• Registered: 2010-08-11
  • Posts: 3

Topic: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

Our team of idio... I mean: seasoned endurance race professionals would like to thank everyone profusely for being such good sports last weekend! We had a great time, and everyone was incredibly gracious and helpful, even when confronted with both our unbelievable ignorance and our slow-as-hell ass-end taking up most of the track!

We're not entirely sure if we got the IoE because the judges took pity on us, or because they're hoping we'll consider that win "good enough" and never bother to bring that hulking monstrosity back to a Lemons race again, but all of us have spent the last few days with ridiculous grins on our faces, and we've become insufferable to everyone we know. I suspect you haven't seen the last of the King, although next time we just might get a mechanic on board.

Extra-special thanks to Anton and Spank who kept checking on us (probably expecting to find we'd lost a limb or two in the fan-belt) and to the Pussy Wagen folks for being so encouraging, even when we spent half the race in their way!

Oh, and don't think we didn't notice that toward the end there some of you better drivers started using us as a choke-point.

Thanks for an amazing weekend, and apparently the start of a ludicrous addiction.

Team King Henry V8th, aka the Purple Roadblock

  • cbr
  • Paddock Rat
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  • Registered: 2010-01-13
  • Posts: 43

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

I was standing at the offices when  you guys drove up and my first thought was that someone had brought they're hunk of junk for the judge-mobile, then a teammate noticed the cage... And correctly assumed no one would have bothered to put a cage in something that wasn't going on the track.  He was right, I was incredulous.  Great job!

  • From: Salt Lake City
  • Registered: 2009-05-01
  • Posts: 363

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

Loved seeing your battleship arrive and circulate!

Larry Sanders
Team Volatile RAM
MRolla Facebook Page
www.beater-car.blogspot.com

random_tox's Website

  • Spank
  • Utter Madman
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  • From: Escondido, CA
  • Registered: 2009-06-10
  • Posts: 5,864

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

I absolutely loved seeing that thing go 'round the track. It was something that actually had a slower lap time than our mini and we could pass it, even if only for a moment.

Don't sell yourselves short: you deserved the IOE. Keeping something like that on track and circulating with 80% of your vision rearwards takes loads of guts and a certain measure of skill. Your attitudes and enthusiasm were spot-on and your costumes icing on the cake.

If there's a reasonable chance for you to make it to Buttonwillow, bring it on down again! The sChitroen will certainly be there and I know there's going to be at least 1 other similarly-sized rolling peace of wretchedness from Chris O. which would make for one hell of a race within-a-race.

Congrats again on a well-deserved IOE.

Spank's Website

  • Registered: 2009-08-19
  • Posts: 183

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

I'm so glad you all had a good time!  Your drivers all did an admirable job of being predictable and generous as some of the cars weighing less than 6000 lbs made their way by a little more quickly than you were going... smile

Great car, great theme, totally Lemons. 

Have you considered how you could shed 1000lbs or so and stiffen up the suspension?  If the rest of the drivetrain is reasonably good, it might be worth a try to speed it up a bit.

Cheers,

Dean

  • From: Oakland CA
  • Registered: 2010-06-16
  • Posts: 70

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

I want to thank you guys for bringing a boat that made our XJ12 look small and like the team with the mini, we were also thankful that you provided us with a car slow enough for us to pass. 

As you well know, after about half an hour it gets kinda old waving everybody by.  Passing one car, even if it is a Caddy or a broken Z limping back to the pits does a lot to improve the spirit.

  • X-args
  • X-args
  • May Have Raced Your Car
  • Online
  • From: East Bay, CA
  • Registered: 2009-05-01
  • Posts: 736

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

The trans is toast, or will be shortly. I've got a crazy powertrain idea that just might work, but it kinda depends on the team... since I'm not actually a member, just a 'technical adviser'. We'll see.

2x Volvo PV544 (RIP '63) B20 power!
2007/2012/2013 Driver's Championship (what was I thinking!?) 144 races and counting.
2/25/24
  • Registered: 2010-07-27
  • Posts: 10

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

X-args wrote:

The trans is toast, or will be shortly. I've got a crazy powertrain idea that just might work, but it kinda depends on the team... since I'm not actually a member, just a 'technical adviser'. We'll see.

X-args, you have email, whomsoever you are. We're open to anything that can be done with WD40 and duct tape.

Chris

  • Registered: 2009-05-11
  • Posts: 122

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

OlympiaBinewski wrote:

We're not entirely sure if we got the IoE because the judges took pity on us, or because they're hoping we'll consider that win "good enough" and never bother to bring that hulking monstrosity back to a Lemons race again

I think I can speak for the whole Lemons organization when I say that that car is absolutely epic, and should be brought to as many Lemons events as possible.  I hope to see it again in the future!

  • trekkor
  • trekkor
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  • From: Napa, Ca
  • Registered: 2009-08-26
  • Posts: 2,124

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

Thanks for coming!

The point bys  and well held lines were fantastic.
You're in all our videos.

I'm sad our camera's battery ate it during the awards ceremony during our live video stream.
Coming forward in Victorian drab was spectacular!!

Did I see the judges kiss your royal highness's?


KT

TH 2009- 40th ~ SP 2010- 13th Class Bad win!! TH 2010- 17th ~TH 2010- 16th  SP 2011- 20th ~ RF 2011- 13th Least Horrible Yank Tank ~ TH 2011- 79th
SP 2011- 105th ~ SP 2012- 119th ~ SP 2013- 139th ~ BW 2013- 17th
Follow Filthy on Facebook: Flailing Lizard Motorsports
  • From: Los Angeles
  • Registered: 2009-05-26
  • Posts: 81

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

OlympiaBinewski wrote:

Extra-special thanks to Anton and Spank who kept checking on us (probably expecting to find we'd lost a limb or two in the fan-belt) and to the Pussy Wagen folks for being so encouraging, even when we spent half the race in their way!

There was one point where your driver was determined to wave me by, even though we were under a yellow. I appreciate the sentiment if not the exceution, and we'd love to see you at Buttonwillow if you feel like making that drive down

Steve (Pussy Wagen driver)

Chotus! Chotus! Chotus! Chotus!
  • Registered: 2010-08-11
  • Posts: 3

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

Steve W wrote:

There was one point where your driver was determined to wave me by, even though we were under a yellow. I appreciate the sentiment if not the exceution, and we'd love to see you at Buttonwillow if you feel like making that drive down

Umm. I'm pretty sure that was me. Reference previously-mentioned dumb. IIRC, that was coming out of 3 heading to 4, and I'm thinking, "Man, neither of us wants you behind me while I'm trying to navigate 5! Go around already! Oh, wait...damn..." and that's when I saw the yellows.

Note to self: when you do a completely bonehead thing while driving a giant grape land-yacht, people tend to remember it was you...

  • Registered: 2010-03-16
  • Posts: 14

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

Good job guys. I was with with Green Z next door. I was so proud of your black flag.

  • From: Santa Margarita, CA
  • Registered: 2009-06-03
  • Posts: 177

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

Great driving, as said before you keep good safe lines and made sure to point by when possible. Nothing is better in Lemons than a slow car with great drivers!

Team Dai Hard Home Page

1989 Daihatsu Charade

djcommie's Website

  • From: Reno
  • Registered: 2009-09-02
  • Posts: 145

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

Great car and great attitude! I thought you guys did an excellend job on the track.  It was fun to have you guys out there and that is what Lemons is all about.

Paul, aka BuFord Hogswaller:  Team Captain, Team Bavarian Ranchero and Team Pink Lloyd
  • From: Santa Clara, CA
  • Registered: 2010-08-02
  • Posts: 195

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

I was totally excited about the Caddy every time I went around the track and saw it come out of the hot pits.  It was like some kind of whale breaching the surface of the ocean.  I'd drive by and say "thar she blows!" and know in my deepest soul that there was at least one car that we could pass, assuming we weren't sucked into its visible gravity well which which even light could not escape.

No, seriously, I loved having that thing on the track.  And in the paddock where it would go by with its transmission blaring and we would look at our sad, broken e30 and shake our heads.

So epic.

Slow Dino Racing
  • From: Land Of Subarus, Colorado
  • Registered: 2009-04-30
  • Posts: 9,416

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

We know it would be a good race when we first caught sight of the purple Deville on Friday morning.

Murilee Martin aka Judge Phil on Facebook
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Judge Phil's Lemons posts on Car and Driver
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  • From: Kinda Seattle-y-like-ish
  • Registered: 2009-05-01
  • Posts: 182

Re: Thanks so much everyone, from the King Henry V8th Purple Caddy

I love seeing cars like this on the track.  Take some weight out of the car, add truck springs, and put enormous rubber at all four corners.  Woooohooo!!!

Also, you make for great places to "pick" people.  Thanks for that...

But again, living proof that a car need not be fast in any way/shape/form to do well at Lemons and have a great freaking time doing it!

TST, fool.

It's a Bunny.  With a pancake.  On its head.  Really, is it that tough?