Jeff Kleiner
10-24-2021, 09:47 AM
I know there are and if you're one then you know about the annual $2,000 Challenge where in a nutshell the goal is to build a car to compete in autocross, drag racing and concours judging while spending no more than 2,000 bucks.
My good autocross buddy Chris Kinnaman ("gumby" on the GRM forums) and I have competed together since we both started at the same time a decade and a half ago. He's a super talented full time sprint and midget car chassis fabricator and builder for Beast, one of the premier constructors in that world. If you have a car that I've done with Breeze bars he's the guy who tig welded them. He's also something of a mad scientist/genius cut from the same cloth as Mark Smith! About a year ago he and another autocross buddy (Chris Brake; also a mad scientist fabricator known for stuffing a Subaru STI drivetrain into a Volkswagen Beetle) hatched the idea to build a 2K Challenge car using an old Bradley GT body along with the 4.6 engine and portions of the frame rails from an old Ford Panther chassis. I visited the shop often to see the progress of this way, WAY out of the box build (I mean when I stopped in and saw the engine occupying the passenger side of the car I knew the boys had left the reservation!) I went two weeks ago and put paint on the body...on sawhorses...in the shop driveway...while Chris squared worked on the belly pan. Long story short the car rolled out for it's first ever go cart drive around the block last Sunday, they loaded up Tuesday and rolled out for Gainesville Florida at sunrise Wednesday stopping in Kentucky for a quick dyno tune...did I mention the big nitrous bottle that sits nedt to the driver's seat. Anyway, after competing in the autocross Friday they took FTD, put on the drag slicks and made some fast passes and when the concours judging was finished yesterday they had won! WON THE WHOLE DARN EVENT!
THIS:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=154723&d=1635086263
BECAME:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=154724&d=1635086298
AND FINALLY THIS:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=154725&d=1635086341
Here's a link to the initial GRM announcement which will be followed up with lots of coverage on line and in print:
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/news/merging-free-vintage-kit-car-body-unlikely-donor-create-2000-challenge-champion/?fbclid=IwAR2bBZXObnKUqPBTtD7jB3-l3T2Mlme54PYKKpNuGakghTzU4gGRWG_bxmc
And if you have some time to kill here's the build thread that shows a good bit of the fabrication (and also includes links that lead down rabbit holes for some of Gumby's other projects like his cool autocross Ranger pickup, etc).
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/project-x71-reheating-stampies-leftoversfcfc/177534/page1/
I'm just super stoked for by Buddies and wanted to share because I know some of the builders and racers here can appreciate what they accomplished! :cool:
Jeff
154723
154724
154725
My good autocross buddy Chris Kinnaman ("gumby" on the GRM forums) and I have competed together since we both started at the same time a decade and a half ago. He's a super talented full time sprint and midget car chassis fabricator and builder for Beast, one of the premier constructors in that world. If you have a car that I've done with Breeze bars he's the guy who tig welded them. He's also something of a mad scientist/genius cut from the same cloth as Mark Smith! About a year ago he and another autocross buddy (Chris Brake; also a mad scientist fabricator known for stuffing a Subaru STI drivetrain into a Volkswagen Beetle) hatched the idea to build a 2K Challenge car using an old Bradley GT body along with the 4.6 engine and portions of the frame rails from an old Ford Panther chassis. I visited the shop often to see the progress of this way, WAY out of the box build (I mean when I stopped in and saw the engine occupying the passenger side of the car I knew the boys had left the reservation!) I went two weeks ago and put paint on the body...on sawhorses...in the shop driveway...while Chris squared worked on the belly pan. Long story short the car rolled out for it's first ever go cart drive around the block last Sunday, they loaded up Tuesday and rolled out for Gainesville Florida at sunrise Wednesday stopping in Kentucky for a quick dyno tune...did I mention the big nitrous bottle that sits nedt to the driver's seat. Anyway, after competing in the autocross Friday they took FTD, put on the drag slicks and made some fast passes and when the concours judging was finished yesterday they had won! WON THE WHOLE DARN EVENT!
THIS:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=154723&d=1635086263
BECAME:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=154724&d=1635086298
AND FINALLY THIS:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=154725&d=1635086341
Here's a link to the initial GRM announcement which will be followed up with lots of coverage on line and in print:
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/news/merging-free-vintage-kit-car-body-unlikely-donor-create-2000-challenge-champion/?fbclid=IwAR2bBZXObnKUqPBTtD7jB3-l3T2Mlme54PYKKpNuGakghTzU4gGRWG_bxmc
And if you have some time to kill here's the build thread that shows a good bit of the fabrication (and also includes links that lead down rabbit holes for some of Gumby's other projects like his cool autocross Ranger pickup, etc).
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/project-x71-reheating-stampies-leftoversfcfc/177534/page1/
I'm just super stoked for by Buddies and wanted to share because I know some of the builders and racers here can appreciate what they accomplished! :cool:
Jeff
154723
154724
154725