What are the rules for stuff/parts you have in your garage?

I don't know how this flies, but I wanted a shot at the challenge.  Picked up an 08 mustang for $1500 bucks.  The history of the car is spotty.  Apparently, it was a Florida car that made it up to Maine and sat forever.  The guy I bought it from has his own junkyard and the car sat forever.  He was going to LS swap it, but realized he was never going to get around to it.  The car is beyond filthy, with some dents here and there from being hit by his snow plow.  The brakes and tires are shot, I have no idea what they did after they ripped the stereo out, but there are some interesting industrial wires in the trunk.  Surprisingly there is only one torn thing in the interior.  I think the interior will clean up nicely.  (pictures to follow)

The guy came down from $2000 after I told him about the challenge.  He had always wanted to do a lemons race.  The BIG issue(s) with the car is how many codes it is throwing.  Before I bought it, I checked with a knowledgeable friend who thinks there is a loose wire or ground, or someone really screwed up the Maf sensor.  It's all centered on o2 and fuel.  He thinks I just need to really go through it.  The car also had some animal live in the engine compartment, so the air filter, etc could have a  nest in it.  I thought for that price, I just wanted to get the car home.

Since the car is only a six cylinder,  it won't be competitive for the drag race, but auto cross and concours?  With my detailing super skills, I think I could bring the interior back to used car lot beauty.  The dents on exterior could be fixed and look good for the duration of the challenge.  Or does anyone get points for interesting "repairs"? 

So, I have paint and bondo already in my garage for other cars.  Does that come off the budget?  Since I do not know how this will go, can I use other parts that came off my v8 mustang during the years?  All the parts that came off that car are the stock parts that I have saved.

So, I'm not sure what will be what with this car, but I am going to try my best to stay in budget so I can do the challenge if time allows.  It is either going to go the way my friend  thinks  or be another purchase that should have had a PPI.

If you dont have a receipt for the part you use, then you need to FMV the part, but you only need to account for what is actually used on the car. So if you only use 1/3 gallon of paint, then figure out the FMV for a gallon and take 1/3 of it etc. 

Bondo is similar, though it can be hard to identify exactly how much is on the car since the whole point is to sand most of it back off. 

People have argued in the past that the hardeners evaporate and therefore aren't on the car during the competition and thus don't need to be budgeted for, whether you do that or not is up to you. 

Looks like a good score regardless!

Since it's a common mistake to assume Concours is like a car show and therefore a detailed/clean car will do well I want to point out the rules:

Concours:

Cars will be parked in a centralized location, with hoods, trunks and doors opened for the judges and competitors to view. Entrants will have 3 minutes maximum to present their cars and share their story with the judges. We’ve compiled a list of of open-ended questions (view them here) that entrants may use to help present their cars if they haven’t prepared their own presentation. One minute of bonus time may be awarded by the judges. Cars will be judged on innovation, execution and presentation, and scoring will be as such:

Innovation: 0-10 points

Execution: 0-10 points

Presentation: 0-5 points

“Innovation” covers things like design, engineering, creativity and modifications.

“Execution” covers things like perceived safety, cleanliness, workmanship and attention to detail.

“Presentation” covers things like originality, theme, showmanship, team spirit, moxie, chutzpah, backstory and anything else that falls under the heading of “je ne sais quoi.”

Notice that "cleanliness" is just one word out of many.

As someone who has been a judge for the challenge, Stampies HINT above is something to pay attention to. There were plenty of cars the years I judged that could have been cleaner, but the story is a big point item for me. I would make sure the detailing you do is somehow documented with before/after pictures or something. The concours judging allows about 3 minutes for each car, so practice until you can do it in your sleep and cover everything that the judges will not easily see.

stafford1500 said:

As someone who has been a judge for the challenge, Stampies HINT above is something to pay attention to. There were plenty of cars the years I judged that could have been cleaner, but the story is a big point item for me. I would make sure the detailing you do is somehow documented with before/after pictures or something. The concours judging allows about 3 minutes for each car, so practice until you can do it in your sleep and cover everything that the judges will not easily see.

Thanks for this.  I was also going to ask if "theme" cars are a thing, but I know this isn't Lemons.  Sadly, the pictures don't do it justice on the dirt.  I was going to post more, but it just doesn't show it. Hopefully the repairs will be under budget.  If  tires weren't exempt, this thing would never fly.  It would be nice to bring this car back.

In reply to thedoc :

Theme would come under Presentation which accounts for 5 possible points of the theoricial total possible points of 25.

If you haven't already, make sure you read the rules. They should answer your original question. 
 

https://2000challenge.com/rules

Would love to see more "as found" pictures. A theory that MIGHT work, is to document how dirty it is, and clean it as little as posable... with an explanation - or something...

That is the worst looking newer mustang I've ever seen... It's also the very best looking newer mustang for 1500 I,ve ever heard of! Great score.

If you do go all out detailing, like was mentioned, document EVERYTHING, comparing to as found.

Wish you were closer to Lower Alabam'; I think that is an excellent first challenge start.

I can put more pictures up, I'm just not good at it.  Truthfully, they do not show how dirty the car is.  This is all going to depend on if the engine is a simple fix.  I'm hoping to get into it this weekend.  There is also a coolant leak that may or may not be ominous.  I thought even if I have to put in some sensors, they aren't much and my labor is free.

The guy who so it to be was kind because I told him about the challenge.  He is also a mechanic and knows I have other cars that will need work! He said that the brakes were sketchy but they really felt good to me.  He was way more worried about the dry rotted tires.

If this was for a lemons car, I'd go mad max as it's half way there.

Thanks for your input, gents.

Could you turbo charge it for under budget?  Lots of decent turbo on eBay, they seem to hold up ok.

thedoc said:

If this was for a lemons car, I'd go mad max as it's half way there.

Too new for the original Mad Max, and not silly enough for fury road, but the show Defiance has the rally X car perfect!

In reply to 03Panther :

Now that is cool!  That would be just great to tool around my lovely seaside town during tourist season.  I need to look for that show.

I've been a judge too. The year one of the ugliest cars there won the Concours.  I literally got "hate mail" for weeks after the event, from people I had known for years. All asking "What were you thinking??"

Like Steve said, it's about the story. It's also about creativity. Creative approaches to every single item on the Concours list. So, engineering is good, but doing all the design work with Jr High School students is better. Cleanliness is good, but figuring out how to buff the rust until it shines using packing peanuts dipped in peanut butter is better. 
 

The event exists to create editorial content for a magazine. That means stories- stuff that is fun to read about. 
 

Also consider... the only thing in you budget is things that are on the car at the event. Detailing supplies, etc don't count. Those tires and brakes you need are also budget exempt. 
 

Good score!  Look forward to seeing you at the event!

mdshaw said:

Could you turbo charge it for under budget?  Lots of decent turbo on eBay, they seem to hold up ok.

We can see if a v6 mustang can handle $500 of nitrous. You know, for science. 

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

It's usually around a 150 shot they lunch a head gasket..... They'll take a but more once you can retard the timing...