I'll keep an eye out if I tackle a rally build again, the other problem is that 1/8 mandates some beefy electronics and plenty of area to run.
If Exceed were still around and I went with 1/10 again, I'd just buy one of their offerings. Can't be worse than a stock TT02.
I agree, you're already starting off with an off-road capable chassis so that takes care of 80% of the hassle.
Problem is that it's still a bit expensive for my taste, a few more hundred and I could fix up a junker for some 1:1 racing.
I have a hard time "getting" RC rally cars, I like real rally cars, but their RC counterparts tend to be very expensive and not all that off-road capable.
Heck, you can turn a $500 beater into a rally car, by the time that you get electronics/body/extra crap to "fix" it you'll be at $500 for an...