According to LeMons Assistant Perpetrator Nick Pon, the Peugeot 504 sputtered to a halt and had to be pushed off the track two laps into transponder testing (which takes place at about 30 MPH, so you know that the weekend will be full of excitement for the Peugeot team if they can get the car out there during, like, real racing). The Team Craptation Chevy Citation X-11 lived up to all the advance billing and crapped out minutes later. The eagerly anticipated first-ever LeMons Datsun 510 fried its alternator and had to limp off the track, according to tweets from Team Knights Who Say Ni-ssan… whose 200SX has already lost an idler pulley. Not only that, the Team Crumpled Rusted And Pathetic Plymouth Laser just shed a wheel on the track, with unpleasant results.

On the positive side, UDMan's '63 Corvair hasn't missed a beat, continuing to rack up lap after lap. It's too early for Team Trailing Throttle Oversteer to start measuring garage shelf space for the Index Of Effluency trophy, but things are looking good for them so far. We'll be passing along photos and updates as they come in from Connecticut, so check in later!

At this point, all our European readers are no doubt sputtering "You ignorant American fools! The Peugeot 504, she is bulletproof!" Maybe so- hell, they made the things in Nigeria until just a couple years ago- and maybe my own painful experience as a 504 owner was just a bad dream. But, see, the Safari Taxi Company's Peugeot has the not-so-bulletproof PRV V6 under its hood (unless the team has found the time and budgetary room to mate a supercharged GM 3800 V6 to the Pug's torque-tube driveshaft), and that means these guys are already LeMons Legends!

You can head on over to WebRidesTV for LeMons Supreme Court Justice Lieberman's complete team list now, and there you will learn that the track at Stafford will be graced by some pretty impressive machinery. If the 200-proof effluent combo of the Corvair, the X-11 Citation, and the Peugeot 504 just isn't enough for you, take note of the first-ever LeMons Datsun 510 (more on that later), the three Alfa Romeo Milanos, and the 1974 Dodge Monaco.
We'll have a poll to see which car you think has the best shot at the IOE, and of course we'll have our usual You Guess The Effluent Laps contest. This time, just state the total number of laps you think the Corvair, the Citation, and the 504 will finish, combined. Last year, the winner racked up 1,151 laps, so you can use that as a (very optimistic) baseline when making your guesses. The contest winner will be sent a box of obsolete LeMons T-shirts from 2006 that nobody will buy at the races top-quality LeMons gear, courtesy of 24 Hours Of LeMons HQ.

That method worked wonders on the saleability of this Morris Minor Hell Project, and now we're seeing the cheesecake approach taken to new heights with the most decrepit awesome collection of Hell Projects we've ever seen offered by a single eBay seller. Looking for a '63 Ford Zodiac? Perhaps a '49 Salmson S461 is more your speed, or a '54 Austin A30. Whatever sort of obscure French, German, or British machine you might be seeking, German eBay seller Goldies-Boutique probably has what you need. The model, who may or may not be "Goldie," shows off an assortment of costumes while posing in a all the standard car-parts-calendar-style poses; we especially like the fetching grease smears on her face in the "Verdammt Citroën won't start!" shot. Now, there's always the danger that Max Mosley took one look at this tall, busty German woman posing in front of a '48 Panhard Dyna in a skimpy cop outfit and immediately bought all 23 Hell Projects… but you never know, you know?
[eBay Germany], thanks to Manic King Of Corinthia for the tip!

Madman Muntz was a genuine American legend, and he didn't just sell cars, car stereos, and TVs- he manufactured cars, car stereos, and TVs! His car was the Muntz Jet, a Cadillac V8-powered, heavily-modified Kurtis Kraft Sport, and it was quite the performer for its era. Only about 400 Muntz Jets were ever built, so you're probably wiping away a tear at the thought that you'll never own one. Dry your eyes, pal, because Thunder has found this 1953 Muntz Jet… and not just any Muntz Jet- this one bears The Madman's Stereo-Pak sponsorship lettering! It's rusty. Stuff is missing. The engine looks very bad. Replacement parts are made of Unobtanium-237. But someday you'll emerge from the sulfurous haze of your garage behind the wheel of your roaring Muntz Jet, proving all your doubters wrong (well, those who didn't live to age 90, as you'll need to do in order to finish this project).

You know what's wrong with the Muntz Jet as a Hell Project? It's not at all French! There's no hell like French Car Hell, and the best way to get serious about French Car Hell is to horrify your neighbors with the sudden appearance of a bunch of Peugeot basket cases diamonds-in-rough lined up in your driveway, front yard, and all available street parking in the neighborhood. How many Peugeots? We're talking 15 Peugeot 504s and a Peugeot 505 (go here if the ad disappears), and you can take 'em all home for just $4,800! They're all diesels, they all run, and they all have titles. Oh, sure, "the tires are bad and the brakes are mushy on some," but the seller has "alot of spare parts" (which may or may not be included in the deal). Imagine the possibilities here- you could do 16 different crazy engine swaps, starting with a Cadillac 500 and ending with a Cummins M11! Or restore them all and have a fleet of Peugeots that will drag you down serve you faithfully for the rest of your life. Thanks to Jon for the tip!

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Yesterday, we heard 24 Hours of LeMons official TheEastBayKid say that what they really want to see in the race is more French cars! That makes total sense, and so of course I started looking for such a car around here. You can often find cheap Peugeot 505s, but they're not crazy enough… but then how could anyone bear to trash this Peugeot 504 (go here if the ad disappears) on the racetrack? This car needs to be turned into a meticulously restored daily driver, we say! It's "rough all over," according to the seller, and the "engine has the head off but the head was just resurfaced," but you should see that as an opportunity! You see, it turns out the 505's engine bolts right into the 504, and that almost certainly doesn't mean must mean that the 505 Turbo engine bolts right in, too! Turbo 504! The owner doesn't know the year, which suggests that there's nothing in the way of registration paperwork for it, but you'll solve that along with all the other problems.

The 504 is a great car, all right- just ask any African mechanic- but wouldn't you like something a little more rare? Say, a Renault 12 wagon with the almost-unheard-of factory air-conditioning option? Man, if those AC parts are numbers-matching, you can pretty much name your price! That's what makes this $500 Renault 12 (go here if the ad disappears) such a sweet deal. The seller doesn't see fit to share the car's model year with prospective buyers, but the car does- or, more accurately, did- run and drive. It even comes with a spare transmission, because "it was said to have a transmission problem." It hasn't been started in "over a year" (probable translation: 19 years), and the front brakes "stick a little" (probable translation: you don't want to know), but the interior is "in good condition for age" and don't forget the factory AC!

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In Maribor, Slovenia - Europe.
The Peugeot is the same vintage as i am, a 78'. They sure don't make em' that way anymore.
As you can see on the first pics, we found the car near a peugeot dealer sitting in the grass. Apparently it's been there for about 10 years. The car immediately jumped to life after adding a new battery and a few drops of fuel into the carb, which was amazing considering how long it's been there. It was also mostly rust free.
It started its life as a green metallic car, but we decided to paint it the the blue color that our first 504 had. I remember to that day the moment i got my finger stuck in the door of that car when i was 5 years old.
The next set of pics was made today. As you can see from the interior shot, the car served my dad as a daily driver. Now he bought a new car and the Peugeot is on weekend duty only. Sadly, he is going to sell it (just in case anybody's interested).
The Mercedes was a quick buy. I don't even know where he got it. The paint was peeling off and it had some rust spots, but mechanically it was/is in excellent shape. The rust and paint have been fixed as can be seen from the pics. It's a 79' 2.3l gasoline model with original aluminum rims. It's a rare sight to see a w123 in such a good shape here. Most of them are diesels in very neglected conditions and are run on chip fat or heating oil instead of diesel.
I don't know what he'll do with it, but i hope he doesn't sell it.

Anyway that's it.
Best regards
nicjasno