The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Bench Racing → Would it be possible to race a rental car?
The series' rules say that you have to acquire a vehicle for less than $500, which technically means you do not have to buy it.
So, why not race a rental?
Rent a car, strip it, fit the racing gear in, race it, remove racing stuff, put back OEM, bring it back.
For extra cunning, you could sell some parts that wouldn't have their disappearance noticed (e.g. a heater in a desert area).
Would that be OK?
The series' rules say that you have to acquire a vehicle for less than $500, which technically means you do not have to buy it.
So, why not race a rental?
Rent a car, strip it, fit the racing gear in, race it, remove racing stuff, put back OEM, bring it back.
For extra cunning, you could sell some parts that wouldn't have their disappearance noticed (e.g. a heater in a desert area).Would that be OK?
Technically, sure...
But that's totally asinine. If you only want to do one race, buy a shit car and sell if afterwards. You're gonna spend $5k to get a car race-ready, whether it's a crapcan or a rental car. At least if you own the car, you can sell it afterwards.
Doing it with a rental car means having to cut out a roll cage and re-install an interior, which seems like an enormous amount of work. Not to mention you'll blow up a street car unless you add additional cooling/oiling/etc.
MrAnnoyingDude wrote:The series' rules say that you have to acquire a vehicle for less than $500, which technically means you do not have to buy it.
So, why not race a rental?
Rent a car, strip it, fit the racing gear in, race it, remove racing stuff, put back OEM, bring it back.
For extra cunning, you could sell some parts that wouldn't have their disappearance noticed (e.g. a heater in a desert area).Would that be OK?
Technically, sure...
But that's totally asinine. If you only want to do one race, buy a shit car and sell if afterwards. You're gonna spend $5k to get a car race-ready, whether it's a crapcan or a rental car. At least if you own the car, you can sell it afterwards.
Doing it with a rental car means having to cut out a roll cage and re-install an interior, which seems like an enormous amount of work. Not to mention you'll blow up a street car unless you add additional cooling/oiling/etc.
If it gets the cooling/oiling, would it be possible?
Also, Lemons is the land of asinine - what is a WWII airplane-engined car? Or a boat on a car chassis? Or an upside-down F-Body?
Rent a car, strip it, fit the racing gear in, race it, remove racing stuff, put back OEM, bring it back.
Since bolt-in cages are not allowed, welding one in a rental and then removing it sounds like quite the task. Please post pics of the process and let us know how it goes.
Fishah wrote:MrAnnoyingDude wrote:The series' rules say that you have to acquire a vehicle for less than $500, which technically means you do not have to buy it.
So, why not race a rental?
Rent a car, strip it, fit the racing gear in, race it, remove racing stuff, put back OEM, bring it back.
For extra cunning, you could sell some parts that wouldn't have their disappearance noticed (e.g. a heater in a desert area).Would that be OK?
Technically, sure...
But that's totally asinine. If you only want to do one race, buy a shit car and sell if afterwards. You're gonna spend $5k to get a car race-ready, whether it's a crapcan or a rental car. At least if you own the car, you can sell it afterwards.
Doing it with a rental car means having to cut out a roll cage and re-install an interior, which seems like an enormous amount of work. Not to mention you'll blow up a street car unless you add additional cooling/oiling/etc.
If it gets the cooling/oiling, would it be possible?
Also, Lemons is the land of asinine - what is a WWII airplane-engined car? Or a boat on a car chassis? Or an upside-down F-Body?
Did you skip over the first part of my reply?
Of course it's possible, but you're commit financial suicide and sacrificing your valuable time for absolutely ZERO gain.
This has been talked about before. You would be a hero if you did it. Biggest issues would be all of the airbags in modern cars and the risk of a crash.
agree with the above, sure you COULD, but it would be stupid.
Even if you could build the cage yourself, that's $500-1000 in DOM that you'll use once, then cut up and throw away. Not to mention that you'll be permanantly modifying the car with weld in spreader plates that you're hoping they'll not notice later. I'd wonder if there's anything in the rental clause that would invalidate their insurance if they figure out you did it and got hit too.
Overall It's just a dumb plan financially, and actually building a car you could use more than once is the better way. But hey, if you have $5k to throw away, have at it.
agree with the above, sure you COULD, but it would be stupid.
Even if you could build the cage yourself, that's $500-1000 in DOM that you'll use once, then cut up and throw away. Not to mention that you'll be permanantly modifying the car with weld in spreader plates that you're hoping they'll not notice later. I'd wonder if there's anything in the rental clause that would invalidate their insurance if they figure out you did it and got hit too.
Overall It's just a dumb plan financially, and actually building a car you could use more than once is the better way. But hey, if you have $5k to throw away, have at it.
I am a Polish fan of the series, so I'm asking from a rather theoretical standpoint.
agree with the above, sure you COULD, but it would be stupid.
Even if you could build the cage yourself, that's $500-1000 in DOM that you'll use once, then cut up and throw away. Not to mention that you'll be permanantly modifying the car with weld in spreader plates that you're hoping they'll not notice later. I'd wonder if there's anything in the rental clause that would invalidate their insurance if they figure out you did it and got hit too.
Overall It's just a dumb plan financially, and actually building a car you could use more than once is the better way. But hey, if you have $5k to throw away, have at it.
As someone who worked a summer at Thrifty, they wouldn't notice if you brought it back with the cage still in it.
Also didn't someone do this back in the original Neon days with an SCCA rally? I think they even returned the car still in race prep.
Which is to say, DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITT!!
The initial cost of the car is the least of your concerns, you just don't realize it yet...
The initial cost of the car is the least of your concerns, you just don't realize it yet...
Well, at least The People's Curse is no longer a danger.
Because I'd totally vote for the rental.
On the other hand, an organizer might decide $500 for a 2018 Maxima is not a bad deal...
It never was, really. The judges do quite a good job of handicapping the field. Your car should be in the "spirit" of $500.
It never was, really. The judges do quite a good job of handicapping the field. Your car should be in the "spirit" of $500.
I'm not planning to race anyhting in the near future, unless Lemons comes to Poland or I come to Lemons.
The Lemons Supreme Court has stated that they would enthusiastically support the idea of someone doing this to a rental car and $500 value would be ignored. I think Jay has offered up some sort of reward to anyone who did it and had the rental car paperwork to prove it. So no, they won't claim the thing. We've talked about doing it but the messy details start to add up. Removing airbags without damaging the dash, kill switch, cage remnants, etc.
Theoretically possible but not probable.
TheEngineer wrote:agree with the above, sure you COULD, but it would be stupid.
Even if you could build the cage yourself, that's $500-1000 in DOM that you'll use once, then cut up and throw away. Not to mention that you'll be permanantly modifying the car with weld in spreader plates that you're hoping they'll not notice later. I'd wonder if there's anything in the rental clause that would invalidate their insurance if they figure out you did it and got hit too.
Overall It's just a dumb plan financially, and actually building a car you could use more than once is the better way. But hey, if you have $5k to throw away, have at it.
As someone who worked a summer at Thrifty, they wouldn't notice if you brought it back with the cage still in it.
Also didn't someone do this back in the original Neon days with an SCCA rally? I think they even returned the car still in race prep.
Which is to say, DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITT!!
In the '60s, Hertz received more than one returned Shelby GT350H with the rollcage spreader plates under the carpets. The GT350 slotted right into one class or another in SCCA, so it was an easy (and relatively cheap) way to jump into a perhaps-underattended class and take home a trophy, which is a thing that some SCCA people have done for ages.
...all of the airbags in modern cars...
Removing airbags without damaging the dash...
There are ways to avoid that issue.
Guildenstern wrote:TheEngineer wrote:agree with the above, sure you COULD, but it would be stupid.
Even if you could build the cage yourself, that's $500-1000 in DOM that you'll use once, then cut up and throw away. Not to mention that you'll be permanantly modifying the car with weld in spreader plates that you're hoping they'll not notice later. I'd wonder if there's anything in the rental clause that would invalidate their insurance if they figure out you did it and got hit too.
Overall It's just a dumb plan financially, and actually building a car you could use more than once is the better way. But hey, if you have $5k to throw away, have at it.
As someone who worked a summer at Thrifty, they wouldn't notice if you brought it back with the cage still in it.
Also didn't someone do this back in the original Neon days with an SCCA rally? I think they even returned the car still in race prep.
Which is to say, DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITT!!
In the '60s, Hertz received more than one returned Shelby GT350H with the rollcage spreader plates under the carpets. The GT350 slotted right into one class or another in SCCA, so it was an easy (and relatively cheap) way to jump into a perhaps-underattended class and take home a trophy, which is a thing that some SCCA people have done for ages.
Yea class of one trophy hounds. And they wonder why people give them weird looks.
rlchv70 wrote:...all of the airbags in modern cars...
cheseroo wrote:Removing airbags without damaging the dash...
There are ways to avoid that issue.
So if they listed a GT350H there's good odds the roll cage spreader plates are already there you're saying.
So if they listed a GT350H there's good odds the roll cage spreader plates are already there you're saying.
I like the way you think.
Even if the spreader plates aren't already present, the way to pull this off would be to find a vintage convertible to rent that has a design compatible with preassembling as much of the cage as possible, ideally everything except attaching it to the spreader plates. Rent the car for an extended period at a time well before the race, take it home, practice stripping the interior, build and test-fit the cage, discreetly install the spreader plates, then button everything back together (yay, more practice!) and return it. Rent it again for the race weekend, drive it to the track, gut it, weld the mostly preassembled cage to the plates, and you're good to go!
Not that I've put any thought into this, mind you.
Wouldn't it easier to have a shell. Rent a car and pull the engine out and race it then put it back in?
Wouldn't it easier to have a shell. Rent a car and pull the engine out and race it then put it back in?
Lol.... You could be onto something here.
Hertz has Ferrari V12s for rent at some of their premier locations....
C'mon a rental car??? Don't be stupid, get a brand new car to test drive for a weekend, and race that. it would be free,
so you'd have an extra $500 to put a turbo on it.. I think Tesla offers free test weekends for the cars..
Wouldn't it easier to have a shell. Rent a car and pull the engine out and race it then put it back in?
Engine? Not without the body harness.
Mharrelll has it, may I add: fit but do not install the spreaders as the car is likely to be rented to someone else, also, practice includes pre-acquired knowledge of properly disarming/repairing the airbag as a system rather then removing individual modules. .
Technically, sure...
But that's totally asinine.
Way back when I got attracted to this series, it was touted as The Biggest waste of Time and Money". The fact that many see it as pointless is a big plus. It's trying to make sense of the series that seems really asinine.
If you only want to do one race, buy a shit car and sell if afterwards. You're gonna spend $5k to get a car race-ready, whether it's a crapcan or a rental car. At least if you own the car, you can sell it afterwards.
Doing it with a rental car means having to cut out a roll cage and re-install an interior, which seems like an enormous amount of work. Not to mention you'll blow up a street car unless you add additional cooling/oiling/etc.
Biggest myth in Lemons and a HUGE deterrent for people to join the series. I say Phoey. Race-Ready and race-ready are two different things. For Lemons, I think race-ready is just fine. Drive the car you have, not the car you want it to be. That includes brakes, tires, and so on.
I can get a cage worth of DOM for under $500 (sometimes). It's already got tires, brakes, suspension, etc etc. It'll need a kill switch (which is one of my big deterrents-- figuring out factory wiring without setting off an anti-theft device) and it'll need the airbags and seat belts removed, and then all reinstalled and looking clean, which is the second big deterrent. The final obstacle is all of the nanny devices installed by the big rental car agencies. The car will tattle on you.
To be done RIGHT, it would need to be done with one of the BIG name nationwide rental agencies and with just some run-of-the-mill modern rental car, not some classic or exotic.
Mcloed wrote:Wouldn't it easier to have a shell. Rent a car and pull the engine out and race it then put it back in?
Engine? Not without the body harness.
Mharrelll has it, may I add: fit but do not install the spreaders as the car is likely to be rented to someone else, also, practice includes pre-acquired knowledge of properly disarming/repairing the airbag as a system rather then removing individual modules. .
But what would be easier, putting a cage in a car and then taking it out or getting the wiring harness out of the car?
The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Bench Racing → Would it be possible to race a rental car?