For those of you who do not know http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/ is a cheap endurance road racing series for crappy cars. The car should cost $500, but safety (cage and brakes and tires) are exempt and you can sell pieces off the car to reduce the costs. A race is usually 8 hours on Saturday and 6 hours on Sunday, so if you divide this over four or five drivers you get 2+ hours of real road racing with other incapable drivers and that's a LOT of fun.

While the car should be $500, from my experience (since 2010 I have participated in 10 races, sometimes in two teams at the same time) the cost of first race for a brand new car is about $6000, and the cost of consecutive races is about $3-4K. Divide this by four and you get the idea.

Thing is I am moving to Jersey City and I have to quit my existing Lemons team in Midwest. I also have a Mini which would get under $500 once some parts are sold off. Still, this kind of car does not really belong to Lemons so we would need a stupid "theme" of some kind and they might still penalize us with laps and we would never win anything, but it would still be fun.

So, I wonder if anyone from around Jersey City would be interested to start a 24 H of L team? I have the car, experience and funds. You should have time, desire and... money. On average, they have three races on the east coast every year plus we can travel a bit.

Andrey

 

I've always wanted to do this, I've got an old Chevy chevette I only paid $300 for lol. I've already done everything to get it running reliably.... But I grew attached to it lol

 

My condolences....
On the move to jersey city....
Good luck...I see 50 extra laps in your future.....

 

I don't have much a problem with 50 laps - I kind of see them in my future too, but you have to do what you have to do.

My previous build was a time-consuming engine swap with custom brakes on all four corners and a cage I've welded myself. I am not too lazy for that, want to simply slap a cage into a car and call it ready.

So who is in?

 

Resurrecting this old thread rather than starting my own. I haven't seen a MINI show up on the East Coast yet. There's only been one MINI in LeMons and it was in TX years ago.

Prices on MINIs have come down a bunch, especially if you grab a cvt car like I did. With some haggling and selling/swapping, I've managed to get an '04 Cooper and a 6-speed manual trans with flywheel and other bits that I'm going to try the manual conversion on. I'm ok with the mechanical aspects of this, but I'm very very green on the electrical stuff like talking to the computer and anti-theft stuff so that the car actually works once a kill switch is installed. I've seen a bunch of the swap threads and read through them, with most saying "send me your monies and circuits and stuff and I'll send you back your stuff so it'll work with the manual trans." I'm glad those shops are out there. But I'd rather spend less and learn more.

Anyway, truth be told if the car (in their opinion) is more than $500 they will still let you race it albeit with lots of penalty laps so you can't "win". Who cares about winning anyway, right?

I'm in San Diego / Escondido and have been doing this LeMons stuff for 6 years now. I'm looking for anyone who is interested in getting in on this 04 BINI build with me and "racing" it once it's done. It's a far cry from the other British cars I bring (62 mini, 67 moke, 69 Austin America, 82 MG Metro, among others). But I figure it's time for me to have a car that is more user-friendly and less LeMon-y so my drivers have a reasonable chance of passing someone in at least one of my cars rather than getting passed constantly.

I haven't frequented this forum very consistently, but I'll subscribe to this this thread if I can figure out how (found it-- set for daily!) . I'll also see if I can figure out how to get pm notices sent to my email in case someone would rather contact me directly.

Oh, and FWIW I typically take arrive-and-drives at most west coast races and only ask that you share in 1/4 of the operating and participation costs of fielding a car and 4-person team, which is typically $550-$650 a person of actual cash outlay for all consumables like entry, fuel, tires, brakes, etc. There's no profit built in to that. On top of that only expect to arrange for your own food and lodging unless we come up with a team solution for a given event. You can rent safety gear through racesuitrental (no affiliation) if you aren't up for buying your own yet.

I've got seats open for Thunderhill on Sept 12-13 and Miller Motorsports Park in UT on Oct 3-4 and then at MSR Houston on Nov 14-15. $600 and $650 respectively.

 

lol

 

I am interested in joining a houston 24h lemons team for Nov. but I do not have a competition license.

Anyone know what I would need to join a team ?

 

Are Mini's allowed in Lemons? I contacted ChumpCar about adding early Mini and they said NO.

 

why would they be against minis ????

 

They have a list of eligible cars in the rules and they don't want to add Minis....Does Lemons have a car list?

 

Whoever you contacted at Chumpcar is apparently ill-informed on their own rules.

I have raced Chumpcar with our '62 mini (the last time was 2014 at Buttonwillow)and I was one of classic minis in the field. Mike Kimball has raced his classic mini in Chumpcar in 2015. And the Classic Mini IS on their car valuation list.
https://www.chumpcar.com/downloads/2015ChumpCarBCCR.pdf

According to this list (look under "Austin Mini") a pre 1980 car is valued at $100.

LeMons does not have an "approved car" list. Bring anything that meets their basic rules.
and

Officially, the classic mini falls short of the 24 Hours of LeMons wheelbase rule of 82" minimum factory wheelbase. However, an Australian Moke and the travelers/countryman/van are all long enough to fit the technicality of the rules. That said, there are currently 3 classic minis running in LeMons after having been granted a tenuous "organizers exception" to the minimum wheelbase rule.

more rules here http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/prices-rules

Here we are at Thunderhill in September


I have had to withdraw my offer to race with me in Houston this November. I was unable to find enough people to share the costs by the time the entry deadline came. If you are still interested, you will likely be able to find a seat in a registered team by going to the 24 hours of lemons forum and searching in their Drivers Wanted or Rides Wanted sections.

 

Somehow the wires got crossed...I was referring to 2002 or newer Mini's as early/ vs classic!!! Which I did ask Chump about...the Original models are clearly listed in the Chump rule book.

Post #5 refers to R50 Mini

 

Ah, I understand. In most of my circles, 2002 and newer are MINI or BINI, whereas 2000 and older are mini or Mini.

I like 'em all but still have much to learn about MINIs.

 

Hi Spank! Small world. Was just on here reading up on my new whip, the black mini I was flossing at the track. Bridget says hello.

 

If anyone wants to run I am still interested

 

Yea, I ended up running with another team in Houston this past November and had an awesome time.

I've got a bunch of races I'm planning on doing in 2016, including one in March in Arizona. I still have a LeMons-grade 2004 MINI awaiting a drivetrain transplant that I don't have tons of time for but hope to get to it this year. Some local team mates to help out with car building it would be nice and could help it happen sooner rather than later.

I am already softly recruiting for the Buttonwillow race in October, what I'm calling the Class C Onslaught Pt2. I hope to be able to bring out every car I have. Last time I did a Class C Onslaught a film crew was there. Here's a taste of what it's like:

 

That is AWESOME!!!