ShowHBK Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 Hey Folks! A few friends and I are starting a 24 Hours of Lemons team and I wanted to create a post to share our "journey" with the rest of CR. I have always wanted a project like this, but never had the money to do anything of the sort. We were able to get a 1986 Toyota MR-2 for our first car. Over the next few months we will be wrenching on this car to get it ready to race in the spring of 2019. We had quite a few ideas for "what" we wanted to use, but in the end, we felt like this was a great starter car for the 24 hours of lemons. We got this one for a good price, and felt like it left plenty of overhead for the safety equipment and other work the car might need as we get it ready to race. So... Without further ado I present to you... Mr. Deux!... oh god... it has a tree growing out of it! The car had been sitting since 2011 next to a barn. Passenger window shattered from when someone broke in to steal the radio. Plenty of junk in the car, and it was full of bugs, animal piss, and cigarette butts. I showed up last night (9/19) and we began work by sucking out most of the water from the trunk that was left in there from the cars power wash a little bit before we arrived. These are some of the nasty things we found when cleaning out the car for the first few hours. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9168 The car sitting, as it had for 7 years! http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9149 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9162 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9157The center console was FULL of wasps nests http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9158Literal tree beginning to grow out from the floor. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9166 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9160 Ok, lets get that cleaned up a bit... There we go, Much better. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9165 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9167 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9148 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9156 Last night the driver and passenger seats gave us problems, but we will continue to work on it in the months to come. I will update this thread as time progresses. There are multiple people working on the car at different times of the day, so there might be a few skips in between updates but I will do my best to post things in chronological order. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Beard Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 This is gonna be a hell of a resurrection sir! looking forward to watching the build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 Awesome, Mike! Best of luck with the project! :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robochan Posted September 21, 2018 Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 I know y'all are a ways out but I have a 2 way Motorola radio system id sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyM3rC Posted September 21, 2018 Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 I really hope you stick with it, that's a serious undertaking right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miller Posted September 21, 2018 Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 I know y'all are a ways out but I have a 2 way Motorola radio system id sell. 0% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mace1647545504 Posted September 22, 2018 Report Share Posted September 22, 2018 (edited) I just heard of this 24 hours race..what a cool idea. What are the rules..i.e. are you only allowed to spend so much money..age of car..etc.?? Never mind ..google is my friend..looks pretty wild Edited September 22, 2018 by Mace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShowHBK Posted September 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 I just heard of this 24 hours race..what a cool idea. What are the rules..i.e. are you only allowed to spend so much money..age of car..etc.?? Never mind ..google is my friend..looks pretty wild So, the rules are a bit to long to all type here... You can find the complete rules [HERE] But, to answer your question... The purchase of the car cannot exceed $500.00 which is important to keep in mind, because if you win the race you sign a waver that agrees to sell the organizers your car for a stupid low price "if" and only if they decide to buy it from you. For example... If you bring a car with plenty of modifications and plan on beating the shit out of everyone, then they will basically let you have your fun (if you bribe them enough) and then they will buy your car for a stupid low price. Oh yes... Bribes are allowed and VERY public. If you slap a turbo from a semi truck onto a Miata or add $5000 suspension to the car, then be prepared to bribe the judges at inspection with car parts, beer, food, and everything else. Sometimes Donations to their charity with get you past inspection, but they do whatever the fuck they want... and they are public about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 congrats about getting the ball rolling about this. You and I had been talking for a while at CCC about "fun" car hobby stuff and this def fits the bill. Good luck and keep the updates coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShowHBK Posted September 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 Project Update! 9/24/2018 Over the past few days The group removed the interior and began work underneath the car. The goal this weekend was to pull the engine, but the gas tank gave us a few problems... Let me explain... We started by cleaning out any rust and dirt that was lingering inside the cabin, then proceeded to move the car inside for the more important work http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9171 We... Kinda found a bullet in the windshield that we missed under all the mold and gunk. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9170 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9172 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9173 Once we got the car up, I got my first look at the underside of things... surprise surprise! rust city... http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9174 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9175 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9176 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9177 So, in the end... We were able to remove the exhaust, muffler, and the rats nest of crap under the body, but the gas tank stopped us dead in our tracks when trying to get it out. Rusted bolts and stripped screws were the bane of our evening. After 5 hours of work... we said Goodnight to the MR-2 for the night. Ready to return later in the week to get the gas tank out and eventually pull the damn engine. We checked to see if the engine would turn over and it does in fact "crank", but from the sound it was making I would say that there is ZERO fluids in this engine. We popped out a coil pack and sadly noticed that there is water mixed with oil under there, so... blown head gasket? We're not going to be sure until we pull the engine and take it apart. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1027&pictureid=9178 More updates as they happen! Stay tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShowHBK Posted October 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2018 I've run out of storage space on CR for images... Looking for a new hosting site to place all of these images for an update. Any ideas? What does CR use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted October 2, 2018 Report Share Posted October 2, 2018 Imgur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted October 3, 2018 Report Share Posted October 3, 2018 Cool project. A friend and former coworker of mine is pretty much an expert in this gen MR2 and would be interested in helping, if you need another guy on the team. You can find him on Instagram as Project 4AGZE. His name is Marshall. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robochan Posted October 3, 2018 Report Share Posted October 3, 2018 I know y'all are a ways out but I have a 2 way Motorola radio system id sell. Nvm it's sold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Beard Posted October 4, 2018 Report Share Posted October 4, 2018 I've run out of storage space on CR for images... Looking for a new hosting site to place all of these images for an update. Any ideas? What does CR use? imgbb.com very simple to use and free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShowHBK Posted November 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2018 OK! HUGE UPDATE POST IN THE WORKS. PLEASE STAND BY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShowHBK Posted November 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2018 Now you see it... Now you don't! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShowHBK Posted November 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2018 Engine teardown... This thing was NASTY!!! She's all out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShowHBK Posted November 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2018 Transmission Pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg1647545532 Posted November 9, 2018 Report Share Posted November 9, 2018 Good luck, I don't have a ton of advice from my dismal year doing Chump/Lemons but if you have any questions I can probably tell you some things not to do. I also have a harness I bought last year that's still good for 4 years if you want something cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShowHBK Posted November 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2018 What were some things you wished you would have known before going into Lemons? Anything you would have changed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg1647545532 Posted November 9, 2018 Report Share Posted November 9, 2018 One big takeaway is that it's expensive. Very expensive. And it's impossible to escape the sunk cost fallacy. By the time you're all there with a running, tech'ed in car, with food, lodging, race suits, a full refueling setup and a 55 gallon barrel of 87 octane, you're in deep. At that point if anything pricey breaks, what's another $1000 split 3 ways in order to salvage the weekend? Credit cards get a workout on race weekend. Since you have a rare car, bring spares. We drove 4 hours each way at one of our races when our A20 Prelude engine blew, because they're getting to be hens teeth in wrecking yards. Prepare to destroy wheel bearings, axles, suspension components (contact is a real problem), tires, radiators... you name it. You're paying all of this money to be at the racetrack with your friends, not sitting in a truck driving to and from junkyards and parts stores. Find a parts car, strip the suspension and drivetrain and bring it all with you. Pull off anything you can that requires special tools. At our first race we had to pull the cylinder head, which means removing the EGR system. Ugh. Trying to do that in a paddock with simple hand tools was the worst. Wish we would have stripped that off ahead of time. And the dash, and most of the wiring, etc. And lastly, the hardest thing in the world is to get everyone together at the same time to work on the car. Someone needs to be the point man and lean on people to do stuff, because everyone has lives and people flake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig71188 Posted November 10, 2018 Report Share Posted November 10, 2018 One big takeaway is that it's expensive. Very expensive. And it's impossible to escape the sunk cost fallacy. By the time you're all there with a running, tech'ed in car, with food, lodging, race suits, a full refueling setup and a 55 gallon barrel of 87 octane, you're in deep. At that point if anything pricey breaks, what's another $1000 split 3 ways in order to salvage the weekend? Credit cards get a workout on race weekend. Since you have a rare car, bring spares. We drove 4 hours each way at one of our races when our A20 Prelude engine blew, because they're getting to be hens teeth in wrecking yards. Prepare to destroy wheel bearings, axles, suspension components (contact is a real problem), tires, radiators... you name it. You're paying all of this money to be at the racetrack with your friends, not sitting in a truck driving to and from junkyards and parts stores. Find a parts car, strip the suspension and drivetrain and bring it all with you. Pull off anything you can that requires special tools. At our first race we had to pull the cylinder head, which means removing the EGR system. Ugh. Trying to do that in a paddock with simple hand tools was the worst. Wish we would have stripped that off ahead of time. And the dash, and most of the wiring, etc. And lastly, the hardest thing in the world is to get everyone together at the same time to work on the car. Someone needs to be the point man and lean on people to do stuff, because everyone has lives and people flake. This. Also, build your spares as assemblies that match what's on the car. If you damage a strut, it's usually faster to have a full strut assembly ready to go back on with the correct spring/rate (if not a fully assembled "corner" - strut/control arm/caliper/rotor, etc). Spare motor is the same thought - but be sure sensors/fittings/etc are the same as the primary motor. Just stripping a second car of its stock parts is good, but if you've modded the originals, you may be stuck after hauling the spares along - or forced into a compromise situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig71188 Posted November 10, 2018 Report Share Posted November 10, 2018 If possible, find someone who has "been there, done that" to look over your build/progress and/or go along to your first few races and "consult" as a crew chief or to just hang out and advise. Sometimes a simple suggestion / observation can save you a lot of regret. BTW, I'm more of a Champcar guy, but am willing to share some of my experience of knocking around endurance racing (OMG - now almost 40 yrs) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miller Posted November 12, 2018 Report Share Posted November 12, 2018 Mike, nice work and good progress so far. Have you guys really weighed out the pros and cons of racing Lemons? If the entertainment and rules are what have you considering it, than my statement's moot. I've got friends that have done both Chump and Lemons and, the feedback is pretty consistent: the chump drivers have less accidents. IMO junk cars are still too expensive to replace. The idea of racing wheel-to-wheel with unlicensed drivers in death traps gives me the "jeebs". It's fun to watch though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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