MurileeMartin wrote:

ifb_mole wrote:

How about a large - by Japanese standards - Cressida, Maxima, Mazda Comso or RX-4 - how do the "big" Japanese 4 doors fair?  too common, not "clunky" enough?  What say ye all

I say hell yes! We've had a real shortage of Japanese luxury so far. Never seen a Cressida or Maxima. One apiece Q45 and LS400.

I have a friend who has a $100 Maxima that he has been Rallycrossing.  I think he will turn it into a Lemons ride for 09.

danio3834 wrote:

The best LeMons vehicle unfortunately got scrapped before I could rescue it and shove it in the barn for next year.

A friend of mine picked up a '94 Pontiac Trans Sport van with a factory 5 speed manual and HO quad 4.  I guess it was imported from Europe.  He got it for $80 because of a slight rod knock.

We told him wed pay scrap value for the van, yet he trashed it anyway...

Wow. The only u-body that could hope to compete would be the China-only Chevy GL8.

jimeditorial wrote:

Anybody seen an "Iraqi Malibu?" GM Canada sold a fleet of four door Malibus (1981?) with A/C and a three-speed floor shifted manual trans....Saddam backed out on the deal and they were deep discounted at Chevy dealers up here...probably a pretty rare car down there.....

I was at an RM auction in Toronto a while ago and one went through the block.  The car had an SBC and a 3 on the floor.  I assumed that someone had put that combo in it post factory.  I guess not. 

Cool bit of info.

Richardnew wrote:

I've read all of this and our team (Intervention Motorsports) is thinking about a 4-cylinder Fox Mustang.We like cheap parts and good gas mileage. What's the downside here?

Richard Newton

None. Bring it

4-cylinder Mustangs get around the track about as fast as the V8 ones.

Richardnew wrote:

I've read all of this and our team (Intervention Motorsports) is thinking about a 4-cylinder Fox Mustang.We like cheap parts and good gas mileage. What's the downside here?

Richard Newton

The main downside is that they are down right sloooooooow no matter what you do. The good things are that they are very reliable, parts are cheap & plentiful in the junkyard, (mustang, ranger B2200 all share the 2.3), and all the V8 mustang chassis parts fit (V8 brakes/springs/sway bars people just throw that crap away). Not the most original or fun car to see at Lemons, but a truely sub $500 shitty car to have to drive everyday on the street that turns into workhorse on the race track.

The Mustang pictured is a 91.  Ours is a 90.  There is a factory 25 hp difference between them.  The 2.3 is a big heavy pig (it weighs nearly as much as the 302) and the 90 and older cars rolled out of the factory with a whopping 88 hp.  Ours worked well in the corners, but was a pig on the straights.  If your on a "fast" track you won't have any fun.  We were in 11th when we cooked the motor in New Orleans, so they can finish well.  Also, there were nine Mustangs out of 95 cars in Houston in March.  I'd hate to see them and E30s being the only cars on track.

We're swapping our 2.3 out for a 302 in the Mustang.  We'll be replacing it with a fox T bird in the off season.  We also built a Fairmont wagon.  Fox Fords can be good LeMons cars, but I can't recommend the 90 and prior 2.3s.

Reliable, almost certain to finish if you drive clean:
Crown Vic, Escort, Volvo 240, Mustang

Winning potential, less reliable:
Toyota Supra/Celica GT-S(80s), Rx7, Neon, Jetta

Epic, unreliable sharts that illicit smiles from the judges' faces:
Anything British, Anything French, Anything Russian, Fieros, ALMOST everything in GM's product portfolio from 1963-1984

Hella cheatin' cop-out cars: E30, Miatas, well, any bmw made after 1993 really...


I think there's 2 ways to truly have fun at a lemons event, you either bring something that'll keep you on the track turning laps, or you bring something that half of the paddock questions your sanity, the other half laughs, smiles, and offers you food out of pitty.

This all being said, any of these cars listed above are capable of winning as well as keeping you in the paddock the entire event. Develop a strategy, develop a theme, and find team members that are as crazy as you are.

Spank wrote:

MurileeMartin wrote:

http://images.craigslist.org/3na3k33of5 … dc13c7.jpg

Oh, I've just found the best LeMons car ever!

I thought the LeMons cars had to be 4 wheeled.

"2.1: Vehicle Eligibility: Entry limited to mass-produced, four-wheeled vehicles..."

If not, I'm gonna bring THIS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_7J_a2y6IA

Spank: Thanx for posting that! I laughed so hard, I almost peed my pants...........

Looking at a Contour SVT...possibly the worst SVT product of all time.

CBear3 wrote:

Looking at a Contour SVT...possibly the worst SVT product of all time.

I like the Contour SVT I really do,  but my advice is to walk away from that one.  They are hard to work on and some of the SVT specific parts are hard to get (on the cheap and period).

However if you DO show up with a Contour I'll be rooting for you.


I think the best Lemons car thing is still up in the air.  Even cars that traditionally blow up on day one (Fiero, Camaro, etc..)  have had some very good results in some races.  I wanted to try a G-body GM car but the team gave the thumbs down on that one.  At the last race we had one running in the top 3.

That being said my picks:  Ford Interceptor, Ford Escort, Toyota Corrola, BMW anything, and the Ford Mustang would be the cars I would hunt for if your a first time team.  I went with a Camaro simply because between all of us on the team we have LOTS of F-body parts just laying around thanks to the other types of racing we do.

Besides, how hard can it be to keep a Camaro alive for 24 hours?

CaptainRat wrote:

4.  Mitsubishi anything - their motors are indestructible

Ours wasn't!  And the judges pretty much predicted its demise by floating us through tech.  Like Hondas... street reliability for Mitsus does not equal endurance race reliability.