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Track.One's Shop Build

Track.One

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 17, 2011
Messages
84
Location
Franklin, TN
BIG UPDATE!!! The date is now 5/14/2013 and we are moving into a much larger 7000+ sq/ft shop in Nashville, TN! Go check out page 16 and check out the new place!! This one will be a fun build!

CONSTANTLY UPDATED! Check out the last pages and I'll be continuing my updates as the company grows :) Thank you!

7/20/2011
I wish I would have known about this site before I built my shop! Lots of useful information and beautiful shop's and garage's in here! My name is Mike Zusin and I am a 23 year old shop owner out of Franklin, TN. I thought I would share the build up and story behind my shop and business :)

Back Story:

Back in May of 2009 the name "Track.One" came while shuffling through my Ipod on a night in the garage working with my best friend Mike Nacarato. Back then the idea of owning a shop was just a dream and a cool idea for us. Crazy to think that was only about 2 years ago. At 21 I was working as an Electrician's apprentice and had plan's to move forward in the business and continue learning the trade. At the same time I was building a (wait for it) 97 Honda Civic. :bowdown: My project of 3+ years was almost done and I managed to make my deadline of having it at the big Import Alliance meet in Nashville, TN...the largest Import meet in the country. Even with barely any sleep that week, and the car not running due to a few small issues we didn't have time to resolve....I had finally gotten the car done. I know everyone isn't a fan of the honda civic..but this was mine..and it helped get me to where I am today.

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It was such a good feeling to finally accomplish a goal/dream that has been in the back of my head for 3 + years. I told myself back in highschool..that one day I would build this car and get in a magazine...that was the "Dream"

And what do ya know...

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(the story in the magazine say's I sold the car..but it's still here at the shop..a bare shell under 8 car covers outside :p)

It was a great feeling to accomplish a Dream...it gives you a feeling that you can do anything you set your mind to...which is a very true statement. The car even was voted one of the top 10 Honda's of 2009 :)


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After the car was done, and the magazine was out...I felt like I needed a new challenge. That challenge presented itself when I was laid off from my job as an electrician when business dried up in Fall of 2009. Here I was with a Civic with way too much money it...debt...bills to pay...and no job. I was able to find work at an Acura dealership making a whopping $8/hr and after about 2 months of working there...I was done. I put my 2 week's noticed in...registered Track.One and got my business license. I quickly began to strip down the civic and sell off everything to help start the business.

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Living with my parent's at the time they were obviously enthusiastic about the idea (note the sarcasm)...but they have always been my biggest supporters in everything I do..and I can't thank them enough for that. Before the shop construction started..I had been spending my money from parting out the civic on things like a lift, tools, ect. Quickly I had turned part of my parents garage into my shop.

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That didn't last very long... but luckily I was able to get a small business loan April 14th of 2010...a day I will never forget. I knew I could do it...the market was there...I had a great reputation...the opportunity was there and I took the risk.

One thing that my parent's were able to do for me was allow me to build on their property. To give you guys a little back story on them...my mother and father have no college education and have worked their asses off for everything they have. My mother work's as a Controller for a Interior design company as well as 2 other job's doing accounting work...I don't know anyone who works harder than my mother does. My father is an Elevator mechanic...one of the best. As he learned from his father and has taught me...if your going to do something in life...be the best at it. They both have flipped all of the house's we have lived in and with making very smart decisions with their money..they now live in a house that not many people in their career could afford to have. I can never thank them enough for giving me this opportunity to try and have my dream job.

And thus with the business loan in hand....I began to build my future.

I had been saving some money before I got the business loan...and I spent my first $1000 to start getting the land cleared for the shop. My parent's wanted the shop to be out of the way and as hidden as possible as they didn't want a big eye sore on the property.

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The pile of tree's burned for a good 2 weeks before we we're able to bury the rest and start the site work.

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The foundation began to come together

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Poured concrete retaining wall

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Getting ready to pour the floor

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Forgot to take pictures of my friends and I as we applied the water proofing tar and french drain..but o well... here's skipping ahead to the first bit of wood arriving :thumbup:

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And setting the post's

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We went with a 40x60 with 16ft ceilings as I wanted to eventually build a second story in the shop.

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Me in the middle..my younger brother to the right..and my friends that came to help that day despite the weather.

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My dad hard at work...he has always been a jack of all trades and designed the entire plans for the shop.

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More wood!

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One thing about my dad..when he designs/builds something...he makes sure it's not going anywhere. The truces were spaced 2 ft apart with a 2 ft overhang...plenty strong :)

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Rain always tried to delay our progress...gotta love Tennessee weather...100% humidity doesn't help either in the heat of summer.

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Track.One

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Joined
Jun 17, 2011
Messages
84
Location
Franklin, TN
The crew I hired to set the trusses were something else..I respect the hell out of them as well. They set all 30 + trusses by themselves without any equipment. There was a crew of 5..and one of them hurt their wrist..so I jumped in and helped them all day..about had a heat stroke towards the last few trusses! But we got them all up in one day :)

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3 of us would grab a truss...bring it up to the 3 guys on top of the shop..and they would set each one by hand...talk about hard work!

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They did an amazing job..I gave them a $200 tip on top of the bill and went out and bought some cold beer for them after a hard days work.

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Coming together :)

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Tucked away in the woods

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Running power

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At first we decided we wanted to put up the metal by ourselves...but after it taking us far too long just get the back wall up I decided to hire a crew to get it done. Another hit to the loan but the sooner I could move into the shop..the sooner I could start paying that loan off.

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These guys were fast!

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Within 2-3 days they were all done :)

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Garage Door's in..and more gravel

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For the shop floor I decided to go with acid staining..I had a friend who used to do it for a living and he gave me a discount on the materials and ran me through how to apply it. I have to say..for about $600 in materials..I did a damn good job :thumbup:

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Service installed

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Small concrete pad outside one of the door's

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July 4th 2010 I moved the first customer car's into the shop...a perfect day to celebrate on :)

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After moving in..things really started to move..

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Import Alliance 2010....we had done a LS1 swap on my buddy nick's car which I sponsor in 3 days...finished the swap at the event and Nick tore it up!

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More customer's kept pouring into the shop..I had built up a great reputation with the build up of my civic and had nothing but support as we started the company.

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Track.One

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Joined
Jun 17, 2011
Messages
84
Location
Franklin, TN
Thats about when I decided I needed a partner in crime to help guard the shop...this is when I first got my boxer, Ike.

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Ike's best bud, Daisy (Nick's dog)

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We continued to grow..and really got into drifting.

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Nick is one hell of a driver

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I've had a bit of everything in and out of the shop

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In the Fall of 2010 we got the unique opportunity to do a drift demo for the first annual Holley LS fest in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Only problem is they called us a week before the event and we had a blown motor at the time. Nick found a LS long block that had been sitting for 9 year's not far from us for $1000...threw it together and made it to the event.

With a last minute tune by our friend Brad Mayo at Carma performance we were on our way!

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We didn't know what to expect coming up there with a Nissan 240sx..with the heart of a LS1...but lucky for us they loved it! and Nick put on quite the show for them. Even meeting Joe Elmore of Horsepower TV and they ended up filming Nick for the show!

Nick and I talking with Joe and the crew

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Interview

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And setting up camera's :) We couldn't believe it!

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Nick gave Joe the ride of his life!

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You can check out the full episode of LS fest here...the last segment is all on Nick.

http://www.powerblocktv.com/video/?ep_num=HP2010-20&ep_show=HP

The CEO of Holley, Tom Tominlson, even rode shotgun with Nick as well! After the event they became another sponsor for Nick :)

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The shop continued to grow...and we fell into winter...and unfortunatly..insulation/heating...was not in the budget.

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But a wood stove and all the wood I could cut was!

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Winter wasn't fun...nor was wearing 22 pieces of clothing to try and stay warm through this past winter.

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The more I grew..the more space I started to need...time for a second story!

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Made the shop a mess getting everything out of the way

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Track.One

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 17, 2011
Messages
84
Location
Franklin, TN
Another fun customer car...LS1 E30

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I also had recently set up a fund raiser for the people affected by the Tornado outbreak in Alabama...I was able to raise over $1000 in two day's after the storm hit and Ike and I drove down there and I helped out in some of the hardest hit area's for that weekend....it was truely horrible :( But I was glad I was able to use my business to help bring awareness and raise the money to be able to help in even a small way.

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Well...we're pretty much caught up now on this date of 7/20/11...this past weekend was the most recent Import Alliance Summer meet...and the best yet. Work has been pouring in non-stop! Over the past few weeks we barely slept...worked our ****'s off to get all of the car's ready for the event...and we made it :)

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Ike is a lot bigger now than last year too :p

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After having a growth removed...no sweat

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Hard at work

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Well there is no real ending to this post ...as it's only been two years since this all began. I'll continue to update as I expand on the shop and grow as a business as well.

Nick is currently competing in the Mid West Drift Union Formula-D pro-am series..with a good chance of going pro! He is currently 3rd in points :)

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Keep an eye out for the new E3 Spark plugs commercial as well on Speed Channel and Spike TV...you may recognize his car ;)

I'll end with a few random pictures from around the shop

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In the end...yes I'm 23 (24 this November) and I own a performance shop I am proud to say is mine. It has been many long nights...sleepless nights...crazy hours...to get where I'm at..and I'm just beginning. I practically live in the shop right now...I don't go out..I don't spend money..I just work. I don't have any toys...no cool cars...no new clothes...no real social life anymore...but I drive a $1000 lincoln Mark VIII...which is pretty sweet.

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I had to make a lot of sacrifices to be able to have my dream job. The stress...working 7 day's a week...15+ hour shift's...It's all worth it. I cant thank my friends thats make up the Track.One team enough for helping make all this possible as well. I always have a smile on my face when I come into work..and even at the worst moments...I still am happy to be doing what I love. The hard work is finally starting to pay off and the shop is really growing now...business has been pouring in and I couldn't be happier.

Well I hope you guys enjoy the read! feel free to ask me any questions about the shop or the business...I have a ton of other pictures of the entire build in detail as well if anyone wishes to see :) But I just realized it is 4am...and I should probably close the shop and get some sleep haha.
 
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AR15Texan

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Joined
Jun 13, 2007
Messages
82
Wow Mike that's a great story and great pictures of the garage build. I don't even know you but I'm proud of your accomplishments. This goes to show what the American Dream is all about. My hat's off to you and your parents for making smart money decision and generating this opportunity to work your dream job.

Of course here at Garage Forum we want more details, like concrete pour and electric service, etc.
 
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Track.One

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Joined
Jun 17, 2011
Messages
84
Location
Franklin, TN
I appreciate it! I can't thank my parent's enough for allowing me to build on their property which has kept my overhead very low....as well as helping me with my book keeping which in turn has saved me a lot of money. Hopefully soon I'll be able to frame out downstairs so I can finally have A/C and heat for once. Also I plan on finally getting running water out here as well! Since the business loan was very small I had to make due with only what I needed...but now I should be able to afford what I couldn't get done when I first built the shop..so there will be plenty of updates coming.

And I would be glad to get into the detail's of the shop :) I ran all of the power, lighting, outlets, etc myself to save money...plus it helped to have the things I learned as an electrician still coming in useful :) I'll take some pictures tomorrow of some of the details in the shop..the work benches I've built...tool organization..the install of the lift...second story build up and storage in the shop. For now I'm going to get some sleep! I have to be up early to open the shop tomorrow anyway..or should I say today :p
 
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Kevin54

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Urbana, Ohio
:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown: All I have to say is that you have very much to be proud of. You have done what most will never do or most will not achieve it for years. Definitely an inspiration to all and just shows what can be done with determination.
 

cnyeco1

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Feb 3, 2009
Messages
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Location
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
I rarely comment on threads as I hate to add to the reading, but this thread and your progress/accomplishments are incredible. You make me want to get off my old ****, get out in the garage and do something. And you are still young so all this by now, incredible. Most people wait half a lifetime to do half of what you have. WOW!!

You have mad skills and are an inspiration. I would also like to comment on your help during the disaster relief. You and your friends should be commended.

I hope you always do well. There's nothing like living your dreams.
 

HotRodKush

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Dec 12, 2009
Messages
403
Reading this thread, I felt like I was reading about myself! I started my business 3 years ago at 24. The non-ending hours and no social life are universal at this stage in business I fear. There's nothing like blazing your own path through life, on your own terms. I give you much respect for what you've accomplished, especially getting through the shop build phase. That's one big step that we didn't have to do as an internet business.
 
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veedubman91

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Aug 17, 2009
Messages
95
Location
PA
wow, what a great story. congrats to all your accomplishments in the past 2 years. those are some really nice builds/cars, and i look forward to more stuff
 

408Chevelle

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Oct 5, 2009
Messages
148
Even though the cars aren't my style, I've got to give it to you man! Being that you're about the same age as me makes it even cooler. Congrats and good work!
 

Blase

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May 11, 2011
Messages
28
Location
Carencro, La
Really Cool story! Way to grab your dream and run with it.

You do some off roading too by the looks of the jeep in your post and posters on the wall. Nice realm of hobbies you got der:3gears::beer::thumbup:

Edit: is that an "air filter" in the end of this intake tubing?
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classicharleyj

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Apr 6, 2006
Messages
197
I just wanted to say... great job on following your dream and having the determination to make it happen.
Jim
 
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Track.One

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Jun 17, 2011
Messages
84
Location
Franklin, TN
Appreciate all the kind words guys!!

Nah, that was before we had put the intake on...that's just the screen on the MAF.

Going to go take some more detailed pictures of the shop in a bit and things I hope to upgrade here very soon.

Thing's I want to do:

-Heating/Cooling...mostly cooling right now :p
-Down Stair's office space
-more concrete outside for parking
-widening the driveway and entrance to the shop
-Gate and fencing for some added security
-running water

Theres more but those are the first things I'll like to get done....I'll be posting updates soon! I usually spend my weekends working on the shop itself so I should have some good updates weekly :)
 

MotoDave

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Jul 1, 2009
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Location
Ventura, CA
Very nice work! And very impressive considering you're a young guy still. I really like seeing working shops like this, and you've done a great job writing it up.
 
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ishiboo

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Oct 27, 2010
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Oshkosh, WI
Great shop and great builds, thank you very much for sharing your story and the shop build. Few people go that route and make it, very glad for you!

How about some more details on the LS1 E30? Huge BMW fan, I always wanted to build a LS1 2002 for fun. The E30 has a similarly tiny engine bay.
 

jeffk14

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Aug 17, 2010
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Wow, young man. Fantastic story, spectacular shop!

You've obviously got a sterling work ethic, an outstanding family and some exceptional friends. My hat is off to you and I wish you the very best in your endeavors. :thumbup: :beer:

Oh, almost forgot. I never miss a chance to be a smart ***. "Truss" is spelled T-R-U-S-S, not t-r-u-c-e. :lol_hitti
 

nathank

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509
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Impressive! Love the shop, love the hustle.

Is that wood stove venting into the building? Is that what the smokestack thing is on the loft area?
 

nismomans13

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438
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Pittsburgh, PA
thats cool man, i saw that episode of horsepower, if I remember Joe didn't call it s 240sx though, I think he called it a 300zx or something.
 

chickenhauler

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May 31, 2011
Messages
473
Location
Pennsylvania
Wow, young man. Fantastic story, spectacular shop!

You've obviously got a sterling work ethic, an outstanding family and some exceptional friends. My hat is off to you and I wish you the very best in your endeavors. :thumbup: :beer:

Oh, almost forgot. I never miss a chance to be a smart ***. "Truss" is spelled T-R-U-S-S, not t-r-u-c-e. :lol_hitti

Perfectly said. I'll just steal it all and say "ditto" :thumbup:
 
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Track.One

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Messages
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Franklin, TN
Haha...when I was typing it up I wondered if I had spelt it wrong...but since it was 4am I didn't feel like double checking :p Thanks though! haha

I'll get some detailed shots of the LS1 E30 as well :) I can update you guys on the shop and on the projects we have going on every week.

Right during the rush to get everything done for this past weekend's event my friend Rob called me and unfortunately it wasn't good new's. The Cornwell box I have been using in the shop for over a year belonged to him and he finally needed it back. I had been storing the tools for him in exchange for letting me use them.

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I had been trying to buy the tools and box off him for awhile..but he needs them for his new job unfortunately. I'm sure most of you on here can agree that we can get pretty attached to our tools. Having the box and his tools leave is bitter sweet....I'm definitely going to miss those cornwell's...but now I get to buy new tools...which is also bitter sweet..because my wallet will hate me haha.
 

scorp7

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Nov 30, 2009
Messages
10
Awesome build and story. Great drive, determination and work ethic. Congrats on your accomplishments.
Def keep as posted on the progress of the garage and cars.

Best of luck.
 

Curt_pnw

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Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
223
Location
Edmonds, Wa
Very impressive. You have covered a lot of ground in a short time.
No kidding! I'm digging the quality of cars that go through your shop. And good luck to Nick on his quest for his FD license, with enough determination he'll get that under his belt. Walker Wilkerson is a friend of mine, this year is his first full year of pro drifting. His car if you don't know of him.
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Anyways, sorry for the thread jack, haha. Respect for jumping into the deep end and doing your own thing. I hope to see more Track.One cars out there tearing it up on the track and getting into magazines. :thumbup:
 

patlalande123

Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2009
Messages
16
wow, i cannot give you enough props. That is absolutely amazing! Sometimes you just never know what will come out of taking a step into the unexpected. My brother has the same dream as you, but fabrication building custom frames for bagged and body dropped pickups. I know he could do it, finding the money to start somewhere especially with this part of Ontario, Canada so dumbfounded by customized vehicles you couldn't make it anywhere, and that is the set back.

With that all being said, I am thinking that your fascination with cars was only a hobby to start out as a teenager, how do you like turning your hobby into a job?

i would love to support you in any way... is there anyway you could send out a couple stickers or something towards Canada?
 

Red Leader

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May 15, 2011
Messages
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Location
Denver, CO
You are a great story-teller - I love the flow of your posts. I also have a great deal of respect for any self-made man. We need more folks out there like you who want to be able to stand on their own two feet and make life happen.

Two thumbs up man:thumbup::thumbup:

Oh, and nice shop:D
 

Wardy

Member
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Aug 24, 2010
Messages
24
Location
Tennessee
I've read your build log over on TennSpeed, but really enjoyed reading it again. Congrats and keep up the good work!
 

balane

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May 4, 2011
Messages
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Location
Pacific Northwest
One of the best threads I've seen here. I really enjoyed it and you have a lot to be proud of. At your age I was just looking for the next party.

On top of that, you like dogs and treat yours well so I know you're a good person too. :)
 
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