@xyleksoll: BMW tranny, stock Ford 9" with highway gears. It hunted between second and third every lap, yet held up to the end.

@BroncoMech: Oh no we won't. I tried to literally GIVE the car away after the race. After all, I have a half dozen other IOE cars to build! All I wanted was the money for the safety equipment (cage/seat/harness), which totaled about $950. Unbelieveably, nobody took me up on it! I didn't want to haul it home, but now…

@The Dead Inside Group of Companies Limited: Some examples (rare, original, restorable models) should be preserved for posterity, and our grandkids. Rusted-out cars headed to the crusher, after 28-year stints in collapsed sheds, with no structural steel remaining from the firewall back? LeMons gives them new life and…

@BenMGC-GT: Yep. Worked great, too, until the motor spun a bearing and locked up.

@mechimike: Yes, but with the Mark VIII.

@BroncoMech: Well, it may seem too easy on paper, but a week in 100 plus degree temps, cutting, welding, and wrenching with long sleeves directly in the direct hot sun for many hours a day was no picnic. We bought the donor 524TD for $360 a week before the race, hence the time crunch.

@cesariojpn: And we did it not once, but twice! Two Bimmer motors in a row in a vintage American car! We should be shot, or at least deported to Germany. Hmm. Beer, brats, and bodacious broads? Not too terrible a punishment!

@brian10x: I spent 2 years restoring on the concours rstoration (on a rotisserie) prior to caging it for LeMons. Best of Show Winner in both L.A. and Palm Beach!

@mechimike: That was the first of two. The second one was way better, but I think Murilee didn't realize I was gonna do it again, and didn't get video. I think it was pitiful, because I'm normally much smoother, but the T-bird has disconnected power steering, disconnected power 4 wheel drum brakes, and a BMW floor…

@Elhigh: In 8 LeMons races, we've never even come close to such great mileage. We did nearly 600 laps on probably 25 gallons of diesel! Not bad for 316k, and having it floored just about the whole time!

@shouldknowbetter: Planning for the Illinois race in October. Should be a helluva cool build, if we pull it off.

@Chuck Lindstrom: It's what brought me here, and now I read Jalopnik whenever I can. LeMons is the fastest growing series for a plethora of reasons! It's a total blast, it's real wheel-to-wheel racing on a shoestring budget, anyone can do it, it gives you a chance to build cars you never dreamed you'd build (like my…

Just now finding time to catch up on results! Congrats to Rocket Surgery Racing! Like us, they show up with a ludicrous home-built car that's not even close to ready, and yet they managed to finish the race. Great work!

The bar has indeed been raised.

@UDMan: I'm trying to figure out how to make it happen. Lodging, possible flight to Hartford, etc. I'll email you. Thanks for the incredibly generous offer! Are you sure the car will be ready?

@Piloter: If it had any windows, yes. Although my Yuga once had the window broken and my hidden CD's stolen. Who breaks into a Yugo looking for valuables? Seriously?

@new22003: It couldn't get much less reliable that way!

@Slave2anMG: Thanks. Praise like that almost makes the hundreds of hours spent before each race worthwhile. Almost. I gotta be outta my damn mind. IOE keeps eluding me, despite Herculean efforts by myself and my team! At least we are raising money for Susan G Komen/Breast Cancer Research...