Krawltex Christmas Party Saturday, December 18th
Tony's house off Nutty Brown Road. plenty of refreshments, BBQ, live music. Check the forum for more info!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
A solid month since a post... I'm getting worse and worse. Guess that means we are busy, and boy have we been. Rico Garcia has been a great addition to the team. We would be even deeper in our two week wait to get new customer work in if it wasn't for this Wyo-tech graduate joining the team when he did!
We reorganized the shop after Tony's buggy was completed in October. Mack's CJ7 finally got the 5.3L, 4L60E, and NP241 dropped in his Jeep, with a 3 link coilover suspension and King shocks underneath it. We will be finishing it up in the next few weeks. Ed's FJcruiser got some flush mount skids out of 3/16" 6061 aluminum. We cut the factory transmission crossmember out and built one flush with the bottom of the frame. After cutting skid plates that flow from the bottom of his fab fours bumper to the gas tank, Chris TIG welded the pieces together as well as counter sunk all of the mounting bolts with allen head flat hardware.
John's 1966 FJ45 is getting a custom safari rack inspired by the rigs in Africa, used for hunting. After a 4 year frame off restoration at Wimberly Fourwheel Drive, this vintage Yota came straight to our shop for tube work. Look for pics very soon. Another vintage truck at the shop is Mark LaRue's (of LaRue Tactical), M715 Kaiser truck. We are leveling the rear suspension and sourcing some longer brake lines for him.
Steve's CJ7 has gotten linked front and rear with full hydro. It's getting some finishing touches before it leaves the shop this week. Speaking of ongoing sagas, Jake's 12V suburban is getting the final tweaks before it goes to Colorado indefinitely... new injectors, upgraded injector pump and turbo, national front leaves, reworked shock mounts, and a few little odds and ends.
Mike's Excursion is evolving in to an urban assault vehicle. After a complete exterior rhino lining, we have installed a larger Garret turbo, 5" exhaust, and intake. It is receiving a 6" Skyjacker lift, 35" Toyo MT's on black aluminum wheels, and zombie killer bumpers front and rear... swingout and ladder included.
We finally finished Chris' AW4 swap in his TJ. Now we know every possible combo for doing this swap and the advantages/pitfalls of certain donor transmissions and harnesses. Boy, was that confusing! Speaking of TJ's with AW4 swaps, we are regearing Patrick's with 5.13 gears and ARB's. It is also getting a slight wheelbase stretch and a aluminum "stretch" fuel cell. Mark's TJ will be in here later in the week for 4.56 gears and Eli's monster wrangler awaits a warrantied OX locker.
Krawltex is also doing some cage work for Don Rucker automotive from Lakeway. The first is an interior sport cage in an 89 Bronco. The second will be adding to a CJ7 cage. Speaking of cage work, we are scheduled to do some more on a Scout and another CJ5 at the end of the month.
Hopefully we will find enough time to tear down the race truck this winter for next year's adventures... and finish Chris and Ted's buggies to add some ultra four competition in the EDR series.
We reorganized the shop after Tony's buggy was completed in October. Mack's CJ7 finally got the 5.3L, 4L60E, and NP241 dropped in his Jeep, with a 3 link coilover suspension and King shocks underneath it. We will be finishing it up in the next few weeks. Ed's FJcruiser got some flush mount skids out of 3/16" 6061 aluminum. We cut the factory transmission crossmember out and built one flush with the bottom of the frame. After cutting skid plates that flow from the bottom of his fab fours bumper to the gas tank, Chris TIG welded the pieces together as well as counter sunk all of the mounting bolts with allen head flat hardware.
John's 1966 FJ45 is getting a custom safari rack inspired by the rigs in Africa, used for hunting. After a 4 year frame off restoration at Wimberly Fourwheel Drive, this vintage Yota came straight to our shop for tube work. Look for pics very soon. Another vintage truck at the shop is Mark LaRue's (of LaRue Tactical), M715 Kaiser truck. We are leveling the rear suspension and sourcing some longer brake lines for him.
Steve's CJ7 has gotten linked front and rear with full hydro. It's getting some finishing touches before it leaves the shop this week. Speaking of ongoing sagas, Jake's 12V suburban is getting the final tweaks before it goes to Colorado indefinitely... new injectors, upgraded injector pump and turbo, national front leaves, reworked shock mounts, and a few little odds and ends.
Mike's Excursion is evolving in to an urban assault vehicle. After a complete exterior rhino lining, we have installed a larger Garret turbo, 5" exhaust, and intake. It is receiving a 6" Skyjacker lift, 35" Toyo MT's on black aluminum wheels, and zombie killer bumpers front and rear... swingout and ladder included.
We finally finished Chris' AW4 swap in his TJ. Now we know every possible combo for doing this swap and the advantages/pitfalls of certain donor transmissions and harnesses. Boy, was that confusing! Speaking of TJ's with AW4 swaps, we are regearing Patrick's with 5.13 gears and ARB's. It is also getting a slight wheelbase stretch and a aluminum "stretch" fuel cell. Mark's TJ will be in here later in the week for 4.56 gears and Eli's monster wrangler awaits a warrantied OX locker.
Krawltex is also doing some cage work for Don Rucker automotive from Lakeway. The first is an interior sport cage in an 89 Bronco. The second will be adding to a CJ7 cage. Speaking of cage work, we are scheduled to do some more on a Scout and another CJ5 at the end of the month.
Hopefully we will find enough time to tear down the race truck this winter for next year's adventures... and finish Chris and Ted's buggies to add some ultra four competition in the EDR series.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
This is a project we have been working on for two months. Tony didn't want us to post pics until it was all done. He picked it up this weekend. It was originally a YJ with a carbed 4.2L and a 5 speed. It evolved first in to a wheel base stretch and full widths... then 1 tons and 38's. Last year we tubed it out from the A pillar back, linked the rear and went to 42's. This time we went full tilt.
5.3L Chevy V8, Turbo 350, rebuilt the twin stick flipped D300, tubed the front out, King 2.5 16" travel coil overs with remote resi's on all four corners, FOA 4" bump stops, a 3" hand built exhaust out of mandrel bends and block hugger headers, full hydro steering with Solid knuckles and high steer arms, PSC pump, double ended ram, heimed tie rods, chromo shafts, drive flanges, Detroit locker and Longfield u-joints, double triangulated front four link with Branik aluminum links, hand built low pro 4 link cradle (TIG and MIG), WARN 8000 with synthetic line and incab control, double pass cross flow aluminum radiator with custom hand built bead rolled fan shroud, electric fan, and a slick upper clamp system that pre-loads the radiator, flipped LS1 low pro intake, custom adjustable alternator and belt tensioner, Kevco baffled oil pan, all AN fittings and push lock hose, electric oil/trans cooler with rear oil filter mount, flat skid with 19.75" of belly pan clearance, rear disc conversion, stacked rear plate steel TIG welded upper coil over mounts
There may be more, but you will probably catch it in the 75+ pics http://www.krawltex.com/newtex/g1/album389
Here some highlights...
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Krawltex takes first in class and fourth overall with the 5 unlimited car in the Texoma 200 Night Race. Congrats to the Cardosa's. Dwayne and Ted "iron manned" the entire race, crossing the finish line right around 6 hours with a flawless run. Great job to the whole team and congrats to the second first place podium of the VW's last three races.
As far as the truck goes... sadly we got our first DNF in the Tacoma. We had gone over the truck for weeks. Bolts were tightened. Shocks rebuilt. Fluid changes and plugs were swapped. The power steering pump was replaced and the entire system flushed. I should have known we were in for something bad when we found two suspension cracks days before the race. While TIG welding the cracks, the welder arced through the chassis and somehow smoked the brake lines. We replaced the stainless line and two hard lines that were pinched from previous use. While it was in the air, we also noticed the pinion nut had backed off and there was a tremendous ammount of back lash in the gears. Without enough time to get rebuild parts for the 6.30 geared 40 spline 9", we tightened the nut and kept going.
After a few hours of driving, we get to the ranch on Friday. Matt and Chris take it out prerunning just before sun down, only to find out the GPS is not working again. Jeremy and I hop in the truck and take it out for a run in pitch black. Figured we needed to test everything else out and get a lay of the land. Think I only scared him once. With both runs, the Tacoma performed well. However, I did blow a turn at mile 27 because of unclear trail markings.
The next day we had 5 hours to prerun before the race. After a bunch of trial and error, we were able to get the GPS to record a lap, despite the SD card reader being completely useless. Chris and I replaced a leaking outer wheel hub on the rear axle. Soon after, Matt Little and I take off and map the course. Matt S and Chris do another lap before the race to get familiar with the course in the day light. We load up and head to the start line.
I drew 6th out of 7 starting position for class 8. By mile 10, we were in third place chasing dust. As soon as I'm on the heels of the truck ahead of us, the truck starts running like complete crap. I figured it was ignition related because it would smooth out at 3000 rpm in a higher gear. We called in to the pits to have that stuff ready. In the midst of the power loss, I noticed the brakes were going. The truck would only slow after 3-4 pumps of the brake pedal. We call that in too. Somebody was smart enough to suggest switching to the second fuel pump and immediately we had power. We rolled in to the pits thinking, "check the brakes, bleed out some air, and keep going." In less than 10 seconds, Chris signaled to kill it.
What put us out of the race was a $100 front hub bearing. It had exploded, with only one roller left on a crispy spindle hub. The only component keeping the wheel on the truck was a brake caliper, which explains the intermittent brakes. One 3/8's bolt was all that kept us from going out of control. We were extremely lucky. I guess that's just racing. In the last 10 races, we have podiumed 8 times with 7 first place finishes. A DNF is just part of it.
So what I have learned about our truck from this race... our GPS kind of works but won't read an SD card. This means we have to prerun because we can't buy the course from someone else. Buy twice as much beer as you think the weekend will require, because you may be pitting for the other car REAL quickly. And stock Toyota parts are complete shit. The hub bearing that failed was replaced with a Timken unit before the last race. It had less than 400 miles on it. front hubs with some real bearings are in the works for the 7S.
As far as the truck goes... sadly we got our first DNF in the Tacoma. We had gone over the truck for weeks. Bolts were tightened. Shocks rebuilt. Fluid changes and plugs were swapped. The power steering pump was replaced and the entire system flushed. I should have known we were in for something bad when we found two suspension cracks days before the race. While TIG welding the cracks, the welder arced through the chassis and somehow smoked the brake lines. We replaced the stainless line and two hard lines that were pinched from previous use. While it was in the air, we also noticed the pinion nut had backed off and there was a tremendous ammount of back lash in the gears. Without enough time to get rebuild parts for the 6.30 geared 40 spline 9", we tightened the nut and kept going.
After a few hours of driving, we get to the ranch on Friday. Matt and Chris take it out prerunning just before sun down, only to find out the GPS is not working again. Jeremy and I hop in the truck and take it out for a run in pitch black. Figured we needed to test everything else out and get a lay of the land. Think I only scared him once. With both runs, the Tacoma performed well. However, I did blow a turn at mile 27 because of unclear trail markings.
The next day we had 5 hours to prerun before the race. After a bunch of trial and error, we were able to get the GPS to record a lap, despite the SD card reader being completely useless. Chris and I replaced a leaking outer wheel hub on the rear axle. Soon after, Matt Little and I take off and map the course. Matt S and Chris do another lap before the race to get familiar with the course in the day light. We load up and head to the start line.
I drew 6th out of 7 starting position for class 8. By mile 10, we were in third place chasing dust. As soon as I'm on the heels of the truck ahead of us, the truck starts running like complete crap. I figured it was ignition related because it would smooth out at 3000 rpm in a higher gear. We called in to the pits to have that stuff ready. In the midst of the power loss, I noticed the brakes were going. The truck would only slow after 3-4 pumps of the brake pedal. We call that in too. Somebody was smart enough to suggest switching to the second fuel pump and immediately we had power. We rolled in to the pits thinking, "check the brakes, bleed out some air, and keep going." In less than 10 seconds, Chris signaled to kill it.
What put us out of the race was a $100 front hub bearing. It had exploded, with only one roller left on a crispy spindle hub. The only component keeping the wheel on the truck was a brake caliper, which explains the intermittent brakes. One 3/8's bolt was all that kept us from going out of control. We were extremely lucky. I guess that's just racing. In the last 10 races, we have podiumed 8 times with 7 first place finishes. A DNF is just part of it.
So what I have learned about our truck from this race... our GPS kind of works but won't read an SD card. This means we have to prerun because we can't buy the course from someone else. Buy twice as much beer as you think the weekend will require, because you may be pitting for the other car REAL quickly. And stock Toyota parts are complete shit. The hub bearing that failed was replaced with a Timken unit before the last race. It had less than 400 miles on it. front hubs with some real bearings are in the works for the 7S.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
three weeks since a blog post... and what a tiring three weeks it has been! Temperatures have been between 110 and 140 degrees inside the shop this month making 8 hours of work take about 12. Krawltex has six race cars in the stable and all of them are racing in the next few weeks. Jeremy's WEROC buggy is competing in Tennessee this weekend. Our 7S Tacoma and 5 Unlimited VW are heading to Texoma for a night race on Labor Day weekend. Our Lemons racer will beheading to Angeleton, TX for a September 11th race. we are shooting to have Tony's Rock buggy ready for a debut at trees on Labor day and a race at canyons on the 18th of September. We also hope to have Ted's YJ linked in the front so he can defend his crown at the same race at canyons. It's going to be a rough few weeks of late nights... the 7S truck needs front fenders and a rear bypass shock rebuild. Ted's YJ needs an entire front end suspension overhaul. The 5 car needs better lighting. The Lemons car lacks an interior cage and seat mounts. tony's buggy is still in pieces... although we have the whole front suspension mocked up. chris and I finished the motor mounts and tranny mount last night.
Over the past few weeks we have finished a lift kit and power brake conversion on Jarrett's early Bronco. A highlander had a 100K maintenance and timing belt/water pump. Several strand vans have come through and one is getting a new tranny this week. Jeremy's buggy received some tube repair. We have lifted a few JK's for Cecil Atkins Jeep. The Tahoe is now regeared with a new 241 t-case and driveshafts are expected any day now. dan's CJ has been revamped with a corrected drive line mounts, skid plate, motor mounts, electric fan, dash, gauges, and a host of other odds and ends. and Tony's buggy evolves every day.
Over the past few weeks we have finished a lift kit and power brake conversion on Jarrett's early Bronco. A highlander had a 100K maintenance and timing belt/water pump. Several strand vans have come through and one is getting a new tranny this week. Jeremy's buggy received some tube repair. We have lifted a few JK's for Cecil Atkins Jeep. The Tahoe is now regeared with a new 241 t-case and driveshafts are expected any day now. dan's CJ has been revamped with a corrected drive line mounts, skid plate, motor mounts, electric fan, dash, gauges, and a host of other odds and ends. and Tony's buggy evolves every day.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Shop Banter
We have been extremely busy with the day to day operations here at the shop, especially with all the planning it takes to run the 7S truck. Krawltex has also teamed up witha WEROC competitor new to the area. The shop will be sponsoring Jeremy Dickinson with his unlimited class rear steer buggy for the rest of this year as well as 2011 in the WEROC East series. All of us are looking forward to his success. Jeremy currently works for Michelin tires and formerly was an XRRA course builder.
As far as shop work goes... We have done a slew of Strand vans, finishing odds and ends on two TJ's that received AW4 transmission swaps, Andrew's SAS 1 ton Tahoe now moves under its own power, an Jason's early Bronco is getting a cage, Austin's 4runner has an LC Engineering 22RE about to be swapped in, while Rob's 4runner just received a 56" spring conversion with a rear bumper and sliders awaiting installation. We are also doing maintenance to Andrew's Chevy 2500 HD, and a small lift on a JK for a Jeep dealership in Burnet.
Next week will be a disc brake conversion on another ealry Bronco, wrapping up the Tahoe and an AW4 TJ, starting on the 4-link, full hydro and 5.3L Chevy conversion in tony's YJ buggy, hopefully making some head way on the FJ Cruiser supercharger upgrade, and the 5.3L swap and cage work on Mack's CJ7
Here's a few pics of the 4runner and Bronco cage
Saturday, July 3, 2010
4th of July Parade in Round Rock!!!
the Round Rock 4th of July Parade is tomorrow at noon. We will be driving the Krawltex race truck and throwing candy out to the kids if you want to co
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Firecracker 250 Race Report
We had a blast at the Firecracker 250! EDR and Rock and Roll put on a great event in Odessa. Jeremy, Becca, Ben and I rolled out with the 5 Unlimited around 4PM. Matt Schwoerer and Matt "Goosette" Little were in the long travel Tacoma. We got to Odessa just after the sun set, made camp and called it a night. Tony, Ted and Chris brought the 7S truck and showed up at 5AM.
Friday morning we teched and registered at the Holiday Inn, picked up Phil, then headed to the track. Ted and Matt took the first lap in the race truck. That's when we found our GPS was no longer with us. We even tried to upload the course from another racer. We made the call to have every driver take a lap to get familiar with the course. Chris and Goosette took it out. That's about when Jeremy came back with Will and Eliot from the airport. Ben and I drove the truck to finish the day out. Somewhere in that time, Oren and Natalia showed up. Andy and Dave took the 5 car and did one lap with some minor electrical hiccups.
The course was pretty fast and had a ton of silt. 50 mile laps of loose sand, wash outs, tight trails lined with cedar and a sprinkling of football sized rocks made up the course. We somehow missed the pre-race dinner, but made the driver meeting an hour before the race. Unfortunately, there were no other class 7S (V6 mini trucks) besides us. So we went up a class and raced against the full size V8 trucks in class 8.
I took the first lap with Matt S. We started towards the end of the 8 truck lineup. I drove a bit aggressively to get through the traffic and out of all the dust. After landing hard on a jump, part of the lower hood mount broke and held on for dear life until we pitted. By mile 20, we were in third. After mile 35, we had first place by a good lead. In to the pits we went, after I blew a big turn where there were a ton of spectators. The hood was removed and our pit was pretty clean... Just a minute and a half for a full driver change and look over the truck. A Bronco and an Ultra 4 passed us in the pits.
Ted jumped in and Matt S stayed in the co-driver seat for lap 2. Around mile 3, the truck dug deep in to the silt and buried itself to the frame. The crew team jumped in to Tony's F350, raced across the mid field and extracted the Tacoma. Onward they went. On lap 3, they blew a tire. It was completely shredded. There was a problem with the jack that put the car down for 15 minutes before the spare was swapped. Around mile 34, the brakes went to the floor. Ted and Matt pulled off the course, and pinched off the broken stainless brake line. We scrounged up the parts to make the repair and they limped it back.
The truck came back in to the pits and the crew went to it. Gas, driver change, front end shake down and lug nut torquing. I dove under the truck and swapped out the stainless line. Tony bled the brakes. Off they went... another 15 minute delay in the pits. Despite our hardships, Chris and Goosette powered through and had a flawless 2 laps. They closed the gap between us and first place down to 15 minutes when the Krawltex Tacoma crossed the finished line. Second place finish. Not too shabby for a V6 truck running in class 8!
Unfortunately, our 5 car had a slew of problems that couldn't be fixed out on the course. At mile 5 of lap 1, the ignition system shit the bed. After changing plugs, wires, cap , rotor, and an ignition computer chip, the 5 car finally got back on course. After the first pite, we splashed it with gas and sent them on their way. 20 miles later, the nut holding the alternator pulley decided to fly off in to the woods, shredding the belt and taking the pulley with it. Dave managed to find the pulley but we had to source another nut. The correct fastener is a conical 14mm. All we could find was a non-tapered nut. After an hour of figuring out how to get to the 5 car, the crew patched the car and limped it back to the pits. Back to repair and prep work for both vehicles.
Krawltex is planning to run the Best in the Desert Series Vegas to Reno race in August. In the coming months, we will be doing a full prep, swapping glass, rewiring, and freshening up the interior. The 5 car will be going under prep for the Texoma day/night race in September.
Friday morning we teched and registered at the Holiday Inn, picked up Phil, then headed to the track. Ted and Matt took the first lap in the race truck. That's when we found our GPS was no longer with us. We even tried to upload the course from another racer. We made the call to have every driver take a lap to get familiar with the course. Chris and Goosette took it out. That's about when Jeremy came back with Will and Eliot from the airport. Ben and I drove the truck to finish the day out. Somewhere in that time, Oren and Natalia showed up. Andy and Dave took the 5 car and did one lap with some minor electrical hiccups.
The course was pretty fast and had a ton of silt. 50 mile laps of loose sand, wash outs, tight trails lined with cedar and a sprinkling of football sized rocks made up the course. We somehow missed the pre-race dinner, but made the driver meeting an hour before the race. Unfortunately, there were no other class 7S (V6 mini trucks) besides us. So we went up a class and raced against the full size V8 trucks in class 8.
I took the first lap with Matt S. We started towards the end of the 8 truck lineup. I drove a bit aggressively to get through the traffic and out of all the dust. After landing hard on a jump, part of the lower hood mount broke and held on for dear life until we pitted. By mile 20, we were in third. After mile 35, we had first place by a good lead. In to the pits we went, after I blew a big turn where there were a ton of spectators. The hood was removed and our pit was pretty clean... Just a minute and a half for a full driver change and look over the truck. A Bronco and an Ultra 4 passed us in the pits.
Ted jumped in and Matt S stayed in the co-driver seat for lap 2. Around mile 3, the truck dug deep in to the silt and buried itself to the frame. The crew team jumped in to Tony's F350, raced across the mid field and extracted the Tacoma. Onward they went. On lap 3, they blew a tire. It was completely shredded. There was a problem with the jack that put the car down for 15 minutes before the spare was swapped. Around mile 34, the brakes went to the floor. Ted and Matt pulled off the course, and pinched off the broken stainless brake line. We scrounged up the parts to make the repair and they limped it back.
The truck came back in to the pits and the crew went to it. Gas, driver change, front end shake down and lug nut torquing. I dove under the truck and swapped out the stainless line. Tony bled the brakes. Off they went... another 15 minute delay in the pits. Despite our hardships, Chris and Goosette powered through and had a flawless 2 laps. They closed the gap between us and first place down to 15 minutes when the Krawltex Tacoma crossed the finished line. Second place finish. Not too shabby for a V6 truck running in class 8!
Unfortunately, our 5 car had a slew of problems that couldn't be fixed out on the course. At mile 5 of lap 1, the ignition system shit the bed. After changing plugs, wires, cap , rotor, and an ignition computer chip, the 5 car finally got back on course. After the first pite, we splashed it with gas and sent them on their way. 20 miles later, the nut holding the alternator pulley decided to fly off in to the woods, shredding the belt and taking the pulley with it. Dave managed to find the pulley but we had to source another nut. The correct fastener is a conical 14mm. All we could find was a non-tapered nut. After an hour of figuring out how to get to the 5 car, the crew patched the car and limped it back to the pits. Back to repair and prep work for both vehicles.
Krawltex is planning to run the Best in the Desert Series Vegas to Reno race in August. In the coming months, we will be doing a full prep, swapping glass, rewiring, and freshening up the interior. The 5 car will be going under prep for the Texoma day/night race in September.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Krawltex 4th Anniversary Party June 12th
It's that time of year again. Thanks to every one that has helped us along the way! Krawltex is very excited to be in our 4th year of business. Come by the shop on saturday, June 12th for some free BBQ, refreshments and live music. Festivities start at 11:30am. Check out the new digs if you haven't made it over to the new shop yet. We will have a great rockabilly band named the Tyburn Jig playing around 1PM. Think Johnny Cash meets Dick Dale and Punk Rock all in one. They even have a lap steel in their company. We will have the race car on display as well as other project vehicles. You may want to bring a folding chair. Other than that, please join us in celebrating 4 great years in the off road community!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Ed's Long Travel 4runner pics
On Ed's 05 Toyota 4runnner: 3" Stage 5 Icon long travel suspension... adjustable coilovers with remote reservoirs, billet aluminum upper control arms with heimed ends, All-pro heimed swaybar links and tie rod ends, Light Racing Jounce air bumps, Total Chaos lower control arm skid plates, 3" rear Icon coil springs, remote reservoir shocks, lower shock mount skids
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Lakeline Hooters Truck Show May 18TH
Very last minute, but they are having a little truck show get together at the Lakeline Hooters tomorrow, May 18th at 6PM. drink specials all night long. We'll bring out Matt's Prerunner Tacoma, Ed's Ultimate FJ Project and my Superduty. Come one come all, especially if you are repping the shop. I think 4WP sponsored this thing.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The shop has been pretty busy. Last week, we finished the 12V Suburban for Jake. Matt rebuilt the brakelines on Billy's F250. While Ted and I were gone racing, Matt and Chris also swapped a 3.4L long block in Steven's T100.
This week has been even more productive. Matt Little with the silver 06 Tacoma is interning with us this summer and giving an all around hand.
So far, Chris has installed an Icon mid travel kit on Ed's 05 4runner (adjustable resi coilovers, billet upper control arms, TC lower control arm skids, Light Racing bump stops, Allpro heimed steering and swaybar ends, and Spidertrax wheel spacers. The rear coils and shocks will go on later in the week. Currently, he is doing an adjustable Bilstein strut on Matt's Tundra.
Ted is working hard on linking Eric and Andrew's Tahoe. It should be sitting on a Dodge front end and 4 link suspension by the end of this week.
Matt is in the middle of an AW4 swap in Patrick's new TJ, as well as some other maintenance with a Dodge 2500 master cylinder conversion.
For the rest of the week, we have an XJ for some frame stiffeneing and cage work. Jason's 2500 Dodge is coming in for some front end steering and hub maintenance. Next week we will begin the power mods on Ed's FJcruiser... APR X1 fule manangement, Doug Thorley long tube headers, 7th injector, high flow fuwl pump, and smaller supercharger pulley. Then it is off to hand building an exhaust around a custom crossmember to give it a belly up skid, as well as the start to the interior cage. Kyle's Xterra will be in for sliders and a 2" lift before he heads to Moab for vacation. We will be in the middle of swapping an AW4 for Chris (SirGcal) in his TJ and hope to have it done by the end of next week. During all of this, we will be prepping 5099 for the race in June, as well as hammering out Ted's YJ for the Katemcy Memorial Day run.
This week has been even more productive. Matt Little with the silver 06 Tacoma is interning with us this summer and giving an all around hand.
So far, Chris has installed an Icon mid travel kit on Ed's 05 4runner (adjustable resi coilovers, billet upper control arms, TC lower control arm skids, Light Racing bump stops, Allpro heimed steering and swaybar ends, and Spidertrax wheel spacers. The rear coils and shocks will go on later in the week. Currently, he is doing an adjustable Bilstein strut on Matt's Tundra.
Ted is working hard on linking Eric and Andrew's Tahoe. It should be sitting on a Dodge front end and 4 link suspension by the end of this week.
Matt is in the middle of an AW4 swap in Patrick's new TJ, as well as some other maintenance with a Dodge 2500 master cylinder conversion.
For the rest of the week, we have an XJ for some frame stiffeneing and cage work. Jason's 2500 Dodge is coming in for some front end steering and hub maintenance. Next week we will begin the power mods on Ed's FJcruiser... APR X1 fule manangement, Doug Thorley long tube headers, 7th injector, high flow fuwl pump, and smaller supercharger pulley. Then it is off to hand building an exhaust around a custom crossmember to give it a belly up skid, as well as the start to the interior cage. Kyle's Xterra will be in for sliders and a 2" lift before he heads to Moab for vacation. We will be in the middle of swapping an AW4 for Chris (SirGcal) in his TJ and hope to have it done by the end of next week. During all of this, we will be prepping 5099 for the race in June, as well as hammering out Ted's YJ for the Katemcy Memorial Day run.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
SNORE Dusty Times 250 Race Report
This weekend has been awesome! We met Ted, Nick and Bill Moncure at the pits with Chris Livingston. After registration at the Knotty Pines Bar/Casino... I use the term casino very loosely, we got the truck through tech in less than an hour. I was hoping for a bigger Contingency Parade/Vendor Row, but what can you do. Shortly after, we had lasagna around a camp fire and shot the bull. Ted Moncure is the Product Development Manager for TRD. He actually designed the 4.0 Supercharger that we just installed on Ed Berrera's FJCruiser. Nick is the national sales manager for MBRP exhaust. Looks like Krawltex will be able to offer some great deals on both those product lines.
So in the morning, I hopped behind the wheel with Chris Livingston as my co-driver. He was a pro and eventually took over shifting as well as navigating for me. Unfortunately, we did not pre-run so we had to run about 70% to capture the course for everyone else. Luckily, SNORE did an incredible job marking the course with orange arrows. I slow paced it in the beginning to get a feel of the car. The steering has a 2:1 quick steer box and the brake bias had been set up for Baja, with more brake to the rear allowing the ass to slide. Unfortunately, I blew a turn and got the truck buried to the axle in a silt bed... avoiding the tree on my left and the ranch gate on the right. We dug for a while, then a back hoe came to our rescue. On we went, wasting about 15 minutes. When we hit the third water crossing, everything got soaked. Chris managed to turn the squelch down on the PA system and we motored through. The fourth water crossing was deeper, probably up to the rocker. This in turn soaked the ignition, but it cleared up after 10 miles of limping. Once I got a little more familiar with the steering in the twisty, technical section we opened it up and let her run.
The car sounds great with the Bassani exhaust. The rpms were solid all the way to the 6000 red line. The BFG Projects were unstoppable, besides my little driver error stuckage. 75 was fast as I felt comfortable taking the car. Later I would learn about the brake bias, which would have let me control it better on the high speed sweepers and rollers. But no big deal. Chris and I were still getting to trust each other, and I was just trying to cleanly finish my lap without wadding the car up. SNORE put on a great race with at least 40 miles of continuous high speed sections. A class 1 was on our ass and tried to take us for a ride, despite me pulling over. But such is racing. Like most hot head 1 car drivers, I don't think he finished.
After the first fire road section, it was a twisty section around a mountain top, through the trees, and on top of a mesa where one could stare all around the mountain valley... at 70 mph. Parts of it were very similar to rally racing terrain. But it also reminds me of the area around Mike's Sky Ranch in Baja. The view was incredible. We got through that section and then the last high speed. Some where amidst all of this, Chris and I were able to fall in to second place. The last 5 miles were absolute hell on a rookie driver. It started with a 1/4 mile of knee high whoops, followed by the next section of uphill whoops in a silt bed. I was able to feather the throttle and get us through it. By the way, the Toyota is 2wd. If you have ever heard of the infamous goat trail in Mexico, that's what the next section was similar to. Loose, rocky and off camper like a Jeep trail. I took the Toyota up and down the back bone of a mountain. The trail was a truck width. If you fell off the side, it would be a very bad day. At the bottom of the hill was the entrance to the pits.
I hopped out and Nick took the wheel with Ted (our Ted) as co-driver. Lap 2, they ripped it. Nick set up the brake bias, they were able to bypass a section of the water crossing, and they could fly now having GPS data. Of course, driver experience certainly helped. They were able to close the 15 minute gap between us and first place by the time they were charging down the main hill in to the pits.
Lap 3 was a driver change, no fuel. Ted Moncure hopped in the driver's seat and I took the other. We got through the first silt bed that had by now, been knocked way down from all the trophy trucks and 1 cars. At the fourth water crossing, we completely shorted the communications. We could talk to each other, but couldn't relay back to the pits. In the midle of all this, we let a truck pass. As soon as we did, we realized that was first in our class. Out of the pits, we had the hole shot but weren't aware of it. We were going to spend lap 3 realing him in. I looked over at Ted and said, "Well, I guess now we have a race." It was catch up time. We road his ass for the next 60 miles, eating a dust cloud you couldn't see the end of your hood through. Luckily, I had driven the course before. We were definitely using the force and the GPS blindly, through some of the turns. When we got to the high speed section, we made our move on the Ranger with the Icelinger race motor. It was wide open head to head. We road his bumper blaring on the horn. He blocked for several miles. We tried to pass on the high left several times until the road narrowed just to two car lengths wide. So we took him for a ride. Never bumped somebody at 75 mph, but it was text book. Ted knocked the Ranger's driver rear bed side with the front passenger corner of the Tacoma. Fiberglass and our head light went every where. It must have rattled his cage, because when we finished the race 20 miles later, the Ranger was 10 minutes behind us.
Krawltex Motorsports and Long Beach Racers won the Dusty Times 250 in Class 7S
Cam
So in the morning, I hopped behind the wheel with Chris Livingston as my co-driver. He was a pro and eventually took over shifting as well as navigating for me. Unfortunately, we did not pre-run so we had to run about 70% to capture the course for everyone else. Luckily, SNORE did an incredible job marking the course with orange arrows. I slow paced it in the beginning to get a feel of the car. The steering has a 2:1 quick steer box and the brake bias had been set up for Baja, with more brake to the rear allowing the ass to slide. Unfortunately, I blew a turn and got the truck buried to the axle in a silt bed... avoiding the tree on my left and the ranch gate on the right. We dug for a while, then a back hoe came to our rescue. On we went, wasting about 15 minutes. When we hit the third water crossing, everything got soaked. Chris managed to turn the squelch down on the PA system and we motored through. The fourth water crossing was deeper, probably up to the rocker. This in turn soaked the ignition, but it cleared up after 10 miles of limping. Once I got a little more familiar with the steering in the twisty, technical section we opened it up and let her run.
The car sounds great with the Bassani exhaust. The rpms were solid all the way to the 6000 red line. The BFG Projects were unstoppable, besides my little driver error stuckage. 75 was fast as I felt comfortable taking the car. Later I would learn about the brake bias, which would have let me control it better on the high speed sweepers and rollers. But no big deal. Chris and I were still getting to trust each other, and I was just trying to cleanly finish my lap without wadding the car up. SNORE put on a great race with at least 40 miles of continuous high speed sections. A class 1 was on our ass and tried to take us for a ride, despite me pulling over. But such is racing. Like most hot head 1 car drivers, I don't think he finished.
After the first fire road section, it was a twisty section around a mountain top, through the trees, and on top of a mesa where one could stare all around the mountain valley... at 70 mph. Parts of it were very similar to rally racing terrain. But it also reminds me of the area around Mike's Sky Ranch in Baja. The view was incredible. We got through that section and then the last high speed. Some where amidst all of this, Chris and I were able to fall in to second place. The last 5 miles were absolute hell on a rookie driver. It started with a 1/4 mile of knee high whoops, followed by the next section of uphill whoops in a silt bed. I was able to feather the throttle and get us through it. By the way, the Toyota is 2wd. If you have ever heard of the infamous goat trail in Mexico, that's what the next section was similar to. Loose, rocky and off camper like a Jeep trail. I took the Toyota up and down the back bone of a mountain. The trail was a truck width. If you fell off the side, it would be a very bad day. At the bottom of the hill was the entrance to the pits.
I hopped out and Nick took the wheel with Ted (our Ted) as co-driver. Lap 2, they ripped it. Nick set up the brake bias, they were able to bypass a section of the water crossing, and they could fly now having GPS data. Of course, driver experience certainly helped. They were able to close the 15 minute gap between us and first place by the time they were charging down the main hill in to the pits.
Lap 3 was a driver change, no fuel. Ted Moncure hopped in the driver's seat and I took the other. We got through the first silt bed that had by now, been knocked way down from all the trophy trucks and 1 cars. At the fourth water crossing, we completely shorted the communications. We could talk to each other, but couldn't relay back to the pits. In the midle of all this, we let a truck pass. As soon as we did, we realized that was first in our class. Out of the pits, we had the hole shot but weren't aware of it. We were going to spend lap 3 realing him in. I looked over at Ted and said, "Well, I guess now we have a race." It was catch up time. We road his ass for the next 60 miles, eating a dust cloud you couldn't see the end of your hood through. Luckily, I had driven the course before. We were definitely using the force and the GPS blindly, through some of the turns. When we got to the high speed section, we made our move on the Ranger with the Icelinger race motor. It was wide open head to head. We road his bumper blaring on the horn. He blocked for several miles. We tried to pass on the high left several times until the road narrowed just to two car lengths wide. So we took him for a ride. Never bumped somebody at 75 mph, but it was text book. Ted knocked the Ranger's driver rear bed side with the front passenger corner of the Tacoma. Fiberglass and our head light went every where. It must have rattled his cage, because when we finished the race 20 miles later, the Ranger was 10 minutes behind us.
Krawltex Motorsports and Long Beach Racers won the Dusty Times 250 in Class 7S
Cam
Thursday, April 29, 2010
We are impressed how well a little article in the local newspaper can do for business. Thanks again to Joseph and Community Impact! Chris Cook joined us again on Monday. It is amazing how one person can help the morale, output, and quality of a shop. We are very glad to have him back on the Krawltex team!
Krawltex got a few new toys. Jeremy came up with a "walkie" style Forklift. 4 steel I-beam rack systems are coming in on Saturday so we can keep DOM tubing and various plate steel in stock for the customers' projects. The shop got a second 10K Challenger truck lift on Tuesday. In addition to those upgrades, we purchased two Miller 252 digital 220V MIG welders and a Miller Dynasty 200 TIG welder. Let the fabrication continue!
It has been a zoo around here. Ed's Cruiser received a TRD supercharger a couple weeks ago. This week we installed a Roger Brown 1.25 body lift and have reworked the bumper mounts on the Fab Fours pieces to relocate them up. We are in the works of getting URD's smaller pulley, fuel management system, 7th injector, 02 simulaters, Doug Thorley long tube headers, hand building an exhaust, and reworking the factory cross members to run a completely flat belly pan from the motor back to the rear suspension.
Matt and Ted have been plumbing on board air, fuel/brake lines, and wiring on the 12V. Chris' tube work looks great on the freshly powder coated front bumper. She should be buttoned up today or mid tomorrow, just in time for Jake's arrival.
I boxed the front truss on Al's D60 for the CJ buggy, as well as tied the rear cage in to the frame and cleaned up some rear tube work. Ted wired in a dual pole switch to operate the front winch inside the cab. Matt swapped in an 8.8 on Matt Jonson's TJ. Tomorrow he will replace the leaking pinion and rear main seals. Chris is also in the process of stripping the rear D60, rebuilding the brakes and wheel bearings in preparation of the link suspension on Matt's 5.3L CJ7 project.
The shop ranger that has been in the works received some Glassworks front fenders, bent I-beams, and some Krawltex built long travel radius arms with 1 1/4" heims. As soon as the diesel sells... 35's, rear glass and possibly front coil overs in place of those Eibach coil springs.
A slew of Strand vans have been in here. We have done everything from minor brake and fluid changes to a transmission swap and complete AC system over haul. It's great to have some line work in the monthly schedule! Now if I can only convince them to do a long travel suspension upgrade on their cargo vans...
It has also been a week of leveling kits. Landon's suburban and Kevin's 2010 Dodge now sit 2" taller. Eric's TJ has a rear drive shaft and working AC. Stephen's WJ knuckles are reamed and ready for a 1 ton steering. JR's CJ7 has a new fuel pump and runs like a top after its tune up. Dave's sidekick has a working throttle cable and an exhaust system that doesn't leak. Grady's brakes actually stop his 2500 diesel.
On the books for the next few weeks... linking the front and rear of Mack's CJ7, as well as a full interior cage and 5.3L/4L60/241 swap, AW4 auto swaps in Chris' TJ and possibly Patrick's new Jeep, finishing the SAS in Eric and Andrew's Tahoe, a bunch of prep and repair work on Bomshell 5099 for the June Odessa 250 race, and along with the future engine upgrades to Ed's FJcruiser will be a full interior cage with satellite internet/phone/lights/communication equipment and a dash mounted Ipad.
I almost forgot to re-mention that Ted and I are driving Long Beach Racers Class7SX next weekend in the SNORE Dusty Times 250 race. If it performs well and we like the truck, it's coming back to Texas and living at Krawltex under Bombshell Racing!
Krawltex got a few new toys. Jeremy came up with a "walkie" style Forklift. 4 steel I-beam rack systems are coming in on Saturday so we can keep DOM tubing and various plate steel in stock for the customers' projects. The shop got a second 10K Challenger truck lift on Tuesday. In addition to those upgrades, we purchased two Miller 252 digital 220V MIG welders and a Miller Dynasty 200 TIG welder. Let the fabrication continue!
It has been a zoo around here. Ed's Cruiser received a TRD supercharger a couple weeks ago. This week we installed a Roger Brown 1.25 body lift and have reworked the bumper mounts on the Fab Fours pieces to relocate them up. We are in the works of getting URD's smaller pulley, fuel management system, 7th injector, 02 simulaters, Doug Thorley long tube headers, hand building an exhaust, and reworking the factory cross members to run a completely flat belly pan from the motor back to the rear suspension.
Matt and Ted have been plumbing on board air, fuel/brake lines, and wiring on the 12V. Chris' tube work looks great on the freshly powder coated front bumper. She should be buttoned up today or mid tomorrow, just in time for Jake's arrival.
I boxed the front truss on Al's D60 for the CJ buggy, as well as tied the rear cage in to the frame and cleaned up some rear tube work. Ted wired in a dual pole switch to operate the front winch inside the cab. Matt swapped in an 8.8 on Matt Jonson's TJ. Tomorrow he will replace the leaking pinion and rear main seals. Chris is also in the process of stripping the rear D60, rebuilding the brakes and wheel bearings in preparation of the link suspension on Matt's 5.3L CJ7 project.
The shop ranger that has been in the works received some Glassworks front fenders, bent I-beams, and some Krawltex built long travel radius arms with 1 1/4" heims. As soon as the diesel sells... 35's, rear glass and possibly front coil overs in place of those Eibach coil springs.
A slew of Strand vans have been in here. We have done everything from minor brake and fluid changes to a transmission swap and complete AC system over haul. It's great to have some line work in the monthly schedule! Now if I can only convince them to do a long travel suspension upgrade on their cargo vans...
It has also been a week of leveling kits. Landon's suburban and Kevin's 2010 Dodge now sit 2" taller. Eric's TJ has a rear drive shaft and working AC. Stephen's WJ knuckles are reamed and ready for a 1 ton steering. JR's CJ7 has a new fuel pump and runs like a top after its tune up. Dave's sidekick has a working throttle cable and an exhaust system that doesn't leak. Grady's brakes actually stop his 2500 diesel.
On the books for the next few weeks... linking the front and rear of Mack's CJ7, as well as a full interior cage and 5.3L/4L60/241 swap, AW4 auto swaps in Chris' TJ and possibly Patrick's new Jeep, finishing the SAS in Eric and Andrew's Tahoe, a bunch of prep and repair work on Bomshell 5099 for the June Odessa 250 race, and along with the future engine upgrades to Ed's FJcruiser will be a full interior cage with satellite internet/phone/lights/communication equipment and a dash mounted Ipad.
I almost forgot to re-mention that Ted and I are driving Long Beach Racers Class7SX next weekend in the SNORE Dusty Times 250 race. If it performs well and we like the truck, it's coming back to Texas and living at Krawltex under Bombshell Racing!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Here is the link to our Community Impact Newspaper article. Many thanks to Joseph Deleon for featuring us!
http://impactnews.com/leander-cedar-park/107-business-profiles/7884-krawltex-motorsports-cedar-park
http://impactnews.com/leander-cedar-park/107-business-profiles/7884-krawltex-motorsports-cedar-park
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Guess it has been quite a while since there has been a shop update. It’s amazing how busy we can get around here, but our momentum has increased a good bit. Joseph DeLeon from the Community Impact Newspaper has featured Krawltex in this month’s Cedar Park/Leander edition. If you have a residence in either of these cities, check your mail box this Friday! There is a full story on how we started, where we are now, and what we have cooked up for the future. As well as the print copy, you can view an online profile with video interview and a pictorial slide show of some current projects. This will also be live this Friday. As far as the daily grind goes, well… we are swamped as usual. Chris Cook returns on Monday to help strengthen our team in the fabrication side. Krawltex looks forward to welcoming him back!
Since our last update, a ton of projects have passed through these doors. Ted and Matt got the rebuilt Inchworm t-case back in to Ed’s FJcruiser. Somewhere along the way, a TRD supercharger ended up on top of that motor and she runs very well. Gerardo’s 05 Tacoma received a 6” Procomp lift as well as some 35” BFG’s. Alec’s Discovery has a new rear side window. Jason’s LJ has a brand new CV driveshaft and SYE kit, with a 4wd shifter that doesn’t bind. Eli’s monster YJ is back on the road courtesy of a PSC ultimate hydro assist kit with a new box, pump, Moog ball joints and new wheel bearings. The 12V sliders came back from powdercoat and now the exhaust has been reinstalled. The 5.3L and 4l60E are mocked in place of Mack’s CJ7. Eric and Andrew’s Dodge AAM front axle is trussed and ready to be linked in their Tahoe as soon as the passenger side frame rail is notched and plated to match its twin. Jared’s YJ now has a body lift to complement the suspension, and tuck his 35’s under the wheel wells.
On the repair side of things, there have been several Strand vans receiving tune ups, brakes, and hub bearings. Jack’s Grand Cherokee now has a cold AC system and new CV shafts. There are zero exhaust leaks on Dave’s Sidekick. JB’s Yaris and Sequoia have fresh oil. The brakes on Grady’s Cummins are no longer metal on metal.
In the evenings, Ted and I have been revamping his YJ for the Bryan MOROC event. We removed the rear tub, boat sided the frame rails, and built a trophy truck inspired Baja cage. Seats and fuel cell are mounted. The dash, wiring, steering column, front coil overs, links, and full hydro steering are still on the chopping block. We may not make the dead line.
Currently, Matt is finishing details on the 12v’s rear bumper for powder coat. Ted is also on the diesel suburban, finishing all of the interior gauge wiring. Jake should be arriving very soon, as well as the King reservoir shocks! JR’s CJ7 is getting a new fuel pump and fresh oil. Hal’s Suburban will have some new brakes. Al’s CJ5 comp buggy will get some front axle plating, rear tube work, and winch wiring. The Tahoe will be on its front suspension by the end of next week. Hopefully we’ll be able to have the Chevy drive train and cooling system mounted in the Jeep. Krawltex will link/coil over the full width axles and build the interior cage for Mack. And in three weeks, we will cage Patrick’s Rubicon.
And then there is also the class 7 race truck that might have a new home in Texas… but I don’t want to spill any more info until Ted and I test race it in the SNORE Dusty Times 250 this May.
Since our last update, a ton of projects have passed through these doors. Ted and Matt got the rebuilt Inchworm t-case back in to Ed’s FJcruiser. Somewhere along the way, a TRD supercharger ended up on top of that motor and she runs very well. Gerardo’s 05 Tacoma received a 6” Procomp lift as well as some 35” BFG’s. Alec’s Discovery has a new rear side window. Jason’s LJ has a brand new CV driveshaft and SYE kit, with a 4wd shifter that doesn’t bind. Eli’s monster YJ is back on the road courtesy of a PSC ultimate hydro assist kit with a new box, pump, Moog ball joints and new wheel bearings. The 12V sliders came back from powdercoat and now the exhaust has been reinstalled. The 5.3L and 4l60E are mocked in place of Mack’s CJ7. Eric and Andrew’s Dodge AAM front axle is trussed and ready to be linked in their Tahoe as soon as the passenger side frame rail is notched and plated to match its twin. Jared’s YJ now has a body lift to complement the suspension, and tuck his 35’s under the wheel wells.
On the repair side of things, there have been several Strand vans receiving tune ups, brakes, and hub bearings. Jack’s Grand Cherokee now has a cold AC system and new CV shafts. There are zero exhaust leaks on Dave’s Sidekick. JB’s Yaris and Sequoia have fresh oil. The brakes on Grady’s Cummins are no longer metal on metal.
In the evenings, Ted and I have been revamping his YJ for the Bryan MOROC event. We removed the rear tub, boat sided the frame rails, and built a trophy truck inspired Baja cage. Seats and fuel cell are mounted. The dash, wiring, steering column, front coil overs, links, and full hydro steering are still on the chopping block. We may not make the dead line.
Currently, Matt is finishing details on the 12v’s rear bumper for powder coat. Ted is also on the diesel suburban, finishing all of the interior gauge wiring. Jake should be arriving very soon, as well as the King reservoir shocks! JR’s CJ7 is getting a new fuel pump and fresh oil. Hal’s Suburban will have some new brakes. Al’s CJ5 comp buggy will get some front axle plating, rear tube work, and winch wiring. The Tahoe will be on its front suspension by the end of next week. Hopefully we’ll be able to have the Chevy drive train and cooling system mounted in the Jeep. Krawltex will link/coil over the full width axles and build the interior cage for Mack. And in three weeks, we will cage Patrick’s Rubicon.
And then there is also the class 7 race truck that might have a new home in Texas… but I don’t want to spill any more info until Ted and I test race it in the SNORE Dusty Times 250 this May.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Sweetwater 180 Race Report
So Krawltex got the car on Wednesday at 5PM. I had to tow that car from south Austin during rush hour traffic in the rain. As soon as it was in the shop, it was a team effort to wipe all of the water off the bare chromoly chassis. The front end has received new lower arms, beam bushings, a new Kingpin style knuckle with King Kong bearings and rebuilt Wilwood calipers. All of this had been swapped over during the 6 months it has been down since the last race at Sweetwater, a few days before my last birthday. I say 6 months but in reality, the guys at Trick Racing that built the front end did not get us all the correct parts until 2 weeks ago. I'm still bitter in case you were wondering.
So the raw fiberglass panels come off. We did a preliminary once over on the car, noting hoses that need to be moved, bolts that need retorquing, steering arms that needed adjustment, and a whole bunch of other loose ends. Matt and Ted took care of wiring issues and gauges. I began the red and black base coats using only the best... Rustoleum 500 degree red engine paint and gloss black in cans. The next day, we topped off fluids. Matt taped the flames and I pin striped the lid. Ted built the Soltek HID mounts on the mirror brackets and added a new switch.
7AM came too early. We were suppose to leave by 6:30 but I slept through my alarm. After breakfast at the Country Kitchen in Lampassas, we headed to Bronte. We checked in, set up base camp and got the car teched... it was time for pre-running. As mentioned before, the entire front end is new on the car with zero break in miles. Dave and I did a few short 2 mile rips around the pit area. He had previously messed a rotator cup in his shoulder and got out after confirming the front suspension wasn't going to fail.
His brother Dwayne and I took it for a full loop of pre-running. I have driven that car and co-driven probably more than anyone on our team. After doing the entire 36 mile loop, I was really concerned the new bushings were too tight to let the front arms react quickly as they should and the suspension to dampen the way it should. There had never been a stretch of a course where I was physically sore in that car, but this was it. Previously, one person could pull up on the front nerf bar and nearly decompress the suspension by hand. At this point, it wouldn't budge. This made the geometry transfer every compression load to the rear and make the back end hit way harder than it should. At that rate driving at a race pace, I wouldn't be able to endure more than two laps, driving or co-driving.
We brought the car in and did some suspension tweaks. The panels came back on and the in cab fire extinguisher finally got moved in the right spot. We weren't sure what would happen, but decided to call it a night. We didn't want to break the car pre-running it in the dark only to fix it at the pit without an enclosed trailer this time. So we put all of our eggs in a basket and waited to see it through the race.
This morning, Charles co drove for Dwayne the first lap. There was a lot of traffic, including a herd of buffalo that were all over the race course. But Duane did his best to keep a level head and get a good feel for the course. At this point, the suspension was still very stiff and you couldn't break the rear end loose around turns. Lap 1 was 1 hour, 7 minutes. We topped it off with 111 leaded race fuel after the first lap. Ted would belt out navigation for the next two laps, passing many cars and closing the gap on our time. We got the radio to work again and his calling out race mile markers gave us a ton of info about pacing and tempo. Lap 3 was down to an hour and 2 minutes.
I hopped in to co-drive the last two laps after a 10 gallon fuel dump. After the first 2 miles I could tell the suspension had started to break in. The car isn't as plush as it formerly was, but when the two laps were done I could tell it was very close. I could certainly have sat in that car another 100 miles and been fine. In the middle of my first lap, a moose ran across our path. Another 4 yards and it would have messed the buggy up pretty badly. Duane was quite fatigued on lap 4. After talking about concentration and what our options were, such as a driver change... he rallied and got a second wind. We tidied up the few wild turns we had previously done and finished the final leg of the race at a whopping 58 minutes. To give you an idea, the $300K class 1 unlimited buggy's fastest lap was 53 minutes.
We couldn't be more happy with our successful finish. Another good weekend of driving and that front end will be completely broken in. The car should be way more responsive and "flickable" in the turns. So how did we do? We won first place out of the four class 5 vehicles. By almost 20 minutes. We finished 4th out of all the 4 cylinders, and 7th overall. Cheers to all of Krawltex and Bombshell Racing! Congrats to my friends with Hooters Desert Racing. They were a bit quicker than us in their 16-2 car finishing third out of the 4 cylinder division and first in their class.
So the raw fiberglass panels come off. We did a preliminary once over on the car, noting hoses that need to be moved, bolts that need retorquing, steering arms that needed adjustment, and a whole bunch of other loose ends. Matt and Ted took care of wiring issues and gauges. I began the red and black base coats using only the best... Rustoleum 500 degree red engine paint and gloss black in cans. The next day, we topped off fluids. Matt taped the flames and I pin striped the lid. Ted built the Soltek HID mounts on the mirror brackets and added a new switch.
7AM came too early. We were suppose to leave by 6:30 but I slept through my alarm. After breakfast at the Country Kitchen in Lampassas, we headed to Bronte. We checked in, set up base camp and got the car teched... it was time for pre-running. As mentioned before, the entire front end is new on the car with zero break in miles. Dave and I did a few short 2 mile rips around the pit area. He had previously messed a rotator cup in his shoulder and got out after confirming the front suspension wasn't going to fail.
His brother Dwayne and I took it for a full loop of pre-running. I have driven that car and co-driven probably more than anyone on our team. After doing the entire 36 mile loop, I was really concerned the new bushings were too tight to let the front arms react quickly as they should and the suspension to dampen the way it should. There had never been a stretch of a course where I was physically sore in that car, but this was it. Previously, one person could pull up on the front nerf bar and nearly decompress the suspension by hand. At this point, it wouldn't budge. This made the geometry transfer every compression load to the rear and make the back end hit way harder than it should. At that rate driving at a race pace, I wouldn't be able to endure more than two laps, driving or co-driving.
We brought the car in and did some suspension tweaks. The panels came back on and the in cab fire extinguisher finally got moved in the right spot. We weren't sure what would happen, but decided to call it a night. We didn't want to break the car pre-running it in the dark only to fix it at the pit without an enclosed trailer this time. So we put all of our eggs in a basket and waited to see it through the race.
This morning, Charles co drove for Dwayne the first lap. There was a lot of traffic, including a herd of buffalo that were all over the race course. But Duane did his best to keep a level head and get a good feel for the course. At this point, the suspension was still very stiff and you couldn't break the rear end loose around turns. Lap 1 was 1 hour, 7 minutes. We topped it off with 111 leaded race fuel after the first lap. Ted would belt out navigation for the next two laps, passing many cars and closing the gap on our time. We got the radio to work again and his calling out race mile markers gave us a ton of info about pacing and tempo. Lap 3 was down to an hour and 2 minutes.
I hopped in to co-drive the last two laps after a 10 gallon fuel dump. After the first 2 miles I could tell the suspension had started to break in. The car isn't as plush as it formerly was, but when the two laps were done I could tell it was very close. I could certainly have sat in that car another 100 miles and been fine. In the middle of my first lap, a moose ran across our path. Another 4 yards and it would have messed the buggy up pretty badly. Duane was quite fatigued on lap 4. After talking about concentration and what our options were, such as a driver change... he rallied and got a second wind. We tidied up the few wild turns we had previously done and finished the final leg of the race at a whopping 58 minutes. To give you an idea, the $300K class 1 unlimited buggy's fastest lap was 53 minutes.
We couldn't be more happy with our successful finish. Another good weekend of driving and that front end will be completely broken in. The car should be way more responsive and "flickable" in the turns. So how did we do? We won first place out of the four class 5 vehicles. By almost 20 minutes. We finished 4th out of all the 4 cylinders, and 7th overall. Cheers to all of Krawltex and Bombshell Racing! Congrats to my friends with Hooters Desert Racing. They were a bit quicker than us in their 16-2 car finishing third out of the 4 cylinder division and first in their class.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Last week was such a whirlwind, I didn't have time to update the blog. Ted made some head way on the Tahoe SAS. After realizing we needed some different heims, we went ahead and ordered frame and link brackets from Ruff Stuff. They should be here mid week and work can resume. For the links to clear the frame and have a decent ride height, a front axle crossmember with triangulated upper links will be in order. It also looks like it will sit about 8" taller than stock. This means the add a leaf and block in the rear will not be quite enough to level the truck out. More than likely, the Tahoe will be getting a rear shackle flip.
Ted also built some sliders and is in the process of tying the cage in to the frame on Jason Hall's stretched early Bronco. After some foot plates are fabricated, the body will be clearanced and some extra supports will be tied in. Patrick's Runicon was in here for a leaking front diff seal and an auto skid plate modification.Looks like there is also another Strand van to knock out maintenance work. Ted should be here soon to help with the EB, the Strand van, and have the race car in tow.
Matt tackled the hydro assist on Eli's YJ, a budget boost and body lift on Paul's TJ, and a clutch on Nicholas' Rubicon last week. I focussed on book keeping, office duties, shipping out the t-case back to Inchworm, ordering materials, and reworking the front bumper on Jake's 12V.
This week we will be very busy at the shop. The Community Impact Newspaper for Cedar Park and Leander will be here tomorrow. If you get a chance, check out their website and newspaper for a full write up on the shop. There should be pics, video, and a story about Krawltex on the web shortly. On Wednesday I will be meeting with Ed about the possibility of a new class 7 desert race team through the shop. Preliminary discussions point towards a Ranger or Tacoma campaign in the Best in the Desert Series.
Later on Wednesday, I will be meeting with the autotech instructor at Vista Ridge highschool. We will be exploring the opportunity to bring in their advanced class on a weekend and teaching their best students about roll cage design. Krawltex looks forward to showing the future fabricators our class 5 buggy, as well as giving some hands on experience tube bending and notching a family cage on Marc's TJ.
Beyond that, we need to prep the class 5 for the Sweetwater race this weekend. Krawltex will be closed on Friday so we can tech and prerun the car. It has been a long time coming, with the front suspension down since October. In the mean time, we will be finishing Jason's cage work, doing a throwout bearing and possibly clutch in my Superduty, road testing Eli's YJ, fixing a Strand van, pulling every thing together for the AW4 swap in Chris' TJ, working on the Tahoe SAS, finishing out the 12V bumpers for powder coat, waiting for the rear King shocks and t-case on Ed's FJ cruiser, and possibly starting on the 5.3L, cage and full width conversion on Mack's CJ7.
Ted also built some sliders and is in the process of tying the cage in to the frame on Jason Hall's stretched early Bronco. After some foot plates are fabricated, the body will be clearanced and some extra supports will be tied in. Patrick's Runicon was in here for a leaking front diff seal and an auto skid plate modification.Looks like there is also another Strand van to knock out maintenance work. Ted should be here soon to help with the EB, the Strand van, and have the race car in tow.
Matt tackled the hydro assist on Eli's YJ, a budget boost and body lift on Paul's TJ, and a clutch on Nicholas' Rubicon last week. I focussed on book keeping, office duties, shipping out the t-case back to Inchworm, ordering materials, and reworking the front bumper on Jake's 12V.
This week we will be very busy at the shop. The Community Impact Newspaper for Cedar Park and Leander will be here tomorrow. If you get a chance, check out their website and newspaper for a full write up on the shop. There should be pics, video, and a story about Krawltex on the web shortly. On Wednesday I will be meeting with Ed about the possibility of a new class 7 desert race team through the shop. Preliminary discussions point towards a Ranger or Tacoma campaign in the Best in the Desert Series.
Later on Wednesday, I will be meeting with the autotech instructor at Vista Ridge highschool. We will be exploring the opportunity to bring in their advanced class on a weekend and teaching their best students about roll cage design. Krawltex looks forward to showing the future fabricators our class 5 buggy, as well as giving some hands on experience tube bending and notching a family cage on Marc's TJ.
Beyond that, we need to prep the class 5 for the Sweetwater race this weekend. Krawltex will be closed on Friday so we can tech and prerun the car. It has been a long time coming, with the front suspension down since October. In the mean time, we will be finishing Jason's cage work, doing a throwout bearing and possibly clutch in my Superduty, road testing Eli's YJ, fixing a Strand van, pulling every thing together for the AW4 swap in Chris' TJ, working on the Tahoe SAS, finishing out the 12V bumpers for powder coat, waiting for the rear King shocks and t-case on Ed's FJ cruiser, and possibly starting on the 5.3L, cage and full width conversion on Mack's CJ7.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Another busy week at the shop!
Matt has been doing great. He swapped the rear 14B and removed all of the IFS with frame bracketry from Andrew's Tahoe. We should be swapping the Dodge front axle and building the link mounts next week. Currently, he's working on regearing the front axle on Eli's YJ after building a new crossover drag link.
Ted has worked on a couple Strand vans, a fluid swap and tune up on Jeremy's YJ, the inchworm t-case install on Ed's FJ Cruiser, and is currently swapping an 8.8 in the rear of Ralph's TJ.
Yesterday I finished up the Total Chaos 2.5" long travel on Ed's FJ Cruiser. It now has a 5" wider track width and 12" of travel from the King coilovers and triple bypass shocks. While we were in there, we added the upper and lower a-arm gussets, modified the front body mounts, installed a front ARB and regeared the truck with 4.88's. Next week, the King reservoir emulsions should be in. After mounting those up, it will be on to a front engine cage.
As far as what's on the table beyond that... the 5.3L and auto should be here shortly for Mack's CJ7, we will do some more finish work on the 12V burban, build the Tahoe SAS 4 link, install a hydro assist set up on Eli's YJ, do a body and spacer lift on Paul's TJ, do some maintenance on a couple Strand vans, track down the proper AW4 for Chris' auto swap in his TJ, and pull the class 5 back to the shop to prep it for the March 27th race in Sweetwater.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Krawltex would like to welcome the newest member to our team! Matt is an ASE Master Tech leaving the BMW dealership after 8 years to fab and wrench on 4 wheel drive trucks. Before his professional start, he was a student at Wyotech with a focus on metal fabrication and chassis design.
It's 10AM Wednesday morning. Ted and I left the shop about 3:30 this morning and are dog tired. I have spent the last several days on Jeff's K5. It received boxed leaf spring mounts, a winch mount, engine cage, aluminum radiator with a dimple died adjustable mounting system, and we bobbed the front end. I shortened the grill by 22", hung the fenders on the engine cage, and Ted and I have been working on the hood. It took 6 separate pieces to follow the lines and we are doing the final fit before it is hard mounted with hood pins.
Yesterday was Matt's first day. He did a rear main on Jason's YJ and began a list of solutions for Eli's YJ... steering correction, oil leaks, and a few odds and ends. Today he and Ted will be swapping the rear 14B in to Andrew and Eric's Tahoe. After it is at ride height with 6" of rear lift, the front will come off and the SAS will begin.
Ted has been helping me with the K5, finishing the inchworm install, modifying the shifters and making a custom console piece for Ed's FJ cruiser. Today He will button up the FJ's interior, help me finish the K5 hood, and help with the Tahoe SAS.
The next couple of days after that, we will be doing an 8.8 swap on Ralph's TJ, hunting down a tranny problem on Alec's F150, working on the steering of Eli's YJ as well as a front regear, and I will be doing a long travel 2" over stock width Total Chaos suspension on Ed's FJcruier.
Next week after we finish up what ever we didn't this week... button up the interior and wiring on the Suburban, figure out a brake master cylinder alternative for it and take the bumpers to powder coat. We will assess Mack's CJ7 and start a game plan for a frame up build. It will get a 5.3L and automatic swap, a BDS suspension with the YJ spring conversion, 35's, POR15 frame, and a slew of other items. We will continue the SAS Tahoe project and work on Ronnie's Bronco II project.
It's 10AM Wednesday morning. Ted and I left the shop about 3:30 this morning and are dog tired. I have spent the last several days on Jeff's K5. It received boxed leaf spring mounts, a winch mount, engine cage, aluminum radiator with a dimple died adjustable mounting system, and we bobbed the front end. I shortened the grill by 22", hung the fenders on the engine cage, and Ted and I have been working on the hood. It took 6 separate pieces to follow the lines and we are doing the final fit before it is hard mounted with hood pins.
Yesterday was Matt's first day. He did a rear main on Jason's YJ and began a list of solutions for Eli's YJ... steering correction, oil leaks, and a few odds and ends. Today he and Ted will be swapping the rear 14B in to Andrew and Eric's Tahoe. After it is at ride height with 6" of rear lift, the front will come off and the SAS will begin.
Ted has been helping me with the K5, finishing the inchworm install, modifying the shifters and making a custom console piece for Ed's FJ cruiser. Today He will button up the FJ's interior, help me finish the K5 hood, and help with the Tahoe SAS.
The next couple of days after that, we will be doing an 8.8 swap on Ralph's TJ, hunting down a tranny problem on Alec's F150, working on the steering of Eli's YJ as well as a front regear, and I will be doing a long travel 2" over stock width Total Chaos suspension on Ed's FJcruier.
Next week after we finish up what ever we didn't this week... button up the interior and wiring on the Suburban, figure out a brake master cylinder alternative for it and take the bumpers to powder coat. We will assess Mack's CJ7 and start a game plan for a frame up build. It will get a 5.3L and automatic swap, a BDS suspension with the YJ spring conversion, 35's, POR15 frame, and a slew of other items. We will continue the SAS Tahoe project and work on Ronnie's Bronco II project.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Ted and I pretty much knocked out every thing we had planned on for last week... The 12V is now mobile. We spent most of last week working on that project. There are still a few details such as the dual battery set up, the gauge cluster, and neither of us are happy with the brakes. After we bleed them some more, we'll decide if a different master cylinder is in order.
We reorganized and cleaned the shop, did shocks on a Strand truck, service on one of their vans, John's CJ7 received a 14B disc brake swap with a radiator hoop and rear bumper in store this week, and I finished the winch mount and spring hanger bracketry for Jeff's K5.
This week Ted will finish up John's CJ7 and install the Inchworm t-case on Ed's FJ cruiser. I will be working on the engine cage and front end sheet metal pinch on the K5. When the Total Chaos long travel and King shocks show up, Ted and I will switch projects. He will commence the solid axle swap on the Osterhus brothers' Tahoe. And I do believe our new technician/fabricator will be starting on with us this week. More to come on his background.
We reorganized and cleaned the shop, did shocks on a Strand truck, service on one of their vans, John's CJ7 received a 14B disc brake swap with a radiator hoop and rear bumper in store this week, and I finished the winch mount and spring hanger bracketry for Jeff's K5.
This week Ted will finish up John's CJ7 and install the Inchworm t-case on Ed's FJ cruiser. I will be working on the engine cage and front end sheet metal pinch on the K5. When the Total Chaos long travel and King shocks show up, Ted and I will switch projects. He will commence the solid axle swap on the Osterhus brothers' Tahoe. And I do believe our new technician/fabricator will be starting on with us this week. More to come on his background.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Last week was a whirlwind. AK installed some bushwacker fender flares on Dave's JK and continued on Colby's LJ, getting the links installed front and rear. Ted got the 12V running. Besides a few finishing details, clutch o-rings, exhaust reinstall and some gauges... she's ready to rock. He also managed to do a transmission swap in a Strand Van. The three of us tag teamed JK bushwacker flares on another Dave's JK. I spent most of the week finishing Joe's Prerunner bumper for his 3500 Dodge, with two aluminum skid plates. I also installed Light Racing upper control arms on Ron's Prerunner Tacoma with the adjustable Bilstein struts.
This week will be another busy one. AK has a family emergency and will be out of the shop all week. Ted will be finishing up the 12V to get it rolling, start on the rear of the SAS Tahoe, tracing wiring on a YJ, and doing 14B disc brake tuning and a radiator hoop for John's CJ7. I will be manning the office, pinching the front of Jeff's K5 with an engine cage, aluminum radiator, and winch mount, and starting the Total Chaos long travel and inchworm t-case install on Ed's FJ Cruiser.
Here are some pics of our finished Dodge Prerunner Bumper
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
After months... the 12V Suburban has come to life! After the special oil for the NV4500 shows up, we should be able to pull her in and out of the shop. Once the gauges are all in and the switch panel finished up, we'll shake her legs.
This last weekend, Ted spent his efforts on the Burban. Matt and I removed the rear bumps from his Tacoma, in prep for their new location when the rebuilt King unit comes in.
As far as this week... AK will finish Colby's Jeep. The rear link system is done. The front links and hydro steer need to be fabricated.
Ted is going to finish the odds and ends such as the clutch master and gauges on the Burban, a leveling kit on an 08 GMC, modifying the oil bath on Brent's Harley, and start on Jeff's K5 front end pinch/engine cage/aluminum radiator mount, and a tranny in a Strand Van.
I will finsih up Joe's Prerunner bumper and 5" exhaust, install some Bushwacker JK fenders, brakes and struts on a Rav4, uniball a-arms on Ron's Tacoma, and a-arm gussets for Ed's FJcruiser
This last weekend, Ted spent his efforts on the Burban. Matt and I removed the rear bumps from his Tacoma, in prep for their new location when the rebuilt King unit comes in.
As far as this week... AK will finish Colby's Jeep. The rear link system is done. The front links and hydro steer need to be fabricated.
Ted is going to finish the odds and ends such as the clutch master and gauges on the Burban, a leveling kit on an 08 GMC, modifying the oil bath on Brent's Harley, and start on Jeff's K5 front end pinch/engine cage/aluminum radiator mount, and a tranny in a Strand Van.
I will finsih up Joe's Prerunner bumper and 5" exhaust, install some Bushwacker JK fenders, brakes and struts on a Rav4, uniball a-arms on Ron's Tacoma, and a-arm gussets for Ed's FJcruiser
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Total Chaos Desert Suspension
Krawltex is now featuring Total Chaos desert race suspensions. After working with this company on Matt's 05 Tacoma, I can personally attest to the fit and function of their products. Combined with DMZ's rear suspension, we took it out for test and tune a few weeks ago on the South Padre Island sea shore. Both the front and rear kits worked flawlessly, soaking up whoops and washouts at 50+ mph all day long. Andwhen we pulled back on to the interstate... the suspension was smooth as glass and the alignment was perfect. Sunny at Down South Motorsports nailed the valving for the King triple bypass shocks. If you are interested in getting the most out of your IFS Toyota, this is the company to look at.
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