if your old box still handles well in the dirt or if you still remember how to drive it. As the SR20DE wailed and the gravel flew, the beater's normally rough, clattery ride smoothed out into a gloriously fluid set of arcs, slides, and various maneuvers named after old Scandinavians. I had almost enough time to start giggling with boyish glee before the engine turned off.
For the complete story on Dave's Adventure, pick up the September 2006 issue of Sport Compact Car, on newsstands now!