Track.One's Shop Build

[Honest Bob]

Awesome work!

 

[Deezler]

Wow. I just joined the forum this year, it has been such a treat finding new amazing threads like this one as they periodically get bumped back to the front page.

Your shop and career trajectory has been nothing short of amazing. Here's the biggest question I have, that I haven't seen you answer yet: How did you get clients like that in the first place? Ok, so you built a rad civic, but c'mon, that's just a civic. You were seriously able to leverage that build into convincing owners of incredibly expensive luxury sports cars to trust a 23 year old kid to just wrench away on their babies? And they felt good about driving out into the country in TN and down a long gravel driveway to leave their cars at your barebones shop (at first, obviously now it is amazingly impressive and your client list speaks for itself). I just can't fathom how you convinced people to work with you in the earliest stages. I am thinking you a) don't have a baby face, b) are very sharp/smart and handle questions very professionally, and c) absolutely poured your heart and soul into everything your did for track.one. It's really impressive and motivating, and downright fun to read about and follow in this thread. congrats!

p.s. did your folks start charging you rent yet?

 

[NUTTSGT]

I think Track.One had some very good "Word of Mouth" in his area.



How's the new shop coming along ?

 

[Arthropraxis]

Little off topic but how did you work the linkage to have the hydroboost forward mounted on the E30/LS1?

 

[YoungMedic]

Little off topic but how did you work the linkage to have the hydroboost forward mounted on the E30/LS1?

He may have fabbed that one up, but its also sold as a kit for an e30/LS1 swap

 

[Arthropraxis]

Thanks.

 

[Track.One]

Appreciate all the support guys!! So much is going right now...actually moving the business to a new location within the next coupe of months...things are getting crazy around here to say the least haha. Thanks for mentioning the Honda-Tuning article!! It just hit stands all of the country on the 26th

Wow. I just joined the forum this year, it has been such a treat finding new amazing threads like this one as they periodically get bumped back to the front page.

Your shop and career trajectory has been nothing short of amazing. Here's the biggest question I have, that I haven't seen you answer yet: How did you get clients like that in the first place? Ok, so you built a rad civic, but c'mon, that's just a civic. You were seriously able to leverage that build into convincing owners of incredibly expensive luxury sports cars to trust a 23 year old kid to just wrench away on their babies? And they felt good about driving out into the country in TN and down a long gravel driveway to leave their cars at your barebones shop (at first, obviously now it is amazingly impressive and your client list speaks for itself). I just can't fathom how you convinced people to work with you in the earliest stages. I am thinking you a) don't have a baby face, b) are very sharp/smart and handle questions very professionally, and c) absolutely poured your heart and soul into everything your did for track.one. It's really impressive and motivating, and downright fun to read about and follow in this thread. congrats!

p.s. did your folks start charging you rent yet?

I had to respond to this after reading it. First off thank you! I appreciate the support greatly and the kind words from everyone. Second of all...I'm 25 now

The real high end cars didn't start coming in until I hired our head mechanic Dan Hamilton last year. He is 30 years old, had been working in Maryland as a mechanic doing everything from maintenance to any kind of performance work for 14 years. He has already worked on many exotics as well and that spoke volumes. With his experience and my dedication to making sure every customer leaves here with a giant smile on their face, the cars just kept on coming Every customer who has came through our doors has had a great experience, if there was ever an issue we took care of it no questions asked. Most of our clients have came back many times to have us continue to take care of their cars. Trust is one of the most important things to me, I want every client to trust us with their cars...I go out of my way to make sure they are happy.

O and yes I rent a downstairs apartment in the house...but the whole property is being listed on the market in the next couple of weeks

I'm shopping for property and I'll be making a big risky move in the next few months....I'll be keeping you guys updated. Time to take Track.One to the next level.

 

[55cadillacking]

G/L! I love your attitude and commitment to your industry.

 

[Track.One]

Thank you

So here is a little update of where I'm at right now.

My parents are actually listing the property in a few weeks and so I have been actively searching for a new location for Track.One and a place for myself as well. It is kind of rushed but on the plus side once the house sells most of my business loan will be payed off. I've learned so much over these past 3 years, but there is so much that I need to address if I want to make this move work. I never had a business plan, my financials are pretty messy, there isn't a solid structure in the work place, and my website and advertising needs to be in place with this move. I've got a big meeting coming up on a possible piece of land (in a amazing location overlooking I24) I could purchase from one of my business mentors. If I can strike a deal, then I can get a mortgage for that commercial property and build Track.One Ver.2 If that doesn't work out then most likely I'll be renting/leasing a shop around Nashville...we'll see.

I'll be sure to keep you guys updated. If anyone is in the market for a beautiful home on 12.5 acres with my old shop on it lemme know! I'll put some pictures up on here, who knows...it would be pretty awesome to see a garage-journal member using my old shop

 

[Toolhorder]

You need to hire a Honda tech from Cali

 

[Ferrari-lover]

Your shop and your story are so cool, can you show us what's left of the old civic that you parted out to fund your shop? Thanks

 

[Swiftlegend]

is there a reason you can buy the property from parents or whatever? expand on that land or is it to far out of the way? In the city you have city pricing with city zoning.

 

[RebelAlliance]

Can't wait to see what's in store for Track One 2.0 If you need anything web wise let me know, that's what I do.

 

[Track.One]

Lol....so things have just gotten crazier around here. More good news, a phone call from Nissan of North America about building a racecar for them, about to be filming at HP TV again....and the house is now on the market and I'm moving to a new location in the next month or so haha!

http://listings.realtracs.com/Reports/EmailPublicReports.aspx?EmailID=53840032&reportid=3

Anyone looking for an awesome house and shop on 12.5 acres? lol.

I'll get some updates up soon.

 

[Modifieddriver]

Lol....so things have just gotten crazier around here. More good news, a phone call from Nissan of North America about building a racecar for them, about to be filming at HP TV again....and the house is now on the market and I'm moving to a new location in the next month or so haha!

http://listings.realtracs.com/Reports/EmailPublicReports.aspx?EmailID=53840032&reportid=3

Anyone looking for an awesome house and shop on 12.5 acres? lol.

I'll get some updates up soon.

Unless I'm missing something in the listing, it says it has a 2 car garage. Where's your shop listed?

 

[Track.One]

Unless I'm missing something in the listing, it says it has a 2 car garage. Where's your shop listed?

It has 3 garages, two are together and one is attached which is a 1 car garage (where I first started Track.One before building the shop). Look in the "Remarks" section. It just mentions the shop as a Barn/Shop. It will be empty when they move in and the lifts are probably coming out unless the new owner wants them. They are getting the rest of the pictures up I think tonight. There isn't anything special about the shop to list anyway. No running water or any insulation out here...it will just be a storage building or personal shop/man room for the new owner.

I was going to try and build a shop since I have a chance to build on an amazing property right of the interstate...but I don't think I'll have time. I'm looking for a shop to lease near Nashville right for the next couple of years and then maybe build a shop on the property I was wanting to be on.

 

[roadracer97]

this is a great thread. keep it updated

 

[MQ Unlimited Media]

Great job getting to where you are today. I wanted to thank you for keeping up later then I should've, two...you have peaked my interest to get back into the import scene and three...I need to stop being lazy and finish my humble 2 car garage!

 

[LoRollinLS]

Great news it sounds like. Keep us updated throughout your move. Glad to hear that you guys are doing so well. How do you stay organized with all of that going on???? lol

 

[Track.One]

Thanks guys! And I'm so un-organized it's crazy haha....trying to work on that though.

Video tour of the house:

House listing: http://listings.realtracs.com/Reports/EmailPublicReports.aspx?EmailID=53840032&reportid=3

Click on the picture to see the rest of the photoshoot.

I was hoping to move on to a great piece of property and build a shop but I definitely won't have time to do that. So right now I'm looking at commercial property around Nashville. I'll keep you guys updated with everything!

 

[dubber]

Wow! I'm sure your going to miss living at home. That was a sweet place. Good luck on your search for a new place.

 

[Track.One]

Wow! I'm sure your going to miss living at home. That was a sweet place. Good luck on your search for a new place.

I'll miss this property and the shop...but at the same time I'm ready to make a move and get my own place too. Also the current shop shares a residential address with the house, I don't have highspeed internet (I tether 4g from my phone lol), no running water, insulation, heat or A/C, the list goes on. While this was a great place to start the business, it's now holding back our growth. I would much rather be in Nashville near the machine shops and other parts suppliers we use so often. Right now all of those places are 30 minutes away with no traffic...and there's usually traffic haha. Plus I've never advertised an address here since I didn't want people coming down my parents driveway randomly.

I'm very excited about the move, hopefully I can find a great place quickly!!

Also going to be getting some new equipment for the new shop and maybe hiring another employee or two this year. O and there's a chance we may be getting a dyno

 

[dubber]

I'll miss this property and the shop...but at the same time I'm ready to make a move and get my own place too. Also the current shop shares a residential address with the house, I don't have highspeed internet (I tether 4g from my phone lol), no running water, insulation, heat or A/C, the list goes on. While this was a great place to start the business, it's now holding back our growth. I would much rather be in Nashville near the machine shops and other parts suppliers we use so often. Right now all of those places are 30 minutes away with no traffic...and there's usually traffic haha. Plus I've never advertised an address here since I didn't want people coming down my parents driveway randomly.

I'm very excited about the move, hopefully I can find a great place quickly!!

Also going to be getting some new equipment for the new shop and maybe hiring another employee or two this year. O and there's a chance we may be getting a dyno

Well when you put it that way haha. Yea its definitely a positive move in all respects. Best of luck on the new chapter.

 

[rsoby]

Awesome story. Subscribed. I cant believe their property taxes are only $4,000. They would probably be $18,000 in NY.

 

[bbarbulo]

hey i remember this garage build from honda-tech a couple+ years back. glad to hear business is going well.

 

[Track.One]

Well when you put it that way haha. Yea its definitely a positive move in all respects. Best of luck on the new chapter.

Thanks!! I'll be doing my best to keep everyone updated with the move!

Awesome story. Subscribed. I cant believe their property taxes are only $4,000. They would probably be $18,000 in NY.

Yeah, that was another reason we love Tennessee haha. We used to live in New Jersey so we definitely don't miss the property taxes from up north.

hey i remember this garage build from honda-tech a couple+ years back. glad to hear business is going well.

Thanks man! Yep, we've been in business about 3-1/2 years now.

 

[Track.One]

UPDATE!

So the house sold on Friday, my parents decided to go look at two houses and ended up buying one on Sunday...O and I found a new shop and just got the approval today that it's mine

I've been looking for a new location for awhile now so finding a place definitely is a huge stress relief. Our new location is 200 Fesslers Lane Nashville, TN 37210. (I can finally advertise our address!! WOO HOO!!) 7000+ Sq/ft for $2500/mo tax included. Utility costs are surprisingly low too...except for turning the big gas heaters on in winter lol. The building is 3 phase and I'll be installing a nice security system as well. The building is pretty damn secure though.

Here are a few pictures I took when I did the first walk through. I've got a lot of cleaning to do and I've got to paint that blue/yellow/white for sure haha. Our colors are Black/Gold/White so it should look pretty nice in there when we are done.

Google street view: https://www.google.com/maps?q=&laye...a=X&ei=waeSUd3EJoLc8ASC8YCwAg&ved=0CC8QxB0wAA



These holes definitely need to be patched...we almost so a van disappear into one of them lol.



This gate needs a little work too, but nothing serious.



Here is the inside. You can see the front garage door and entrance in the middle of this picture. That is the only garage door to the outside of the shop besides the loading dock and a random garage door in the back that they put metal siding over? I still have to investigate that when I get back in there. You can also see the stairs to a second story office and restrooms on the right.



I took this picture from the same spot, just a better view of the shop and how it separates in half. There are 2 huge metal sliding doors, and two over head roll up security doors separating that half of the shop. Since we don't need all of that space right now I'm renting some of it for people to store some of their racecars/projects.



I FINALLY HAVE RESTROOMS AND RUNNING WATER!!! WOO HOO!!! Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most



My new office and the break room/kitchen/locker room underneath it. With the restrooms on the right I'll have to paint a "safety line" and walk customers to the restroom if they need to use it.



Little break room



Now here will be the challenge....if anyone has any ideas feel free to chime in!! That door on the right is where my customers will be coming through. On the left is what looked to be a waste oil room and I'm not sure whats up with the metal frame. I need to find a good way to turn that room into a customer waiting area.




Big sliding metal door on one side of the room, roll up door on the other.





Here is a view from the other side of the shop.



Random room...haven't decided its fate yet lol.



Nice big exhaust fan.







So yeah! Track.One's new journey has begun!! Thank you all for the support and I know I haven't been the best with updates but I'll be changing that!

O I almost forgot...the closing date on the house is JUNE 14TH!!! 31 DAYS!!!

Needless to say I'll be loosing my sanity haha...I've got a LOT of work to do!

Thanks guys, lemme know what you think!

 

[Clubber]

That's an awesome space, looks like a lot of room. Congrats on finding a place. Looking forward to seeing the progress on this shop and the business. This thread has been a fun read and love the pictures. This thread has inspired my son to get working on reaching his goal of being a mechanic and running his own shop someday (he's 17). Thanks for that motivation!

 

[LCG]

Huh! Lots and LOTS of work ahead! Much respect, living the dream! well mine...

 

[SiGmA_X]

That is a legit shop! You're going to be busy sir!

 

[Ferrari-lover]

When you uncover it to move can you show us what's left of the civic

 

[STClurker]

this is one of my favorite threads on this part of the forum, thanks for the updates and keep them coming. on the gate, I see metal rollers on it, switch to (I think) its polymer rollers and you will move that gate with two fingers. the boss man did the same thing with the gate at work and the difference is amazing, it doesn't freeze, or bind, or seize or anything, it just works.

and when I saw the picture of "random room" the first thing that came to mind was a parts room or tool crib

 

[UN4GTBL]

Wow. Just incredible progress since I last checked in here. That new shop looks great!

 

[dubber]

Great spot congrats! Smart to use an unused portion as a money earner for parking spots!

 

[CoconutPete]

Wow, nice space!

You've got some moving to do, good luck with everything.

 

[DanCo]

Good Luck on the move, just try to stay sane.

Dan

 

[Track.One]

That's an awesome space, looks like a lot of room. Congrats on finding a place. Looking forward to seeing the progress on this shop and the business. This thread has been a fun read and love the pictures. This thread has inspired my son to get working on reaching his goal of being a mechanic and running his own shop someday (he's 17). Thanks for that motivation!

Thank you!!! Awesome to hear my story inspired him, anything is possible in life if you are willing to work for it and never give up

Huh! Lots and LOTS of work ahead! Much respect, living the dream! well mine...

Thanks man! Yeah tons of work ahead haha.

That is a legit shop! You're going to be busy sir!

Thanks man! I sure hope so!

When you uncover it to move can you show us what's left of the civic

I sold it last year actually haha. I needed the money and it was just sitting there rotting away. I have a 93. FD RX-7 shell now which is the new project

this is one of my favorite threads on this part of the forum, thanks for the updates and keep them coming. on the gate, I see metal rollers on it, switch to (I think) its polymer rollers and you will move that gate with two fingers. the boss man did the same thing with the gate at work and the difference is amazing, it doesn't freeze, or bind, or seize or anything, it just works.

and when I saw the picture of "random room" the first thing that came to mind was a parts room or tool crib

Nice I'll look into that! Yeah I'm thinking a store room...maybe for fluids or something. I thought about using it as a clean room for engine/transmission assembly but it may be too small. I'll most likely just build a clean room in the main shop area.

Wow. Just incredible progress since I last checked in here. That new shop looks great!

Thanks man! I'll be doing my best to keep this more up to date

Great spot congrats! Smart to use an unused portion as a money earner for parking spots!

Thanks! Yeah, we have quite a few people ready to rent space and it will definitely help with my larger monthly expenses.

Wow, nice space!

You've got some moving to do, good luck with everything.

Appreciate it!

Good Luck on the move, just try to stay sane.

Dan

I'm trying haha, I feel like this right now --->


UPDATE:

My credit app was approved for the property so now I'm waiting on a phone call today to go meet up at the shop and sign the lease agreement!!! I'm so excited!!! We are planning on acquiring the property at the end of this month and having everything moved in by June 14th. In these next two weeks I'll be over there with a army of friends/family/customers who will be helping me clean the hell out of that place.

Ton's to do....so little time! About to start calculating start up costs and how much money I'll be needing to take out. I might be getting some new lifts, I need computers, security system, gotta fix the gate, signage, build out a front waiting area/sales desk, wiring up the equipment, lighting, retail stocking order, and a million other things haha. O and did I mention we might be getting a dyno???

Time to get this party started

 

[YoungMedic]

Congrats man, new place looks awesome! Best of luck to you in your new endeavors! Looking forward to more awesome projects and updates

 

[spent21]

That place is right around the corner from where I work (Elm Hill). I'll have to stop by sometime.

Congrats!

And since I've seen your LS conversions, I figured you'd appreciate a link my buddy sent to me...
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Superlite-Cars/187464421283849

 

[NUTTSGT]

It's going to be a huge place my friend with more to shell out for expenses. I hope things go good and this isn't going to be an over your head issue.

I have high hopes for you, the business and this thread, good luck.