• 24 hours of lemons

    Real $500 Race Cars Have Manual Transmissions... And Inner-Tube Shifter Boots!

    When we started out to build a V8-powered Volvo 244 for the May 10-11 24 Hours of LeMons race, most of the team members assumed we'd be using the good ol' C4 automatic transmission. You know, automatics are way easier to swap, with no troublesome clutch linkage to futz with. But Crew Chief Hellhammer (formerly known as Dave) pointed out that he's built plenty of manual-equipped rods, and then he directed our attention to several Ford V8-compatible T-5 5-speeds (and no C4s) sitting in the weeds behind his shop (he's been working on a '57 Ford project, so his stash-o-parts is heavy on Ford running gear). With our minds filled with images of slushboxes overheating and dying at last year's Altamont race, we decided to go with three pedals instead of two... then held our collective breath when it came time to make it happen for real.
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    4:00 PM on Tue Apr 29 2008
    By Murilee Martin
    3,091 views, 52 comments

    Latest by HankelTransform: I know it's not the right year or model, but damn if this isn't a great name for a car: more »

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