I studied philosophy at a well ranked university for four years, but somewhere along the road I became captivated by off-road racing as practiced traditionally by folks out on the West coast, Mexico, and in various pockets across the U.S. Prior to college I had intended majoring in mechanical engineering as during high school I was in my own way an off-road enthusiast within the Subaru community. Tragically, my best friend died in a car accident in October 2013 during our senior year of high school because of this I became disillusioned with life in general. This is what ultimately lead me to study philosophy. Kevin and I were like brothers. We were both huge fans of rally cross and its golden age during the Colin Mc'Rae era. We both drove Subaru WRX's, mine a 2002, and his a 2004 which he built himself by swapping the entire drive train of a totaled WRX into his Impreza RS in order to have WRX performance but without the insurance increase. Kevin and I also down hill mountain biked together. It was these two hobbies and our love for them that probably lead me to long travel prerunners. The thrill of tearing down a bumpy gravel road in my glorified Subaru sedan paired with the experience of piloting a mountain bike with 9 inches of suspension travel lead me to believe that launching a truck over some whoops is probably a thrill worth pursuing.
However, rally cross is a European born sport powered by Japanese and European auto makers. Desert racing is predominantly an American born sport powered by American automakers, at least until the advent of the tube chassis trophy truck. Perhaps some would argue differently, however, I am neither an expert nor a historian of motorsports. Suffice to say there is something distinctly American about off road desert racing. The willingness to travel at a blistering pace down an ungraded course, the rugged individualism involved in doing so, and also the concept of having a chase crew the will support you if need be despite the difficulty of doing to so in a virtual wilderness.
The reason I say this is because aside from the thrills that desert prerunners provide, they represent a part of what it means to be an American in as much as they embody the American spirit of rugged individualism. Even with the aid of modern CNC tubing benders, plasma cutters, laser cutting, etc. there will always be hand crafted element to building a desert vehicle outside of the assembly line setting. In my opinion proper tube fitment and weld quality necessitate this. Time and again I have tried to step away from this hobby but I cant because it appeals to me not just as a motorsport enthusiast but also as a patriot.
It's been over three years since I began to research about building a prerunner. I've wasted a fair bit of time and money in my prior attempts but it is really the only way to learn, to fail.
I would trade my bachelors degree in philosophy for fabrication skills and experience in a heart beat, heck when my friends went out to party I'd stay in researching about topics like tig welding and long travel suspension design. As of yet my bachelors degree has done very little for me, however, I did meet a great young lady at school who supports my love for this hobby. In addition, I take some solace knowing that a degree in mechanical engineering wouldn't have given me any hands on fabrication skills either in regards to welding or bending/notching/fitting tubing.
My understanding is that off-road fabrication is as much of an art as a science, for the best cage and suspension design in the world are worth nothing without skillful welds and tube fitment.
The biggest obstacles I have faced so far include; a lack of fabrication skills, a lack of fabrication tools, and front suspension design. I know there are many more to come.
I have asked fabricators around my area to take me on, but true motorsports fabricators are few and far between in New York.
I am torn between pursuing fabrication as a trade or starting a masters program in computer science this Fall at a University local to me which accepted me.
It is in the context of this dilemma and a lot of student debt where I'm starting this build. Perhaps my experiences will be helpful to younger members on the fence about going to university or practicing a trade.
As you might have guessed this build is inspired by Dane Cardone's infamous Larry Plank built prerunner "Big Bird," and so I've nick named it "Little Bird."
However, rally cross is a European born sport powered by Japanese and European auto makers. Desert racing is predominantly an American born sport powered by American automakers, at least until the advent of the tube chassis trophy truck. Perhaps some would argue differently, however, I am neither an expert nor a historian of motorsports. Suffice to say there is something distinctly American about off road desert racing. The willingness to travel at a blistering pace down an ungraded course, the rugged individualism involved in doing so, and also the concept of having a chase crew the will support you if need be despite the difficulty of doing to so in a virtual wilderness.
The reason I say this is because aside from the thrills that desert prerunners provide, they represent a part of what it means to be an American in as much as they embody the American spirit of rugged individualism. Even with the aid of modern CNC tubing benders, plasma cutters, laser cutting, etc. there will always be hand crafted element to building a desert vehicle outside of the assembly line setting. In my opinion proper tube fitment and weld quality necessitate this. Time and again I have tried to step away from this hobby but I cant because it appeals to me not just as a motorsport enthusiast but also as a patriot.
It's been over three years since I began to research about building a prerunner. I've wasted a fair bit of time and money in my prior attempts but it is really the only way to learn, to fail.
I would trade my bachelors degree in philosophy for fabrication skills and experience in a heart beat, heck when my friends went out to party I'd stay in researching about topics like tig welding and long travel suspension design. As of yet my bachelors degree has done very little for me, however, I did meet a great young lady at school who supports my love for this hobby. In addition, I take some solace knowing that a degree in mechanical engineering wouldn't have given me any hands on fabrication skills either in regards to welding or bending/notching/fitting tubing.
My understanding is that off-road fabrication is as much of an art as a science, for the best cage and suspension design in the world are worth nothing without skillful welds and tube fitment.
The biggest obstacles I have faced so far include; a lack of fabrication skills, a lack of fabrication tools, and front suspension design. I know there are many more to come.
I have asked fabricators around my area to take me on, but true motorsports fabricators are few and far between in New York.
I am torn between pursuing fabrication as a trade or starting a masters program in computer science this Fall at a University local to me which accepted me.
It is in the context of this dilemma and a lot of student debt where I'm starting this build. Perhaps my experiences will be helpful to younger members on the fence about going to university or practicing a trade.
As you might have guessed this build is inspired by Dane Cardone's infamous Larry Plank built prerunner "Big Bird," and so I've nick named it "Little Bird."
