Saturday's Progress on the Soap Box Car

 

 

 

 

More Build Photos! Aaawwww, yeah.....

 

 

 

 

Red Bull Crew stops by the shop.

So the Red Bull video crew came by the shop yesterday and conducted an in-depth interview of the team. Finally met Miko, who let us in on some more info on the race, plus showed us some gnarly video of the other races this year. I guess that they will edit the footage down and show it on the jumbotron in the park before we go up on stage. I guess there's a jump in the course (??!), so I'm reinforcing the car accordingly should I decide to take it.

Weekend's Car Build Photos...

Finished the structure for the tongue, and added weight to make sure it "flicks" right. Welded on the steering wheel mount as well as the rear wheel brake mounts, and reinforced the welds on the steering mechanism and rear roll cage/push bar.

We're on the Red Bull Website!

Click here to find the KISS team's bio on the Red Bull website.

You can view the sketch of our car along with all the other entries under the "sketches" link at the left.

Weekend of Progress on the KISS Car

So this weekend I was pretty productive on the car. To accommodate the new ideas I've had, I ended up chopping off some of the features I initially welded on, including the front end and the roll cage. I completed the linked steering mechanism on Saturday which was pretty fun to figure out, and today I made the rear wheel mounts and the rear roll cage/push bar. The brake calipers I bought from the Recyclery in San Rafael don't fit the wheel rims (should've checked this out beforehand) so I think I'll find some BMX calipers at a shop or on eBay. As for the "skin" of the car I'll walk over to the fabric warehouse on Mission St. and see if they have some pink vinyl, or something equally shiny for the tongue. The structure for the tongue moves up and down pretty nicely, so once the tongue covering is put on, the tongue lashing effect will look pretty damn sweet.

The Skit

So, the skit for the race has been written, here's a sneak preview....
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Gene - Rick
Paul - John
Ace - Colin
Groupie - Rebecca

(4 seconds of "Shout it Out Loud" - fade out to cheering in the background)

(Groupie is waving and screaming off to the side)

Paul - Thank you Milwaukee!!!!

(Ace leans over to Paul)

Ace - Paul, we're in San Francisco.

Gene – Hey, do you guys want to go backstage and get latte's?

Ace – I would, but I'm late for yoga.

(Groupie with backpack runs up to KISS as they put down their guitars and bass)

Groupie – Oh my God! You guys were awesome! I'm your biggest fan.

(Groupie kisses Paul)

Paul – Hey, do you want to go backstage and become a member of the KISS Army?

Groupie – Oh, I already am! Paul, don't you remember "inducting me" in Toledo last year? We have a baby!!!

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.....you'll have to come to the race to find out how it ends!!!!!

The Soap Box Build Begins

I began building the KISS mobile for the Red Bull Soap Box Derby on Sunday over in Berekeley. Began with 1 1/2" square steel tube and kinda made decisions as I went along. The frame is gonna be about 8' x 2.5" and I'm going to head to The Recyclery in San Rafael after work this week to pick up some wheels and brake parts. Walked with Beckz over to Dolores Park today, the site of the race, to drink wine and watch the SF Mime Troupe perform Red State.

Red Bull Soap Box Derby 2008 - San Francisco

It's on!!!!!! October 18th is the race, Dolores Park is the place. My design's been chosen and my teammates have been picked. Stay tuned for posts on the building of the car and the emergence of the greatest team assembled in soap box derby history. Rock on.