Take one air-cooled Beetle, add a Type 3 Squareback engine with crank-driven cooling fan, stir in a differential set up for drag racing, and then mix in a draw-through turbocharger setup. Bake for a weekend on the Buttonwillow Raceway track. End result: a race car that can’t get cooling air to the engine, stuffs 12 pounds of boost into hardware that was stressed out at about 45 horsepower, and redlines the tach at any speed above a brisk walk. In other words, the ideal 24 Hours of LeMons car! Read more »

Just about all of us have thought of covering our cars with bottle caps to form a mosaic representing our state flag, but used caps tend to be all bent up. What to do? Read more »

So many great junkyard-engineering ideas were on display at the 2010 Arse Freeze-a-Palooza 24 Hours of LeMons that it’s going to take me weeks to get to all of them. Today, we’re going to admire the Commies-‘Я’-Us BMW E21, which was converted from a not-so-reliable underpowered race car to a thrown-rod-waiting-to-happen overpowered race car by the addition of a supercharger torn from a Toyota Previa minivan. Read more »

Ever since Los Angeles artist Jason Torchinsky and henchmen built the Make:Way Escort for the Demolition Derby at Altamont 24 Hours of LeMons race (the Escort went on to star in the famous OK Go Rube Goldberg video), we’ve known that Mr. Torchinsky had the makings of a great serial killer 24 Hours of LeMons judge. Read more »

Working for the 24 Hours of LeMons isn’t just about working hosedown on the Tilt-a-Whirl at Mayor’s Income, Tennessee, and breathing clutch dust and oil smoke all weekend. No, we also get to do a lot of flying while packing all manner of weird race-related items in our luggage, which means we get plenty of attention from the TSA. Welding mask and angel wings in your carry-on? Hear the klaxons! Read more »

Since TTAC already has Curbside Classics, DOTS will be staying here at MurileeMartin.com for now. I’ve finally found a halfway decent burrito joint in Denver, one that meets— more or less— my Mission District burrito-snob standards, and I spotted this 56-year-old survivor while blasting the Civic downtown on a carnitas run. Read more »

After these LeMons Forum participants discovered one of the best Craigslist car ads of all time, we decided to take their advice and make a penalty out of the text of the ad. Read more »

Actually, this is pretty old news; the GT$500 Celica blew up at about 10:30 last night, shortly before I went back to the motel for some sleep while Judges Scott and Kent took over for the LeMons Supreme Court graveyard shift. Read more »

We haven’t had a true 24-hours LeMons race since the Lamest Day, thanks to Communist noise regulations at most tracks, but No Problem Raceway is made of sterner stuff. Read more »

Yes, this is an F150 body sitting on a Crown Victoria chassis. Backwards. Read more »

The Lord Humungus-style white steel spoke wheels on the A100 Van Hell Project have a certain apocalyptic style, but my vision for a customized forward-control van has always included shiny vintage wheels that look like something from a Hot Wheels car. Got ’em! Read more »

The LeMons Forum readers discovered it first, then the story got picked up by my erstwhile colleagues at Jalopnik. 24 bids and $4,494 later, the eight-wheeled, twin-Wankeled sports car is LeMons-bound! Read more »

Mr. Severson has written the definitive history of the Olds Toronado! AUWM pieces are always worth the wait.

The Heroic Fix award has been around since the early days of the 24 Hours of LeMons, but I’ve never done a post about all the winners… until today! Read more »

I finally got the Project Van Hell A100 running and insured, so a trip to the Denver County DMV was in order. Read more »