HONKERSHOP build 2010

[shopteacher]

From the looks of a couple pics, it "looks" like the seat mounts may be backward. Cant tell if that was mock-up or welded in. Typically, they are higher in front to make a "pocket" to sit in.

had that question... the way the prp seats on sliders sit into the brackets from pacific customs... if the brackets were reversed... the seats leaned back too much. might be different for a different seat/slider combo. we had the seats mounted both ways and sat in each one... the crew felt with the harnesses and shoulders back, the "reversed" laid back too much and would strain the neck. we have used these mounts lke this with the prp seats and sliders for the last 4 builds.
good question.

the seats are not welded in... until the front floor plate was set for pedal and steering placement. should be welded in this week.
shoudl sit on its legs by march 19 (maybe even a little vroom vroom)
our goal is to have it done by june 10 and ready for market.

what we could really need is a military backer... it IS a air corp themed rail. aviation gauges, p-40 graphics, maybe even a bette paige pin-up. since wildside has not sold yet, we are quickly running out of money.
running 33 stu blasters on douglas beadlocks(bought from a forum member) with 20 inches of rear travel.

[Big Dave]

A military backer, huh? What do you need specifically? I can always hook you up with some authentic "Remove before flight" streamers
If you are going for aircraft military theme, teach the kids how to safetywire stuff.

You're in Washington state, right? Are you near McChord or Fairchild Air Force bases? Call their public affairs office and explain what you are doing. They may give you some help. The Air Force loves to publicize community relations stuff like that. I've never been to Mchord or Fairchild, but they may have a museum that might be interested in helping.
Try calling the VA, or the VFW. Have you contacted local TV and radio stations? Our VW club had the local 3rd string reporter girl come out and do a morning spot where they checked in several times over the course of the morning show. Might find some more public supprt that way.

How are you going about selling Wildside? I wouldn't think the market in Washington would be that big. Oregon, SoCal, and even Salt Lake City UT have pretty good markets for rails. In UT, you can post on ksl.com classifieds (its free) and it seems like everyone in Idaho, Utah, and parts of Colorado check that site. Its that good. Craigslist is garbage in comparison.

[Qurtys Lyn]

A military backer, huh? What do you need specifically? I can always hook you up with some authentic "Remove before flight" streamers
If you are going for aircraft military theme, teach the kids how to safetywire stuff.

You're in Washington state, right? Are you near McChord or Fairchild Air Force bases? Call their public affairs office and explain what you are doing. They may give you some help. The Air Force loves to publicize community relations stuff like that. I've never been to Mchord or Fairchild, but they may have a museum that might be interested in helping.
Try calling the VA, or the VFW. Have you contacted local TV and radio stations? Our VW club had the local 3rd string reporter girl come out and do a morning spot where they checked in several times over the course of the morning show. Might find some more public supprt that way.

How are you going about selling Wildside? I wouldn't think the market in Washington would be that big. Oregon, SoCal, and even Salt Lake City UT have pretty good markets for rails. In UT, you can post on ksl.com classifieds (its free) and it seems like everyone in Idaho, Utah, and parts of Colorado check that site. Its that good. Craigslist is garbage in comparison.

Everyone and their dog check KSL, we have more people on there at work, than we do any other site.

Dave's ideas sound like good ones to me.

[DesertGuy]

we had the seats mounted both ways and sat in each one... the crew felt with the harnesses and shoulders back, the "reversed" laid back too much and would strain the neck.

Most "performance" type seats are mounted between 70-71 degrees, a couple of manufacturers recommend 73 degrees. (Seat back in relation to the horizontal plane). On a frontal impact or lawn dart, you don't want to be sliding out of the seat. Besides the inherent safety considerations, driver comfort should be a priority... downward sloping seats will cause the driver to constantly want to "push" back (fatigue), re-adjusting harnesses and cause the pedal cluster to be farther forward than needed. Also, when a driver has a downward sloping orientation, they have a tendency to be more "cautious" on the pedals... feeling that they are "standing" on them (fatigue factor). If the combination of seat/slider/mount results in an undesirable angle... modifying the components becomes necessary, FWIW.

[shopteacher]

instrumentation panel layout... thoughts?
all the important gauges are very visible o the driver and the switches are accessible by both driver AND passenger

yes.. the dash and the hood will have a bit of a blind spot...no more than a regular car hood. the driver side front wheel is very visible from the driver by leaning a bit to the left. easy.
rear shock mounts.. triangulated and cycled for the "sweet spot"
the shock cycles and the coils clear the frame and allow for max movement of the rear arms. still about 20 inches once the straps stretch.


press in end caps to clean up the open tube on the shock mounts will come as soon as everyone has a chance to see the heat horizon inside the tube as evidence of a good weld.
4 o'clock came quickly today with only a few to work in the shop.
track season and build season overlap.

motor mounts in... ready to sit on TWO of its FOUR legs.

[shopteacher]

MARCH 19
after flipping it over and welding out the underbelly... gettin the floor in and layin out, fabbing, and finishing out the rear suspension it is sitting on its own support (jack stands are there to keep it level when in/out while doing the front arms)
we leaerned from WILDSIDE... use 11 ga steel for the rear skid plate and 1/4 inch al for front floors. probably some expanded metal under the seats to keep the sticks from jabbing you where you would not want a stick.
casey, cody came in this am and got the rear cage finished and reinstalled
layed out measured 3x and cut the first arms for the front end.
we have a safety inspection this week... so the shop was cleaned thoroughly
the dash is coming together... curtis is spending a lot of time LOOKING at it and making sure he has all the right holes...
got the couplers for the shifter and made the steering linkage permanent.
shouldnt be long before it rolls on its own suspension.. then a few wires and BOMBS AWAY.
waiting on the results of graphics from stickers and chaos for the p-40 theme. anyone have DECENT bette paige?
enjoy....thoughts?
http://www.honkernet.net/AHS/department ... arch19.htm

[Joxracing]

question...

do the kids weld and fab the whole frame from scratch?

or is there a plan or kit?

[bajaherbie]

my current avatar would make a betty page-esque look for your bomber...





but i dunno if the school board would approve

[shopteacher]

we need your help/advice/input
the honkershop funds its AWESOME builds from the sale at the end of the build.
luckily...our program was blessed with some grant money to start THE P-40 project before project WILDSIDE sold.
WILDSIDE was not started until CLASS ACT sold(thanks dan!) and subsequently offset our build calendar into the summer when we would have liked to have been testing/promoting/marketing it.
after the "end of the season" motivation of people hopefully wanting to upgrade from what they had OR purchase a rail so they dont have to quad or bum a ride.... WILDSIDE sits in our storage (that we pay for out of the sale of wildside...UGH)
the october until spring season on GLAMIS brought one offer (some cash and 2 rails) and nothing but a couple gratuitos BUMPS.. thanks nick!

thoughts?
our program will only survive if we can turn wildside into cash.
otherwise.. the 2010/2011 season will be unfunded staring at 2 RIGHTEOUS rails... with no cash to continue our tradition of offroad education.
at 14k.. you cant build or even buy most of the parts for this price. let alone have as many people help build it with the professional oversite involved in the honkershop. this is easily a 20k rail or more.

we need some offroad SHOWS to go to.. swap meets.. etc something
we need some interest in our project backed with 14k funding
we need to pay our debt and carry a little fwd to finish the p-40 project
we need help... fellow fraks and lurkers... lend us your ears... and your opinions... options... brain droppings.

raffles... not an ralistic option.. the amount of ticket sales and then when someone wins it.. the ethical questions. and in most states, minors may not participate.
parting... although a sweet sorrow...not a realistic option... it would break our heart to part it out and it would not fit the focus and goal of the program. we could pull the engine/trans and sell it as a rolling chassis but the motor mounts would not fit anything other than a j-series engine and the chassis was tabbed for a 091 with a fodrill trans mount.

we have been invited to some car shows... most within a days drive... always looking for the weekend that is not locked out for many reasons.
we have been offered a consignment lot on the oregon coast... great exposure for sandfest in late june.
i do coach track(cuts a lot of spring weekends)
our online expsoure is vast... but to no avail for wildside.

thoughts? opinions? options?
your input is very much appreciated. this is the future of our sport and funding for our program.

[shopteacher]

UPDATE April 8 (hard to compete with teenagers and good weather... but we are getting there)
a picture is worth a thousand words





APRIL 8
light bar in process..
front suspension tacked in place and
cycled for bump steer - MINIMAL
front suspension shock mounts this week
seat belts installed and control locations finalized
holes cut for dash and ready for final fitting
Radiator core support in.. looking for lines
hydraulics soon... then it rolls under its own power

[shopteacher]

do you see what i see?


http://www.honkernet.net/AHS/department ... ildcam.htm
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[shopteacher]

meet the honkershop crew
lost a couple and gained a couple...
believe it or not.. this is the first time they are all in class together since late february! gotta love a hectic schedule and flu season

Casey Freddy, Ed, Dustin, Ty, Dusty, Evan, Chris, Lupita, Bobbie, Cody, Curtis And MRC-shopteacher (some members not in APRIL picture but still considered part of the team)
The crew at the HonkerShop
April update on project WARHAWK

The 2010 dual sport build to support the HonkerShop at Arlington HS
the build is very close to rolling on its own some hydraulics and wiring with some gussets and it shall come alive.
Only to be disassembled and powder/painted
suspension cycles about 20 inches front and back coilover/airshocks on back and airshocks on front with clearance for CO/AS if needed
the wheelbase is 10 inches shorter than last year(wildside) and should turn better
we just added a steering box/quickener to allow us to turn the implement tires easier. The wheel now turns 3 revolutions lock to lock.
The WARHAWK(p-40 flying tiger) project graphics are to be done by a friend of the program when the rail gets back from powder in mid-may
Still looking for a couple bomber jackets and some vintage helmets and goggles to finish out the look for the drivers.
The crew is a little behind schedule.. but the ETA is early JUNE

And hopefully… will be seen on the Oregon Dunes in late JUNE

Thankyou for your continuing support and make sure you keep us on your radar.
Project Wildside is still for sale… some tire kickers and window-lickers but no-one with the cash.

If these projects cannot be sold.. the build program at AHS will be unfunded.

APRIL 29
check it out...
http://www.honkernet.net/AHS/department ... pril29.htm

adjustable light bar (linear actuator)

[johnmustang]

These kids have a very good potential in building new cars just what they did, they almost finish the finish their first project. I hope your project will be sold out.

[shopteacher]

the warhawk project is done and ready for market
it is on www.honkernet.net/honkershop follow to the warhawk build site (video, soon i hope)
the kids do really well.. casey and dustin are graduated... i am sure you have seen their work for 4 years now.
the warhaw was THEIR baby from the ground up and i am honored to be there for the process. now that they are gone to college, it is time to train a new dynasty and continue our tradition of excellence in the offroad community
i have 3 returning fabricators with a gut full of energy and a couple new ones who plan to be with me as long as the schedule allows.
this years build will be a suspension upgrade and engine/controls modification to an existing fugitive style frame
the target market will be someone who is looking for alight 2 seater with about 200 hp
the warhawk is priced at 17000 our new build will be closer to the 7k market
dont get me wrong, we will be doing it all right and spending time and resources where it counts. i love my job!

[shopteacher]

here are some images
from horsfall dune in coos bay oregon
thanks matt for taking the pictures and allowing ME to be IN the pictures
and YES.. that is shopteacher taking it to the skies.