What Nobody Tells You About Owning a Legend Car

Hey guys, Chad here with Midlife Classic Cars. We're back at my shop today, and I want to be straight with you about something.

I don't really enjoy making race videos.

I've got two whole weekends of racing footage sitting there that I just don't feel like editing. And part of it is that editing takes forever. But the bigger part is I don't love sitting there making you guys watch me suck at racing. There's a lot of other stuff I'd rather be doing — working on the car, and making sure my family gets enough of my time. That one matters most.

So here's what we're doing instead. I'll drop some highlights in, and then I'm going to show you the part almost nobody films: everything it takes to get this car ready for another race weekend.

And oh my god, it is hot in here. I'm in Greensboro, North Carolina, it just rained, and my warehouse is humid as can be. I literally have to turn the fan off to talk to you guys. So let's get moving.

Project one: rebuilding the car dolly

Here's something they don't put in the brochure. Legend cars set up for an oval do not want to roll.

If your car's got left or right turned into it, you cannot just push it around your shop. It fights you the whole way. I found this out the hard way after last weekend — I came home from the race, couldn't get the car off the trailer and into position because of where the pin sits, and ended up unloading it and pushing the thing into the garage by myself. If I find that footage, I'll show you. It's pretty funny to watch.

A dolly came with the car when I bought it. Guy who sold it to me built it himself. Problem is the wheels were air tires and they'd gone flat and rotten — beads broken, the whole deal. I just never got around to fixing it.

Now I finally get why everybody at the track has one of these things. So I grabbed a set of tires from Harbor Freight, and here's my genius moment: I bought them thinking they were airless. They've got tubes in them. Had to pump them up. I'm an idiot. But they went on fine, and honestly they'll handle the weight of this car way better than what was on there.

First time lifting the car with it, and it did exactly what I wanted. My race car had been parked up against my BMW E30, jammed in tight, and I've got to get through that aisle constantly when packages come in for the book business. Now I can spin the car and put it wherever I need it. Big win for something that cost almost nothing.

It doesn't lift as high as I'd like. I still don't know if I can slide jack stands under there with the dolly in place. That's a problem for another day.

Project two: cleaning the car (and why it matters more than you think)

I like to work on a clean car. So next up was a full wipe-down and detail. I even tried my first ever time lapse for this one, so be nice.

Now, I know some of you are thinking — it's a race car, who cares. And look, I love rat rods. I love patina. I love a filthy car. But with this thing I keep it clean, and there are two real reasons.

One: cleaning is how you find problems. While I was wiping this car down I found a crack in my front fender that wasn't a crack at all — a bolt had backed out and the fender wasn't connected anymore. I never would've caught that standing in the garage looking at it. When you're detailing, your hands are on every inch of the car. You're checking wires. You're looking for loose bolts. You're looking for fuel weeping where it shouldn't be. That's free inspection time.

Two: your car represents more than you. I've got Race Driven Performance stickers on my car. They do my setups and they service the car when I don't have time — they're the ones who put it back together after my wreck. When I park with that team, I'm representing them. If my car looks like garbage, it makes them look bad. Same goes for my business, and same would go for your sponsors.

Am I a detailing guy? Not even a little. I know some of you nerds genuinely love it, and I respect that, but it's not me. I just push through it because it matters.

The rest of the list

Once the car was clean and up on the dolly, here's everything else that got knocked out.

Job	What actually happened
Rear bumper	It was knurled up bad from contact. Hammered it back into shape by hand. It's used and abused, but it'll do the job.
Transponder	Race director told me mine was cutting in and out on track. I run a wired model. Found some fraying on the positive cable, sanded the connectors, retightened everything — and found the mount itself was loose enough to wiggle by hand. That'll do it.
Bolt check	Full pass over the car. The loose transponder mount is exactly why you do this every single time.
Spark plugs	Pulled and checked.
Oil & filter	Ran the engine to get it warm first so it drains clean. Then my tape trick (below).
Brake pads	De-glazed. One side at a time so I don't mix them up.
Rear diff fluid	Checked and topped off.

De-glazing brake pads — I need your help here

This is the one I'm least confident on, so I'm going to ask you straight up.

I pull the caliper pins and take the pads out one side at a time, because if I pull both sets at once I will absolutely mix them up, and you shouldn't do that. Then I scrub them and run figure eights on smooth concrete to knock the glaze off.

That's what I was taught. That's all I know. Am I doing enough? Am I doing too much? If you've been racing longer than me, drop it in the comments on the video. I read every single one.

Still on the list

Couple things I didn't get to yet:

• Shortening the steering shaft. Right now the wheel sits way up here and I feel like I'm driving a city bus. I want a little more reach.
• Repositioning the cameras. Trying to get you guys better in-car footage.

Next up is Charlotte Motor Speedway — practice Monday, race Tuesday. Wish me luck.

And if you're sitting there thinking about buying a Legend car, here's the honest answer to "what does it really cost?" It's not just the entry fee and the tires. It's the Sunday afternoon in a hot warehouse with a wrench in your hand. That part never shows up on the highlight reel.

Thanks for hanging out, guys. If you've got brake de-glazing tips for me, I'll take all the help I can get — drop them on the video. Sign up for the Midlife Classic Cars newsletter and look us up on social, just search Midlife Classic Cars. See you at Charlotte. — Chad