By Jim Brennan
One of the most proficient teams competing within the many venues of the 24 Hours of Lemons is Speedycop and his team of crazies. If you have ever followed the antics of this team, you are left with more than a little “Shock and Awe” at what they produce as racing machinery. A few of their machines included a Pink Cadillac, A Rusty 1963 Thunderbird with a BMW V-12 (and later with a BMW Turbo-Diesel), A Pontiac Bonneville Donk (with 22″ Rims), and a Pop-Up Camping Trailer turned race car. So, what does a team build after winning 4 Index of Effluency‘s, 3.5 Organizer’s Choices, 2 Least Horrible Yank Tanks, an I Got Screwed, an Epic Repair Failure, a Class C victory, and a Judge’s Choice? Make the jump to find out…
This is a 1957 Cessna 310, and it is the next Lemons project for this legendary team. According to Speedycop himself:
Yes, you read that correctly. A Cessna, as in an actual airplane. Not just any old plane either, a sizeable twin-engine airplane from the fifties, a bygone era predating flight computers for such an aircraft. To fix the mechanical gauges mid-flight, you simply tapped on the glass cover until it produced a reading you agreed with. These planes are 27 feet in length, with a wingspan of 35 feet, and an empty weight of nearly 3,000 pounds. In other words, most definitely NOT a potential LeMons candidate, right? Well, okay, not in stock form, but then this forlorn-looking relic of aviation’s yesteryear no longer retains all of the accoutrements it was originally built with. Pesky, minor details have kept it on the ground since I was in diapers (the early seventies, if you must know). Little things like—oh, I don’t know—NO ENGINES, for starters. Then there’s the missing tail section, the damaged wings, and the total lack of seats. No matter how hardcore an aviation buff one might be, this bird is not a viable restoration candidate, short of being the only remaining 310 in existence. It’s not.
And he is looking for team members to help in the completion of this project, with a scheduled maiden voyage sometime around early 2013. Take a look at his posting at the 24 hours of Lemons Forum here, and tell me what you think about this latest hair brained idea.
Images Sources: Lead Image Collage from MurileeMartin.com Uber Gallaries. Cessna Images from DC Doug Flickr Gallery.
Jeff Glucker
Genius – so long as it's just another body donor for a Fiero. And I imagine the wings have to come off, or passing would be a little tricky. Can't wait to see what becomes of this latest insanity.
Racing an X-90 is already a tremendous feat. Racing an X-90 shoved into a trailer? I'm at lost for words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAgZktgNANk
A Cessna racer? That thing should fly!
Hmmm, they should advertise for members over on Atomic Toasters, lord knows that we have more aircraft geeks than we know what to do with. They'll probably want to install jet engines though. That's in the LeMons rules, right?
I believe that falls under the Dangerous, Unapproved, Experimental Technologies category, which they fully embrace. I'm not sure how much Cheatonium it takes to get that under the $500 cap, but it'd be worth it, even with infinite BS laps.
Very interested to see where the wheels will go.
I'm sure it would still be interesting, but I'm hoping they're not just going to drop the plane body on an existing ladder frame. Although that would be the only plan I can see falling within the bounds of reason, these are not boundaries Speedycop usually works inside of.
A couple of functioning gas-turbine engines that cost less than $500 would definitely fall under the 'dangerous' category. Still, it could work with the right driver/pilot. How crazy is the driver, I wonder?
What happened to the $500 limit on the cars? (not counting safety stuff). I mean there's no way some of these babies follow that rule. A SINGLE 22" wheel is more than that…
I also am unsure how a 22" wheel counts as safety equipment.
Wheels and tires are budget exempt. That whole set of 5 matching used 22's with worn tires (into the wear bars, failed inspection) cost me $400 on CL (they were on a Range Rover). The car cost me $300. The paint cost me $30. We ran those worn tires for both races. I also paid $300 for the T-bird, which had 3 gallons of Bondo hiding most of the bigger holes. The Caddy I paid $580 for from my neighbor. The X-90 was $500. Any more questions?
-Speedycop
Oh, and the camper was free from the junkyard. We had to give back the frame, and make our own sides/roof.
You clearly haven't met Speedy or followed along with this madman's adventures!!
It's like… WIZARDRY!!
(Plus they sweat the $500 for cheaty cars, not so much for those utterly ridiculous)
Proof that Speedycop is genuinely nuts.
Not nuts in the cool, awesome way. Nuts in the legally insane, "not fit to stand trial" sort of way.
Yep. Batty. But really entertaining in a 'Will we make it?' "No guts no glory" kinda way.
I think he brings a truly mental interpretation of the spirit of lemons…
HEY! I resemble that remark!
The overall appearance, seen from the front, rear and sides, must correspond to that of the bike homologated for use on public roads. Thanks. statement of purpose for mba