Jalopnik: 24 Hours of Lemons Altamont

The 24 Hours of LeMons Altamont 2008 Uber Gallery

Murilee Martin — Sat, 24 May 2008 12:00:00 EDT

We got a look at the Top 50 Lemons of the 24 Hours of LeMons race at Altamont on May 10th/11th, but what about the other 40 cars? Some finished just a few laps shy of the Top 50, while others seemed to bring out the yellow flags and tow trucks each time they sputtered onto the track. That's why we're doing the Official Jalopnik Über Gallery, which has a separate gallery for every single car that came to race.

Many of these cars are veterans of previous LeMons races; check out the Thunderhill LeMons Über Gallery to see some familiar faces. Plenty of the galleries below contain 20, 30, even 70 photos, not just the three apiece you see on this page; to see an entire gallery for a car, just click on one of the thumbnail images and navigate within the gallery from there. We've done our best to spell team names correctly and to get the makes and models right, but mistakes do happen (and some cars- the #69 taxi comes to mind- just resist identification once they've been LeMon-ized [Never mind, it's a Civic!] ). Thanks to photographers Amy Judd, Zack Spencer, Adrian Smith, Jim Stewart, and the guys from Krider Racing for their camera work. We'll have some action-packed racing video for you in the days to come, so keep checking for more LeMons madness right here!

#00: 501k, Volkswagen Jetta

#0: Team Come From Behind, Ford Probe

#01: Boys From Hazzard Todofucken, Chevrolet Caprice

#1: San Jose Scalawags, Mazda Miata

#2: Autobahn Society Racing, BMW 2002

#02: Procrastination Racing, Chevrolet Nova

#3: Fokken Dummen Luftwaffe, BMW 2002

#03: Snow Speeder Pilots Association, Toyota MR2

#04: Volatile RAM, Toyota MR2

#4: Saabs Gone Wild A, Saab 900

#05: Red Bear, BMW 3-Series

#06: Automatica, BMW 3-Series

#6: Skidmark Racing, BMW 3-Series

#7: Spirit of San Diego, Chevrolet Malibu

#08: Mustang Sally, Ford Mustang

#8: Speedy Escort Service, Ford Escort

#9: Sin City Lemons, Ford LTD

#9: Group of Fools, BMW 3-Series

#10: Cliché Racing, Saturn SL1

#11: Eyesore Pimpin, Honda CRX

#13: Krider Racing Death Proof, Acura Integra

#14: Pit Crew Revenge, Honda Civic

#15: Size Matters Racing, Honda CRX

#17: Turdlingua Racing Team, Ford Mustang

#18: Jamaican Racing Team, Volvo 245

#19: ZZ Uber, Volkswagen GTI

#20: Z Red Baron, Volkswagen Corrado

#21: Ma The Meatloaf, Volvo 740

#22: SSPP22, Volvo 780 Bertone

#23: Caffeine Unlimited, BMW 3-Series

#24: Fancy Junc, BMW 6-Series

#25: Bavarian Aliance, BMW 5-Series

#26: Carpet Pissers, Honda CRX

#27: Bernal Dads, Volvo 245

#29: Scuderia Punk Rock Chef, Datsun 280Z

#31: Delinquent Racing, Ford Taurus SHO

#32: The Flakes, Volvo 244

#33: Flying Hyundai, Merkur XR4Ti

#34: Team California Mille, Alfa Romeo Alfetta

#35: PMS Express, Ford Mustang

#36: Excalibur, Mercury Sable

#37: Team 31, Mazda Miata

#39: Cant Am, Volvo 242 Turbo

#40: Chicks and Dicks, Honda Civic

#42: Team Porcubimmer, BMW 325e

#44: Driving While Awesome, Porsche 944

#47: Team Tango, Volvo 245

#48: 2Fast2Festiva, Ford Festiva

#49: Fast and Festiva, Ford Festiva

#50: Team Tread Lightly, Volkswagen Golf

#51: Third Time's a Charm, Honda CRX

#52: Golden Shower, Mercedes-Benz W123

#53: Jason and the Argonauts, BMW 3-Series

#54: Uber Vogel, Mercedes-Benz 190E

#55: Planet Hell, Toyota Camry

#56: F1 BMW, BMW 3-Series

#57: Lemon Warriors, Saturn SL1

#58: Tokyo Auto Wreckers, Nissan 240SX

#59: Tercelators, Ford Escort

#60: Team 60, Saab 900 Turbo

#63: Lemon Demolition, Honda CRX

#64: Motoring J Style, Toyota MR2

#66: Das Boot, Porsche 944

#67: Size Matters Chrysler, Plymouth Fury

#69: Dewey, Chydum, and Howe Taxi Co, Honda Civic

#70: Box Wrench, Saab 900 Turbo

#71: Race Jones, Ford Pinto

#72: Field Find, Mercedes-Benz 190

#73: Fat and the Furious, Plymouth Fury

#74: Redemption Racing, Honda CRX

#75: Mother Cluckers, Nissan Sentra

#76: Wedginator, Triumph TR7

#77: Axles of Evel, Audi 4000

#80: Volcano, Toyota MR2

#81: Wicked West Racing, Honda Accord

#82: Dilligaf, Honda CRX

#83: Pebetter Racing, Ford Mustang

#84: No Power Ranger, Ford Ranger

#85: Fiero Inquisition, Pontiac Fiero

#87: Onset, Chevrolet Cavalier

#88: Make:Way, Ford Escort

#89: Down Under, Dodge Stealth

#90: Chim Chim Racing, Ford Thunderbird

#97: Black Metal V8olvo, Volvo DL

#98: We Each Hit Racing, Toyota Paseo

#99: Autodenta, Alfa Romeo Spider

Huge Wing, Eyeballs Propel Make:Way Escort To 33rd-Place LeMons Finish!

Murilee Martin — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:20:00 EDT

Even though we vowed to crush Team Make:Way's Escort like a drained beercan beneath our hobnailed racing shoes (as the Lord Humungus would say about their car, what a puny plan!), the little slushbox-equipped Escort managed to evade the wrath of Odin and hang on for a respectable 33rd-place finish at the race. They had a scary moment when a front wheel parted company with the vehicle on the track, but for the most part they kept on knocking out lap after lap. Good work, Make:Way, and next time we hope to see some junkyard turbocharging on that thing! [MakeWayRacing.com]

Broken Parts And Bleeding Knuckles At The 24 Hours Of Lemons

Murilee Martin — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:00:00 EDT

We've seen the cars that finished the race, but what about the ones that spent more time in the pits than on the track? Our pit space was sandwiched between a couple of never-say-die teams: the Snowspeeder Pilots Association, whose MR2's engine ate its rod bearings, and Team SSPP22, whose Volvo 780 Bertone broke its steering rack as an appetizer and damn near everything else for the main course. Then there was the Wedginator, which was pushed or dragged off the track more often than British Leyland workers went on strike, and the Car & Driver Fiero, which held the dubious title of Fewest Laps Completed, thanks to clutch-related maladies. Heroes, all of them! Let's take a look at some of the repairs we caught on film in the pits; thanks to Zack Spencer and Amy Judd for their photographs.

Pimps, Pirates, and PMS: The Art Cars Of The 24 Hours of LeMons

Murilee Martin — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:00:00 EDT

We really want to love art cars, but the problem with a lot of them is that the artists involved just don't get cars. For every genuinely awesome Camera Van or Pedal Regal, you get a hundred beater 323s with plastic army men or dinosaurs epoxied all over the sheet metal. But take heart, fans of car-as-art, because the participants at the 24 Hours of LeMons race continue to raise the bar with the themes for their cars; check out the gallery below for a sampling of some of the art cars we saw at the race at Altamont last weekend. Thanks to photographers Zack Spencer and Amy Judd for contributing photographs.

So, What About The Porcubimmer?

Murilee Martin — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:20:00 EDT

We followed the exploits of LTDScott and his Team Porcubimmer during the run-up to the 24 Hours of LeMons race at Altamont, and some of you are probably wondering how it went for the "Pricks Outside" guys when the real deal went down. Well, we have good news and bad news for you: the good news is that the car looked amazing (as did the coordinated team outfits), but the bad news is that a cascade of mechanical woes kept the Porcubimmer off the track for much of the weekend. Fuel system, clutch, you name it. When it was on the track, however, it was fast; for a glorious- if regrettably short- time on Saturday, the spiky 325e was in the #1 position. Take heart, Porcubimmer fans- we're pretty sure we haven't seen the last of this car's angry face! [Porcubimmer.com]

The Top 50 Lemons Of The 24 Hours Of LeMons

Murilee Martin — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:00:00 EDT

We showed you the Top 44 Lemons at the Altamont race last October, followed by the Top 50 Lemons at Thunderhill in December, and now it's time to see the results from the Altamont race last weekend. Get any group of car freaks together, bring up the concept of the 24 Hours of LeMons, and you're sure to get endless debate about which cheap heaps should dominate. Well, here's where reality comes into play; this is how things actually played out on the track. We'll show the other 40 cars later on, when we put up the traditional LeMons Über-gallery, but for now it's time to examine the beaters, clunkers, and buckets that came out on top!

#1: Krider Racing - Death Proof
#2: Spirit of San Diego
#3: Motoring J Style
#4: Axles of Evel
#5: Box Wrench
#6: Pit Crew Revenge
#7: Tresulators
#8: Mother Cluckers
#9: Onset
#10: Team 60
#11: Fancy Junc
#12: Size Matters Chrysler
#13: Third Time's A Charm
#14: Dilligaf
#15: Black Metal V8olvo
#16: Duwey Chydum and Howe Taxi Co
#17: Red Bear
#18: Tokyo Auto Wreckers
#19: Eyesore Pimpin
#20: F1 BMW
#21: Chicks and Dicks
#22: Team Tread Lightly
#23: Team Tango
#24: Autobahn Society Racing
#25: Excalibur
#26: Group of Fools
#27: Jamaican Racing Team
#28: Bernal Dads Racing
#29: Lemon Warriors
#30: Delinquent Racing
#31: Cliché Racing
#32: Flying Hyundai
#33: Make:Way
#34: El Moto Loco
#35: Uber Vogel
#36: ZZ Uber
#37: Scuderia Punk Rock Chef
#38: Team 31
#39: Team California Mille
#40: No Power Rangers
#41: Volatile RAM
#42: The Flakes
#43: Volcano
#44: San Jose Scalawags
#45: Redemption Racing
#46: Carpet Pissers
#47: Turdlingua
#48: Autodenta
#49: Mustang Sally
#50: Down Under

1976 Audi Fox Wagon: Choice Of Discerning Pit Crew Members!

Murilee Martin — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:20:00 EDT

The cars driven by the team members and audience at the 24 Hours of LeMons race tended to be more interesting than what you'd see in your typical East Bay parking lot. I saw an AMC Hornet with a trunk-mounted computer, a small-block XJ6 with a wicked-looking hood scoop, and this very clean Fox wagon... which turned out to be owned by Shawn, a helluva good mechanic who showed up as a last-minute crew addition and proved incredibly useful in the Black Metal V8olvo pit action. That's Shawn fueling our car in the gallery below. I can't recall the last time I saw an Audi Fox in any condition, much less one this nice.

When You Go From 44th To 15th Place In Six Hours, You Get A Few Dings

Murilee Martin — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT

When racing started at Altamont on Sunday, we knew we had some catching up to do; thanks to overestimation of fuel consumption, some pit slowness, and a penalty incurred by yours truly (more on that later), we started the day in 44th place out of 90 cars. We had the power, we had the skilled drivers, and we had a block of Swedish steel that could shrug off hits from the biggest opponents. And, speaking of the biggest opponents, a certain bullying orange Plymouth fared quite badly in a series of paint-trading incidents with our own WhatWouldJesseDo; see that orange paint on the tire in the image above?

Don't Count Out Detroit: Chevy Finishes Second At LeMons!

Murilee Martin — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Last October, the highest-placed Detroit car at the 24 Hours of LeMons Altamont race was the Spirit of San Diego '81 Chevy Malibu, grabbing a not-too-shabby 20th place. This time around, minus the fins and plus some mean-looking black paint, a good ol' American V8/rear-drive machine has left all them furrin cars (save one) eating Detroit exhaust, as the Chevrolet drivers finished a mere three laps behind the #1 car. We're not sure what they changed (though the Malibu does appear to have wider, lower-profile rubber now), but it sure worked! By the way, I'm still working on the traditional Top 50 Cars and Über Gallery LeMons posts; you'll get 'em soon.

Court Summerfield, 1961-2008

Murilee Martin — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:20:00 EDT

Those of us at the 24 Hours of LeMons race on Saturday afternoon were beyond heartbroken when Court Summerfield died at the wheel of the Team Cant Am Volvo 242 Turbo. Not only was Court's death a major loss for the LeMons racing community, it was also a tough blow for the city of Alameda; he lived on the island and worked at Ole's Waffle Shop, which is as much a part of the city's soul as are old cars parked on the street. I hung out with Court before the race on Saturday morning and I'm still unable to believe that this could happen to such a nice guy and great driver. The words of his wife made us feel a little better, however: "It was really just something that he was happy doing. I'm sure the way he went, he was happy." Check out the Cant Am Volvo in action during happier times, at Altamont and at Thunderhill Photo credit, above: Gianna Babb [San Francisco Chronicle]

Yes, Those Were Vacuum-Operated Skulls On The Black Metal V8olvo's Roof

Murilee Martin — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT

With all the excitement of the race, I totally forgot to post photos of what the Black Metal V8olvo actually looked like by the time we had it all painted and bedecaled. Thing is, we didn't have time to apply the decals until we actually got the car to the racetrack. First of all, some commenters have wondered about the skulls mounted on the front edge of the car's roof. Those aren't just decorative skulls that just sit there. Hell, no! These are anatomically correct med-student skull replicas, and they're equipped with crowns of plumber's tape, Fiat indicator lights for eyes, and Dodge minivan vacuum motors operating the jaws! With high manifold vacuum (i.e., idling, cruising, decelerating), the vacuum motor pulls the skull's jaw shut; low manifold vacuum (i.e., gas pedal mashed to the floor) allows springs to pull the jaw open. I'll write up the fascinating details of how to build such important racing accessories for yourself, but for now let's check out the nice "before getting beat to hell" photos of the car.

We masked off the original Volvo blue paint for the vaguely Boss 302-influenced stripes and shot the rest of the car with black rattle-can paint.

Thanks to AFX Digital, we got some nice decals for the car, including these BØSS 3Ö2 emblems.

The car came with "Happiness Is A Scruffy Dog" license plate frames (front and rear), so we decided to keep the front one on the bumper.

And here's the car in action. I'll post a gallery of the Black Metal V8olvo in all its battle-scarred glory soon, very soon. That car brushed off some ludicrously hard hits that would have put flimsier machines out of the race for good, and it shows it.

Meet The Latest 24 Hours of LeMons Champions: Krider Racing Death Proof!

Murilee Martin — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:00:00 EDT

In the 24 Hours of LeMons race at Thunderhill last December, we watched a Nissan Sentra SE-R place fifth (if not for a wheel stud failure, they'd have done even better). We thought the Krider team members were pretty cool guys, so it was great to see them at Altamont; this time their ride was an Acura Integra with a grisly horror-movie theme. They drove consistently quick laps, didn't break down or get destroyed by a big Mopar, and their pit stops were very efficient... and now they've got a trophy to show for it. Congratulations, Krider Racing! Note: I forgot to mention that the team donated their prize money to a fund set up for the survivors of Court Summerfield.

Krider Racing Wins 2008 24 Hours of LeMons Race At Altamont

Ray Wert — Sun, 11 May 2008 20:22:43 EDT

The inaugural race of the 24 Hours of LeMons season just concluded and we're being told it looks like the winner's Krider Racing in their Integra. Murilee will have more shortly from Altamont but he predicts our very own Team Black Metal V8olvo will come in somewhere in the top 20. Give 'em all a round of applause for not only finishing after yesterday's tragedy, but for making all of us damn proud. Keep your eyes on our 24 Hours of LeMons Altamont tag for more coverage throughout the upcoming week. (Photo Credit: PK Kool via Flickr)

Just received the following text message ...

Ray Wert — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:48:57 EDT

Just received the following text message from Murilee: "[Team Black Metal V8olvo has] gone from 44th place to 19th so far today." Continue following the team's progress along with all our coverage here.

Looks like the MSM's finally gotten ahold ...

Ray Wert — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:40:03 EDT

Looks like the MSM's finally gotten ahold of the crash story at Altamont. Our expectation is the rest of the bandwagon will show up momentarily. Look boys, carnage! [CBS5]

Black Metal V8olvo Moving Up Through Ranks, But Taking A Beating

Murilee Martin — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:15:00 EDT

So we put in the Loverman followed by Viergangfuchs this morning and started knocking off some quick laps, passing like crazy and moving up to the 20s in the standings; Mr. Baruth has our best lap time, with 51 seconds. Now the Evil Genius is driving, and he's also fast as hell. However, the level of competition is getting ratcheted up, tempers are flaring a bit out there, and we're dishing out and receiving some damage in the heat of the action; the front suspension just needed some major toe adjustments after a bit of mutual metal grunching with our friend Xarg's Cavalier wagon. Sorry, guys! Meanwhile, the Porcubimmer, after leading for a while yesterday, has been de-quilled by various mechanical maladies; full report later.

Life, Racing Go On

Murilee Martin — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:15:00 EDT

There was definitely a sense of gloom hanging over the pits this morning, but just about everyone here felt that we ought to go out and have fun doing what the late Mr. Summerfield loved doing: racing. The number of cars out on the track is quite a bit smaller than what we had yesterday, as mechanical failures take their toll (though Jay Lamm's rigorous "don't hit each other" policy is working well, with not many cars getting sidelined by enduro-style damage). Team Black Metal V8olvo is now in Full Hammer Down Mode, with our fast drivers out there and our car rising in the standings (at last check, we were #34). Our goal: to be the fastest Swedish car! I may not have time to post for a while, as I'm on pit duty and my driving turn is coming up shortly, but will do my best.

Details, Driver Name Emerge In Tragic Altamont LeMons Crash

Ray Wert — Sun, 11 May 2008 13:52:52 EDT

While Murilee and the rest of Team V8olvo musters on with thoughts still on yesterday's tragedy at the 24 Hours of Lemons race at Altamont, we here at the Jalopnik Detroit bureau are lending a helping hand with coverage. We've just received news from the Gulf 39 team on the identity of their teammate behind the wheel of the Volvo 242 Turbo along with a little more detail on the preliminary on-scene investigation by the California Highway Patrol. We'd indicated to the team we only wanted to know the name after they'd had the opportunity to notify family, so although we're assuming that's been done already, we still wanted to make sure to include the name after the fold of this post to make certain it's been taken care of already. With that in mind — the short, but full, e-mail after the jump.

The CHP reported that the car was in working order. No mechanical failure seems to have appeared...the impact was estimated at 50 to 60 MPH...Cort Summerfield was 46 years old (02/01/1961)

Again, our deepest sympathies go out to Mr. Summerfield's family, friends and teammates and we fervently hope the accident doesn't harm what until this point was one of the great examples of grassroots motorsports in action.

Here's Why Yesterday's Fatal LeMons Crash Is So Hard To Believe

Murilee Martin — Sun, 11 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT

Something that really jumped out at everyone upon arrival in the Altamont pits yesterday morning was the incredible themes some- in fact, most- teams applied to their cars and costumes. Your typical art-car gathering -with its plastic army men glued to 80s GM G-bodies- would be put to shame by the decor on the race cars and drivers that we saw assembled at this race. Even previous LeMons events couldn't compare. How could anything bad happen at such a gathering? Sure, such a sentiment doesn't have very solid logic behind it- yes, racing can be dangerous- but when you see teams with themes as elaborate as the Eyesore Pimps (formerly known as Eyesore Racing), the tendency is to feel that the risk doesn't apply. All of us are going to show up at the track today and try to regain some of the sense of absurdity that we know and love about this event; will keep you posted.

Tragic Death Reported At Altamont 24 Hours of LeMons Race

Ray Wert — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:03:39 EDT

We all saw the report from Murilee just under an hour ago, and now we're hearing from numerous sources that the 24 Hours of LeMons race has taken a tragic turn. Our sources tell us the driver of the Volvo 242 Turbo in Gulf Oil colors (pictured above before the race, and below from the Thunderhill LeMons race last year) has died. We're waiting on more as we hear it from team V8olvo as well as others at the Altamont 24 Hours of LeMons. If this news ends up being true, our prayers, thoughts and well-wishes go out to the family, friends and teammates. All we do know for sure is that racing has been halted for the day and will supposedly resume again tomorrow. Although if it is true, that may just be wishful thinking. Updated below the jump — and with new photos below thanks to Mark Pitts.

MOST RECENT UPDATE: 01:27 PM EST - 05/11/2008

UPDATE: If you remember, the 242 Turbo was actually the inspiration for the choice of the V8olvo.

UPDATE #2: The V8olvo happened to be right behind the 242 Turbo when it crashed. We're told it went into the wall at speed which made our team think perhaps something happened before the crash to the driver.

UPDATE #3: We have confirmation from a source with close ties to the team that there was indeed a fatality. We are withholding the name and other identifying characteristics until we're given the OK from the family and team.

UPDATE #4: The folks over at Bryan's Message Board have been chronicling the adventures of "Team Porcubimmer" — as such, a few of the forum fan-boys (and girls) were in the stands at Altamont. Here's one of their recaps of what happened:

he shot forward and sped up right before the turn, and went head on into the wall. didn't break, didn't turn...i didn't see anyone bump him. best guess is that he passed out and his foot just acted like a lead weight... but that's just based on the fact that he blasted forward so suddenly and made a beeline for the wall...took them forever to get a fucking tarp up. i was up in the stands with my dad, and he was really upset that it took them so long to do that.

Yes, of course it's speculation — but the rest of the account helps provide more verification for what we've been told was seen out at the track.

UPDATE #5: We've just received the following e-mail from a team member of the victim of the crash with his name, age and a little bit more detail on what may have happened:

The CHP reported that the car was in working order. No mechanical failure seems to have appeared...the impact was estimated at 50 to 60 MPH...Cort Summerfield was 46 years old (02/01/1961)

Suddenly, Racing Is Not Fun Any More

Murilee Martin — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:00:00 EDT

I was just about to post on some teams' heroic repair sessions and show some fender-to-fender racing action, but then the thing we all fear happened: the Volvo 242 Turbo in Gulf Oil colors hit the wall, hard, and the driver was injured. They've had to cut the roof off the car and now they're extricating the driver; we'll let you know more when we hear about it. For now, pray to whatever gods, cosmic forces, etc. you can think of that this brave-ass racer comes out of it OK.

The Race Is On!

Murilee Martin — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:30:00 EDT

And here comes pride up the backstretch! I'm the next driver up, so this will be brief: right now our friends on Team Porcubimmer are in first place! Black Metal V8olvo is in "preserve the car" mode, so we're running in the middle of the pack now. The car seems to be doing all right, although those of you who predicted that the Mercedes-Benz radiator would leak have been proven correct (not a serious leak, fortunately, and we have a spare).

Black Metal V8olvo Gets Jalopnik Seal Of Approval

Ray Wert — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:54:05 EDT

As we told you earlier, the V8olvo's got a bunch of fancy new decals as the team finishes getting it ready to run in just a short while at the 24 Hours of LeMons at Altamont. Here's our favorite. Now wish 'em luck in the comments below.

Last Second Thrash, Race About To Begin!

Murilee Martin — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:30:00 EDT

We've spent the morning applying stickers, discussing driver strategy, and being hectored by Mr. Lamm about all the horrific penalties that await overly aggro drivers (in honor of Mother's Day, one penalty involves being forced to eat an entire meatloaf while another team member plays the role of the mother, hovering and shouting that the victim is the Least Favorite Child). I'm pretty busy now, but stay tuned for more live action when I get a breather! [24 Hours of LeMons and 24 Hours of LeMons Altamont coverage]