New Lemons Team - What car to use?

[FC]

For a different kind of waffling...

I quickly got enough traction to start a new Lemons team with guys from work. My yet-to-be-built garage will be home base. Heck, we'll have a lift, plenty of room, etc.

The question is, what car should we use?

I am partial to using an E36 or E30, but the obvious choice would seem to be a cheap mustang or camaro.

Basically, to be successful, it seems you need to meet a few conditions:

-Car must be cheap-ish to acquire, and perhaps more importantly, appear to be a "$500" car.
-We want cheap parts, so it has to have a significant presence on junkyards or craigslist from people parting out dead cars.
-It has to have decent power. Miatas actually kinda suck because they were light to begin with. You want a car that was kinda quick at 3000+ pounds, so that when you get it down to 2000lbs, it can really move.
-Access to cheap upgrades. Bolt on upgrades from siblings (i.e. 190E's could easy take 400E brakes), higher-spec variants, or used aftermarket components (suspension, LSD, cams, headers, exhaust, etc).
-I really dislike the FWD on the cabrio, so I want RWD. and ideally a model where you can throw in an LSD.
-The car should be easy to work with and pretty reliable.

Thoughts?

I know, this is probably the best FC waffling thread ever.

We basically need to find a car with only the drivetrain operational. All else, including the entire interior, will be gutted. That could also mean finding a $2500 E36, and ebaying parts of value to get us back down to a cheap acquisition cost.

[bren]

Look at race results, what is winning? Buy that.

[JST]

Originally Posted by FC

For a different kind of waffling...

I quickly got enough traction to start a new Lemons team with guys from work. My yet-to-be-built garage will be home base. Heck, we'll have a lift, plenty of room, etc.

The question is, what car should we use?

I am partial to using an E36 or E30, but the obvious choice would seem to be a cheap mustang or camaro.

Basically, to be successful, it seems you need to meet a few conditions:

-Car must be cheap-ish to acquire, and perhaps more importantly, appear to be a "$500" car.
-We want cheap parts, so it has to have a significant presence on junkyards or craigslist from people parting out dead cars.
-It has to have decent power. Miatas actually kinda suck because they were light to begin with. You want a car that was kinda quick at 3000+ pounds, so that when you get it down to 2000lbs, it can really move.
-Access to cheap upgrades. Bolt on upgrades from siblings (i.e. 190E's could easy take 400E brakes), higher-spec variants, or used aftermarket components (suspension, LSD, cams, headers, exhaust, etc).
-I really dislike the FWD on the cabrio, so I want RWD. and ideally a model where you can throw in an LSD.
-The car should be easy to work with and pretty reliable.

Thoughts?

I know, this is probably the best FC waffling thread ever.

We basically need to find a car with only the drivetrain operational. All else, including the entire interior, will be gutted. That could also mean finding a $2500 E36, and ebaying parts of value to get us back down to a cheap acquisition cost.

Clyde's Corvette.

E30s seem very popular, but have a stigma as a result.

If you go with a Fox body, don't do a Mustang--do something weirder, like a Fairmont station wagon or a Lincoln Mark VII.

EDIT: Or Bren's Corvette, since it is unlikely to be autocrossed.


EDIT to EDIT: Also think about team themes. You probably won't be able to find a Vega, but if you could a Mad Men theme would be kind of neat.

Or an old GM G-Body, like a Monte Carlo.

[FC]

Originally Posted by JST

EDIT to EDIT: Also think about team themes. You probably won't be able to find a Vega, but if you could a Mad Men theme would be kind of neat.

Yes. Theme is VERY important.

[JST]

Originally Posted by FC

Yes. Theme is VERY important.

A4? It's 4K, but negotiable and you'd probably be able to make some money selling parts.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/m...806447242.html

190E 2.6?

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/m...806480631.html

Red Lincoln? Almost announces a Che Guevara/Abraham Lincoln theme.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/d...806362795.html


EDIT: And if you are feeling adventurous, how about a Conquest without an engine? Perfect for a 350 swap.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/m...789303940.html


EDIT: LS400. Again, you'd need to make some money selling parts but it's possible.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/d...786583413.html

[blee]

If you could find a Chevy Vega, you should buy it, if only to fuel my childhood memories.

Seriously though, I would think the Camaro or E30 would be great choices. One other possibility would be an '80s Chevy B-body -- think Caprice, Impala, Malibu. While not as cool as a Monte Carlo, it would be solid like a brick and have tons of parts support. Dunno how cheap they are these days, but a '91-'96 Caprice sedan would also work well, especially in 9C1 (police) or Impala SS guise.

[JST]

I am having too much fun with this.

Seriously, imagine that Lincoln with a big Che-style picture of Lincoln on the hood, with a red star on his stovepipe hat.

The costumes design themselves.

[bren]

many LeMons teams choose to race cars known for decent performance figures and/or reliability, and after 78 LeMons races, we’ve learned that many of those “obvious” car choices turn out to be spectacularly bad for low-budget endurance racing

http://blog.caranddriver.com/lemons-...%E2%80%94ahoy/


This is funny because the early gen Supra was one of the first things I thought of.

EDIT: but then pretty much everything else I'd want to use is on the list as well.

[JST]

Originally Posted by bren

http://blog.caranddriver.com/lemons-...%E2%80%94ahoy/


This is funny because the early gen Supra was one of the first things I thought of.

Any Mitsubishi Product, but especially the Starion

The least reliable marque in LeMons racing is, without a doubt, Mitsubishi. Even British Leyland and Renault products can be considered robust next to Mitsubishi cars on a LeMons track, and that includes the Chrysler-badged DSM stuff. You name it, Eclipse/Talon, Colt/Mirage, 3000GT/Stealth—it will fall apart in our races like a house of cards blasted with a leaf blower. (Note: In a winning-the-lottery-grade stroke of crazy luck, a Mirage took the win on laps in a LeMons race a few years back.) With all that, however, the Starion/Conquest manages to take Butt Turribleness to a level beyond even the wretched Cordia; in seven years of LeMons racing and 10 or so Starions, only one has managed to run more than a few dozen laps in a race. In fact, we’re going to make it a definitive statement: The Mitsubishi Starion is the worst possible choice, in the entire universe, for a 24 Hours of LeMons car.

Well, now you HAVE to buy that Conquest.

[bren]

What are the rules? Does it have to be a car?

Because this would be great: (or am I the only one who's really into these? )




EDIT:
It can be done!
http://blog.caranddriver.com/petty-c...emons-history/