My 24 Hours of LeMons Project...
 

So for those of you that know what the 24 Hours of LeMons is, I thought you'd find this interesting. For those that don't, go read this. I'm not askin'.

A year ago, a good friend of mine got the chance to compete in the 24HLM race in Angleton (just South of Houston). I've always wanted to compete and have followed the series for a while. This year I am captaining my own team, and have invited my LeMons veteran friend to join. We promptly located a car that we thought would suit our needs and purchased it for just over $500 bucks. There goes the budget. Luckily we were able to sell off the entire interior, airbags, stereo and glass to a probe enthusiast (they do exist) in order to regain all the overage and enough for a few vital bits. Still, we have almost no money to spend on upgrading the car.

The car? Well, it's a 1996 Ford Probe GT. That's right, I said Probe GT! Don't hate, you know you're jealous of the sweet ride. The interior had a few cigarette burns and smelled of smoke, the paint was faded, the CEL was lit, the A/C doesn't work, the windshield was cracked, the fender on the passenger side won't let you open the door easily, etc. But the most important thing, the previous owner had just spent a lot of money trying to get rid of the CEL and just wanted to recoup some of the cost of the slew of new parts thrown at the car. Jackpot.

The car runs really well and actually pulls with the all the fury that Ford bestowed upon it from the factory. She's an eyesore for sure, but promises to be solid, which is the most important thing in the 24HLM.

Four of the drivers got together this weekend to strip out the interior. We basically started pulling bits off until we got to the point where there was nothing more we could (or felt like we wanted to) remove. You can see the results below. The real hassle came from the kid that drove it for a while having put a “big” stereo in the car and covering the entire inside of the doors with sound deadening material. That stuff is goopy and the foil is razor sharp.

So the next step is to replace the front brakes and install the roll cage. We will be holding off until the middle of next month for that because the list of those accepted to the race comes out then and I don’t want to front the cash if we aren’t going to be able to get into a race before February, which is the next one.

Those familiar with the series may be wondering if we have a team theme. Well, we are going to be racing for the Houston Humane Society. They are a great organization and we are hoping for a chance to get out there to raise awareness (and potentially money) for them. We are working on a rattle-can livery for the car to go with our theme. The team is called Dogged Racing. Get it? Well, that’s enough about the project for now. Here are a few pics.

that's awesome...sounds fun and long...lol

put an intake and headers....throw the cats out

That race sounds like a blast, and cheap too! I see this for MSR this year (closest track to me as well):

YEE-HAW IT'S LeMONS TEXAS (2009)
Date: October 24-25, 2009
Track: MSR Houston, Angleton TX
Entry Deadline: Ten weeks before the race (15 August 2009)
Late Entries: Considered case-by-case, space permitting
Buy Spectator Tickets: Weekend Pass | Single Day


So I've got about a month to make the entry deadline? I'm seriously considering getting a couple friends to help with the process and going for it :)

^^ which car are you planning to use??



YEE-Haw.....lol

Make no mistake, cheap is for the car, but the race isn't as cheap as it sounds. The Team Entry Fee is $500 (which is not the car), plus $100 per driver and another $50 per driver that doesn't have a competition license and another $50 for a transponder if you don't have one. The car may cost $500, but the roll cage and safety equipment will cost you another $500-$1000 easy. A low-end, full, SFI rated fire suit, shoes, gloves and helmet will be another $500 if you don't have one. A lot of people sign up for the event and either aren't ready by the time the race comes or are blindsided by the cost.

I'll grant you that it's not expensive, but I want to be up front because I had a similar scenario unfold where a few people backed out because of the cost even though it was "only" about $450 per person plus the cost of their suit (~$500 like I said).

So Figure a 4-driver team of yokels with no competition license:

$1100 in entry fees
$500 to buy/fix the car
$1000 in safety equipment for the car (roll cage, etc)

$2600/4 = $650 each, plus personal safety gear.

Still not too bad.

My brother had a 89 Probe GT and that car was so much better and faster over the model you guys got and a much better engine. Too bad you can hardly find them anymore. :(

Good luck on that build. It's going to be fun no doubt.

Close, but personal safety gear bumps it to over a grand per person. And that doesn't include tires and fuel. That's not chump change for your average person. Not to mention that the orginization, time and effort put into this isn't insignificant.

I'm fortunate to have the money, time and drive to do this, but some of my friends don't think it is worth the price of entry or would struggle to come up with the cash. If we get on the grid this race, then in February, when the next race rolls around, the cost will be a lot less for those that raced this time and don't have to spend money on the car, or saftey equipment. It basically is just the entry fees at that point. I'll add a 'New Comer' fee to any team members that show up for the second race to help recoup the cost for the guys that spent money on the ride the first time around.