$2011 N600 - West Coast Challenger

Cant wait to see this in person!

Very cool.

Also like the truck and the insight. Especially the truck.

Keep it up.

Update: No time for updates right now! We've been cracking the whip and trying to make some serious headway before we leave town. We'll be at Bonneville for speed week this coming Friday and we're pushing to have the car driveable in two weeks. Time is flying by and our to-do list is still a mile long. Yikes!

Bryce

The next time you post an update to this thread without pics, your account will be deleted, your tools sold to china for scrap, your cars sold to NHTSA for crash test purposes, and margies patio will get bigger by approx 6'...give or take.

Glad to hear youre still on track...ish

We've been slammed trying to hit our deadlines, not much time for updates. The car is coming along and we're hoping to test drive it this weekend. Meanwhile, we keep chipping away at it. Yesterday we were pretty pleased with the seat we pumped out. I bought a pair of Kirkey lowback "vintage" seats to go in the car after the challenge, but even at a very reasonable $200/ea (including shipping!) there was no way that was going to fit in the $2011 budget. We got some scrap aluminum strips the other day and copied templates from the Kirkey seats onto the scrap strip in smaller chunks. Che spent a long time making really accurate templates and then Aaron cut them out and bent them on Jesse's homemade press brake. Jesse TIG'd the pieces together last night, and I'll be damned if they're not a pretty legit copy! These are definitely the coolest free seats I've ever helped make. Oh, and they're about 11 lbs.

Aaron begins the replication process:

Not quite finished, but pretty close:

Not bad, huh? Feels silly making copies of a seat we already have, obviously another example of building to budget rules. It was still neat to see the aluminum scrap turn into a seat.

Like I said, there's a lot of progress, just not time to document it right now. Stay tuned...

Bryce

I feel your pain of last minute dealines and not being able to document the scramble but keep at it, its an amazing build!!!

I've got to ask, is metal fabrication your profession as well as your hobby? The quality of the work you guys are doing and the thought you're putting into it look like it. I really like this car. Good luck with it!

Any plans for those Honda MC calipers?

Thanks for the motivation. Awesome machine! I intended to take some shortcuts with my build but now I think otherwise after seeing this. The Ghia will still pale in comparison but I'll feel better. I just wish my team was half the size of yours.

Graefin10 wrote: I've got to ask, is metal fabrication your profession as well as your hobby?

We're all desk jockeys during the daytime. It's a nasty habit but it pays the bills!

93EXCivic wrote: Any plans for those Honda MC calipers?

Sure, someday...but probably not in time for the challenge. I'd like to shave about 10 pounds off each corner with lighter brakes and suspension arms someday. With some bolt-on aftermarket stuff for the Civic and a few bucks on circle track parts and motorcycle parts, it should actually be pretty easy. Just no time right now to do it the "hard" (cheap) way.

VWguyBruce wrote: I just wish my team was half the size of yours.

Meh, I'd gladly trade you a couple of my friends that have helped out if you can give me an extra 20 hours or so in the day. Really though, with a project this unique it's not that hard to get our gearhead buddies to help out here and there, we all think it will be a lot of fun when it's done. Having a stocked kegerator and food ready at all times probably doesn't hurt either!

Bryce

Yet another teardown began this weekend. Almost all of the structure is finish welded, front inner fenders, gussets, and the engine cradle is all that is left. I've never gone through so much welding gas in a weekend...my bottle that usually lasts a year or so is almost depleted in a week!

The car is spread out all over the shop right now, but I'm hoping to get it driving and start tuning before this weekend. To hit the target to ship the car there on a carhauler, there are only 21 days left! For any of you locals that are interested in helping (as mentioned in another thread) I'd love the help, send me a message if you're interested. I'm literally in the shop every single day until the car ships.

Bryce

No time for updates, as before, but this might be of interest:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nashco/6120347235/

Not much to see, but proof that it lives! We hit public roads with it yesterday and ran it through the gears. Brakes work, steering works, engine needs tuned (but works) and nothing fell apart. Returned from the very short test drive under its own power, not a bad start considering how much has been modified!

Hopefully getting the engine tuned and the paint started this week...still have a long way to go, only two weeks until it ships out!

Bryce

Are you guys shipping out before the weekend of the 17th/18th? If not, would you like some help then? Even if it's final details (I can bring my polisher and waxes, etc for example).

Expected ship date is September 20th.

Bryce

This is really, really, really, really, really, cool guys. Nice work, and way to man up and not be scared of entering the off camber turn dangerously close the building with "unknown" brakes and steering. We've talked every year about making our own seat and have never done it. Nice work.

Nashco wrote: Expected ship date is September 20th. Bryce

So I take it the 17th and 18th will be a mad thrash of awesomeness? Shall we try and get as many PDX GRM'ers over there as possible to help? I'm trying to convince SWMBO to let me have a whole day there.

poopshovel wrote: This is really, really, really, really, really, cool guys. Nice work, and way to man up and not be scared of entering the off camber turn dangerously close the building with "unknown" brakes and steering. We've talked every year about making our own seat and have never done it. Nice work.

+a billion! This project is mad on so many levels!

Javelin wrote:

Nashco wrote: Expected ship date is September 20th. Bryce

So I take it the 17th and 18th will be a mad thrash of awesomeness? Shall we try and get as many PDX GRM'ers over there as possible to help? I'm trying to convince SWMBO to let me have a whole day there.

My mad thrash of awesomeness started a long time ago and will continue on until the day it ships out. I haven't made any secrets about it, I'll take any help I can get!!!

Bryce

Judging by the amount of tubing involved, you've found a metal supplier you like (or can deal with) in Portland. If so, who is it? I'd be very grateful for any info...

ransom wrote: Judging by the amount of tubing involved, you've found a metal supplier you like (or can deal with) in Portland. If so, who is it? I'd be very grateful for any info...

The Steel Yard. They are tolerable depending on your expectations. Most of their steel is stored outdoors, some not even covered, and the computer inventory is abslutely useless, so you get what you pay for. For CHEAP unused steel, I haven't found anybody cheaper than them. They have some scraps/cutoffs that are extremely rusted that go for scrap prices, so it all depends on what you need. Service Steel is higher quality with better selection, but more expensive and used to larger bulk orders than ours. We used Service Steel for our DOM in the main hoop, the rest is from The Steel Yard or dumpster diving. Aside from the new tubing used to put structure back in the car, pretty much everything is from the dumpster. Ugh, just saying that makes me tired of the wire wheel...lots and lots of paint and rust removal on salvaged steel!

Bryce

As if we weren't before, we're officially committed now. I just paid the car transporter to get the car to Orlando in time for the challenge. This time it cost as much to ship the car down (one way) as it did for the round trip on the Fiero!!! I sure wish I had enough vacation time to bring it down myself...after all, it fits in the back of a long bed pickup. Our challenge entry form and fees are going out in the mail today as well.

Yesterday we hopefully had our final disassembly. Bodywork has been started and we're hoping to have it ready to start getting painted by this weekend. I've barely done any bodywork in the past, so it's a fun challenge and we have a couple of buddies helping out that do know what they're doing, but it's still a little scary to be learning new tricks with such little time to spare!

We're going to be cutting it really close...unfortunately, that means you won't see many updates on here over the next couple of weeks.

Bryce

Can't wait to see the car at comp! I've been dying to do an n600 for years so its great to see someone is doing it!

Let the reassembly begin!

Bryce

Nice!!

Oh yeah, and for Portland-ish folks, we're having a "going away" party for the Honda at the shop on Saturday at 6. You're welcome to come, send me a message if you want to come and I'll give you contact info. We won't be wrenching during the party, but I still have tons of work to do for cleaning, painting, wiring, reassembling, etc. if anybody wants to help any other time. Only 6 days left before it ships!

Bryce