Car Selection
Selecting a car for such a race is really a curious subject. There are lots of factors…but only one is really fixed. That’s the price. The rules dictate that the car must be purchased and prepared for the race for a grand total of not more than $500. This does exclude safety related items (most of which are mandatory) as well as brakes and tires/wheels.
In general, the cars that seem to do well are lightweight imports. A standard transmission seems, to me, to be all but mandatory. Rear drive would be a definite asset, though is certainly the exeption, rather than the rule, in the type of cars that would be most available to us.
I just so happens that I have become the go-to guy in my circles for anyone who needs to get rid of a car that is beyond repair. When someone decides, “This car has been sitting in my driveway too long. I don’t want to pay $500 to fix a car that won’t be worth that when I’m done.” That’s when they call me. Broken winshields, blown headgaskets, lost or invalid titles, worn out transmissions, doors that don’t open (or close), inoperable fuel pumps…these are the things that make my project cars mine.
The timing was just about perfect. I had looked over the 2008 24 Hours of LeMons schedule and decided that there were enough venues within a close enough proximity to us that it would be worthwhile to put a team and car together…and I had actually said this outloud to my friend, colleague, and now-teammate, Zac. It wasn’t 2 days later that I was contacted, by a friend of a friend, through a series of forwarded email messages, about a nuisance car that could use a good dose of “gone.”
It wasn’t until I actually showed up to look at the car that I deemed it a very good candidate for use in 24 Hours of LeMons. The car is a 1988 Honda Civic Hatchback. It had been sitting for a year-and-a-half due to a battery and/or charging problem, but otherwise “ran when parked.” The little Honda looked great. Sitting under a tree covered in bird droppings and fallen branches with tires still holding air. Its lack of power steering, power locks, and power windows certainly helped. The ratty interior, though to be expected, also gave us a good feeling about the car. But the 5 speed transmission sealed the deal.
And so, the car is selected! Unless a better candidate comes along, we will be preparing this ‘88 Civic for competition. The car is a beater, to be sure. However, that’s what 24 Hours of LeMons is all about. Still…we’ll have to do a bit of prepwork to get the car into shape!
Once at the competition, all cars are judged by a panel which attempts to arbitrarily validate each team’s financial details. The burden of proof, it seems, is on the team.
In our case, the reason we wish to compete in this event is because it can be done for low investment. I see no reason to cheat in this respect, and therefore will be completely open, with all who are interested, about the budget of our effort. We’ll start the tally with the purchase price of the car. Zero Dollars.
It is a well known fact that free cars are often more expensive than their paid-for counterparts. I’m hoping to fly in the face of the conventional wisdom with this one.