Interesting

3:73 to 3:55's would be a nice sleeper edition...replace the E80 with a Eaton...

Baer Alumasport Brakes for a Chev

A few hours ago the latest goodies have arrived, Baer Alumasport 14" rotors and duel piston calipers. Hopefully have the on by the end of the weekend. Going to need 5 point harneses to keep from flying into the stearing wheel :)

Picture: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6702824&l=042e61babd&id=677290467

Black Ice got her coal for Xmas

It is has been, votes have been counted and the money is the available (ok nothing to extravagant like that but always wanted to say it) and I am buying a LS2. Back in August I was contemplating a LS2 upgrade but after many discussions with the buddies the vote was swayed back to suspension.

Over the holidays I went down to Oregon to visit with family, enjoy food and drink and just some relaxing down time. The weather in Washington is just starting to get better from the snow; there was 2 feet in my town. During that time I day dreamed I had the 4x4 again. But instead I drove around on chains doing 20mph watch my paint turn is scuffed up looking black; its still a dirty mess.

So while down in Oregon my cousin told me he has a 07 LS2 block sitting in garage that he is desperately wanting off load. Hmmm, LS2 you say. So for $400 bucks I get an LS2 with a scored cylinder wall (not bad, needs to be re-sleeved and bored out).

Question: Anyone know where to run numbers off a block at?

Hopefully by Summer I can have the whole bottom end done but not really into a major rush; just happy to be starting. Will keep you all posted...been a better part of 4 years since my last motor I did. Hopefully the skills are still in place to bust knuckles and swear a lot at bolts that don’t go in on the first time :P

Keeping it real

As a person who enjoys the interaction of social networks it is amazing to see, after reading 80Blazer80's blog, that some people are just out to see how cool they can make themselves. For me, and I taking a leap of faith here, and Autolog members we are hear to have fun, converse and share knowledge of automobiles just for the fun of it. Not to see how much shameless self promotion we can generate to a profile.

At the end of October I was reading an article on the challenges faced by many Web 2.0 Companies since the national economy is seeing a economic slowing. Many social sites, like the Autolog rely on users to grow content and authority in order to gain advertising dollars.

(Let me be clear that I know nothing about the Autolog's business model, strategy or future plans and this is just an observation I am making.)

While many social sites rely on users to make the site what it is, there are many social sites that mimic other social sites to much and have not carved out a niche of their own and as a result many of these sites are facing major challenges. One site I am apart of, cre8buzz, is a prime example. Founded on a similar Web 2.0 concept with a slightly unique concept, cr8buzz ran out of funding and was in danger of disappearing. But lady luck was one the buzz's side and they are back in action.

Going back to 80Blazer80's point, social networks do have an inherent problem with people being fake or just not real people in the first place, using a site to inflate egos and do harm to others, remember the MySpace mom who drove the girl to suicide?

For me joining the Autolog was about sharing and interacting with people that have a similar interest in the automotive industry. A place where a person can join, ask questions, talk with others without the problems that plague other networks. So far, I could be wrong about this, I haven't seen anything like what happens on other networks (and is why I am no longer on those ones).


I would love to see the Autolog continue long into the future, grow its membership and continue to be a fun place to share experiences, pass along knowledge, and inspire others to just have some old fashioned auto fun.

Maintenance is key to longevity

One of the things my dad instilled in me at a young age was the importance of maintaining and taking care of an automobile. For many, an automobile is just a means of getting from point A to point B, just a mode of transportation. Then you have us. People who enjoy the whole aspect of automobile ownership.

Being a young kid there were times when I would get in trouble and have get put on truck washing duty. Being a small kid, that 83 Chev 3/4 ton with a 4" lift seem like a monster truck and it took better part of a weekend for me to wash, dry and vacuum that beast. But those lessons taught me a lot and still live with me today.

Unrenowned to me, as I cleaned that truck it wasn't clear to me the learning lesson at hand. By cleaning and detailing dad's truck I was actually building good habits of my own.

Cleaning an automobile does much more than make it pretty (which is always a bonus); it makes a person pay close attention to the details and in turn you can spot minor problems before they escalate into larger problems. As an example: let's say that you are detailing the engine bay and shining up that chrome oil filler cover when you notice that the serpentine belt is starting to crack.

The inspection process happens while are faces are close and hands are on the auto and discovering and replacing a worn belt before it leaves you stranded on the freeway is good thing. During every cleaning session on the truck I make sure to keep my eyes peeled for possible defects, wear and tear so problems like that don't arise.

Most of the time people are left stranded on the side of the road for minor issues that if caught in time would never have been an issue.

Other problems are harder to spot doing routine cleanings but the concept is the same. If you take of your equipment your equipment will take care of you.

Related Post: Winterization by WET01

Reminiscing about truck days lost

Winter is getting into full swing here, or least it feels that way today, and its the start of missing my old 4x4. It was a bad ass rig that got me to and from the mountains many times through out the winter. Skiing or playing, it just didn't matter. As long as the truck was in 4 wheel drive everything was groovy.

There is so much you can do with a 4 wheel drive over a 2 wheel drive. I do have chains for the 20s and its works damn good it's just that getting outside when it’s freezing to handle some freezing steel does not feel good. Hands go number in a few short minutes and all you want to do is get the chains on, drive 50 feet and retighten them down so you don't have to get out of the truck.

With the old truck it was just slow down to 35 mph and slide the transfer case into gear and then speed back up. Ah it was so easy, o manual hubs to reverse out of and most importantly; relaxing in the big ass seat that where in. Being a guy not blessed with altitude, it makes it comfortable to drive a full size truck because there is all the room in the world.

So is anyone like me? During a part of the year do they miss that vehicle you once had? A street bike, muscle car, sports car, big truck or something similar? Hope all is well in the auto world and drive safe this winter!

Life always throws a change-up

Life has been crazy lately with a new real estate course, a wedding (not mine) and other work projects. One of the biggest things is I have been fighting is a hack done on my Snohomish County real estate website, and a few others.

It is such a pain in the ass to have someone attempt to destroy what you have put a lot of time, effort and money into. Imagine having your race car, that is used to make a living with, sabotaged and all of a sudden you're SOL and can’t attend any up coming events. A BS a thing to do to another person.

Hopefully every hacker/thief/spammer @&(&%$&$%^& Better not finish that thought. Sorry for the rant.

Power upgrades for a street/strip truck

Last Friday a buddy came over for the Seahawks preseason game and we got to talking about power upgrades for his 69 RS/SS and my truck. It got me thinking about the best starting point for big power and torque in a street/strip truck.

There are many options right now since the motor is bone stock. Do you start with exhaust, intake, supercharger, injectors, computer calibration, gears, transmission, suspension and the list continues. But one of my deals is that a main system should be one of the first items...sort of “get the big expense out of the way” type thinking.

Originally a P-1SC-1 Procharger seemed like the best solution. 60-65% increase in hp on a stock motor would be a significant gain with out having to completely go through the engine. But as we sat BS-ing about hp this and torque that my friend brought up the 402 stroker motor for a LS generation engine.

Not a bad setup as I thought and could be a serious option for good streetable horsepower. The simplified version: bolt on all current stock components to a 402 short block.

The 402 LS2 would be an excellent replacement for the current LS generation block currently in the truck. The LS2 would replace the cast iron version eliminating weight while increasing horsepower and torque numbers across the board. How much I do not know but it should be noticeable and with all forged internals it would be an indestructible block, well for my uses.

Both are excellent options and would make for a quick yet manageable daily driver. So what is everyone else’s thought? Super charger? Short block? Or exhaust, intake...etc?

TheAutoLog in the news

If your member of the TheAutoLog then you've probably seen the news clip featuring the site. But if you have please check it out...it's pretty cool! Way to go TheAutoLog team!!

http://ktla.trb.com/news/local/cyberguy/stv-cyberguy-060308,0,618699.htmlstory

Getting a flat on the freeway sucks

So it finally happened. A blow out on the freeway. Everything is fine expect for the tire which could have easily have been a tire, rim and fender.

Heading down the freeway at 75mph (was I breaking the law?), on a sunny Washington day, when all of a sudden the truck wanted to steer left and off the freeway. That lasted just a few minutes before I was on the side of the road pulling the spare tire out. Everything was going according to plan until I couldn't get the jack un bolted from behind the seat.

Lesson: Make sure all tools in the truck are in working condition, the correct ones and they can be removed from their secure resting spot at the time of need.

Good thing a buddy knew I was coming over and he so happens to have a floor jack. With a quick phone call, and his laughing at me, he was out there quickly. Also, I want to send props to a the guy in the Suburban. Thanks for stopping bro!

Figuring the best thing to do was head to Les Schwab and get a new tire but as luck would have it the tires where discontinued, bah. They wanted to sell me four but there is still 58% tire tread left. But thankfully my boys at the Marysville Les Schwab hooked me up with a tire credit and a new non matching tire for under a hundred bucks.

Not bad but now I have to wait two years for all tires to be bald to get a matching set or put on 30 miles in 2 months, not likely :)

Last weekends fun

Like many Autologgers not all I do involves being on a race track or burried underneith the hood of some hot rod. There are times when boating or other motor driven activities arise and I must indulge in the larger passion of speed.

Last weekend I was invited to bbq that a buddy's boss was throwing at their work for Arlington's annual Fly In. Situated right on the run way, next to the bad, near the food and even closer to the beer, my buddies and I had a great view of the acrobatitics and high performance planes. What a hoot but the surprising part was not the loops, hammer heads and barrel roles. It was the host of hot rods that showed up.

The last thing I expected was to see vintage American muscle at a airshow, ya know? It was cool non the less. There were a range of cars and my personal favorite was my buddy's boss's 2008 Z06. It was so savory but the heart stopper for many was the 65' GTO.

Been away to long

It seems like forever since I've last posted and props to Flashwing for really holding down the fort. Keeping me away from the auto world has been nothing short of work. Work has been putting a damper on things but I've manage to squeak some things in, not all auto relate though.

Two weeks ago Dad, older bro and I all took off on a weekend guys trip. It was a serious chance to kick it with Dad and bro like the days long ago, well 12 years or more. So we stocked piled supplies, we got beer and fuel, and jumped in the boat and navigated it south. The first night we ended up in Seattle and had some dinner then woke up early in the morning for some grindage.

After powering up the guts we pulled out of the Seattle harbor and navigated further south through the Tacoma Narrow Twins. Pretty cool site and a first for me. The rest of the day was spent in Gig harbor and finally in Poulsbo. It was finally time to come home and the trip would be complete without pulling down a few races.

Dad's 48' Egg Harbor ripped out an astonished 27.9 knots and away from more nimble boats. I got a picture of it but still buried amongst other stuff so here is a vid of a 22.9 knot run. It has twin 575hp turbo & supercharged diesels in it.

A K&N airfilter increased gas mileage by 3 mpg

With two years of stockness under its belt the truck received its first bolt on accessory. Though the bolt on wasn't anything extreme or insane it was still pretty fun to turn a wrench. Last Friday as I decided to go shopping for a bolt on that would enhance performance, increase gas mileage, not to common on performance parts, and not cost an arm and leg to purchase.

After all that hoopla I decided on a K&N cold air system. Like I said, nothing insane. I went to Summit's website, www.summitracing.com, and checked prices then as a comparison checked out Shucks down the street. Summit was cheaper and Shucks had to order it which past experience has shown to be a slow process at best so the choice was simple, Summit.

Being so desperate to wrap my hands around some goodies I had the filter next day aired, Saturday delivery, so it could be put on before the excursion to Seattle in the evening. I ordered it at 12:30pm Friday afternoon and it was at the front at 9:30am Saturday morning upon opening my eyes. Now that is what I call fast, reliable and super cool.

After an hour so of installation it was ready for a test run. Remind you this is just an air filter. There was a notable increase in motor grumble, always a bonus, quicker throttle response, better mid range torque, smoother high rpm revs, more horsepower but doubt it 8 hp gain claimed by K&N and, drum role please, INCREASE IN GAS MILEAGE. Now that is what I am talking about!

Driving to Seattle at an average of 65mph, ok I was speeding, the truck Instant Economy displayed an average of 20 mpg, saw 24 for just a little bit. That is a 3 mpg increase over stock at 65 mph. I will take that any day of the week especially since gas prices are going through the roof.

So here is the first bolt on performance part for the truck.

It's Friday, I got a job and got stuff to do

Do you dream of bolt ons, forced air induction, finely calibrated suspension or the roar of V8 pulling up the rpms? Well since we are all AutoLogged, and if your not you should be, the dreams are probably all pretty similar. Yesterday I finished a web project for a company Seattle and have the itching to go buy something.

I have owned this Chev since Apr. 06 and the modifications are the rims, *sigh*. Many parts are going through my head, maybe that is why I am typing this, that could dramatically improve the fun factor of driving. Now I am contemplating names like K&N, Hooker, Flowmaster, Air Ride, Procharger, Edlebrock and Foose (I would like some new rims).

So jones'n maybe a little light...may have to buy something this weekend just for a quick fix. Even though modifications have been slim these past 2 years I'm still an addict when it comes to modifying trucks. The 4x4 was owned 2 years before the lift when on so guess this is about the time when I just can't take it and must purchase something.
?
But where to start Probably a new a K&N setup, affordable, requires minimal install time and will give massive more horsepower. Ok that last one was a serious stretch. But it would be nice to actually get under the hood again and the exhaust is far to expensive at this point (Hooker headers with high flow dual 2.5 inch 3-chambered Flows...that just sounds awesome).

Well...I am off to go internet shopping and buy something since it is my big 30 b-day next thursday.

Another story in truck hauling woes

It seems that I just can not get away from people needing the speciality services my truck offers, hauling s@#t. Since the Feb truck rant I have been helping pickup all sort of other people;s stuff. I have not even hauled anything for myself.

The total is up too: 3 trips to Home Depot, 2 trips to specialty wood supply store, 2 work benches, chemical rack, a battery charger, a pressure washer, 1/2 yard of river rock and 1 yard of fine beauty bark. That is a lot of stuff that is not mine and the best part is that my Memorial Day weekend will be spent helping a buddy move. Ugh. These days I am one of the only people I know that has a truck and spend a fair amount of time hauling of others.

My truck is by no mean a work truck; its a light duty half ton. Last Thursday I hauled the 1/2 yard of river rock which compressed the ass end the most I have ever seen. That is saying something since I have never owned a car, ever!

The rear tires where tucked a solid four inches in the fender wells and the axle stoppers where smashed from their 4 inch max to almost nothing. I could feel the metal to metal mashing traveling down some semi bumpy roads; good thing the shocks held out. But all this makes it difficult to continue to help out.

It is not just one move that gets me going is the one to two things for 10 friends. All that time adds up and it makes me feel that I am just truck hauling guy. There is usually no concern for gas, wear and tear on the truck and time out of my schedule.

If I wanted a big bad Chev again it would be like this one: http://www.wheelsforless.com/images/driv/gallery/chevyblitz.jpg. That is one bad truck...hella bad!

The point is that people with trucks spend a lot of time helping others move. All we ask is some appreication and try not to make it Memorial Day weekend RUDY!! hehe..I'll have to tell him about this :) Anyhoo...

Now that Summer is coming up, got the truck waxed and bed scrubbed this weekend since it was 95 degrees here, with some racing stuff with Dayzed50. He got his rims ordered up for his Pontiac G8 and pictures should be up soon. Until the next time..

Take Er Sleazy!

A fun ride in a brand new Pontiac G8

Well, the cat is finally out of the bag and hopefully Dayzed50 is cool with this but here goes nothing...Last week Dayzed50 recieved the call that his 2008 Pontiac G8 was in and I have to say I was quite impressed with it.

Waiting for the climate to change and the sun to re-appear

As the spring gets into full effect, still a few months out here in Washington, the race season comes nearer and nearer. Unlike other parts of the US, Washington has 3 1/2 seasons (summer is like a half season) and during the fall, winter and spring months it stays fairly wet. Reading other blogs, people in AZ, like Flashwing, get the benefit of having a mostly dry climate almost all of the time.

Here is different and most nice, race or specialty cars go into the many garages for a long winter nap before getting the dust knocked off for a few laps around the track. But as summers approaches there is a definite possibility of some tire smoking, corner bending fun in the works!

I was at Dayzed50's house yesterday and guess what we were talking about? You guess it, cars! But one car specifically of which the details will have to remain secret for a few more days. No fear though, there will be a blog post on it which will be a first hand account of something cool :)

Almost sunk my boat

A few weeks ago, when it was a nice Washington day, I took out my Zodiac Pro (15' with a 60hp 2-stroke Mercury, max is 52 knots or roughly 55 mph) for an early preseason rip across the Puget Sound. Being late February it was quite chilly and kept bundled up while doing 30+ knots in 3' waves.

After bombing around for a bit I decided to meet up with my dad who was just hanging out on his boat in the sun. Arriving kind of late, approaching sunset, he was ready to come as the temperature was rapidly decreasing. So we raced on in, I won of course, but his 48' was topping out at 28 knots and the waves where getting almost to big for the Zodiac, almost, a clip from Baker Lake last year (38 knots).

Upon getting back into the slip, the Zodiac conveniently blew a seem and started loosing air, not the best thing to watch in an inflatable. With dad running the foot air pump, and I at them helm, the boat made it safely back to the boat ramp and onto the trailer.

The back of the boat was taking on so much water that the over sized bilge pump was barely keeping up, spooky, and upon getting it home the space between the hulls had taken so much water it took 15 minutes to drain.

That was the closest I have ever been to sinking boat and hopefully the last time.

So yesterday I got it dropped off to my old man who luckily found a gentleman who repairs inflatables. Awesome considering new rubber is really expensive. Now I am just playing the waiting game until its first sea trial because it has to be in good shape for the up coming crabbing and fishing seasons here.

I remember years back the parents had a jet boat named Tequila Sunrise with a small block Chevy in it. The guy who bought it from them sank it twice upon slowing down to fast with the wake came over the back and sunk it. Once was at the dock, easy to retrieve, and the other was in the middle of a lake, not so easy to retrieve.

Just glad the seem burst so close to the docks and not in the middle of the Puget Sound...Dad and I debate whether the whole boat would of sunk.

My Theory: It still had 2 1/2 chambers still full of air and would have been mostly under water but not sunk.

Dad's Theory: It would have sunk because the weight pulling on the other pontoons would have caused the boat to separate from the pontoons and the boat would be lost the green abyss.

He is probably right, usually is :P

Yes this is my truck and no I won't help you move!

Monday has to be the worst day to wake up to after a long weekend. Last Thursday, 16 of my friends all piled into our horseless carriages and made a long journey to Mt Bachelor.

The drive is pretty beautiful, if you can see it, but our trip through Highway 26, past Mt Hood, was anything but. It was raining, then snowing, then raining and most of all it was extremely windy on the full 400 mile trip. I drove the truck so everyone could bring more crap (why do people think someone else’s truck is made for their crap?), I could stretch out and listen to my own music. The road trip was awesome even with bad weather.

Upon arriving to Mt Bachelor we settled in and got down to some serious partying. The next morning, Friday, it was time to hit the mountain and rip it up and once again the truck was used to haul everyone’s gear to the mountain while they road in separate autos. That doesn't bother me to much but the point is that it is expected and not asked if it can happen. The day of skiing went good with some big air being caught and no injuries reported but on the way hope I had to carry the gear, imagine that. After the 15 or so mile drive from the mountain I was hoping to get the garage parking so we didn't have to unload all the gear. Boy was I sadly mistaken.

The garage was full, I was still carrying everyone’s gear and no one was outside to help. So there gear stayed outside until they got it late in the evening, haha beotches! Saturday morning was more of the same. Load up the truck with everyone’s gear and go to the mountain again. After busting up my left rib cage (which really hurts today) I caught some mean air and continue to play when resting would have been more appropriate. The way home consisted of my carrying all the gear again but fortunately some people left early and I got the garage back.

Sunday morning came way to quick and it was time to head back home. Everyone proceed to load the truck for me unfortunately they didn't lay the tarp down and I had to unload all the gear and then reload it properly, that made the ribs feel nice. After loading it all up we hit the road and I put the hammer down to make some time.

But, yep another "but", I had to detour to Portland and pick up a table and four chairs, did anyone know that I already had a full load of other people's crap in the back of the truck? My copilot and I unloaded the truck, inserted table, loaded the truck and got back on the highway. By this time the truck was weighed down and riding like a work truck and not a sport truck. Tired and wanting to get home I kept on speeding.

The trip took me 7 hours to get home and one tank of fuel, thank goodness for that. And I now know why people don't own trucks but have friends that do because they don't want to haul other people’s crap.

Moved my office at the beginning of the month, my dad a few months ago, did dump runs for the family, helped all my friends move except one, I was moving my office at the time, and when it came time for me to move no one helped...hmmm interesting huh? And as I have never owned a car this has happened a lot over the last 14 years.

Maybe I will tell everyone the truck has been sold so they quit asking to help move and rent a storage unit and keep it hidden...that would suck...so that is out of the question...any suggestions?

A nice air brushing on the tailgate saying: "YES this is my truck and NO I won't help you move!"

Marketing through TheAutoLog

Recently it has been challenging for me to find my grove when blogging on TheAutolog and it has lead me to get back to basics. My background is in providing marketing strategies in the small business sector. So what better what to grove then to relate that back to the automotive industry for the benefit of TheAutoLog members.

Social networking centers around a passion and is what the greatest social networking sites have all in common. As these sites grow into networking monsters, through users getting engagement, the opportunity to grow awareness increases tremendously. Businesses, like TheAutoLog's, can use the reach of a social network to share what experiences, product development and current or future projects (this is a really short list) and what they do best to gain a worldly exposure in relatively short period of time.

"How is this possible? Isn't TheAutoLog just for fun?"

Yes, TheAutoLog is for fun but the depth of actions done on this network can have wide reaching results. A few months ago I did a blog for small automotive businesses and how they can grow their market reach and obtain exposure using networks like TheAutoLog.

Being a member already opens the exposure opportunity through member's access to the blogging platform built in the network.

Blogging builds community within community.

Let us just say that as an automotive business you are contemplating growing exposure to your business but are strapped for cash. No money to spend on major media promotions and local advertising spots. But the business needs a fresh boost of promotion to get product in front of many eyeballs. Let us just say that "said" business has a TheAutoLog account with already "pimped" profile.

Blog about what is going on in your shop, what projects are going one, what trials and tribulations taking place and most of all what you are experiencing in the process.

All of a sudden your blog is being reach by members, as well as the greater online community, and viola...you have readership. This readership can grow many folds and sometimes beyond a person's wildest dreams. My day job's website has generates an office's business through this simple technique of sharing experiences and factual data.

Give it a try and you might be surprised with the results. Just take into account that this process is not going to happen over a few days, unless you are extremely bad ass, and will take some time. But shortly you will notice that SERPs will rise, PR will increase and daily sessions will go through the roof.

All I want for Christmas is some shining new parts

I recently picked up the latest edition of Street Trucks magazine to start getting ideas on which path the truck is going to go. Should it just be a bagged low rider or should it be a bagged performance corner bending machine?

The latter is definelty the choice to go with since it encompasses both areas: performance and ride height. It is always fun to sit down and start mapping a plan, reading about what others are doing and what combo setups are going to be perfect for a paticular application. A long time ago I decided that AirRide will be supplying the suspension, 4-link in the rear with StrongArms and bags up front.

From my research this setup is by far the best air suspension for street and track uses and it will be able to take the abuses a 4,000 lb vehicle causes on a suspension under extreme conditions. But getting the right suspension seems to be only part of the equation.

Supporting 20s, and wanting to keep 20s as track rims, it will be challenging to get the front tires to tuck while maintaining any type of width to the tire. This is of course you want to keep the inner fender. In Street Trucks there where many dumped Chevs and all most all of them had no inner fender wells, WUWT? I know be on the ground is cool and all but what happens when the hood is popped and there sit some tires? I wanna see motor, not tires.

So there is one dilemma, getting the truck low while maintaining width of tire (for performance) and retaining the inner fender wells. The rear is a different story all together. Since there is plenty of room to do what I will it is going to be a tad easier. It is only going to take a lot of fab work.

The bed is going to receive a mini tub so I can house 20x10s in the rear, big rims, and the floor of the bed is going to be raised 3 inches. This should give the clearance to house the big wheels and give the truck a unique custom tinge. Another item for the bed is going to be a custom x-bar made that will mount in the four corners of the bed and meet in the middle.

Right now the truck as serious body roll and hopefully it will reduce it some. The idea came to me from watching Thunder Trucks, though their x-bars are tied in to the structure of the whole frame, and how they where able to achieve huge performance out of a truck design.

This truck is nothing like a Thunder Truck, well it is in my dreams, but the goal is to have a extreme street/track truck that retains the original look of the body. It is possible and only takes time, hard work and money...good thing my friend just picked up a welder (and I can weld) so some of the fab work I will be able to do myself, actually, I should be able to do everything. And if I %$#@ it all up I guess that will tell to hire a professional :)

Designing a truck, in my opinion, is some of the most personal art work and reflection of who a person is. And with the options available today the possibilities are endless to create a one off custom machine.

May your Christmas Tree be loaded with headers, four barrels, superchargers, turbos, intercoolers and other smokin accessories! Peace out my friends!!

Open letter to automotive artists

Last night I was hanging out with Dayzed50 bs-ing about the new transmission, gear ration setups and performance goodies that will be in place for coming summer. But shortly the conversation switched and now were talking about how awesome Transformers the movie is.

Then the idea came up: wouldn’t it be styling to have a drawing done of our cars/trucks of how it would look as a Transformer.

So after searching the net we did not come across anyone who was offering such drawings. It would be nice if a person could submit their photos and viola...the truck is standings 20 feet tall and has mortars on the right arm and a 50 caliber on the left (similar to Ironhide).

If there is an member artist on TheAutoLog or an artist out there in cyberspace that does these? If so please let us know, leave a comment or send me an email. I am sure there are many others who would not mind having their auto transformed.

The winter is for parts

With winter in full swing in Washington there is not a whole of day light, or appropriate weather, to be outside in the Mustang. But there is time for is adding new goodies in preparation for when the bright thing in the sky returns.

If you don't know my buddy Dayzed50 and I spend the summers hitting the track for road course and drag strip action. Some years motors blow and some years the summer passes with no major incident. Last season was one of the good years with no parts breaking and it has allowed Dayzed50 to pickup some extras to handle all the extra horsepower from the intercooler, larger diameter headers, aluminum heads and host of other parts.

So what are these new parts you maybe wondering? A Temec 600 HD transmission, Centerforce duel friction clutch and a new driveline, sorry Dayzed50 if I butchered that. As far as I know the transmission should with stand 600 ft lbs of torque which is a major upgrade from the T-5, which has taken a few years of abuse.

This weekend I will heading over to his house and check out in the goodies and drink beer in the garage. So if I know him correctly, he is out in the garage right now getting the car prepped for prepped.

Well it is Friday and I am outta here, peace out and keep the dirty side down.

To vote or not to vote that is the question

Now that Alex has announced the Sweet 16 Snapshot competition and I have to shameless publicize and solicit for your votes in the Trucks category.

A little about the "truck with no name": It is an 03 Chevrolet C1500 si which is completely stock expect for rims. Man, that did not take long at all (maybe Santa will be good to me). What else? Hmmmm...its black...uhhhh...it drives nice...uh huhuh. I guess there is not a whole lot of reasons to vote for it but that doesn't matter...vote me up anyways :)

There is no rhyme or reason why votes go one way or the other, friends or no friends, deep pockets or not but Flashwing has shared his thoughts on the Sweet 16 in his latest post the Sour 16 and makes some valid points, though I don't agree with them all.

For me it is all about friendly competition, to share and laugh with people who share a similar passion for the horseless carriage.

So why do people vote one way or another? Does it come down to just friends or is it more involved than that? Not really sure about "the why" but there is no mistaken that having a lot of friends on a network can sway the challenge in favor of one AutoLogger over another.

Keep the spirit alive and vote because you can't complain if you don't take the time to vote.

2007 SEMA Show

I was look through an article on MSN about their top ten tuner cars and one just struck me.

Secretly I like the xBs Scions but would never buy one because they are not me. This one in particular though is a tad crazy. Being the size of a Red Bull can, xBs are small and are not known for their under the hood room but somehow BRS crammed a V8 in there.

Here are some highlights of this death machine.

- 4.7 Liter Tundra V8
- Twin Turbo
- Ford 9 inch
- A custom 4-link

That just seems like a lot of big parts for the small Scion. Must be a custom chassis with a xB body bolted to it. It reminds me of being a hot rod show and seeing the street bike with a twin turbo HEMI in it, cool but seriously crazy!

Road Trip Chi

Like many AutoLoggers I have a passion for driving down the road with not a care in the world. Feeling the road through the floor boards and having the vibrations and bumps me translated into my feet making feel at one with the surroundings.

After high school I got the opportunity, or job, that took me all over Washington State as well as Oregon. There were more night than can be counted spent alone, at night and blasting down highways, interstates and back roads getting to the next job.

The Pacific Northwest is a beautiful place and has so much scenery that I often pulled off the highway just to take it all in. One trip was to Mount St. Helens in the late summer. Unfortunately I did not get all the way because a land side had removed the section of the road. So being in the S-10 I had to turn around.

But that same feeling of driving down the open highway, sometimes hard to find in Washington these days, still remains. Summers are usually spent with a excellent buddy racing at the track and hanging with other car fans, another friend is redoing a 69 RS/SS that will hopefully be in the road in a year.

The feeling that I get can only be explained as chi. It has been awhile since I have been able to blast down the highway and a road trip but hopefully when summer re-appears that will all change. Anyone have any road trips planned?

Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano F1

In my previous post there were so top notch cars that could grace any garage and kick down some serious performance numbers. But after some thought there was one that was left out, the Ferrari 599 GTB.

The 599 keeps to most of Ferrari’s traditions, yes most. Ferrari chose to go with a front engine design with a monster V12 pumping out 620 hp @ 7600 rpms and 448 lb-tq @ 4800 rmps. All that power translates in a stunning 3.7 0-62 mph time, Road & Track claims it at 3.2 which is faster “McLaren F1, the Porsche Carrera GT and 911 Turbo and the Saleen S7 Twin Turbo, and a tie with the 650-bhp Ruf Rt 12”.

I like everything about the car but one thing that others have mentioned, which I partially agree with, is the styling looks awfully similar to the styling of Jaguar. With the V12 upfront the nose of the Ferrari is quite long and grill is open and circular.

With that said it still is a beautiful automobile and I am sure will continue the legacy that is Ferrari.

ahhhh hahahha

It hurts when a long post is deleted...the lastest, or in better words..."the deleted post" will be out in a few days...sry for the delay.

A wish list for the ages

I am sure everyone here, has at one time or another, jas thought about their Top 5 cars if money was no object. There have been many times with buddies that after the arrival of new parts and a few brews we have ventured into this topic. Though there is some variation between each others no. 1 they all have a few things in common: extreme performance, ultimate luxury and sexy styling.

Sticking to super cars mostly becuase I can afford them and their speed is un rivaled, there are many worthly of holding the top spots. Car cllectors, like Jay Leno have been known to get speeding tickets in exotic cars.

So without futher delay here our my Top 5 Cars.

1. McLaren F1 GT
2. Aston Martin Vanquish
3. BMW M5 w/ a ProCharger
4. 67 Stingray w/ a 427 Tri-Power
5. 911 Porsche Turbo

Let everyone know your Top 5 by posting a blog about it (note all recent blog posts are featured under "Recent Blog Posts" section in the right hand navigation).

Remember your first ride?

A kids first ride is a special thing, hey we are talking autos here you sickos :) It is something that is thought about all throughout the teen years and is highly anticipated as a kid approaches the awesome age of 16.

It has been said the ride chooses the person not the person chooses the ride but who really knows. One thing that is certain is that the first ride is special. I remember mine; it was something thought about since junior high and planned with great care. Virtually everything that went into that little truck was picked out prior to even owning it, bought my first set of subwoofers while still riding a Schwinn.

Usually the first auto means freedom, mostly from parental supervision, to blast down the highway without a care in the world except what will be the next CD. The freedom to go to-and-from with friends while cruising the local hang outs just to show off the new rims or being more secretive and smoking the tires behind the local Fred Meyer.

For me it was the experiences that happened while being in the first ride. Some of the best memories where made while picking up the friends to head out to the local swimming hole or heading up the mountain pass to bust out.

Everyone’s experience is different and reasons for choosing the first ride vary beyond belief so the questions I pose are: What was your first ride? What made it so memorable? Do you still have your first ride? and/or Would you do it differently looking back?

Mustangs Northwest

My buddy and I got to participate in the Mustangs Northwest Roundup on the July 12th. We have video on YouTube, 10 minute clip in car footage of the road course.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/goingbigger

Blog Post: http://goingbigger.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!B2E4623F7DC56CC3!5793.entry

Treadstone 3-Core Intercooler

My buddy Dayzed50 dropped in a Treadstone 3-Core intercooler the other day and we hit the dyno as well. It made 462 rwhp before blowing a chuck out of the head, major detination. Its all fixed and we hit the track this thursday for some road coarse fun. Here is the link to the installation and pictures. Just copy & paste it into a new window.

http://goingbigger.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!B2E4623F7DC56CC3!5627.entry

Like a broke down car, SPAM

Like a broke down car, SPAMming never works, try as SPAM might it always has fundamental core problems, similar to having a gas tank behind the front seat in the old Chevy pickups.

Like a broke down car, SPAM will always be a pain in the ass. It is annoying and keeps showing in the oddest places like driving through the desert when the AC decides to break.

Like a broke down car, SPAM never wins races. It is always coming up short and never reaches its full potential similar to a midget in a porn movie.

Can anyone else think of how SPAM is like a broke down car?

Profile of the Month Update

Well it doesn't look like Goingbigger will pull down the votes to make it into the top three, ah well, its all good :)

The competition is heating up though with the top spot changing positions daily. This is the first glimse today and already there are some new peeps in the top 5.

It is going to be no matter what and good luck to all the daily profile winners, ya'll rock!

Profile of the Month

This past month has been pretty exciting for me due to getting the profile of the month for April 4th. It was pretty sweet to see the truck on the homepage and to show my friends, which also led to some of them joining up.

The profile is coming along and has a few videos, mostly of my friend's mustangs, one being a speedo run. Having a stocker doesn't have the excitement in the peddle like a highly modified ride but it also has a carefree maintenance program which I am rather enjoying.

There are more pictures of past trucks in the photo album, one being the high school truck and the other being the after high school 4x4.

TheAutoLog is a great place to share enthusiasm as well as show support for friends and businesses. The site has definitely been evolving since I joined up, which gives me something new to look forward to upon each visit, and with so many hot rides in the line this month it is going to be a tough competition.

If anyone has some time swing by the vote station and vote for your favorite ride, profile, friend and maybe I'll get a few of those votes :P

Anyhoo, I better actually work now that I am at the office...hahhaha...we'll see :P

Test Run Tonight

Tonight, after work, I am heading over to Dayzed50 house for the first fire up since adding new heads, upper and lower intake and 1 3/4 inch headers. We have been working on it all week...well Dayzed50 has been working I'm mostly moral support :P Well gotta run and at least work today....peace out!

Pinks All Out on Speed

As I b-bop through TheAutoLog I am watching Pinks on the Speed channel. The show is setup as bracket racing where the top cars in the low 10s compete for 10K cash.

This is by far the best episode than previous ones where entrants got to negotiate lengths, bottles and the like. It is heads up racing that each entrant gets to bet cash as well as racing for the final 10K.

It was so good racing; one person was eliminated by red lighting and another by running to fast (broke into the mid 9s). The rest were all eliminated by loosing the race which where mostly all really close.

I am working on a marketing project with my buddy Dayzed50 to make a movie of his Mustang and his races to be a showcase movie. The project is a multi staged project that will take till the end of summer to complete and it can be followed on my marketing website http://www.twresourcegroup.com.

It is going to be fun and if you have some time swing over to the site and drop a comment...take care and keep the dirty side down!

TheAutoLog Has blogs

I have been wondering about this for so long and never noticed the link in the tool bar...nice....guess I have another platform to play on :)