Anybody who has participated in motorsports, at any level, can attest to the how expensive the sport really is. Even for karting, the cost of a new kart and safety gear can put you over $10,000 and that’s assuming you already have a truck and/or trailer and the appropriate tools and pit equipment. Obviously, it only climbs from there, and we haven’t even crossed the threshold of repairs, maintenance, and race prep.

Sadly, such costs will prevent the majority of those with a desire to compete from being able to ever do so. Fortunately, events like an autocross allow folks to use their daily driver on the course and do so with very little in entry fees and safety equipment. Some would say however that this leaves something to be desired in regards to running a dedicated race car on a closed circuit. So how do you get real road racing on a minimum wage budget? The 24 Hours of LeMons.

Additionally, the word Porsche is one of the last automotive brands associated with the word budget, especially these last couple of years when narrowing your focus to the air-cooled 911. That being said, this example is far from a show piece or even a “rough driver”. This car had been rolled, and subsequently stripped of its drivetrain and salvageable accessories. What’s left, is the skeleton of a Porsche 911 and an awesome platform for a LeMons racer.

Now, yours truly happened to grow up in a Porsche family… from sitting in the passenger seat of mom’s 356 as an infant, to buying a high-milage 964 of my very own, and loving anything 911 in-between. While the thought of seeing one more LS-swapped 911 leaves me speechless, this car is pure awesome. Had this not car not been rescued for LeMons, it may very well have ended up in a crusher, and truth be told it has probably seen more on-track time than most Porsches could ever imagine.

The “Hella Shitty Racing” team thought this was the perfect car as well. However, the car needed a powerplant, and considering their is a $500 limit on vehicles (excluding safety gear), any thoughts of replacing the harmonious flat-six which once resided in the engine compartment went right out the window. So in searching for an inexpensive mill with decent power, solid reliability, and a small appetite for fuel; the team landed on a diesel engine out of a Mk4 Volkswagen Jetta.

The oil burner in question is a 1.9-liter, inline-four cylinder, TDI (Turbo Direct Injection) engine. You can see at the bottom the team is running exhaust off the turbo, through the rear fender, along a mysteriously long section of exhaust pipe, and is muffled by what appears to be a SuperTrapp. We really loved the improvised tail sections which resemble the seats of old farming tractors.

Apparently the car still housed some valuable 911 swag not needed for the track, so those were sold and bartered for to get other needed items under budget. All in all, we think the project is just awesome, and with that turbo-diesel powerplant it must be a real experience to drive.