Oh mannnnn
24 Hours of Lemons is doing an event in Pittsburgh, PA (my new home). This is the first ever one at this track, so it’s sure to be a hoot.
https://24hoursoflemons.com/race/?id=253
This video makes the track look real nice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6MXAURjLGs
I think I’m going to put together a team, but so far I’m struggling to find a not-rusted-out stick car. Maybe I’ll import one from Texas, we’ll see!
What year was the Time Machine, again?
Those beasts came with manual trans until 1990ish…
1998 is the time machine, it’s too perfect of a car for lemons though 
I even fixed the belt squeal that made if so you always knew when Allen was just around the corner…
Who brings an audi to a lemons? Is it me?
We were thinking about driving one back from Texas…
AW HELL YEAH!
Too bad it’s a v6, but when life hands you lemons…
If you’re coming to TX to drag one back, this should make your short list
Luke, you don’t want an Audi in Lemons. Unless you just want heartbreak. Pricey, pricey, heartbreak. I think the only reason that Blue Goose continues running their 4000 is because one of their guys is a full time VAG mechanic and can keep it running.
Personally, I think the sweet spot for Lemons cars right now is probably the SN95 Mustang (1994-2004). Tons of them manufactured so easy to find at budget-friendly prices, huge and widely available parts base, and they’ve been around long enough that all the tricks have been figured out and should be pretty widely known.
BMW e46’s are in a similar position, but being German, the parts are more expensive. And being a BMW, the first thing you’d really want to do is to go ahead and change out every stupid chassis bushing, which is tedious and not cheap. But they all will fail under race conditions. Ask me how I know…
Might have a 2004 Buick you could get for lemon’s
E36 are a dime a dozen, caprice or other cheap lt-1 could be fun also. Let me know if you really want to get something in Texas and I can start looking.
I’m in. Where do I apply
E36 are a dime a dozen
Very true. And then you will need magnitudes of dozens of dimes to make them work in Lemons. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very fun car and can handle very well, but it’s not cheap to get there. And if you have a manual, you’re basically guaranteed to have a money shift with any team of drivers. I love our e36, but I’m not sure I’d go there again knowing what I know now. I’m not saying I wouldn’t, but I would be intrigued to look at other options too.
Personally, what I’d really love to build is a trophy-truck layout compact pickup truck. Because of the complexity and therefore cost of the transaxle in those, I would probably go for a FWD to mid-bed location swap. Gets the engine weight over the drive wheels, and with it being an open-bed vehicle, future engine swaps would be easier. Put a fuel cell where the engine used to be so that it’s inside the wheelbase and would have a reduced effect on weight balance changes as it gets sucked dry.
Not that I give this stuff way too much thought…
Bucket list for me, to build a trophy truck/ultra 4 truck. Not necessarily to go race but to have fun with.
Here’s a good swap candidate for the trophy truck. Already has the transaxle: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1998-ferrari-f355-motor-gearbox/
Passed on the audi, guy wanted $800 and no lower for a bunk never-again-street-legal audi.
I’m now officially on the lookup for a sub-$500 driving car to wrongly-drive all the way to Pennsylvania 
Per LeMons rules, if you pay more than $500, you can sell parts off the car to get the final price down to less than $500. You are going to rip out the interior anyway, right? Ebay is your friend. Keep the receipts. Or just take a fifth of Jack with you to BS inspection…
And we all know that the $500 rule is pretty much observed only in the breach at this point.
Yeah, I figure we can do that worst-comes-to-worst.
But wouldn’t it be beautiful to find a $500 v8 stang or something
The needs-to-be-street-legal part is your biggest enemy. And especially road worthy for a cross-country journey in the wintertime. No title cars are the best for Lemons, but not so much if you want to drive it back.
