I was over at...
11-07-2011, 11:12 AM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
I was over at...
the guy's shop who does all the body work/fabrication on my car Saturday. He works at a NASCAR shop and in his off hours he has his own shop at his house where he is always working on interesting stuff.
He is doing 2 ARCA cars in his shop right now. He had just done the upper body work on it to make sure it passed the template tests. That was amazing to watch him do that.
Anyway, after that he puts the cars on a rotisserie and does some aero work underneath. He puts an edge on the trailing edges of many of the supports and that makes them more aerodynamic. I was surprised at how much detail theses cars have as far as aero on what i thought to be insignificant pieces under the car.
After that he paints the interior and cage.
Here are some pictures:
He is doing 2 ARCA cars in his shop right now. He had just done the upper body work on it to make sure it passed the template tests. That was amazing to watch him do that.
Anyway, after that he puts the cars on a rotisserie and does some aero work underneath. He puts an edge on the trailing edges of many of the supports and that makes them more aerodynamic. I was surprised at how much detail theses cars have as far as aero on what i thought to be insignificant pieces under the car.
After that he paints the interior and cage.
Here are some pictures:
11-07-2011, 11:35 AM
#3
Melting Slicks
Great pics, thanks for posting. Most are not aware of the work and detail that goes into cars at this level. CUP, Nationwide, ARCA, the trucks - all are handmade works of art built by some of the best craftsmen there are.
Aero is so big on these cars and the things they do stagger the mind. A friend works for a CUP team and he has opened my eyes with just some of the things they do - everyone thinks all the cars are the same, but there are myriad extremely subtle differences done to exploit the tiniest advantage.
Aero is so big on these cars and the things they do stagger the mind. A friend works for a CUP team and he has opened my eyes with just some of the things they do - everyone thinks all the cars are the same, but there are myriad extremely subtle differences done to exploit the tiniest advantage.
11-07-2011, 11:43 AM
#4
Racer
The fact folks are BUILDING ARCA cars and not using the million leftover 105" and 110" wheelbase pre COT CUP cars from Nationwide and Sprint Cup shows you how fierce the level of competition has gotten even in ARCA.
11-07-2011, 04:16 PM
#7
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Whoever welded this could weld a broken heart.
I had a fabricator from the Red Bull team weld an extra harness bar behind my seat, and the craftsmanship on that was out of this world. I kept it unpainted for a long time jut so I could admire at it from time to time.
11-07-2011, 04:53 PM
#8
Safety Car
A local shop that built a roll bar in a prior car of mine hired a guy that did welding on medical products to help out on weekends. Art.
On a local level, the best welders are probably going to be doing medical or aircraft stuff. If you are lucky, you may have a nuke plant nearby to draw upon for more skilled labor.
On a local level, the best welders are probably going to be doing medical or aircraft stuff. If you are lucky, you may have a nuke plant nearby to draw upon for more skilled labor.
Last edited by RX-Ben; 11-09-2011 at 10:23 AM.
11-07-2011, 05:35 PM
#9
Drifting
11-07-2011, 10:37 PM
#11
Racer
11-09-2011, 08:54 AM
#12
Le Mans Master
A local shop that built a roll bar in a prior guy hired a guy that did welding on medical products to help out on weekends. Art.
On a local level, the best welders are probably going to be doing medical or aircraft stuff. If you are lucky, you may have a nuke plant nearby to draw upon for more skilled labor.
On a local level, the best welders are probably going to be doing medical or aircraft stuff. If you are lucky, you may have a nuke plant nearby to draw upon for more skilled labor.
11-09-2011, 09:15 AM
#14
Aero is so big on these cars and the things they do stagger the mind. A friend works for a CUP team and he has opened my eyes with just some of the things they do - everyone thinks all the cars are the same, but there are myriad extremely subtle differences done to exploit the tiniest advantage.
11-09-2011, 10:47 AM
#15
Safety Car
When I did the Joe Gibbs Racing shop tour, I bet there were at least 15 of those templates scattered about. All made by same company. Factor that through all the teams and I bet the company that makes those do pretty well (even after NASCAR) kickback. I am betting you cannot use the Equate brand of templates
.
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