I’m planning on coming undocumented.

Please don't arrange ICE to investigate me.  I won't bring my birth certificate.  I will bring a sheet with the money I spent building my XKE . 
       But it's going to be my rules. ( hence undocumented)   Junk I've had and no one has offered to buy for 20-30+ years  that I'll use I'll list as free.  If I die she's just getting a dumpster and tossing it away. So free.  
    Stuff I'll buy I'll show the price I paid.  Stuff I'm going to trade for. ( like my labor for some wire wheels). I'll list my labor at what I currently earn. $22.64/ hr.  My junk for someone else's junk?  I'll go by the 20 year rule.      
      I know that the Nelsons will beat me in the drag race.  I doubt it will do all that great in the autocross.

Excuse  # 1 automatic.                                              Excuse # 2 wire wheels.                                        Excuse #3    old age handicap                                        ( any other excuses will be greatly appreciated) ;-) 
 But I hope to have fun.  

Don't list your labor at a cost; self labor is free. Please do it this time! I've been looking forward to a Frenchy Jaguar since at least 2005 when you were talking about it on the Lemons forum. It will be great, please do it! Maybe I'll finally make it to a challenge too then?

Just show up, run unclassed, and have fun.  If you have enough fun maybe next year worry about things like parts costs and all that.

To quote myself in your "fair market value" thread - "Forget about the challenge, just build this to go racing and get on with it. Don't waste the build if 90% of the goal is to run it on w2w racing. Document the cost and run exhibition if by the off chance someone drags it down to FL."

In reply to dculberson :

Thanks.   I think I've managed to confuse you.  I was going to enter my XJS  back in 2005 but once I decided to do a tribute car ( and run with ( VSCDA )to Group 44  ( and bought the flairs )  I just didn't want to run it in the Autocross.   With a 5 speed ( and IRS)  it's not really a drag racing car either.  
    That's going to be running this year. At local  events.  
I'll wait until my wife retires to do the Challenge.  That's a little over a year &1/2 away. Regarding my labor in exchange for parts,  I'm talking about a set of wire wheels I don't currently have?   Does that not count?   Or do I list it at fair market value which would be wrong. Because what's a set of wire wheels worth anyway?  99.99 % of cars won't be able to use it and those that would,  these are the wrong brand.  Dunlop is the original brand these are aftermarket with a different spoke  pattern and back spacing. 
    The XKE V12 will  be  running in the Challenge with an Automatic and wire wheels. But post Challenge the Automatic will be pulled and I'll put my Dog ring 5 speed in.  To run in SVRA Group 6. No fender flairs allowed.  So it will be slim and very light weight. ( 2000# ) 

pres589 (djronnebaum) said:

Just show up, run unclassed, and have fun.  If you have enough fun maybe next year worry about things like parts costs and all that.

The parts I'm going to use to build it I have zero money in.  They were just too good to scrap when I gave up SIR  ( my restoration and race prep company)  but that's 20+ years ago and documentation doesn't/didn't  exist.  
    So I'll just run undocumented for the fun of it.  

Cool.  Maybe I'll see you there in May, will have to see how my schedule and life etc is going at the time.  If we wind up there at the same time I'll make an effort to say hello and check out what you bring.

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

Not this May, I won't have time until my wife retires ( and I follow her)  which is 1&1/2 years away. 

.... this is about something you might do in two years?  frenchy, stop flirting with me, I don't need this sort of emotional roller coaster right now.

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

Kansas is closer to Elkhart Lake than the challenge. Come on up and watch us race. 

frenchyd said:

In reply to dculberson :

Thanks.   I think I've managed to confuse you.  I was going to enter my XJS  back in 2005 

I'm not confused; whatever car it is, I want to see it happen.

What if I told you that I'm so excited you're finally going to join us, I built a registration page and opened registration for the 2025 Grassroots Motorsports $2000 Challenge presented by Tire Rack  two full years in advance for you? You can be the first person to register!

2025 $2000 Challenge Registration Page

In reply to Tom Suddard :

That's very kind of you sir. Thank you. 

Frenchy, I think you're like myself in that you tend to get information paralysis- i.e. you see and consider hundreds of options to run in the challenge, and it buries you. I'm doing that right now with myself, i'm basically pinballing between rational choices like MR2s and CRXs to wacky ideas like Opel GTs or some ratty muscle car literally because I wanna look cool.

Damn the torpedoes- find something to run, and run that bitch! I've got full time school and work, you have only age as an excuse 

actually a year ago I decided to build an JAGUAR XKE  to run in the $2000 challenge. 
 By my interpolation of the rules I'll be under  the $2000 limit  but to heck with arguing and documentation. It's supposed to be fun and I won't let others destroy that fun for me.  Hence no documentation.  Show up and play. 
   Recently I decided it would be cool to use that sedan to tow it around.  which will require me to make a custom light weight trailer. 
  Now that will add some work to achieve my goal.    I may just buff the paint shiny  rather than repaint it  to prove to those doubters what a 50 year old lacquer job can be like. 
      
 

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

At my age I've got so many decades of excuses.  But yes I do have school. I'm the guy that gets those kids to and from school.  For some reason companies don't want to hire us old geezers to sell their products.  So I get up at 5:15am and get home about 6:00pm driving that bus, morning, midday, and evening  so my wife doesn't feel like she's the one carrying the whole load. 

In reply to Tom Suddard :

Sir, I have repeatedly tried to enter via the link you so kindly included.  For some reason it doesn't like my password. So thus far I haven't.  I am patient so sooner or later I'll enter.  
     
  It's probably something I'm doing wrong.   I keep getting shut out on this site and prevented from reading or responding to various posts.  Including some people I seem to have a good relationship with.  

   Recently I see you sent me a response to my question about a jump stater.  But it's not available to me.  I've tried to read it both ways that I know how.  Start at the beginning or click on the response.  Either way I get my original but cannot read past it. 

   Perhaps I should PM you?   

johndej said:

To quote myself in your "fair market value" thread - "Forget about the challenge, just build this to go racing and get on with it. Don't waste the build if 90% of the goal is to run it on w2w racing. Document the cost and run exhibition if by the off chance someone drags it down to FL."

Since the Challenge  will occur before I go wheel to wheel I can meet the safety requirements of the challenge and worry about meeting Vintage racing rules later. Plus, expensive things I'd like to do for Vintage racing, like paint and polishing stuff  which are more a function of time   I can put off.  

GIRTHQUAKE said:

Frenchy, I think you're like myself in that you tend to get information paralysis- i.e. you see and consider hundreds of options to run in the challenge, and it buries you. I'm doing that right now with myself, i'm basically pinballing between rational choices like MR2s and CRXs to wacky ideas like Opel GTs or some ratty muscle car literally because I wanna look cool.

Damn the torpedoes- find something to run, and run that bitch! I've got full time school and work, you have only age as an excuse 

Bring a GT. I want to see another one at the Challenge. 

I guess I read the title wrong. 
 

I thought you said "I'm planning on becoming undocumented".  
 

I was picturing you sneaking across the border and trying to find employment in a Mexican sweatshop! 

Lol, I thought something similar but assumed geographically he was bumping up to Canada. 

In reply to johndej :

I don't picture Frenchy ending every sentence with "Eh?".

Id rather picture him wearing a sombrero and trying to fit in with the locals arguing about "Hag-WHARS". 

In reply to Bigben :

Since the budget just for gas for the trip is $2200plus plus plus plus plus plus.  .   To go there on a school bus driver's salary it will take 2 months income just to cover the gas. 
 Everything must be ready.  Just not going to get there only to have problems and not have any fun?   

In reply to frenchyd :

$2200 / $3.50 per gallon = 628.6 gallons

628.6 gallons x 12 mpg (about what I get towing) = ~7500 miles.

Plan on driving across the US several times on the way to the Challenge?

Nope.  
  I'm pulling a Jaguar with a Jaguar. Well just because. 
  I could take the cheap way and pull it with the truck.  $650-700.  
   Now I might be wrong. On my estimated fuel mileage  but I'd hate to get 1/2 there and run out of money.