'95 F-150 track ready street beast

[Big_KID]

Having a soft cover on the truck years ago I have seen how turbulent the air can be on top of the bed. That is one thing that made me leery of trying a 'lightweight' design. Thanks the clarification on bolts vs rivets. The clean look of the cap screws deceived me in the pics. 3M tape is an excellent idea, especially considering OEMs use it to attach molding and spoilers and would be removable if need for panel replacement.

[Sbeck09]

Maybe not a major update, but a major dream of mine has been now realized.

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That's right...we got a lift! So excited for what this will allow me to get done with both speeding up tasks, and making work under the truck much more accessible. Saturday I have an electrician coming out to help me run power over and from there the possibilities are endless. All my cars (still makes me laugh to say that) have time "scheduled" on the lift already.

Also, update on the alternator saga, I now have 2 units on the way here so at least the truck will be functional soon. Still have testing happening at the local place to determine alternative long-term options. We figured out that peak amps is definitely not the issue to focus on. Turns out at idle (about 850 engine rpm) we need a unit that produces 70-80 amps, but we are only getting 40 ish from "high output" alternators at that low of rpm. I'm sure we will solve this soon given that we now know what to watch for. Overdriving the alternator is not the solution in this case since I'm running almost 7000rpm on track and that would cause the rotor to potentially come apart on an overdriven alternator. Honestly...I know way more about alternators now than I ever wanted to.

[frink84]

Last night I had a delivery that I wish I had gotten long ago!

I stumbled onto Redline Tuning who makes a gas strut kit for the hoods of these trucks. I've been using a prop rod which isn't terrible, but not optimal either. So for the whopping $100 this costs I rolled the dice while keeping my expectations low.

35 minutes later I was rewarded with a perfect install. Seriously easy and works flawlessly! It even included 4 pages of full color instructions. I wish I had done this long ago, but most of these retrofit parts require excessive effort for minimal results 98% of the time. This actually did exactly as advertised and works great even with my 7lb lighter hood. While this offers no performance advantage, the ease of access for quick shock setting changes or fluid checks is going to be super nice.

A little late to the game on this one, but I've been running Redline Tuning for both the hood and hatch struts on my fox for a long time now (8+ years from what i can tell from my tracking spreadsheet), super happy.

[Sbeck09]

A little late to the game on this one, but I've been running Redline Tuning for both the hood and hatch struts on my fox for a long time now (8+ years from what i can tell from my tracking spreadsheet), super happy.

Glad to hear they seem to hold up then. I'm so happy with mine still. I've also helped 2 others install their own kits now.

[Sbeck09]

Ever since I first started planning this truck I have had this vision of a full aero package. While I realize some of you might chuckle about that, I feel it will help a lot to stabilize this brick at speed and also provide that "look."

With the wing mounted about the new bed cover, I finally was able to get the truck up on the lift and finish the install of my splitter that I designed a month ago. Between my right angle drill and the lift, I don't know if this would have been very easily done any other way.

I started by taping together a bunch of large pieces of cardboard I had laying around the shop from the many boxes I get. Using that, I slowly trimmed a shape that followed the bumper line +6 inches. I also wanted to have an integrated undertray to reach back under my suspension. That allowed me to transfer the shape to my 1/2" birch plywood and cut to shape.

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I then wanted to design a tool-free quick release bracket system so trailering would be made much easier. After a few sketches I had my prototype.

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Those support the rear half under the engine. The bronze bushing is permanently bolted to the subframe and the aluminum brackets bolt to the splitter. Took me a little extra time to make by hand, but the result is exactly what I was looking for.

I do also have a middle support that pins on just in front of the tire, but I can't get any photos under there that make sense to look at.

Then needing a splitter wall, I tried bending a leftover piece of that ACP I used for the bed cover. Turns out it bends very nicely and I had enough leftover. I made the wall in 2 parts (left and right) so it was easier to cut and I only have to replace half if a cone or road debris attacks it. That is attached directly to the splitter itself to improve ground clearance when this is off the truck.

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I considered making my own splitter rods, but FTR (Fully Torqued Racing) makes nice parts and it just made more sense to order theirs. The only change I made is the upper part will eventually have a quick release pin to speed up install and removal.

Then disassembly for a truck bed liner coating before bolting it all up with stainless hardware.

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The aluminum square tube is there purely for added rigidity and only added 1lb. This plywood does like to flex a bit on it's own.

A quick test drive last night told me everything I need to know. It is not going anywhere under normal driving to 85mph (so far) and it barely clears speed bumps and most driveway entrances. Plus it looks awesome to me.

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Only one more piece left to my aero package and that development has already started.

[Lincoln7]

Splitter looks great! Especially like the tool-less brackets for the rear. Nice work on those

[Big_KID]

I would love to see some quantitative results from the splitter and wing. Do you have a course you frequent for comparative track times?


Only one more piece left to my aero package and that development has already started.

Diffuser roll pan?

[SSLance]

I would love to see some quantitative results from the splitter and wing. Do you have a course you frequent for comparative track times?



Diffuser roll pan?

We'll see on the 13th if they helped him get any closer to my times on an autocross course. :D

[Vimes]

I can't imagine the pucker factor when you drilled into that pristine front bumper. I think that if you want to get the full benefit of the splitter you're going to need side skirting and maybe skirting under the rear bumper, down to the same height from the ground as the splitter. Personally, I think it could be a bit smaller as well. Professional race car splitters aren't as big as that one. If you find the need to rebuild, I'd add an inch of height to help with speed bumps, and pull it back about 2 inches from the front.

[Sbeck09]

I would love to see some quantitative results from the splitter and wing. Do you have a course you frequent for comparative track times?


Diffuser roll pan?

I would too. I do have a local course and I'm evaluating a couple different sanctioning bodies to run on road courses during 2021. Absolutely expect me to do aero and non aero tests on the same day since I've made it all so easy to install/remove. I can tell you from being the one to drive this truck 1200 miles since it was built that you can feel the rear more firmly planted at over 100mph with no splitter, but the nose doesn't feel as stable. The entire truck feels much more planted and stable above 80mph with the whole package on the truck. I suspect it is working at slower speeds, but like any good areo, it needs speed to work best.

You *might* be right about my plans. :geek:


We'll see on the 13th if they helped him get any closer to my times on an autocross course. :D

That we will. With 65 days until the truck shootout, I'll be pushing the truck and myself to be super dialed asap. You get the honor of helping me corner weight and verify the alignment again too buddy!


I can't imagine the pucker factor when you drilled into that pristine front bumper. I think that if you want to get the full benefit of the splitter you're going to need side skirting and maybe skirting under the rear bumper, down to the same height from the ground as the splitter. Personally, I think it could be a bit smaller as well. Professional race car splitters aren't as big as that one. If you find the need to rebuild, I'd add an inch of height to help with speed bumps, and pull it back about 2 inches from the front.

Honestly, it didn't even cross my mind to care about drilling the bumper. It just had to be done and I measured carefully. I think at this point I've cut and hacked so many expensive parts and panels on this truck that I'm kind of numb to that "fear." Now when I make a carbon front bumper...yeah that's gonna be nerve wracking as hell!

You are totally right about skirting, but the benefits for what I'm currently doing are negligible without underbody work. There has been ideas tossed around for a flat bottom, but that comes with a host of other challenges that I'm really not ready to tackle at this time. If I went that route, skirting would be mandatory. I'd still like to do something anyway to just make the body lines more even along the bottom, but I haven't come up with a simple and clever way to pull it off...yet. Open to ideas if you have some.

For splitter size, this is only 6" from the front body line. That is my smallest allowed splitter by any rules I would fall under currently. It looks gigantic in photos, but makes more visual sense in person. Wait until you see some of the Optima GTT class trucks coming soon...they allow up to 10" from the front body line!

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Most "professional" race cars run smaller splitters because their rules don't allow more. I can assure you they would all go bigger if allowed. They also run their splitters nearly scraping the ground because that greatly increases the efficiency of the splitter. I can already JUST clear speed bumps so I would never run it higher than this because I'm already losing efficiency making it "street friendly." I might consider trimming it back if there is an aero imbalance, but with this big 71" wing on the rear, that's not likely to be the case. Plus more rear aero is about to be installed. Testing will tell me what needs to change with data. Right now we're all just guessing because I'm not aware of any trucks tackling aero for this type of racing.

[WallaceMFG]

Glad to see the progress is still coming! I've been missing having some time dodging cones, life has just been too busy for me to get to any events recently. At least I can see you get yours out there and make improvements!

As usual great work, and your shop is looking impressive now! Look forwards to more!

[AZ454SS]

Just have to say what a great build and build thread you have. I appreciate you taking the time to post with pics and details throughout your build. Your approach/acceptance to the input you've received is very high level, nice job. I'm embarking on a build of my own, your thread has given me some great ideas. Working up the courage to start a thread of my own but not sure yet.
I'm here in N. Phoenix and looking forward to seeing your truck at the next event.

Jeb

[David Sloan]

I love this build and your approach to learning as you go aptitude ! such an inspiration to all!
Thank you for sharing!

[Sbeck09]

Glad to see the progress is still coming! I've been missing having some time dodging cones, life has just been too busy for me to get to any events recently. At least I can see you get yours out there and make improvements!

As usual great work, and your shop is looking impressive now! Look forwards to more!

I know the feeling, but let's get you out with us soon! It's such a nice feeling to take a day and go burn up some dinosaurs and rubber.


Just have to say what a great build and build thread you have. I appreciate you taking the time to post with pics and details throughout your build. Your approach/acceptance to the input you've received is very high level, nice job. I'm embarking on a build of my own, your thread has given me some great ideas. Working up the courage to start a thread of my own but not sure yet.
I'm here in N. Phoenix and looking forward to seeing your truck at the next event.

Jeb

Nice! Glad I could help. If you ever need any assistance let me know. I live near Norterra.


I love this build and your approach to learning as you go aptitude ! such an inspiration to all!
Thank you for sharing!

That's always my goal. I'll never know it all, but the pursuit of more knowledge keeps me going. My favorite thing to do is take theories and prove them true or false in the real world. So keep the suggestions coming!

[Vimes]

Ehh, rules. I keep forgetting that organized racing has rules out the backside.

Unfortunately, the only suggestion I can make would be to attach a couple of 1x3 planks, one to each side, for testing purposes. If it shows benefit, try making a set out of fiberglass, or try repurposing skirting from a 3rd gen Firebird. The skirting on those cars was long and rectangular, and would probably be the right size. Street Scene used to make them for your truck, but they seem to have gone out of business.

[AZ454SS]

Nice! Glad I could help. If you ever need any assistance let me know. I live near Norterra.




Thanks I appreciate the offer! I think I'm going to start a thread, any input you have will be welcome.

[Sbeck09]

Wow I've slacked on updating this! Sorry everyone, let me bring you up to speed.

So last time I had just gotten most of the aero done and life was nice and calm. Humming right along in a fairly comfortable manner.

I wanted to complete my aero package so that meant I needed to fab up a diffuser. Using my favorite new material, ACM, was the obvious choice. I'm now a dealer for this since the sign shops mark it up too much and make it a pain to even find.

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Reasonably light while being plenty rigid. Also made it all easy to replace knowing it will inevitably hit things.

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So now my aero vision for this truck is basically fully realized. I've wanted to do all of this since I started.

Next was to get branding on the truck. Why? Well a while back I actually bought a domain and LLC surrounding all this stuff thinking it would be smart in case this grew beyond what I expected. It has in a big way. I get requests constantly for components or even full chassis to build a truck like mine. Since my job disappeared close to Februaruy I've just been fabbing up stuff for customers at my home shop all while investing a ton of money in to product development and equipment.

Meet the Innovaspeed LLC marketing department:

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This kinda feels like a long time coming and it has made for a stressful ride already as I spend everyday working on the website and products. I agonized for a couple months over the colors and everything. Preston of GC Cooling/Creative Werks was the MVP designing all this.

So then came the WEST version of the Pro Touring Truck Shootout...which happened to be only 30 min south of me in Chandler, AZ. What a great place to unveil this while shenanigan.

A last-minute donation of rivals ensured this existing setup would have the best chance possible

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Even I outdid my own expectations!

[Sbeck09]

Ok so the Truck Shootout West was in a word, Phenomenal!

While there is still some important areas to address (mostly the "rules"), the overall idea is great and each event gets better.

I came into the event hoping to maybe crack top 10 in any one single event to at least prove this truck was worthy of the hype I've pushed. This runs a similar format to Optima. The required events are autocross, speed n stop, and a drivability cruise. There was also an optional road course which I paid and signed up for.

First up was autocross.

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I only ran about half the runs of most other trucks since they opened the road course after 1pm, but I still put down a time good enough to lock in 10th out of 25 in class. So we were off to a great start of the little 275 BFGs.

At the road course I really pushed myself and the truck.

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The photos might be terrible, but my times were not. I got down to a 67.8 lap time which stuck all the way through Sunday to hold down the 2nd fastest overall time for that event! Seriously, the only truck to beat me was a 2600lbs, 700hp, tube-chassis C10 that cost about 5x what I have in my truck on Michelin slicks. You can hate downforce all you want, but it WORKS. I even had the amazing chance for Billy Johnson (look up Billy Johnson Racing) to flog the truck and he nailed a 66.3 lap with no setup changes. His feedback was exceedingly positive about the suspension system I have engineered.

Sunday was the Baer Speed N Stop. I wasn't expecting great times, but I really wanted to test myself to see if I could hurt some feelings.

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It worked and I somehow drove to a 12.3 which held me to 3rd in class and 6th overall! There is definitely reasons I fully understand as to why I could stop so well with less tire than every other truck within a second of me, but I won't bore you all with the technical side of that. Just know the truck was killing it because this setup is right.

So how did we finish overall? Well they combine your times from each day to get your overall total.

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I ended up 8th overall and 5th in class! This is way better than I anticipated and I feel very motivated to keep pushing the limits here.

What does this mean for my business? This front suspension is about 3 weeks from hitting the market through my website along with about 5 other products. My hope is that others with these trucks are ready to have these results, or better. From there I'll keep developing what I have to allow for more tire and to solve a couple other small design issues I've noticed. So we are far from done here. Some notable companies are interested in partnering up to help my racing program find even more success. Stay tuned for what happens next!

[protour_chevelle]

Looks great, Are you doing anything to finish the cut edge of the ACM board?

[Sbeck09]

Looks great, Are you doing anything to finish the cut edge of the ACM board?

Absolutely. A couple quick swipes of a metal file is usually enough. Sometimes I have to quickly run a 120 grit flap wheel if the aluminum rolled over. It really doesn't take much to cleanup the edges. I also tried cutting with my shear which worked beautifully and required no cleanup on the edge.

[Sbeck09]

Well I'm a bit behind since the shootout. Ooops, life has been a blur. Let's get you all caught up.

The weekend immediately following PTTS was the Scottsdale Good Guys Spring Nationals. I can only run All American Sunday against all the modern monsters so I only go to have fun.

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No surprise, it was a good time. I didn't make the shootout again. This truck is A LOT to wheel around these tiny courses on a 275 tire and over 500lb ft of torque. I did give a couple rides against the "rules" because I love the look on people's faces after.

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That watermark needs no explaining either. Thanks Terry.

From there I parked the truck for a few weeks. The AC needs to be recharged and the transmission's resistance to high rpm gear changes was really weighing on me. Plus I was getting deeper into the business so time was at more of a premium if I planned to ever sleep. Here in AZ we kind of take a summer break (with a couple super early track days sprinkled in) compared to many of your winter racing breaks. It's not like I missed much out here.

Speaking of that, we started 3D printing part prototypes that this truck will receive first and then ship with all my suspension kits. A major thing I wanted to revise is my homemade steering arms. More ackerman and a much faster steering ratio will be the icing on my cake!

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The conversations starting going to how these would be made. CNC milling is the most logical option so I started reaching out to people for quotes. YIKES! One of the tools my neighbor actually suggested buying was a CNC machine to bring that aspect of the business in house. It's a nightmare to get small batch parts done for a reasonable price and I have amazing resources to help speed up the learning curve.

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So yeah...I now have a Ford Escape sized 12,500lbs machine in my home shop. Definitely had some struggles getting it wired and then operational, but it's certainly an asset. I am also now offering small batch machining to other businesses since my overhead is lower than your typical shop.

Going back to the transmission topic....it never stop weighing on me. I didn't really want to even drive the truck anymore for fear of hurting an 1800 mile trans and just being tired of fighting with it. So I offered it among my small racing community locally and sure enough, a guy building a mild 427 foxbody wanted a TKO600 to just play with. I took him for a ride, shared my frustration, and even let him drive the truck to see how it felt. He was down so I sold it to him a few days later.

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I reached out to a few known vendors immediately trying to track down a TKX. Yeah...supplier issues are the real plague. Then Josh sent me a link to Holley's site showing they had what I needed in stock. No way that's possible when everyone else is waiting 2-3 months. Yes way...I called and they had 24 ready to ship. FIRE ME UP!

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Stabbed right in and bolted up identically to everything I designed around the TKO. It's really a direct swap. Nothing ever goes that smooth.

I was nervous to drive it because I was afraid it wouldn't live up to the hype. The TKO was supposed to be pretty great itself, but that sure wasn't my experience. Well, I'll let the video do the talking.


https://fb.watch/v/4yhh5YNE8/

Only have about 80 miles on it so far, but I'm blown away by how massive of an improvement this is. Seriously it's amazing compared to what I had. At 97lbs, about $700 cheaper, and a super slim body it is a really nice package Tremec has brought to the table.

Oh...I did have to make a new lever. This one is the rear shift, which I wanted to begin with. Now I just want a nice short shifter to tighten it up a little. Also, check out that Ford Performance Sparco wheel I splurged on!

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That's all for now. Next event is Muscle Cars at the Strip in Vegas in September. SCCA fires back up the week right after that. Hope to see some of you between those events.

[frink84]

I am also now offering small batch machining to other businesses since my overhead is lower than your typical shop.

Oh hey buddy... now I need to dream up some parts to machine!



Stabbed right in and bolted up identically to everything I designed around the TKO. It's really a direct swap. Nothing ever goes that smooth.

so a TKO600 swaps out for a TKX directly? Hmmm, very interesting. I believe my TR3550 is the same size as a TKO and I've experienced similar issues to yours.

[Sbeck09]

Oh hey buddy... now I need to dream up some parts to machine!



so a TKO600 swaps out for a TKX directly? Hmmm, very interesting. I believe my TR3550 is the same size as a TKO and I've experienced similar issues to yours.

YES! Hit me with ideas. I'm hungry to make chips!

Not sure about the 3550 mount setup, but yes the TKX was a direct swap from my TKO. I think I was under the truck for just over an hour for the install. I was fully expecting a surprise and it just worked. Ive been super happy with it after 200miles of street abuse and 2 race events.

[ProTouringMan]

The custom dash layout is really nice. Who made your 8 button pack?

[Sbeck09]

The custom dash layout is really nice. Who made your 8 button pack?

Thanks. Those are how the my Racepak PDM is controlled through it's CANBUS. These won't work with anything else.

[Sbeck09]

We've got some catching up to do again.

Leading up to MATS in Vegas I was trying to get some street miles on the TKX. Every shift I was liking it more and more. On my way to a car show one morning my buddy and I ended up going lightly airborne in the truck. The city had apparently been doing some work on the road and left a huge step up between sections of pavement. The splitter slammed into it making a horrible crashing sound and the truck literally jumped a couple inches. I had no time to react given the amount of cars around us and we were doing the 45mmph speed limit.

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Somehow the damage was minimal. The leading edge of the splitter chipped bad and it tweaked the holes, but the truck was otherwise unharmed. Whew!

This was the week before MATS so I repaired the broken splitter mounts and loaded up for our tow to Vegas.

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I hadn't ever heard of this event before since it was originally a Mopar drag racing event...neither of those things interest me much. What made me want to go is that they have allowed all the US automotive brands and do an autocross for a number of years now. Even better, the autocross was being run by Racing Byrds. If you have ever attended an event run by Racing Byrds you know why I wanted to go.

I expected it to be run on the exact spot they do the LS Fest West autox, nope. They moved us to the top of that same parking lot. WOW! Talk about grip! Ive never driven in a parking lot that had so much bite. It was soooo fun!

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We all had a great time. You may find it odd that it's dark. That was something they tried this year and I feel it was a brilliant move. It's hot in Vegas during September so the decision was made to run under the lights. I hope it stays this way because it was beautiful weather and no risk of sunburn or just feeling sun-baked. It reminded me of the annual night Autox event the Lone Star Chapter of BMW CCA would do at Mineral Wells, TX every year way back when I first got into driving.

The truck ran flawlessly becoming the fastest of the 4 trucks there and mixing it up with times put down by modern muscle cars.

Following that we ran with our local SCCA again the weekend after and the truck still didnt skip a beat. With 2 drivers and a combined 120 ish laps within 2 weeks, it was a great feeling seeing this thing just work.

After all that, I finally sat down and forced myself to start my Youtube channel after saying I would since 2013.


https://youtu.be/CKz1JmhVZM4

I have been sharing weekly build videos of the truck. So for those of you that have followed along all this time, you will probably enjoy that.


https://youtu.be/psCEqdwaaA4

Ok I need to get back to building a 4th gen camaro roll cage for a car many of you should know, but I'll try and bring this thread fully up to date before the end of this week.

[Sbeck09]

I just realized that I've mentioned the cnc machine purchase, but never showed what I've done with it.

While the process has been long and slow to learn, I've got some amazing friends who are brilliant mentors and I've started rolling out products to help others with these trucks not struggle as bad as I did to build this generation of F-series.

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I won't link them here to stay out of trouble with the site, but that's one of a handful of things I'm doing.

Before the following month's event with SCCA and Good Guys, I decided to tackle a task I've put off longer than I wanted....a side exhaust exiting through the bed. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's an itch I needed to scratch. And I can't leave anything alone. haha

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Gained about an inch of ground clearance and the truck is more aggressive sounding without being painful. Neither was a goal as much as seeing that idea become reality. I filmed it all too so that will be a future episode. I even caught myself on camera falling off the stool while tig welding. oops:pat:

I always enjoy the lead up to SCCA events in the fall here since they seem to include the best sunrises.

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Forgot to take any other photos that day. Did notice on the drive home that the truck seemed a little more prone to darting with road grooves at 80mpph on the highway. Figured it was just the camber and tight components.

NOPE

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Upper ball joint nut retired early and the stud was halfway out. The damage this could have caused flying down the road was a reality check. I always try and give everything a visual on the lift between events and boy am I glad I did again!

Thankfully Ive been hoarding some parts as I prepare to product my front suspension as a kit so I had a fresh ball joint and hardware to throw on for Good Guys.

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Good Guys Fall National was all the fun I expected it to be. Tons of people stopped by to pour over the truck and confuse my SBF with an LS swap or just find it strange that I have A arms instead of beams. Always a great time even if the surface sucks.

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I say that, but then I actually made the All American Sunday shootout on my little 275, heat-cycled-to-death Rivals. Mark Golovin immediately reminded me that cars are faster by bumping me out first round, but I made it so that was more than I expected. Woohoo! Ironically Black Betty, that he drove, is the camaro here for a cage. I'm supplying work to the competition. So funny.

Next up was the Falken Tire Autox challenge in Fontana, CA put on by Racing Byrds. I've missed all the others, but I was determined to close my 2021 racing season by making the final event. Spoiler: WORTH IT!

I also saw this as perfect time to permanently retire the Rivals in favor of some fresh RT660s. Why not show up the the Falken event on their hot new tire and see what all the hype is about?

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Aside from the relentless fog that even caused some delays during racing due to lack of visibility, it was a blast. Little chilly, but the event ran smooth as could be.

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Sandy and I shared the truck again. She was showing a huge amount of improvement and I was feeling the tires scrub in better every lap.

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660s are definitely better than Rivals. Turn-in feels better and the lateral grip was surprising. Still running a 275, although these are more comparable to a typical 295 in width. That grip came at a cost for me. After setting my fastest lap and becoming the fastest truck by a small, but brag-worthy margin over TJ in his S10, I took Valerie Pichette (Dragon Lady GTA Red 3rd Gen) for a second lap since she was obviously my good luck for that day.

Going out on the final lap of the session on the first day, I knew the truck was ready. The tires scrubbed in and I was getting the layout. We came flying up to the 3rd corner, but the truck didn't turn in at first. Wtf? So I slowed down hard and turned the wheel more. Boom....driver's side front corner of the truck slams down onto the splitter and we are sliding while I bring it to a stop and shut down.

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Ive been pushing harder every event and it was inevitable that something would give. The threaded portion of the ball joint just sheared clean off leaving the lower control arm to slam down into the barrel of the wheel.

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Luckily the grooves are shallow so I don't forsee the wheel having issues continuing in service. I've run worse before.

Some of you probably recognize who makes that ball joint. I'm not here to say anything negative. I'm sure glad it wasn't my parts that I manufacture, but it's an eye-opener at how hard these parts are working as I have optimized the geometry to extract every ounce of grip I can. I believe it's a matter of making far more grip with a 3600lbs vehicle than these can take at those loads. I'm also glad it happened to me and not a customer with a suspension kit of mine on the road. So I've picked a replacement that will go onto my truck and ever other arm from this point forward. You can probably guess which one...

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To finish the 2nd day of racing at the autox challenge, which is also the most fun day, Tom and Val Pichette offered up Black Betty for me to drive. Yeah...amazing people. Do I want to drive the car that kicked my ass the week before? YUP sure do.

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Against the clock the best I could do was .7 seconds faster than my best in the truck. We did find the Ridetech TQ triples are pretty dead and the adjusters are frozen so I'm going to spec out a brand new set off coilover while the car is here, but it's FAST and a proper working coilover will really wake it up. Runs modified Heidts ProG IRS so it's kinda unique.

My short winter "break" will be filled with getting suspension kits into production and moving forward trying to find more CNC machining customers. The first suspension kit will go under my truck so I can get all the little improvements I've designed in from testing. Already getting my new billet steering arms run through initial setup on the mill. I'll offer these for sale to anyone that also uses the spindles in a front steer setup.

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2021 has been a wild year for me and this old truck. I still feel like we're just getting started. To those of you who made it a point to come by at events, drop messages, or even subscribe to the youtube channel, thank you. None of this would ever have kept going if you weren't all terrible influences on my financial well-being. I appreciate you all! haha