I’ve done recovered from another 24 Hours of LeMons weekend at Gingerman Raceway near South Haven, Michigan, and like most LeMons races, it takes a few days to process the level of insanity one has just witnessed. As a lifelong Illinois resident, I’m perhaps a bit biased, but I think the Midwestern LeMons racers have a true grasp of the LeMons ethos. Namely, buy a $500 hooptie (preferably a forgettable American car), make it pass tech (usually), and then drive it until it breaks (frequently). This race brought out some classic LeMons entries.
Without delving too deeply into things, in no particular order, this race featured:
- Two GM U-Body “Dustbuster” minivans. The one painted like the Simpsons Monorail fittingly caught fire before the race and never turned a lap.
- Two 1981 Chrysler J-Bodies. The ’81 Dodge Mirada recently took on a ’99 Dodge Ram 5.9-liter Magnum V8 while the “Road Bummer” ’81 Imperial ran the entire race on the original early fuel-injected 318. Both cars ran the entire race, though the Imperial’s 318 was wounded, if not dead, by the checkered flag.
- The ’61 Rambler Classic that is traveling to most races on the LeMons calendar. It got a fresh 2.3-liter Pinto engine swap with a Mustang II front suspension and subframe and the rear-end from an MN-12 Thunderbird.
- A Mazda Miata turned into a Geo Metro “hatchback” using a cut-up steel trash compactor.
- A real-life Subaru XT Turbo that almost ran.
- A Buick Park Avenue inexplicably turned into a General Mayhem replica from Roadkill.
- Two first-generation Mazda RX-7s with great themes: the Ford 302-swapped Honey Badger car and the “Skypasiv” RX-7, which lampoons the Skyactiv Mazda Prototypes from IMSA racing.
- An Alfa Romeo GTV6 made into a convincing Alfa Romeo 155 DTM car using a Ford Mustang front clip, a Dodge Ram hood, a bit of bondo, and maybe some aluminum shelving.
- Likely the world’s only remaining running Chevy 307, bought from a Chevelle owner and stuffed into a TruckNutz-bearing third-gen Trans Am.
Check out the photos below and the Roadkill recap for more. If you’re going to be at the LeMons race at New Jersey Motorsports Park next week, stop by and say hi.
Mark’s Imperial has been giving me paint ideas for a while now.
i want the rambler