This 1982 BMW 633CSi isn't burning any gas at the moment but I smell something…hope.
All those fancy racing teams you see on TV have large budgets to help power their multi-million dollar enterprises and successful racing seasons. Sure, their drivers have plenty of skill but their machines are purpose-built feats of engineering. What would happen if you forced these teams to compete in cars that cannot cost more than $500? Now replace "professional race car driver" with Main St Joe and what do you have? The 24 Hours of Lemons…
This BMW once prowled the SoCal streets while blasting Rush and looking for some B.U.M. Equipment wearing hottie.
First question you might be asking yourself is why did I buy a 1982 BMW 633CSi…Isn't that car sort of expensive? No, it is far from expensive seeing as it has dings, dents and scratches everywhere; the interior is torn apart; the radio is long gone; it has only 3 matching wheels; oh and it doesn't start at all.
This 3.2L engine once made 194hp but it is currently very quiet – for now.
The goal of the 24 Hours of Lemons is not to win the race; how do you even carry $1,500 in nickels anyway!? The goal is to finish safely and cleanly and complete the most number of laps. The event is supposed to be lots of fun with really great themes for each car.
The theme of our car, since it is a BMW 633CSi, is going to be CSI:MIAMI and we have lots of work to do to get it ready. I can guarantee you, however, that there will be lots of… dramatic pauses, followed by someone screaming. Our team name is Team Unknown Fluids, since our car will most likely drip something Bavarian that we can't identify, and the interior of the car is also most likely covered in, umm…. Let's just move on.
Stay tuned as I update this space with more word on our progress. We are aiming for the August 16th race at Buttonwillow which is 2 hours north of LA. We will also be creating a Team Unknown Fluids web site with more in-depth coverage and, quite possibly, a place to buy t-shirts or post gratuitous requests for donations.