Putting Together a 24 Hours of LeMons team...

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armyofchuckness

The Flying Valiant
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In case you haven't heard of this little race circuit, 24 Hours of LeMons is a nationwide series of endurance races for cars that cost $500 or less. This means that the entire car, parts and labor (minus safety features like brakes, roll cage, etc.) must cost the team no more than $500 in total.

This race has featured everything from Mazda Miatas to a 1961 Cadillac, but as far as I've ascertained, has never featured a Leaning Tower powered machine. This is something we would like to change.

Next year they're racing down in Jupiter, Florida at Palm Beach International Raceway December 30-31. I'm working with a friend in Orlando to try and get a team together and we'd love to use something slant powered for the event. Right now we're just putting out some feelers to see if anyone would be interested in joining us in our little endeavor either as a driver, team member and/or selling an old beater that could be fixed up for another go.

This is NOT a demolition derby, and aggressive driving is severely punished. Many of them, like an infamous 66 Belvedere, make regular appearances at races across the country. We would treat this machine with the utmost respect as a representative of the Slant Six community.

What do you think? We have plenty of time and we're very open to ideas, suggestions or death threats.

For more info on 24 Hours of Lemons, check it out here.
 
I've also thought it would be great to have a A-body in the LeMOns races. The oldest car to run in one has been a '63 Corvair and it would be cool to run a Dart or Valiant of a similar vintage. I'd like to help and also have kart racing experience but not sure how I can be involved.
 
I agree, it would be great to have an early A run, but it would have to be completely devoid of any restorable value. Ideally, we'd like to run a 70s Dart or Valiant 4-door with a 225/833 combo, but we're open for whatever comes our way. We're still looking for drivers and crew members if you could make it down to Jupiter, Florida. We're also looking for parts, especially disc brakes.
 
I thought it was a mispell,but no,its lemons!
Not Lemans! haha!

I think its a great idea chuck!
Best of luck!
 
Thanks! Yeah, it's a great race, and I'm really hoping our team can make it happen. If anyone has an A, F, J or M body they're looking to unload for cheap/free in the Southeast, please let me know!
 
Not trying to hijack your post, but I too am trying to get a team together out in Phoenix AZ, utilizing my '67 Barracuda shell. (See my post in the Racing forum). FABO could have two teams! :cheers: C'mon guys, who wants to go racing? :cheers:
 
Sounds fun and would love to be a particiapant.... but... things wont allow me to... good luck ! hope it comes together for ya.


-RPM
 
Hi Chuckness,

I have been following LeMons over on Jalopnik for a while. You are right they need a slant! I think it should be a Volare wagon myself.

Good Luck, I hope to here more on this thread.

Tim (GoesLikeStink)
 
Thanks for the well wishes. Yeah, I talked to Murilee over there and there has NEVER been a Slant in LeMons history. It'd be really cool if we could be the first. A Volaré wagon would be great. I have my eye on a few Valiants locally that might do the job just fine. We could call ourselves Valiant Effort, which I think would be insanely cool.
 
So yaw'l think that early A body mopars are worth 500 or less? umm, I must'a got off at the wrong website
 
It's not what WE think the cars are worth, it's what the judges believe the car is worth. It's all in the documentation. $500 NET COST. You document what you bought the car for, and how much $$ you got for selling off the extra parts. In my situation I have a '67 Barracuda shell that I got for free. I need an engine and maybe a better rear axle, so I go out and buy a 318-equipped parts car for $500, strip the engine, sell the interior plastics and other unneeded parts for $300, then scrap the shell for $200 and I have a FREE engine to go into my free shell.

There are, however, some limitations. A tow truck guy brought a lightly-rolled 2005 BMW Mini Cooper S to the race with documentation that his net cost was below $500. He received over 1000 penalty laps for cheating because he was not "in the spirit" of the race program.

So yeah, we can create a $500 Mopar A Body race car. Put a reliable engine and transmission inside a malaise-era Mopar and you are good to go. Put a reliable engine in a rusted out shell of an early A-body and you are good to go. It's all in the documentation and appearance!
 
The Japanese language version of the official homepage is particularly brilliant. :-D I'd like to see this in person.
 
Oh and make sure to bribe the judges with porno mags and dvds hidden in the car. they love that stuff. buddy of mine does it every time since his car is a little over budget. LOL.
 
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