Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

Watch "Lemons in a nut shell" You'll get the idea

"get up and get your grandma outta here"

27 (edited by bobnowoc 2021-07-09 06:42 AM)

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

I'm a big enough man to admit when I was wrong. When Spank and half the forum are telling me get back in my Lane, message heard loud and clear. Blinker indicated.  Click click.
Good luck on your theme. Can't wait to see you in December

Former Captain
1996 Crown Vic. #55
Team Racing Cosmo

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

FWIW, in 2007 or 2008 I was sitting in a bar with friends when one brought up the idea of Lemons.  The theme idea came first and then we sought out a car to fit the theme.  Still have the car and most of the teammates  YMMV

https://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii80/cheseroo/Lemons/IMG00230-20101203-1228.jpg

1990 RX7 "Mazdarita"  1964 Sunbeam Imp (IOE 2013 Sears Pointless) 2002 Jaguar x-type (Winner C-Class 2021 Sears Pointless)
Gone bye-bye
1994 Jaguar XJ12 (Winner C-Class 2013 Sears Pointless)  1980 Rover SD1 (I Got Screwed 2014 Return of Lemonites)

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

Very interesting discussion here. I don't see anybody as being wrong (or right). We invest time in both reliability and good themes. Both are important.

In the end, however, our team will forego theme to spend time on making the car reliable. But we did go all-in on theme on both cars--the Kim Jong Elantra and the John Playa Special. Those efforts brought us a lot of satisfaction and some praise for our efforts.

Ours was not Spank-level theme-ery. We do not recreate Amsterdam's red-light district in the paddock or dye our hair. But we have worn costumes and tried to rock the themes we created. My hat's off to Spank for what he does.

Eye Sore is a good example fo hitting the engineering hard, going fast, and still earning the respect of judges and fellow racers. So, I think both are admirable goals.

I think it take s a real renaissance person (or team) to do both well. Spank hits the theme hard. I appreciate his single-handed creativity and execution...plus he builds cages and installs kill switches and passes tech every time. That's pretty remarkable.

Our team has three engineers on it. We can build cages and get cars running reliably. That is our team strength. I think each team ought to play to its team strength.

Most teams are appreciated for their efforts, what ever they are. The only teams that don't do well in the paddock (with the judges or other Lemons racers) are the teams that come with the wrong attitude or don't play well with others. The real spirit of Lemons is the pop-up community we create at any given race, which clearly includes real engineering, real driving, and real creative execution. It all works together well.

--bb

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

billy bee wrote:

Most teams are appreciated for their efforts, what ever they are. The only teams that don't do well in the paddock (with the judges or other Lemons racers) are the teams that come with the wrong attitude or don't play well with others. The real spirit of Lemons is the pop-up community we create at any given race, which clearly includes real engineering, real driving, and real creative execution. It all works together well.

--bb

^This is the correct answer.  Run what you want, theme what you want, don't be a dick.

Team whatever_racecar #745 Volvo wagon

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

We kinda play both sides of the coin.  Our longest running vehicle gets a new theme every race.  It is already an IoE winner but the theme stuff can be fun and lets your creative juices flow.

Our two over-the-top weird cars (1947 Plymouth sedan with not much Plymouth left in it and the Chrysler flathead powered 4th gen Camero) we don't bother because they are a theme based on our team name...Bad Decisions Racing.

I will NEVER discourage a team from focusing on theme and the only teams I will make (lighthearted) fun of for not theme'ing are those that bring the most boring of the racing trio...3-series BMW (any generation), Miata, any 1990's Pony Car.  Funny thing is, they are the bulk of the unthemed cars at most races  The folks with more challenging builds seem to almost always find the time for theme.  Think of the dearly departed MetSHO...that needed no theme and yet they brought us a few of the best themes ever!

Despite the impression most folks have...a theme does not have to ake a lot of time either.  Most of ours are half a build day with only a couple of people working on it (thought the Imperial Shuttle theme on the Dustbuster took multiple weekends).  Think new, weird, obscure and it can often be super easy.  Make you bribes theme-based and you might get into wrap up video just for that!

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

AXC1  hey good luck friend, I'd like to encourage you to go for it in whatever style you like.  We just did our first race at Gingerman and tried to "do it all" in a short period of time.   We had to completely start from scratch on a truck that had been sitting for years, we put in work to get it road worthy and came up with a fun but low maintenance theme (Strickland Propane / Hank Hills truck).   We wound up running all 14.5 hours and improved our times every single stint, took 7th of 19 in class C in  what was surely 19th fastest vehicle there if it were a 1 lap race.

Not at all trying to brag, because we did it by focusing on some key things and getting help from experienced lemonheads.   We used this forum a lot, we emailed with Lemons staff several times, we read the rules a dozen times, we got to the track on Thursday and we listened to people who had done several races.

I think your personality and that of our team is similar, the difference is you're probably a better mechanic.  Go be awesome dude.

2021 Gingerman-I:  IOE (Strickland Propane)
2021 Gingerman-II:  20 seconds of footage on the wrap-up!
95 Chevy S-10

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

I should add too that, at least according to my observations, there really is room for everyone and you'll find teams in the paddock who are similar to yours....no matter what your personality/how serious you take it.  It was truly an awesome mix of gearheaded stupidity.

2021 Gingerman-I:  IOE (Strickland Propane)
2021 Gingerman-II:  20 seconds of footage on the wrap-up!
95 Chevy S-10

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

Theme idea for the "focus".....1990s swervin Ernie Irvin NASCAR Kodak car  :-)

2021 Gingerman-I:  IOE (Strickland Propane)
2021 Gingerman-II:  20 seconds of footage on the wrap-up!
95 Chevy S-10

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

OnkelUdo wrote:

We kinda play both sides of the coin.  Our longest running vehicle gets a new theme every race.  It is already an IoE winner but the theme stuff can be fun and lets your creative juices flow.

Our two over-the-top weird cars (1947 Plymouth sedan with not much Plymouth left in it and the Chrysler flathead powered 4th gen Camero) we don't bother because they are a theme based on our team name...Bad Decisions Racing.

I will NEVER discourage a team from focusing on theme and the only teams I will make (lighthearted) fun of for not theme'ing are those that bring the most boring of the racing trio...3-series BMW (any generation), Miata, any 1990's Pony Car.  Funny thing is, they are the bulk of the unthemed cars at most races  The folks with more challenging builds seem to almost always find the time for theme.  Think of the dearly departed MetSHO...that needed no theme and yet they brought us a few of the best themes ever!

Despite the impression most folks have...a theme does not have to ake a lot of time either.  Most of ours are half a build day with only a couple of people working on it (thought the Imperial Shuttle theme on the Dustbuster took multiple weekends).  Think new, weird, obscure and it can often be super easy.  Make you bribes theme-based and you might get into wrap up video just for that!

IMO Bad Decisions is doing Lemons the way I'd love to do it, they've found enough time to do themes, be cool to others in the paddock (esp us noobs at Freeze Farms!), have a good time, and STILL beat a lot of cars....in a friggin van :-)

2021 Gingerman-I:  IOE (Strickland Propane)
2021 Gingerman-II:  20 seconds of footage on the wrap-up!
95 Chevy S-10

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

Unless your theme involves substantial fabrication, don't worry about it.  You can theme up your car in under 1 hour with some paint.  You can't do much else in under an hour to get ready for a race.  Focus on your cage, harness, and seat immediately.  Those need to be in concert.  Most the rest of the safety items are wiring and zip tying which doesn't require much planning.  Say you get everything done early, you can spend as much time on the theme as you want.  And if it's not what you dreamed, fix it for the next race.

Have you been to a Lemons race?  If not, consider coming to Buttonwillow.  If you can get the cage, seat, harness done by then you could even run the test day on Friday.  If you ask nicely, a judge may even look over your cage Friday evening after their done teching the rest of the vehicles.

PS-We're over in San Leandro, where are you?

This is how we showed up to our first race weekend.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFkhdVXhlAm/

This is how it looked by the time we hit the track Saturday morning.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFm32-ylPBk/

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

Bricoop wrote:

PS-We're over in San Leandro, where are you?

They say they are in Berkeley......

45+x Loser.....You'd think I would learn......
5x I.O.E  Winner   1 Heroic Fix Winner   1 Org Choice Winner
2x  I Got Screwed Winner    2x Class C Winner
(Still a Class B driver in a Class A car)

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

I walk away for a couple of days and the wheels totally came off the this thread smile

On the topic of theme vs engineering I understand that everyone is genuinely trying to be helpful. Like I said earlier, we are going to give this the old college try. The only place I completely unwilling to compromise is safety. Other than that, our theme might end up being a couple of funny wigs. We'll see what happens!

Speaking of themes, I love the Kodak NASCAR theme but something tells me if I turn a Ford into Chevy I'm going to upset even more people LOL

BigBird wrote:
Bricoop wrote:

PS-We're over in San Leandro, where are you?

They say they are in Berkeley......

That's right, I'm in Berkeley. It's nice to know there are a couple of other teams close by. If either of you would like help on your projects or are interested in shooting the breeze, let me know!

It's possible I'll have the cage ready by Buttonwillow, because I'm currently scheduled for mid-September to get the cage installed. I didn't know I could come down and do the test day, that would be an absolute blast! I'll look into it.

#22 Team Slowtus Ford Focus

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

AXC1 wrote:

[snip] ... The only place I'm completely unwilling to compromise is safety.  ...

This ^ will no doubt please the tech inspectors

AXC1 wrote:

[snip] ... if I turn a Ford into Chevy I'm going to upset even more people LOL ...

The conversation went like this:

Racer/Mechanic: "I just installed the Ford 'high performance upgrade'.
Me: "What's the "Ford 'high performance upgrade' "?
Racer/Mechanic: "I swapped in an (SBC/LS)"

I heard that twice in a month; I'm ambivalent in the matter.

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

rb92673 said:  "This is the correct answer.  Run what you want, theme what you want, don't be a dick."

That is pretty much Lemons in a nutshell.

Show up with a good attitude and have fun. There's room for everyone.

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

AXC1 wrote:

I walk away for a couple of days and the wheels totally came off the this thread smile

On the topic of theme vs engineering I understand that everyone is genuinely trying to be helpful. Like I said earlier, we are going to give this the old college try. The only place I completely unwilling to compromise is safety. Other than that, our theme might end up being a couple of funny wigs. We'll see what happens!

Speaking of themes, I love the Kodak NASCAR theme but something tells me if I turn a Ford into Chevy I'm going to upset even more people LOL

BigBird wrote:
Bricoop wrote:

PS-We're over in San Leandro, where are you?

They say they are in Berkeley......

That's right, I'm in Berkeley. It's nice to know there are a couple of other teams close by. If either of you would like help on your projects or are interested in shooting the breeze, let me know!

It's possible I'll have the cage ready by Buttonwillow, because I'm currently scheduled for mid-September to get the cage installed. I didn't know I could come down and do the test day, that would be an absolute blast! I'll look into it.

want to trigger  people put an LS into a Mopar and watch heads start to spin....

"get up and get your grandma outta here"

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

Mr.Yuck wrote:
AXC1 wrote:

I walk away for a couple of days and the wheels totally came off the this thread smile

On the topic of theme vs engineering I understand that everyone is genuinely trying to be helpful. Like I said earlier, we are going to give this the old college try. The only place I completely unwilling to compromise is safety. Other than that, our theme might end up being a couple of funny wigs. We'll see what happens!

Speaking of themes, I love the Kodak NASCAR theme but something tells me if I turn a Ford into Chevy I'm going to upset even more people LOL

BigBird wrote:

They say they are in Berkeley......

That's right, I'm in Berkeley. It's nice to know there are a couple of other teams close by. If either of you would like help on your projects or are interested in shooting the breeze, let me know!

It's possible I'll have the cage ready by Buttonwillow, because I'm currently scheduled for mid-September to get the cage installed. I didn't know I could come down and do the test day, that would be an absolute blast! I'll look into it.

want to trigger  people put an LS into a Mopar and watch heads start to spin....

Put anything other than an AMC engine in an AMC and people absolutely lose their sh*t

1992 Saturn SL2 (retired) - Elmo's Revenge -  Class B winner, Heroic Fix winner x2
1969 Rover P6B 3500S(sold) - Super G-Rover - I.O.E Winner, Class C Winner
1996 Saturn SW2 - Elmo's Revenge (reborn!), Saturn SL1  Dazzleshipm Class C x2 and IOE winner
1974 AMC Javelin - Oscar's Trash heap - IOE,”Organizer's Choice" and "I got Screwed" award winner

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

chaase wrote:
Mr.Yuck wrote:
AXC1 wrote:

... Speaking of themes, I love the Kodak NASCAR theme but something tells me if I turn a Ford into Chevy I'm going to upset even more people LOL

want to trigger  people put an LS into a Mopar and watch heads start to spin....

Put anything other than an AMC engine in an AMC and people absolutely lose their sh*t

Now I know what I want to do for next year... LOL

I find these sorts of things to be hilarious. As someone with an engineering background, I have a tendency to focus on the best tool for the job, not necessarily whether the colors all line up.

With that being said, I did spend an entire 4 hour flight looking for iconic Ford liveries instead of going for the obvious easy answers, so there's that.

#22 Team Slowtus Ford Focus

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

Mr.Yuck wrote:
AXC1 wrote:

I walk away for a couple of days and the wheels totally came off the this thread smile

On the topic of theme vs engineering I understand that everyone is genuinely trying to be helpful. Like I said earlier, we are going to give this the old college try. The only place I completely unwilling to compromise is safety. Other than that, our theme might end up being a couple of funny wigs. We'll see what happens!

Speaking of themes, I love the Kodak NASCAR theme but something tells me if I turn a Ford into Chevy I'm going to upset even more people LOL

BigBird wrote:

They say they are in Berkeley......

That's right, I'm in Berkeley. It's nice to know there are a couple of other teams close by. If either of you would like help on your projects or are interested in shooting the breeze, let me know!

It's possible I'll have the cage ready by Buttonwillow, because I'm currently scheduled for mid-September to get the cage installed. I didn't know I could come down and do the test day, that would be an absolute blast! I'll look into it.

want to trigger  people put an LS into a Mopar and watch heads start to spin....

We put a Chrysler motor in a 4th Gen Camero...as soon as the f-body groups learn how to use the internet, we are so getting flamed.

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

OnkelUdo wrote:
Mr.Yuck wrote:
AXC1 wrote:

I walk away for a couple of days and the wheels totally came off the this thread smile

On the topic of theme vs engineering I understand that everyone is genuinely trying to be helpful. Like I said earlier, we are going to give this the old college try. The only place I completely unwilling to compromise is safety. Other than that, our theme might end up being a couple of funny wigs. We'll see what happens!

Speaking of themes, I love the Kodak NASCAR theme but something tells me if I turn a Ford into Chevy I'm going to upset even more people LOL



That's right, I'm in Berkeley. It's nice to know there are a couple of other teams close by. If either of you would like help on your projects or are interested in shooting the breeze, let me know!

It's possible I'll have the cage ready by Buttonwillow, because I'm currently scheduled for mid-September to get the cage installed. I didn't know I could come down and do the test day, that would be an absolute blast! I'll look into it.

want to trigger  people put an LS into a Mopar and watch heads start to spin....

We put a Chrysler motor in a 4th Gen Camero...as soon as the f-body groups learn how to use the internet, we are so getting flamed.

well our 1st car was a solid, straight good looking 84 L69 Trans Am, running driving...and we cut it up...lol I'm sure the f-body community would not of approved.

"get up and get your grandma outta here"

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

Hmm...  This thread seems to have gone off-topic... 
I think your Adderall theme is a great idea.  I was also thinking about some sort of telescope/ microscope ideas.  The Webb telescope recently launched, so perhaps something along those lines.

We are also a new team and trying to come up with a theme while we get the car sorted out.  We have a red Dodge Intrepid - so far our ideas are: over-the-top Mopar fans trying to pretend the intrepid is a NASCAR car, or a Star Trek theme, "The Starship Intrepid."   We would love any suggestions too :-)

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

mconerly wrote:

Hmm...  This thread seems to have gone off-topic... 
I think your Adderall theme is a great idea.  I was also thinking about some sort of telescope/ microscope ideas.  The Webb telescope recently launched, so perhaps something along those lines.

We are also a new team and trying to come up with a theme while we get the car sorted out.  We have a red Dodge Intrepid - so far our ideas are: over-the-top Mopar fans trying to pretend the intrepid is a NASCAR car, or a Star Trek theme, "The Starship Intrepid."   We would love any suggestions too :-)

It certainly did go off-topic - that happens a lot; but to avoid further drift, I'll make two suggestions:

1. Start a new thread for suggestions for your car, and

2. Nautical theme; including British in action here in the colonies:
HMS Intrepid, Laid down: January 1767, Participated in Battle of the Chesapeake, American Revolutionary War

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

It just depends what you want out of the experience.  Our experience as a rookie team last year is that we had all sorts of fun and creative ideas for our theme.  We certainly were committed to making a splash.  But, we were also committed to actually racing and when push came to shove and we ran out of time, we chose to focus on the mechanical and safety aspects of the car so we could do what we came to do ... and that was have fun racing.   You will know as you get into it...just be aligned with your team about the priorities and everything will be cool.

Also...your theme can continue to grow...sorta like yard objects...or Christmas light displays...

Have fun no matter what you do and don't let the purists of automotive engineering or the fun-hippies bully you either way.

By the way...you don't HAVE to take all the windows out of your car....and you might not want to if you plan to trailer it on an open trailer in the rain...

Re: Hello from a new Lemons hopeful!

you could do a kung Fu/ David Carridine theme   '

"Focus, Grasshopper...."