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 Last weekend was the second race of ChumpCar 2013. I know we've got a handful of people here involved in one way or another, so why not have a thread? If you don't know, ChumpCar is an endurance race series where your car's value sans safety equipment is capped at $500. It's intended to be low-budget, high seat-time fun. Most events are two 7-hour races on a weekend, and there's a lot of 24-hour and other length races mixed in as well. Hosted on tracks all over the country. Teams are generally 4-8 people. The 14 hour race at Road Atlanta in February had almost 70 entries! This is my first year attending a race, and I'll actually be volunteering at least twice. Once at Road America on April 20-21, and again at Brainerd International in July. Maybe I'll pop back for the October Road America race as well, who knows? Then, if I like it, I'm hoping to get a team together late this year so we can race next year (or 2015...). Are you going to any events? What are you driving? What are you looking forward to?
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| # ? Mar 19, 2013 21:24 |
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| # ? May 23, 2013 08:27 |
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 Hi. I'm parid and I'm a chumpaholic. Its been 68 days since my last chumpcar race. I race a 87 rx7 on the west coast. The very first chump car race in october of 09 was my first wheel to wheel driving and I haven't left since. Raced with Free Range in their mr2 then started my own team, Apex of Failure. We have 4 podiums (2 with rat race, 1 with chump car, 1 in class a of lemons) and 2 wins (rat and chump). My blog is at http://www.roadtochumpcar.com I also was part time staff for the west coast team (read: I just spent a lot of time helping). Used to do IT and timing and scoring but it became too much of a job and was detracting from the racing. I just pitch in where I can now. You will likely find me in the tech line trying to explain the value rules to people. I love the community. The west coast teams and staff feel like family now. We are extremely lucky to have the events we do. Looks like I can't find drivers for portland. Our team has a bad history there and no one is motivated to deal with it. So I fear our next event won't be til the 36hr on July 4th in Spokane. We still have a 2 race mov penalty which would have been served at portland were we to go. The math for Spokane is brutal something like 20 penalty laps. If you are starting a team or want to come checkout an event, you are always welcome to come hang out with us. parid fucked around with this message at Mar 20, 2013 around 02:30 |
| # ? Mar 20, 2013 02:15 |
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parid posted:Looks like I can't find drivers for portland. Our team has a bad history there and no one is motivated to deal with it. So I fear our next event won't be til the 36hr on July 4th in Spokane. We still have a 2 race mov penalty which would have been served at portland were we to go. The math for Spokane is brutal something like 20 penalty laps. I'm in Portland. What do you need out of a driver? email at: sterndotstern at google's mail. I've been quite interested in getting a ChumpCar team together with some of the guys I currently kart with, but there is only tepid interest due to life committments. I raced with NASA in the Honda Challenge heyday of 2004-6 but sold my car, trailer, and truck when I moved here. I desperately miss the excitement of a race weekend and would love to come check it out. Stardotstar fucked around with this message at Mar 20, 2013 around 17:54 |
| # ? Mar 20, 2013 17:49 |
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Hi, I'm DJ Commie and I race in Chumpcar too. I made the move from LeMons after disagreeing with their lackluster management of penalties and the unsafe numbers of cars on track. I've only raced with Chumpcar at Laguna Seca, but that is a rare privilege to have done 3 times (2 DNFs) and was an awesome time on a storied track. The team runs a 1989 Daihatsu Charade, with a Daihatsu Rocky engine and some eBay coilovers. Its faster than it sounds, ran a 1:55.1 on track before a transmission failure took us out of contention. We're skipping Laguna Seca this year (its at the end of the month and I don't have time) and instead running Chumpcar's 24 hour race at Buttonwillow Raceway on April 20-21st. It won't be our first Buttonwillow race, but our first with Chumpcar and our first 24 hour race. I'm definitely excited, and more than a bit nervous! 
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| # ? Mar 20, 2013 18:05 |
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DJ, what are you doing for headlights? A lot of people get that wrong for their first night race.
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| # ? Mar 21, 2013 02:15 |
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Stardotstar posted:I'm in Portland. What do you need out of a driver? email at: sterndotstern at google's mail. I've been quite interested in getting a ChumpCar team together with some of the guys I currently kart with, but there is only tepid interest due to life committments. I raced with NASA in the Honda Challenge heyday of 2004-6 but sold my car, trailer, and truck when I moved here. I desperately miss the excitement of a race weekend and would love to come check it out. I'd love to get more drivers but... Not at Portland. We have had 4 good wall hits there. One was a total chassis loss, two mostly cosmetic, and another that required front frame rail repair. It just isn't worth it for me to risk the car for that race. I don't know why, but I feel better about people I know that I have watched race my car before. Last time I did an arrive and drive, it didn't go well. May or may not have been his fault. Super nice guy, lots of alphabet experience, but it left me "once bit". You would be more than welcome to come check out the event though. I'd be happy to get you a tour of how we do things. See if you are still interested.
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| # ? Mar 21, 2013 02:21 |
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parid posted:DJ, what are you doing for headlights? A lot of people get that wrong for their first night race. Factory headlights with some cutoffs painted on the lenses.
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| # ? Mar 21, 2013 03:47 |
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Hi, I'm General_Failure and I have nothing to do with ChumpCar. Can we expect to see some build and race threads on cars? I really enjoyed DJ Commie's Daihatsu build and would like to see what others may be putting together, even if it is after the fact so super secret info isn't given away.
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| # ? Mar 21, 2013 04:30 |
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I race with JAB in the #88 Golf GTi - 2012 Central Region FWD Champions!* Looks like we're now sitting out Road America in April, but will be at Brainerd in July and Road America in November. I also write about our experiences as and when I get the chance: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2011/04/ars-goes-racing/ http://www.autoweek.com/article/201...rlove/120719948 http://blog.axisofoversteer.com/201...a-meltdown.html *Not an official ChumpCar title but we beat every other FWD car at the Regional Chumpionship and would have beaten every non-BMW had it not been for some dicks in an Escort wagon and some avoidable contact.
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| # ? Mar 21, 2013 16:19 |
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It's as official as the "real" awards anyway. It's is about as informal racing as it gets. I thought about starting a build thread, but it felt redundant to the blog. DJ Commie posted:Factory headlights with some cutoffs painted on the lenses. You aren't going to like that very much. I'd recommend at least adding two spot lights and crossing them in the front to use as apex lights. You probably won't need the cutoffs painted on their either. Ideally, all four lights would be replaced with something brighter that throws farther. Even cheap off-road spot light stuff from your local discount parts store at $25 would be better than nothing. The light rules are a little vague this year. I'd recommend familiarizing your self with them. The one thing that is clear is that "retrofitting" hids isn't allowed anymore. What isn't clear is what is a "factory retrofit" and if that's allowed.
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| # ? Mar 21, 2013 17:13 |
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Duck tape some flash lights to the hood.
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| # ? Mar 21, 2013 17:18 |
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parid posted:It's as official as the "real" awards anyway. It's is about as informal racing as it gets. I have some really nice Hella FF1000 driving lights, which I'd probably pair up as the apex lights you mentioned with the factory headlights, they are pretty good and glass. Defaulting to Daniel Stern Lighting as an information source should be their first recommendation, then a very specific denial of HID setups in anything but HID designed lamp fixtures. Halogen projectors are not made for HID light output patterns. Nothing is worse than HIDs in a fixture not specifically designed for them. Honestly, it should be an automatic failure to have HIDs in anything but HID designed fixtures, no exceptions. They actually should ban all "Chinese eBay" HID setups, their color output is awful, they contribute to electrical fires, and are specifically designed to be put into fixtures not meant for them. Preoptopus posted:Duck tape some flash lights to the hood. They'd survive an electrical system failure, at least.
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| # ? Mar 21, 2013 17:23 |
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I watched the geometro gnomes struggle through a night race once. The motorcycle alternator wasn't enough to keep their headlights running. They slowly dropped down from 4 lights to 1 or 2 and still had a lot of extra pits due to issues. I bet they would have liked some taped flashlights at that point  .The hellas should work great. They ask all glass be taped in case of accident so you might want to take care of that early. Clear packing tape works, but clearbra material works the best. Don't forget about the standardized number plates and number plate lights either. They are 100% required now. I'm past worrying about what the rules "should be" or how they could be made "better". That's a black hole for effort and nothing good will come of it. I just want them to be clear now so I can decide whats best for my team and hopefully have less pissed off people to work with in the tech line. My plan for spokane will likely be take off projectors and hids from some modern luxury car.
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| # ? Mar 21, 2013 18:25 |
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Preoptopus posted:Duck tape some flash lights to the hood. Actually saw this at an ALMS night race in Phoenix. I think they eventually were black flagged.
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| # ? Mar 21, 2013 19:19 |
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parid posted:I watched the geometro gnomes struggle through a night race once. The motorcycle alternator wasn't enough to keep their headlights running. They slowly dropped down from 4 lights to 1 or 2 and still had a lot of extra pits due to issues. I bet they would have liked some taped flashlights at that point Lincoln MkVIII had an HID option and they are everywhere. I installed the stock headlights, will be using these 80/100W Halogen bulbs and either the stock 55W or put in some 100W H1 bulbs in the F1000s. I'm definitely thinking Clearbra or knockoff, packing tape is awful and lessens light output considerably. Thing is that Chumpcar (and LeMons) haven't evolved enough to really have a set up rulebook like SCCA and NASA have for their club racers, and since they technically follow those rulebooks, they really should take them at face value for their intent to create a safe, workable, and fair environment. I find the LeMons and Chumpcar rules extremely lacking in technical information and restrictions. Where do I get the number plates and lights? Also I remember something about registering a team number for the year, is that still in effect?
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| # ? Mar 21, 2013 21:05 |
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I went through one of those 80/100 H4 bulbs in about a month of daily driving. Bring spares.
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| # ? Mar 21, 2013 21:39 |
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10.7.2.2. No single headlight shall exceed 60W for H3 or H4 bulbs, or 35W for H.I.D. bulbs. 55 watt it is  .You can contact cathy and ask for a number assignment for the whole year. I think there is a sticky thread in the NW section of the forums with all the taken numbers. There is some kind of informal 100-200 range for "out of region" people so they just have to add 1's. 10.5.3.5. Number backgrounds can be ordered and are available EXCLUSIVELY from http://www.vro.com in the US, and from http://www.streetrateparts.com in Canada. http://www.vro.com/chumpcar-number-...ghts-p-399.html I know what you're going to say, don't get me started. If you don't have time to order them online, there will be sets available in the tech line at an unknown cost. I find the friday night before a race EXTREMELY busy as it is, so I try to limit the amount I have to do when I get to the track. parid fucked around with this message at Mar 21, 2013 around 22:20 |
| # ? Mar 21, 2013 22:17 |
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parid posted:10.7.2.2. No single headlight shall exceed 60W for H3 or H4 bulbs, or 35W for H.I.D. bulbs. Luckily I don't use H3 or H4s  , not to mention a 35W HID far exceeds even a 60W halogen light's output. Its this kind of stuff that has its wording minimized in the worst ways, and makes all sorts of issues. edit: holy poo poo I have to use one of those bigass batteries they provide? So much for my 10lb battery 
DJ Commie fucked around with this message at Mar 21, 2013 around 22:31 |
| # ? Mar 21, 2013 22:21 |
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So it's a car that is VALUED at $500 - do they go by KBB or what?
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| # ? Mar 21, 2013 23:44 |
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Astonishing Wang posted:So it's a car that is VALUED at $500 - do they go by KBB or what? Chumpcar uses a scheme called Average Internet Value (AIV). Basically, you present a few examples of your race car from Craigslist/eBay/Autotrader that as similar to your car as possible and (hopefully) under $500. Performance modifications add to this value as well. My car had no AIV example papers (Charades for sale are rare and either $200 or $1500), valued at $400 by an inspector Aluminum radiator, header, and coilovers were all performance enhancing and added up to $150 of 'value added', so I get 5 penalty laps for the $50 over AIV+parts, being over $500. The rules explain it, but they are not exactly the best wording for something that is reasonably simple. http://www.chumpcar.com/downloads/chumpcar-rules.pdf
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| # ? Mar 22, 2013 00:12 |
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I would love to do ChumpCar, but the nearest event to me is in Spokane (9 hours away), and being in Alberta, I doubt there are any teams anywhere near here. Hopefully when (if) they get the new track built north of town, we might get a ChumpCar race again. That said, there is always the temptation to buy into one of the existing goon teams and fly down to where ever for the race; that is, if any of you would be interested in a total novice racing driver.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2013 00:20 |
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MrChips posted:I would love to do ChumpCar, but the nearest event to me is in Spokane (9 hours away), and being in Alberta, I doubt there are any teams anywhere near here. Hopefully when (if) they get the new track built north of town, we might get a ChumpCar race again. There's a team that drives down to Central region races from Saskatchewan so I wouldn't be surprised. Have you looked at the Chumpcar forums?
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| # ? Mar 22, 2013 00:23 |
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I drive racecar! Oopsie!  Everything is broken.  The pinion bearing was shot. We put fresh diff clutches in while we were at it. Not shown: Metal flakes in oil filter. We have 4 weeks to rebuild the engine before Road America. User Error fucked around with this message at Mar 22, 2013 around 01:27 |
| # ? Mar 22, 2013 01:25 |
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MrChips posted:I would love to do ChumpCar, but the nearest event to me is in Spokane (9 hours away), and being in Alberta, I doubt there are any teams anywhere near here. Hopefully when (if) they get the new track built north of town, we might get a ChumpCar race again.  Sounds like you might be in ICE RACING territories! http://forum.chumpcar.com/index.php...ver-black-lake/
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| # ? Mar 22, 2013 01:35 |
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Astonishing Wang posted:So it's a car that is VALUED at $500 - do they go by KBB or what? The basic idea is that someone could reasonably buy a car like yours for $500. You are providing some documentation to show that this is possible. What you actually paid is irrelevant. Got a good deal or a bad deal? Doesn't matter. Cars that "win" the AIV game are extremely common and are often found broken and worthless. Dodge Neons have a ridiculously low AIV. How much do you think a mold covered 180k mile neon with no windows and no title is worth? Yeah find 10 of them and you have your baseline. Cars that loose this game are rare, valuable at any state, and sought after. Think manual Honda CRX Si. For 2014 they are compiling a database and will set a value for all cars based on the documentation people are providing this year. It will set a more predictable playing field. Although, the downside is that its down to the same rule maker that produced this vaguely worded rule book to also agree to and set the values. It's a bit of a toss up. At least next year you won't have to do "craigslist homework" and the guy next to you in the same car has the same value.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2013 01:42 |
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I'm NitroSpazzz and I'm a ChumpCar addict. My first event was the October Road America event last year, met drgitlin and did an arrive and drive thing with my friends that run North Loop Motorsports. Now Dad, three friends and I are putting the finishing touches on a convertible E30. I think the team name is Missing Link Motorsports, we'll be running three events this season. I might also fly out West and do a race with DJ Commie at some point. ColdPie posted:This is my first year attending a race, and I'll actually be volunteering at least twice. Once at Road America on April 20-21, and again at Brainerd International in July. Maybe I'll pop back for the October Road America race as well, who knows? Then, if I like it, I'm hoping to get a team together late this year so we can race next year (or 2015...). These are the three we're running so come say hi. I'll be the young and hopefully fast guy on the team.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2013 13:41 |
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If you guys ever do anything within a couple of hours of San Diego let me know! I've just become interested in how cars work over the last year or so, and I love to get my hands dirty.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2013 15:07 |
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Is there anyone here running at Portland next month? I'm planning on attending and would love to see some goon cars while I'm there.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2013 20:10 |
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I'm running with the RPNW First Gen, should be fun
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| # ? Mar 22, 2013 22:47 |
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CHUMPCAR IDEA: C3 Corvette.
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| # ? Mar 29, 2013 01:41 |
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ultimateforce posted:CHUMPCAR IDEA: C3 Corvette. Cheap parts but no $500 C3 would be any good, not that even one costing more would be.
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| # ? Mar 29, 2013 03:53 |
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Geo Prizm with a 4AGE swap? I think I might build a 2nd gen Integra when I get everything else in my life sorted (mostly the Miata).
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| # ? Mar 29, 2013 04:21 |
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DJ Commie posted:Cheap parts but no $500 C3 would be any good, not that even one costing more would be. I am trying to get my neighbor to sell me the one he found in his back yard for $200.
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| # ? Mar 29, 2013 04:23 |
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Phone posted:Geo Prizm with a 4AGE swap? There was a factory one, the Prism GSi. ultimateforce posted:I am trying to get my neighbor to sell me the one he found in his back yard for $200. Even in the era of the worst cars ever made, the C3 is even worse for being vastly overrated as a car.
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| # ? Mar 29, 2013 04:35 |
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DJ Commie posted:There was a factory one, the Prism GSi. They're somewhat difficult to find, but would easily pass through any scrutineering.
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| # ? Mar 29, 2013 06:55 |
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ultimateforce posted:I am trying to get my neighbor to sell me the one he found in his back yard for $200. It doesn't matter how much you pay for your actual car, you have to be able to show that you could find $500 (or less) examples of that same model relatively easily.
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| # ? Mar 29, 2013 12:32 |
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Yeah I understand the value rule and if people can get away with using E36es I think I can make it.
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| # ? Mar 29, 2013 12:36 |
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Our car runs and drives under it's own power, it also came out lighter than I expected. I'm counting down the days before driving up to WI for the Road America race and the cars debut. Apparently one of the guys has gone nuts and just picked up a large enclosed trailer so we'll have a nice place to hide if the weather is poo poo. Yes it is street legal and yes it has been terrorizing a small Wisconsin town for the last couple days. Dad might also be commuting in it...though he has some cheap all season tires mounted for that. NitroSpazzz fucked around with this message at Mar 31, 2013 around 14:14 |
| # ? Mar 31, 2013 14:12 |
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There is some leeway given to old uncompedative chassis, triumphs, mgs, ext. Seems like a c3 would fit in that category. That leeway will go away quickly if you put nice parts on it.
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| # ? Mar 31, 2013 14:39 |
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| # ? May 23, 2013 08:27 |
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So, any goons in North East Ohio who want to do Nelson Ledges on July 13th? I've got a Volvo 240 that is just asking for a reason to put roll cage in. Also July 13th is my birthday and I can think of no better way to spend it than racing an old Volvo. PM me or email me at my username 820@gmail.com
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| # ? Mar 31, 2013 15:33 |
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