Sunday, May 26, 2013

Progress Update

The roll cage is our current object of obsession affection.  You can see some photos below.  We bought a cage kit, but that just means the tubes are pre-bent.  Many still have to be cut to length, notched, and fitted.  It's a time consuming process.  There are 6 base plates.  Four and a half of them have been welded in.  I'd say about 75% of it is done.

Main hoop under construction, supported by Eric's only workbench (seriously)


An issue with the alternator and wiring was fixed, so the charging system is now operational.

The radiator fan has been mounted and wired.  It still needs to be wired to a switch and mounted inside.

Brake pads were ordered and arrived.  New, better caliper spacers were fabricated.  All this should be installed sometime this week.

Tow loops were installed.

Lights were ordered.

Fuel jugs were ordered.

Steering column lock was disabled.

Differential and tranny fluids were upgraded to synthetic.

OEM aribox was reinstalled, but needed a custom bracket (long story).

A 3rd brake light was installed.  But fell off...(?)

Fire extinguisher bracket was ordered, I just gotta find it.

Looking forward through the hatch - x-bar welded in

A close-up of our mad welding talent

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Just When You Had Forgotten About Us


Okay, we're back!  A lot has happened since our last update.  Actually, considering the last update happened in September of last year, and that was more than 8 months ago, you might be surprised at just how little has happened.

One very important item, Zip6Racing has developed an official logo.  Really, if you think about it, it's impossible to be professional race car drivers unless you have a gnarly and - if possible - somewhat pompous logo.

BAM!  A logo like this virtually guarantees speed


I have good news, and bad news:
Good news--> we have signed up for the June 22 (2013) Chump race at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Bad news --> lawksamercy we have a bunch 'o work to do

Charlotte Motor Speedway's banked oval awaits the Zip6 Team


We ended up losing a few members from the team.  Strike Sam, Grayson, and Nic.  Jason, Travis, Duncan, Eric, and Brad are left.  Luckily, we are the good-looking and talented ones, so whew! breathe a sigh of relief there.

Here's a picture Eric used to document just how chock full of awesomeness this vehicle is:
Ready to race (um... sort of)


Actually, it's only because he is an extremely talented photographer and digital photo manipulator that the photo does not convey how much of a mess the car's in right now.

Now, I'm gonna' list a bunch of the stuff we have to do.  It's just a copy/paste from a spreadsheet.  You may or may not know I am a geek and I have a spreadsheet addiction.  There, I said it.  My therapist keeps telling me it will help if I admit it to people on a daily basis.  DO NOT WORRY.  I say again - DO NOT BE CONCERNED.  The list looks really long, pretty much impossibly long.  Actually, it looks like so much work that our remaining team members with the assistance of an entire flock of Nascar pit crews would need another year to get it finished.  But that's not the case.  Because we can basically bend and reshape and even discard reality.  When you step into our garage, it's almost like you're in the Matrix.  It's like that when we drive too.  Just wait and see.

A rare, behind-the-scenes view in the Zip6Racing garage

THE List:
finish wiring
install seat
wire radiator fan
order and install brake pads
tires mounted and balanced
tow hooks installed
order lighting (no install)
seal firewall
gauges
buy fuel jugs
fab catch tray
roll cage installed
fire extinguisher installed
t-top cover attached
paint & decals complete
steering wheel hub installed
steering column lock disabled
exhaust tweaks
kill switch installed
harness, window net installed
fluids
communication system
alignment
roll cage padding installed
camera installed
cool suit installed
transponder mount

We are thinking because the Charlotte race is a daytime only race, we won't have to install lights.  This will save us a few hours worth of work.  Just to be safe, we're going to go ahead and buy lights and take them with us.  We have a spare engine, and hopefully Jason, who is our resident VG 3.0L Whisperer, can work some magic on it so we can drop it in if an emergency occurs.  A couple of us are going to try and make a little progress this weekend.

We did order a "roll cage" kit from S&W Race Cars.
http://swracecars.com/
In theory, we will not have to bend any tubing, we are hoping we can get away with just tweaking a few parts here and there and get that baby welded in.

According to my calculations, we have 45 days between now and the race.  It's kind of like when you're in school and you're preparing for a big test.  Hours and hours, days and days of studying, and the test itself only takes a few hours.  Well, in this case, it's a 10 hour "test", but you know what I mean.  Tune in for more fascinating and witty updates in the future.