I still cannot believe there was an Alfa out there at NJMP...

The $500 part doesn't surprise me, the fact that it lasted more than 2 laps does - i would have figured it to fall apart in a stream of rust flakes or grenade, maybe both, simultaneously.

The Lemons Forum would be a good place to take a look at options too - http://forums.24hoursoflemons.com/

 

FINALLY a topic in the Racing forum I am an EXPERT in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quick rundown on racing in lemons....... there are some cars that catch LOTS of heat during BS inspection regardless of the truth or story behind them.....Miatas, BMW E30, Nissan SE-R, RX7 are very common and almost guarantee your car to be penalized to death

Porsche's catch quite a bit of heat, but their track record is quite dismal.....so a properly crappy 944 or 928 is a great choice.....obviously I prefer the 928 due to its greater power and larger fuel tank..... ANY 928 with a couple mods to the oiling pan would make a great lemons car.....the automatics are very strong, and the early 3 speeds have better ratios that the later 4 speeds (mine is a 4 speed).....

The benefit of 1980 and newer 928 is the L jet fuel system, which has much better mileage than CIS.... factor in a 22.7 gallon tank and race mileage of 7-10 gallons per hour makes the car very competitive...a typical 1st stint for the Estate was 2:45!!!

There are many more aspects of lemons racing...shoot me a email at icemang17@aol.com and I will detail them for you

 

I am not an expert at all. But a guy who is told me 2 things about the car you want.

1.) One that has already raced Lemons. With cage etc.

2.) Camaro. Cheap one. Plenty of parts.

I think the Mustang 4 cyl and Toyota above are the same. But I still say Camaro / Mustang.

 

Great! I like that too. But you better knkow the tech inspectors. THEY know any single part for Porsche costs $500.

 

I raced lemons once - had fun & finished 3rd in an E30. Seriously considered building a lemons car. After analyzing various options (without considering FWD's), the Miata was the clear winner. Only problem with a Miata is that the judges know it fits perfectly & therefore penalize them out of contention. Unless of course you become their favorites by having creative themes, elaborate costumes, and hot chicks, in which case you can run a TURBO Miata and win repeatedly.

The flexible rules, blatant favoritism for established teams, and anti licensed racer attitude of the promoters ultimately caused me to invest my racing budget in Spec Miata instead. *

 

Not a Lemons racer, but a lot of the guys I know have built several BMW E30 cars (see a trend?) and usually finish the race. Reliable & dirt cheap parts = Success.

I know of a PCA member who raced a BMW 5 series and did quite well with it, but the weight was an issue.

 

hi.

just a thought -- i have raced a 93 ford probe GT for the last 10 yrs almost. it is practically 'bullet proof'. (this vintage of Probe is basically a Mazda MX6 V6 with the word Ford on it!. i wouldnt pick this car or an MX6 for Lemons; they look too 'sporty'. BUT ------ i would very strongly consider finding a 93+ mazda 626 v6 5 speed (avoid the AT; they are junk and break down just driving to work). the 626 is exactly my Probe GT, but with a ho-hum 4 dr body and a tad more weight on it. it would get decent mileage on track; it is very very reliable, handling stock is quite good (i drive a 626 V6 every day and it has 263k miles on it; never even replaced the clutch yet!). there are plenty of parts for them; the only weakness is the front brakes; they need an upgrade (but i sell a BBK package for these cars; its cheap and it uses oem parts from various other cars); the brakes on my Probe are incredible and are never a problem now. lastly, you can pick up a beat up high mileage 626 for the $500 cap price pretty easily.

i have raced a 91 protege LX in some endurance races (my buddy brian had one) and it was a nice car! even with the 1.8, it felt very weak compared to my Probe, but the handling and stock brakes are very good. engine bulletproof. good mileage. good car for Lemons too, but it will be weak in the straights. good luck!
Todd
ReidSpeed

 

what ever you do, dont race a 944.

 

I must agree with Darin.......the reasons highlighted in RED are why I "retired" the 928 Estate from Lemons racing....

Lemons racing really is a unique form of "motorsports" (term used very loosely)....its really a circus of idiots going around a racetrack over a weekend, with lots of partying....about 10% of the teams are "serious" and actually try to win.....& if the promoters figure out you are serious, they will penalize you OUT of being serious...unless you are one of the "blessed" teams....

Its all about YOUR perspective.....if you take driving and racing seriously, its probably not for you (like me and Darin).....if you look at it as as fun way to spend a weekend with other car guys....you will have a BLAST....

 

Camaro's should do very well in Lemons...however they are HORRIBLE....nearly 100% guaranteed to blow up in spectacular fashion in the 1st hour.....IF you do run a Camaro...get a V6....they do much better!

 

I took my team’s lemons adventure with “light and cheep” mind set and have been successful with an early 70’s BMW 1600-02. Many exchangeable parts with other 3 series BMW up through the ‘90s. The car is under 2K lbs wet, and with some creative use of springs, handles great. (50% cross weights) We have less power than most but consistently place well by driving around on-track problems caused by larger/heaver/ill handing cars, quick pit stops (experienced SCCA and NASA enduro racers), and staying out of the black flag station. Generally speaking, the organizers do not like Miatas and E30 BMWs. If you define success as placing well, then the key to success is driving under your limits and avoid any and all on-track contract and offs. Makes for a slightly boring drive but you will bubble up the leader board.

On the car build, focus on (1st) safety (2nd) reliability and don’t worry about power.

Hope this helps

 

We're running a Hippie 914, $600 on Craigslist and sold off the interior and hood. We don't pull on many cars, but it'll corner around almost anything out there, which is ridiculously fun. Race weight is around 1700# plus driver.

 

I think the V-6 was the recommendation. However we did not do the race. The buddy was looking at getting the car they ran before that stopped in the last hour - but could not secure its sale either.

We certainly were going to have the hot chick thing covered - just for fun of course !

 

I've run with a 99 Honda civic. Will do it again this month with the same car. finished both previous races. I a blast!

 

and what else would you do with it?