By Eric Rood
I’ve never prided myself on being very photogenic, but occasionally a camera just captures me, as this Murilee Martin shot did: Man and his mannequin. Unkempt beard. Haphazardly knotted tie. Bottomless nostrils. Eyes gazing off toward the barren middle distance somewhere between blind exuberance and utter panic.
Yes, that is a photo of me, mere hours before my first 24 Hours of LeMons experience turned into a cascade of failures that included, in no particular order, a mud-and-grime-caked trackside engine swap, Brazilian cheesebread, many furrowed brows, and the occasional curse-laden description of the weekend-in-progress to a forlorn NPR reporter.
This photo marks in my life a turning point, at which time I contracted a disease as infectious as consumption or Bieber Fever. In the medical field, it’s known as cerebri excrementum, or “crapcan brain.”
Symptoms may include neck spasms from craning the neck to see that rusty ’83 Corolla three lanes over, loved ones’ weariness of the phrase “That would be a great racecar,” unexplained lust for non-GLH Dodge Omnis, and chronic CraigsList combing. The final symptom may be most troublesome for many, who consider the phrase “ran when parked” a challenge rather than an obfuscation of actual running order.
For this writer, the cure for crapcan brain was evident: Start a blog, The Rusty Hub, and write about crapcans. The Rusty Hub was born as a means of telling not only the stories of low-buck endurance machines and the races in which they run, but also of the tales of the sordid and uniquely insane people behind them.
Now, those stories of weekend warriors and the rusty heaps they rode in come to Hooniverse, the perfect community to embrace the winding and occasionally oil-slicked circuits of the 24 Hours of LeMons and ChumpCar World Series. Check back and I’ll have the usual Rusty Hub fodder that the hoons crave: race previews and recaps, features, analysis, interviews, incongruous bits of automotive trivia, and some more surprises along the way.
[Photo: Murilee Martin]
Jeff Glucker
Welcome, fellow earth resident!
From that angle, you appear to be my better-dressed and (therefore more evil?) doppelganger.
Congratulations! Moar LeMons content is good.
Here is some Hudson Hornet in car video to celebrate.
http://youtu.be/gFFxhT5_b-M
That. Sound.
LeMons and Chump Car coverage on Hooniverse? Awesome! And welcome from Oakland!
[youtube gTRTiOZji6g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTRTiOZji6g youtube]
Video is unrelated.
I wish there were more whistle tips, but that video is alright, I guess.
Yeah, they're not common anymore, they're kind of illegal, and most California law enforcement agencies seem to take a certain joy in cracking down on illegal modifications.
(I drive that stretch of highway regularly, they probably are doing donuts because the Raiders won or some such. It's right by the stadium.)
How was Boston?
I may bring a magma red Mercedes-Benz C320 RWD wagon to the next (and final) Seconds Saturdays.
The Boston trip went well. My company's office is out there, so I was traveling on business (when did I turn into an adult?). I did get to go kayaking with a friend on the 14th (Sunday). We made it out to Georges Island for lunch and spent an hour poking around the star fort there. It was great. It was also good to meet the various new folks at the office, and I got some good work done.
Does the Merc have the OM642 (diesel) or the M112? I will definitely be at the August Seconds Saturdays.
The wagon in the States came only with 2.6 and 3.2 liter M112 petrol engines.I'm hoping to find one with a manual transmission but I don't think they sold those here.
I must have been thinking of the E320, which was sold here as a diesel. Wikipedia thinks the manuals exist, but that the take rate on them was miniscule. Good luck on finding one.
Oh, and Boston was hot and humid all week. The overcast cold weather we've had the last couple of days has been awesome.
I just did some more sleuthing. The manual transmission was available for the C320 RWD wagon in 2003. That's it.
Welcome! Aside from your delusionally optimistic assessment of my SAAB's chances at The Ridge, your writing seems spot-on. I'm looking forward to more.
ha!
Welcome! I've enjoyed reading TRH before, and I just drove in my first LeMons race a few weeks ago, so I'm looking forward to the additional coverage.
Stu, what did you drive????
The ZomBee!
Watch out. That car is one helluva gateway drug.
Are you in the PNW? Seems like we're approaching some sort of critical mass of Hoons* in the greater Seattle/Portland (Cascadia?) area. Regardless, welcome!
*not to be confused with the Hoonimas holiday.
Midwest. Grew up on the edge of flyover territory and live near Chicago now.
Ah ha, I knew I had met you somewhere! You're one of the two fellows that explained to me the glorious benefits of the vertical intake. (LIKE ON PLANES!!!111!) Welcome, your nostrils truly precede you.
That should read "glorious benefits," pretty sure.
By the way, that other fellow writes for Grassroots Motorsports Magazine and just got to drive an Ariel Atom last weekend. But I'm not jealous or anything.
Welcome, Eric. Looking forward to your stuff.
Enjoy this bit of tomfoolery.
[youtube Wo9OyZgGSu0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo9OyZgGSu0 youtube]
The Jackass crew are nothing if not persistent. They should probably build a LeMons car.
I find I like them much better when they're overdubbed in what sounds like Italian.
Welcome! I look forward to your articles. Next time you see Murilee Martin, please tell her hello for me.
This can only end goodly. Welcome!
Welcome, Eric! I must say, your blog definitely helped provide some inspiration for us to build The Homer.
That is the greatest compliment I have ever received.
haha, good. We checked all over the web to see if anyone had built The Homer for LeMons before, and that's how I first ran into your blog, and have been reading ever since.
We just didn't realize that nobody had ever built The Homer ANYWHERE before, so it took us by total surprise when it went viral.