Tacoma
Et incurventur ante non
- Location
- far enough away
After working all night, a short nap, and drive from Vernal (including repeatedly getting in front of and then back behind a huge dump truck bed being hauled down to SLC hahah) , I got to Kurt's around noon on Wednesday. He had also been up super late the night before, so with no hesitation at all, we did a quick diagnostic run on the Weekend 100 Build (determining that a small clicking was likely a u-joint-- the trip bore out our suspicions with a slight increase in NVH, and has likely already been fixed 
), we hauled ass to Vegas.
Trip down was uneventful, and I have to say, The Weekend 100 is well-suited to its task. Smooth as a baby's bottom on the trip, great comfort, good ergonomics, superb touring rig. Once loaded down, and with the headlights adjusted, the slight stinkbug stance will be perfect, and handle its tasks with aplomb and style. Very impressed by the lack of loose ends on this super quick build.
Anyway, here is a list of highs and lows for my short but packed trip. This includes products and people. D:
Highlights!
Overland Journal shindig: packed with overland luminaries, never dull. Met a couple new and awesome people here. Also, attending automatically makes me 1,000x more expo than 85% of all Utahns w/RTTs and/or ARB bumpers. Suck it.
Travelling with Kurt in general: Always invigorating, humorous, informative, fulfilling, and efficient. The way travelling should be. Thanks man.
Dana is making crate axles, which isn't NEWS, but this is: Kingpin axles and parts mid-2013. This may or may not mean crate front 70's, but it does mean new factory castings for knuckles and centers. Prices rumored to be "better than the aftermarket", unsure if they will be upgrading ala Reid or just remaking OEM stuff. Either way, win.
Trail Gear is making 609 axles with billet/welded knuckles. Currently being offered in a balljoint version, the outers feature mounting points for high-steer arm reinforcement, and a kingpin version is coming. Also making a Toy/9" hybrid, and a $1200 complete full-hydro setup that doesn't look half bad. Some other semi-clandestine moves ahead for TG as well, in the form of a new-to-them market. If you are a TG fan, stay tuned. Hot booth schwag was a useful carabiner/knife/screwdrivers/bottle opener.
Kaymar bumpers have a new US distributor. More choices for expo bumpers for your expo rigs.
GenRight's twisted pitman arm... not really a new product, but a good one-- For heim-jointed draglinks, this is a double-shear arm that eliminates the angle at the steering box, and ships with it's own installation/removal too. Well worth the money for bombproof improvement if you are building a burly steering setup.
Weddell's new $30k supercar transmission. It's beautiful and works great, and is set up for the Australian Supercars.. which are racing in the US for the first time this year. Australian V8 supercar racing is freaking gnarly and and makes all the NASCAR guys look like the go-kart drivers they are. Proper road courses, through cities, with left turns, and huge HP. Anyway. the machinist fan in me loves these transmissions.
ATI's TH400 case. Beautiful, super-strong housing with a bunch of upgrades that matter, including oiling, a reinforced tailhousing for offroad use, and sensor ports for tunable EFI setups. This is a removable-bellhousing setup, and is not cheap at $1500 for the case, but it's necessary if you are racing in the big leagues. Jimmy's 4x4 has a good writeup on building one of the first ones out there. Nice piece.
Radflo shocks are moving forward with some good ideas on product and service. I am pretty well satisfied that they absolutely will stand by their product, and they use Eibach springs exclusively, which is good news, as Eibach knows a thing or two about springs. Also, they are happy to build custom lenght, travel, etc shocks for you. Check 'em out.
Ford's reproduction '40 bodies. One of my favorite pre-war vehicles, these are notoriously rusty and difficult to repair. The new bodies should help resto and resto-mod guys enormously, and hopefully lead to a resurgence of new/old vehicles roaming the streets. Body looked fantastic.
Dynacorn's reproduction bodies in general, but in particular, their early Bronco bodies. Part numbers are listed so I am assuming delivery will be forthwith. They have a TON of repro stuff for the early Broncos. Steve St.Clair, are you hearing this?
GM Performance Parts, tons of LS stuff out now, really neat options for crate motors. While many of the package motors are out of reach for most of our pocketbooks, the parts they use aren't, and some of the pre-LS motors are a GREAT value in crate form still. Definitely check it out. One item I noticed is a Vortec TBI intake specifically designed to be used on TBI motors with Vortec head swaps. That's pretty sweet.
ARP bolts and studs. Nothing new, but in addition to their sweet high-strength fasteners, they also make assembly lube and a torque chart specifically designed to give you the strongest connections possible, and educate their buyers on the proper use of torque as it relates to the assembly and final mating strength of automotive parts. Very informative and useful, especially as our hobbies move ahead towards ever-more-precise and powerful assemblies.
Chocolate fountains, especially when you have bacon and apple slices to put together under the chocolatey goodness. So much win.
Bundaberg Ginger Beer. If you don't like ginger beer, this might not sway your opinion, but if you DO, Bundy's are delicious.
The new people I met this year: Interesting fellers (and ladies) to a person, I consider it an honor to know the people I do. The world is filled with a number of talented and interesting individuals and I am glad to know a bunch of them, RME friends included.
The unpainted and slammed Caddy in the row of cars out front. Still needed some work to fix where the vinyl top was, but that builder was gettin' it done. Looked great and the low stance really highlights just how long those cars are.
Chip Foose's P32, or whatever it's called. It's a masterpiece of fab and design, and I love the concept. Google it, it's rad.
Superchargers and turbos: they make sense as power-adders and still let you DD your rig/car. Pricey, but worth it. Sky's the limit on HP.
Making a number of un-planned, organic business contacts. Wasn't planning on any of them, but they are all excellent. Super happy about THAT.
Edelbrock is offering foundry services now, leveraging their rich industry experience and manufacturing capabilities to outsiders now. That includes design and machining services if you need them.
I'm sure there's more, but I can't remember them.
Lowlights!
Knockoff products continue to aggravate me. This includes TJM USA's lame Maxtrax knockoff, which, in addition to being a knockoff, is also flimsy and definitely NOT worth the money.
Lots of dumb trucks. 12" lifted SuperDuty's on 35" tires with gay painted rims. These look like the truck version of riced-out Hyundais and have no value whatsoever, as a truck they can't be used, as a driver they are ridiculous and, thankfully, illegal in UT, and as an offroad option their fashion-based construction makes them non-viable. When this trend is over I will be very happy.
SEMA plans mangled as usual, but more than I thought they would be this year. Half of the crew was unable to come, and the rest of us got a super-late start. On the other hand, the pared-down crew was sleek and speedy, and the short trip meant no real show-fatigue, though I can always look at sweet parts and vehicles for hours. This year I missed just about everything that wasn't in a very narrow range of "things I needed to do this year". Not a huge deal, worked out great, more of an "aww mannn"
No Hump N Bump for me this year. Stuff to do back home, and Kurt had race prep to see to. Next time maybe.
Not much in the way of new 4x4 products. Granted, I didn't see every damn thing, like I usually do, but nothing major jumped out at me.
Too many print catalogs still, not enough dongles. They are cheaper, and while I really like printed stuff for lots of reasons, it makes way more sense from a functional show standpoint to offer dongles.
Couldn't manage to contact a few people I really wanted to see down there. Next time I guess.
Got new Pumas after I ripped a hole in my ancient Adidas, and discovered a bad-smelling funk in them. This resulted in a bleeding blister that currently has my Achilles tendon swollen and extremely tender. Next time, I take the tried-and-true work boots, which are super comfortable and properly broken in. Stupid choice, predictable results.
Not being there with a Torq booth. We'll see what I can do about that for next year.
Forgetting to have something to eat midday. This resulted in the predictable jitters and stomach acid. Neither Kurt nor myself have apparently learned that whole "eat or die" lesson. Durrrr
Google Maps listed several out-of-business restaurants, and Navigation failed to account for a couple things like: exits on both sides of the street for the route we intended to take, frontage roads not routes, and seemed to send us the long-way round a couple times. Shame on the map-tracer that coded those parts of LV. Bastard.
And that's about that about that.
), we hauled ass to Vegas. Trip down was uneventful, and I have to say, The Weekend 100 is well-suited to its task. Smooth as a baby's bottom on the trip, great comfort, good ergonomics, superb touring rig. Once loaded down, and with the headlights adjusted, the slight stinkbug stance will be perfect, and handle its tasks with aplomb and style. Very impressed by the lack of loose ends on this super quick build.
Anyway, here is a list of highs and lows for my short but packed trip. This includes products and people. D:
Highlights!
Overland Journal shindig: packed with overland luminaries, never dull. Met a couple new and awesome people here. Also, attending automatically makes me 1,000x more expo than 85% of all Utahns w/RTTs and/or ARB bumpers. Suck it.
Travelling with Kurt in general: Always invigorating, humorous, informative, fulfilling, and efficient. The way travelling should be. Thanks man.
Dana is making crate axles, which isn't NEWS, but this is: Kingpin axles and parts mid-2013. This may or may not mean crate front 70's, but it does mean new factory castings for knuckles and centers. Prices rumored to be "better than the aftermarket", unsure if they will be upgrading ala Reid or just remaking OEM stuff. Either way, win.
Trail Gear is making 609 axles with billet/welded knuckles. Currently being offered in a balljoint version, the outers feature mounting points for high-steer arm reinforcement, and a kingpin version is coming. Also making a Toy/9" hybrid, and a $1200 complete full-hydro setup that doesn't look half bad. Some other semi-clandestine moves ahead for TG as well, in the form of a new-to-them market. If you are a TG fan, stay tuned. Hot booth schwag was a useful carabiner/knife/screwdrivers/bottle opener.
Kaymar bumpers have a new US distributor. More choices for expo bumpers for your expo rigs.
GenRight's twisted pitman arm... not really a new product, but a good one-- For heim-jointed draglinks, this is a double-shear arm that eliminates the angle at the steering box, and ships with it's own installation/removal too. Well worth the money for bombproof improvement if you are building a burly steering setup.
Weddell's new $30k supercar transmission. It's beautiful and works great, and is set up for the Australian Supercars.. which are racing in the US for the first time this year. Australian V8 supercar racing is freaking gnarly and and makes all the NASCAR guys look like the go-kart drivers they are. Proper road courses, through cities, with left turns, and huge HP. Anyway. the machinist fan in me loves these transmissions.
ATI's TH400 case. Beautiful, super-strong housing with a bunch of upgrades that matter, including oiling, a reinforced tailhousing for offroad use, and sensor ports for tunable EFI setups. This is a removable-bellhousing setup, and is not cheap at $1500 for the case, but it's necessary if you are racing in the big leagues. Jimmy's 4x4 has a good writeup on building one of the first ones out there. Nice piece.
Radflo shocks are moving forward with some good ideas on product and service. I am pretty well satisfied that they absolutely will stand by their product, and they use Eibach springs exclusively, which is good news, as Eibach knows a thing or two about springs. Also, they are happy to build custom lenght, travel, etc shocks for you. Check 'em out.
Ford's reproduction '40 bodies. One of my favorite pre-war vehicles, these are notoriously rusty and difficult to repair. The new bodies should help resto and resto-mod guys enormously, and hopefully lead to a resurgence of new/old vehicles roaming the streets. Body looked fantastic.
Dynacorn's reproduction bodies in general, but in particular, their early Bronco bodies. Part numbers are listed so I am assuming delivery will be forthwith. They have a TON of repro stuff for the early Broncos. Steve St.Clair, are you hearing this?
GM Performance Parts, tons of LS stuff out now, really neat options for crate motors. While many of the package motors are out of reach for most of our pocketbooks, the parts they use aren't, and some of the pre-LS motors are a GREAT value in crate form still. Definitely check it out. One item I noticed is a Vortec TBI intake specifically designed to be used on TBI motors with Vortec head swaps. That's pretty sweet.
ARP bolts and studs. Nothing new, but in addition to their sweet high-strength fasteners, they also make assembly lube and a torque chart specifically designed to give you the strongest connections possible, and educate their buyers on the proper use of torque as it relates to the assembly and final mating strength of automotive parts. Very informative and useful, especially as our hobbies move ahead towards ever-more-precise and powerful assemblies.
Chocolate fountains, especially when you have bacon and apple slices to put together under the chocolatey goodness. So much win.
Bundaberg Ginger Beer. If you don't like ginger beer, this might not sway your opinion, but if you DO, Bundy's are delicious.
The new people I met this year: Interesting fellers (and ladies) to a person, I consider it an honor to know the people I do. The world is filled with a number of talented and interesting individuals and I am glad to know a bunch of them, RME friends included.
The unpainted and slammed Caddy in the row of cars out front. Still needed some work to fix where the vinyl top was, but that builder was gettin' it done. Looked great and the low stance really highlights just how long those cars are.
Chip Foose's P32, or whatever it's called. It's a masterpiece of fab and design, and I love the concept. Google it, it's rad.
Superchargers and turbos: they make sense as power-adders and still let you DD your rig/car. Pricey, but worth it. Sky's the limit on HP.
Making a number of un-planned, organic business contacts. Wasn't planning on any of them, but they are all excellent. Super happy about THAT.
Edelbrock is offering foundry services now, leveraging their rich industry experience and manufacturing capabilities to outsiders now. That includes design and machining services if you need them.
I'm sure there's more, but I can't remember them.
Lowlights!
Knockoff products continue to aggravate me. This includes TJM USA's lame Maxtrax knockoff, which, in addition to being a knockoff, is also flimsy and definitely NOT worth the money.
Lots of dumb trucks. 12" lifted SuperDuty's on 35" tires with gay painted rims. These look like the truck version of riced-out Hyundais and have no value whatsoever, as a truck they can't be used, as a driver they are ridiculous and, thankfully, illegal in UT, and as an offroad option their fashion-based construction makes them non-viable. When this trend is over I will be very happy.
SEMA plans mangled as usual, but more than I thought they would be this year. Half of the crew was unable to come, and the rest of us got a super-late start. On the other hand, the pared-down crew was sleek and speedy, and the short trip meant no real show-fatigue, though I can always look at sweet parts and vehicles for hours. This year I missed just about everything that wasn't in a very narrow range of "things I needed to do this year". Not a huge deal, worked out great, more of an "aww mannn"
No Hump N Bump for me this year. Stuff to do back home, and Kurt had race prep to see to. Next time maybe.
Not much in the way of new 4x4 products. Granted, I didn't see every damn thing, like I usually do, but nothing major jumped out at me.
Too many print catalogs still, not enough dongles. They are cheaper, and while I really like printed stuff for lots of reasons, it makes way more sense from a functional show standpoint to offer dongles.
Couldn't manage to contact a few people I really wanted to see down there. Next time I guess.
Got new Pumas after I ripped a hole in my ancient Adidas, and discovered a bad-smelling funk in them. This resulted in a bleeding blister that currently has my Achilles tendon swollen and extremely tender. Next time, I take the tried-and-true work boots, which are super comfortable and properly broken in. Stupid choice, predictable results.
Not being there with a Torq booth.
We'll see what I can do about that for next year. Forgetting to have something to eat midday. This resulted in the predictable jitters and stomach acid. Neither Kurt nor myself have apparently learned that whole "eat or die" lesson. Durrrr
Google Maps listed several out-of-business restaurants, and Navigation failed to account for a couple things like: exits on both sides of the street for the route we intended to take, frontage roads not routes, and seemed to send us the long-way round a couple times. Shame on the map-tracer that coded those parts of LV. Bastard.
And that's about that about that.
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