24 Hours of LeMons Diary Part 2: Finding a “Racecar”
After deciding we were going to enter our own team in next year’s 24 Hours of Lemons, we expected to have another 12 months to get a team and car together before the rolling circus returned to Houston.
But on November 15, 2008 the 2009 schedule was announced, and the first race of the season was February 28 in Houston, a mere 15 weeks away. We didn’t have a car or a team. We’d never built a racecar from scratch. We’d never managed an endurance race team. We barely had room in the garage to work on a car. Could we do this?
Probably not, but we took the plunge and registered for the race anyways. Instantly our search was on for a car. At the time, Drew was going to school in Arkansas, Matt lived in the Dallas Area, and Price was in Houston. We were on Craigslist constantly for about a week looking for the perfect car anywhere in Texas, Oklahoma, or Arkansas. We aren’t too mechanically inclined, but we are super competitive, so we were looking for a car that could compete for an overall win that we could get put together over Christmas break.
We decided we really wanted an e30 BMW for a few reasons:
- They are a popular racing car, so there are plenty of safety parts available for them. Roll cages and brake parts were easy to find. Although racing a 1968 Lancia might have won us the Index of Effluency, we had no idea how to make a roll cage from scratch or if we would have the know-how to fix it up.
- They are a popular racing car, so there is plenty of free information floating around the internet about how to prep and fix them.
- They are old enough to be easy to work on, but they’re still a BMW and have racing in their blood.
Matt found what looked to be the perfect car on Craigslist in the Dallas area. It was a 1986 BMW 325e for sale for $750 “or best offer.” According to the ad the car ran and had a manual transmission that was broken. Perfect!
The “e” model is much less desirable than the “i” model because it had a much more economical engine. Compare:
- 325e: 121 hp and 172 lb·ft. Redline: 4,800 RPM.
- 325i: 168 hp and 164 lb·ft. Redline: 6,500 RPM.
However, the 325e motors were known for their low-end torque, fuel milage, and reliability. Could this be the perfect Lemons car? Only one way to find out.
