The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Drivers Lounge → You Know You Race In Lemons If...
When you crank your daily driver and it starts right away and you are surprised, because your race car never does.
Or, in my case, when your Lemons car starts better than your daily driver.
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When the unsolicited advice that you are given about your race car is probably correct, and it comes from your three-year old daughter.
When your DD maintenance suffers because you've spent all your available give-a-shit on the race car.
Or when you explicitly keep your race car street legal and registered just in case your DD craps out.
Also, someone needs to start a new thread and tell the story of the red car for us newbies.
Also, someone needs to start a new thread and tell the story of the red car for us newbies.
It started here.
Let me see if I can find the sequel at Autobahn in 2012. [EDIT: It was October 2011, now that I think about it.]
EDITED EDIT: Here is kind-of the story of the second weekend. Basically, it showed up later than late; maybe Doug or Speedy can expound on it.
When you buy those clear plastic barrels of cheeze puffs from Costco. Does anyone other than Lemons racers eat those things?
When people see your race car, they feel obligated to tell you about the time they were in a demolition derby.
God I've had that happen a bunch...
SpaceFrank wrote:Also, someone needs to start a new thread and tell the story of the red car for us newbies.
It started here.
Let me see if I can find the sequel at Autobahn in 2012. [EDIT: It was October 2011, now that I think about it.]
EDITED EDIT: Here is kind-of the story of the second weekend. Basically, it showed up later than late; maybe Doug or Speedy can expound on it.
In this video you can see the exact moment it ended.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuZy3Sz9HE0
While trying to kill my car.
... people you've never met before rudely insist that there is no way you only paid $500 for that car.
... people you've never met before rudely insist that you way overpaid if you paid $500 for that car.
Fixed it for you
When you buy those clear plastic barrels of cheeze puffs from Costco. Does anyone other than Lemons racers eat those things?
When you buy those just because the containers are great for keeping assorted hardware/small parts.
yukadas wrote:When people see your race car, they feel obligated to tell you about the time they were in a demolition derby.
God I've had that happen a bunch...
.... AND you get offended that they believe your car is a demo derby car!
. . . when you're too 'occupied' to spend two hours, and drive ten miles to the dump, to clean your yard of old junk and remodeling debris (metal double wall chimney, dog-eaten couch and its cushions, homebuilt motorcycle engine stand). . .
. . . but you spend many proud hours (and only $17! - it's within budget!) turning that into a six-foot long cigar, which you then drive 40 miles to the racecar, which is then driven 200 miles to the track, which then carries your backyard junk around and around for _two days_. . .and you're now happy at how much cleaner the yard is!
Everyone who asks how fast your race car is usually ends up unimpressed.
Amen. Here's a similar take:
....when you're excitingly telling the story of your latest race, or explaining what the 24 hours of Lemons actually is, and you see the other person's eyes start to glaze over and they slowly back away to try to remove themselves from the conversation.
therood wrote:SpaceFrank wrote:Also, someone needs to start a new thread and tell the story of the red car for us newbies.
It started here.
Let me see if I can find the sequel at Autobahn in 2012. [EDIT: It was October 2011, now that I think about it.]
EDITED EDIT: Here is kind-of the story of the second weekend. Basically, it showed up later than late; maybe Doug or Speedy can expound on it.
In this video you can see the exact moment it ended.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuZy3Sz9HE0
While trying to kill my car.
Yes, Phil's TTAC article very much captures the first weekend. After an 18 hour pure build at the track of a rented '67 Impala wagon we missed the green by a couple of hours on Saturday and basically raced all weekend. After being awarded Org Choice and a specially-made trophy at the awards ceremony, the guy who owned the car and his buddies were so jazzed by Lemons that they wanted to do it again (this time driving) at Autobahn (Joliet, IL) later in the year. Oh, and his most-definitely-meth-head buddy stole all our beer during the awards ceremony.
We didn't figure out that last bit until we saw beer at the owner's shop later that evening. Regardless, we thought it was a fantastic idea to race the Impala again and we left him a race seat and harness. Since he was a huge car guy (has twelve Impalas and various other classics) we looked forward to him 'improving' the car for the next race. It needed tires and the fuel tank re-strapped at a minimum. He said he'd put a cell in and a fresh 327 and the other guy - owning a tire shop - would replace the 35 year old Radial T/A's we raced on at Gingerman.
Speedy, Cousin Dave/Caddywrecker and I booked flights to Chi-town and met up with fellow Speedycopper Damien and drove to Joliet Thursday of race week. We'd heard from the Impala owner on Monday and he agreed to get the car to the track by Friday am. Well, we called him numerous times Thursday to no avail. Same thing all day Friday well into the evening. Saturday a.m. we reach him and he's on his way. Well, yeah... he appears after dark on Saturday to the sound of cheers from all the LeMonistas that were by then well aware of our saga. The owner and his two buddies were exhausted and suffering the severe effects of an Anheuser-Busch product. The car had been loaded onto a wood floored equipment trailer (maybe 3 1/2' off the ground) with very short ramps. Did I mention they crushed the entire exhaust system getting onto the trailer. Did I also mention that the car had collapsed through the trailer floor in three places? Oh, and the tires were the same 35 y/o Radial T/A's from Gingerman. It's nine o'clock p.m., Saturday.
Apparently they were exhausted from replacing the 283 with a 327 that blew up earlier in the week. They replaced that with a 400 that did the same. They appeared with what they said was a 327, but savvy and skeptical LeMonista's pointed out it was a 400. Who the hell knows what they were doing, but it took us all night to get the car off the trailer and the exhaust fixed. And then it wouldn't start. We called it quits for the night early Sunday a.m..
Sunday started early. In the light of the morning sun we saw the full glory of the new fuel cell. It was a plastic/poly bladder ratchet-strapped (one) to the wagon's rear floor. Rubber gas lines and cheap hose-clamps abound. Did I mention this was mounted three feet from the driver in the cabin of the wagon with zero containment? Yeah, HQ ain't got no time for that. While some of us worked to get the engine to fire a small team of silver-tongued rocket surgeons were able to fab up a plastic barrier in front of the 'fuel cell' that would minimize the forward flow of fuel spray, added more ratchet straps and were able to get HQ to meet us halfway. Despite it's severe oxidation issues, it was still a mammoth '67 Impala wagon with a lot of steel between the 'cell' and the bumper.
Well, by 1pm Sunday the car was able to fire and Speedycop took a few laps to feel things out. And by 'few laps' I mean one. Back in with brake issues. At this point with huge consideration of the 'fuel cell' I had wiped my hands of the Impala. The boys over at Track Pillagerz were kind enough to give me a full stint in their famed Buick viking ship. That unlikely racer is a ton of fun to drive! Meanwhile, the Impala's brakes are possibly remedied and Cousin Dave decides to test things out. Cousin Dave is back in the pits after two laps. Cousin Dave just wiped his hands of the Impala. Speedycop helps the owner sort through a few more issues, but is unwilling to drive the Impala again. Up steps one of the owner's friends. He wants to race... for the first time ever wheel to wheel... in a 3,700lb wagon with 35 y/o tires. This guy was some sort of aircraft engineer. We figured he might have some sort of clue. Well, he didn't. To make long story shorter... he left it in second gear the entire time he was on track, didn't notice the steam pouring from hood that we could see from the pit wall and then rev'd it into a windowed block, oil slick and ultimate spinning/rolling chicane next to three other racers approaching the 90* turn at the back of the track. Yes, he tried to kill BoB. Sorry, BoB.
And there you have it. Sad choices.
When you have nearly a dozen vehicles, but the only two that are registered/driveable are your race-car and your motorhome...
...because the rest have been robbed for parts and/or neglected after you spend all your free-time & money on decorating with duck-tape.
Besides, you can always drive your race-car or motorhome to the store/work/church.
Right?
Guys?
...Yes, he tried to kill BoB. Sorry, BoB.
And there you have it. Sad choices.
IIRC, he tried to kill Cabinboy in BoB's car. But either way, my entire interaction with that situation for the weekend was to see what was going on Saturday night at dusk, blink a couple times, and then back away slowly.
Anyway, back on topic:
...you see a photo of a pristine Ferrari 250GTO and think, "That car doesn't have enough character."
...you've ever tried to recreate rust holes when painting a car in Forza.
....you find yourself putting a $700 fuel cell in a $350 Isuzu..
....you find yourself putting a $700 fuel cell in a $350 Isuzu..
if you think that's crazy because you could go longer between stops if you put a bigger cell in it.
...you buy and fix up an intact, non-wrecked, running, AC-having 1997 Saturn for less than $300, and then sell it at a profit in order to finance a half-century old, non-running, parts-missing, sunk-to-the-rockers-in-mud "race car".
...and you'd do it a million times over.
DC Doug wrote:...Yes, he tried to kill BoB. Sorry, BoB.
And there you have it. Sad choices.
IIRC, he tried to kill Cabinboy in BoB's car..
Yep, it was me. That's when I learned that you don't want to be on the outside of a large piece of American iron when it's trying to turn.
...you buy and fix up an intact, non-wrecked, running, AC-having 1997 Saturn for less than $300, and then sell it at a profit in order to finance a half-century old, non-running, parts-missing, sunk-to-the-rockers-in-mud "race car".
...and you'd do it a million times over.
Yeah, I'm an idiot and would've just run the Saturn.
]That's when I learned that you don't want to be on the outside of a large piece of American iron when it's trying to turn without tugboats alongside.
FTFY
When considering the purchase of the next ''race'' car the candidate is automatically off the list if doesn't have the same bolt pattern as the seven older race cars plus, and most importantly, the trailer.
NSF Racing: we are your source for 5x4.5 wheels.
therood wrote:DC Doug wrote:...Yes, he tried to kill BoB. Sorry, BoB.
And there you have it. Sad choices.
IIRC, he tried to kill Cabinboy in BoB's car..
Yep, it was me. That's when I learned that you don't want to be on the outside of a large piece of American iron when it's trying to turn.
Glad to finally know that it wasn't BoB. Thanks Justin.
ballpeen wrote:...you buy and fix up an intact, non-wrecked, running, AC-having 1997 Saturn for less than $300, and then sell it at a profit in order to finance a half-century old, non-running, parts-missing, sunk-to-the-rockers-in-mud "race car".
...and you'd do it a million times over.Yeah, I'm an idiot and would've just run the Saturn.
We like to think that any idiot could have run the Saturn, and we are not just any idiot. We are a very special type of idiot.
In fact, that could be our motto-
Team Fairlylame: Not just any idiots. Very special idiots.
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