Financial Irresponsibility, Needles, and Haystacks
I haven't raced in years, it's a waste of money, and it's a logistical nightmare to start from scratch.
But I'd rather be broke than bored. So, being impulsive and financially reckless, I decided start from scratch and build a race car... again
Since I'm not exactly flush with cash, it needs to be something cheap, but even the cheapest race-car will cost thousands to build properly. Thousands which I don't have.
However, if you have a few friends who love cars, you might be able to persuade them to pool their resources together and start a race team. So that's exactly what I did, and few weeks later they were all on board.
As a team, we decided on endurance racing, so everyone gets a chance to drive and there are a ton of events. 24 Hours of Lemons ended up being the closest and cheapest to enter, so we paid the entry fee and started looking for a car.
The budget was $1500. I scoured Craigslist and various forums for weeks, it was a complete shitshow. Anything we wanted was too expensive. Anything we could afford was either: slow, crashed, rusted, automatic, or had a few hundred thousand miles.
Eventually I stumbled across a suspiciously decent looking E46 330i.
I called the guy immediately and went to look at the car with one of my friends.
It definitely needed work (we'll get into that later), but it wasn't anything outrageous, and the accident on the Carfax wasn't major. It took some shrewd negotiation, but I was able to get him to take $1500 for it. We had our car.
Not that anyone actually gives a fuck, but here's a little backstory as to why this car was perfect for us:
The exterior was a mess. Rust spots on both rear quarter panels, both front and rear bumpers were damaged, and there more than a few scratches.... but then you open the door. It wasn't fresh off the production line, but everything was in immaculate shape. You're probably wondering why the interior is so important when it's just going to get ripped out. The main reason is because we can probably get another $1000 to part it out on Craigslist or Ebay. The front seats alone go for $400. Also, for 24 Hours of Lemons, the car is supposed to cost $500, which means we'll be spot on if we can make $1000 by selling the interior.
We may, or may not have, have slapped on an expired plate for the 40 minute drive back home
It's a trunk, nothing special to see here
But I'd rather be broke than bored. So, being impulsive and financially reckless, I decided start from scratch and build a race car... again
Since I'm not exactly flush with cash, it needs to be something cheap, but even the cheapest race-car will cost thousands to build properly. Thousands which I don't have.
However, if you have a few friends who love cars, you might be able to persuade them to pool their resources together and start a race team. So that's exactly what I did, and few weeks later they were all on board.
As a team, we decided on endurance racing, so everyone gets a chance to drive and there are a ton of events. 24 Hours of Lemons ended up being the closest and cheapest to enter, so we paid the entry fee and started looking for a car.
The budget was $1500. I scoured Craigslist and various forums for weeks, it was a complete shitshow. Anything we wanted was too expensive. Anything we could afford was either: slow, crashed, rusted, automatic, or had a few hundred thousand miles.
Eventually I stumbled across a suspiciously decent looking E46 330i.
Here's the original craigslist ad:
It definitely needed work (we'll get into that later), but it wasn't anything outrageous, and the accident on the Carfax wasn't major. It took some shrewd negotiation, but I was able to get him to take $1500 for it. We had our car.
Not that anyone actually gives a fuck, but here's a little backstory as to why this car was perfect for us:
The exterior was a mess. Rust spots on both rear quarter panels, both front and rear bumpers were damaged, and there more than a few scratches.... but then you open the door. It wasn't fresh off the production line, but everything was in immaculate shape. You're probably wondering why the interior is so important when it's just going to get ripped out. The main reason is because we can probably get another $1000 to part it out on Craigslist or Ebay. The front seats alone go for $400. Also, for 24 Hours of Lemons, the car is supposed to cost $500, which means we'll be spot on if we can make $1000 by selling the interior.
We may, or may not have, have slapped on an expired plate for the 40 minute drive back home
Inside the garage next to the hibernating 928
Some lovely aftermarket halo lights that rattle and aren't even close to level
On the bright side, all the gauges work and there are no CEL or warning lights
See what I mean about the interior?
It was almost a shame to ditch it all
Sunroof worked, but leaked.
Even came with the factory all weather mats.
It's a trunk, nothing special to see here
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