Challenge Car builders – I salute you:

Challenge Car builders – I salute you:

• If you currently have primer on your hands that simply won’t wash off. (It laughs in the face of lacquer thinner.)

• If you are working in a garage (or direct sunlight, or in the rain, or all three) in temps of over 100 degrees.

• If you worked on your car in freezing temperatures ... and now, in the summer heat, really miss those good old days.

• If you can’t remember getting those bruises and burns, or you only vaguely remember getting them.

• If you used a paper towel and blue tape to cover a bleeding cut and you kept working. (Bonus points if you did it more than once.)

• If you bolted in a part you made, and it has 4 unmatched bolts that took 6 sizes of wrenches to tighten.

• If you made your own parts, and they really don’t look half bad. (Bonus points for making a template first.)

• If you learned to do something you had never tried before while working on your car.

• If you are trying to get a cheap, old car to out-perform a Ferrari for under $2011

• If you are using something you pulled out of a garbage can.

• If you are using something you should have put back in a garbage can.

• If you are not sure if rust is your nemesis, or an old friend you now call patina.

• If the motor in your car has more than twice the power of the original.

• If you would strongly recommend that other people don’t do what you just did to their “real” car.

• If you spent several hours removing a few pounds of unnecessary weigh.

• If your definition of unnecessary weight has been expanded recently.

• If the tool you needed was always on the bench when you were under the car. Who needs abdominal workout machines, when you spend your day crawling out from under cars.

• If you spent hours and hours on a part you decided not to use. (Maybe more than once.)

• If you looked at something for $3.87 and thought it was an outrageous amount of money, and left it on the shelf.

• If your factory service manuals are covered with dirt because you stopped using them when they simply didn’t apply anymore.

• If you keep saying to yourself, “Thank god tools don’t count in the budget”.

• If you think it’s all worth it … just to be a part of it.

I’ll shake your hand in person at The Challenge, If we can get this crate to move under its own power. :)

• If your wife has had to throw multiple pillow cases away because you were too tired (drunk) to shower before you came to bed.

• If the same wife was surprisingly un-upset when you accidentally painted half the basement "General Tso Orange."

• If you stumble out of the hot tub when the hotel serves breakfast.

If you read the 5th thing in that first list and thought it was a really creative idea that's worth trying out...

Hell, that's called an electrician's bandage. Many times on my hands.

fast food napkin and duct tape > bandaid (unless superhero graphics on bandaid)

Now read this in the announcer voice from the "Real Men of Genius" Bud Light commercials (if you haven't already)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsC3ni7A88M

If you're a Challenge Car Builder, this Bud's for you....

damnit I can't wait til next year so I can start a challenge car!

I swear every one of those items was checked off during our build last year.

It is a pretty comprehensive list. Kudos.

I forgot about coming in really late and really filthy and going to bed dirty, or sleeping on the couch instead. The accidental overspray is a good one too. I was hoping people would add to the list, Thanks.

If the driveway in front of your garage is (permanently?) stained with paint thanks to the cleaning of your spray gun. - You might be a Challange Car builder.

mine is permanently(??) stained with rust from the angle grinder tossing fine metal buts out of the open garage door.

• if you ever sat in a gutted shell of a 90s car and made vroom vroom eeerrrrrrrr sounds while twisting an imaginary steering wheel and rowing an imaginary shifter

• if you ever bought, and then sold, 92% of a powertrain, just t o get a GREAT deal on a differential

oldtin wrote: fast food napkin and duct tape > bandaid (unless superhero graphics on bandaid)

say what?!?!

If you've ever bought a new daily driver with the intention of taking it to the Challenge...