OFF ROAD and ON TRACK

DON’T TELL ANYONE….     DIESEL IS $2.20 PER GALLON IN MEXICO

VIVA LA MEXICO !!!   VIVA LA PEMEX  

During the Baja 500 we stopped at a PEMEX station to get a little fuel. Accustomed to the gas prices in San Diego, I yanked out a wad of Jackson’s and got ready for the pain. I don’t speak much Spanish, but I damn sure know the difference between “treinta y cinco dolares  and sesenta y cinco dolares”. The fella in the PEMEX uniform said “treinta y cinco” clear as a bell. For you gringos, that’s 35 bucks, regardless of where you’re from. But I had to check…first in English, then in Spanish, hell even in French at that point to make sure I was hearing right. Well, there was no mistake, gas is HALF the price in Mexico.

That fill-up was in Ensenada, so considering the particularly lubricated state I was in, my mind sloshed over the possibilities while I did my best to see by covering one eye. Good thing I was’nt driving, concentrating on the road, with only one eye would have made be even more dizzy and I would’ve thought the half price gas was all a dream. Arriving in TJ, I made my buddy pull over at my newest most favorite place, a PEMEX station, so I could focus on the sign with the prices. After a few minutes of painful concetration and currency conversion I came up with the figure of 2.61 per gallon.   

At our shop we build aluminum cross bed fuel tanks for diesel pick ups. Generally, these are purchased by contractors with heavy equipment or guys towing trailers who don’t want to stop every 100 miles to fill up their tanks. I had noticed that over the past month or so orders for these tanks had increased, but being slower than most I just welded more aluminum and turned up the country music. The morning after the 500 I came to the shop with a whole new revelation, (and a few facts), diesel sells for 2.20 per gallon in Mexico and I had just paid $5.50 at the 7-11 on corner of Mission and Balboa. I don’t like that place very much anymore. I then looked online to price out the other guys aluminum tanks. Some were a little cheaper than ours (crappy things) and most were hundreds of dollars more (crappy things). The clincher was when I called to see if I could a tank right now, “I mean now, like shipped out today”. A 30 to 45 day delivery time was the answer and prices were higher than expected…due to the increase in aluminum prices.. cough cough BS cough 

I don’t mind the drive into Mexico. I’ve got the XM comedy station, a cell phone I have yet to figure out and all kinds of voices in my head to keep me company. Which means, should there be a little wait at the border I’ve got plenty to do and people to talk with while I wait. And if waiting means I’ve just saved $377.00 bucks on diesel then I would be nuts not to do it. (my truck has a 130 gal tank plus its stupid little piss pot stock one that holds 24 gal).

I have started seeing a lot of ex-patriots down across the border these days, all of us gathering at the PEMEX station, drinking coffee and telling lies. We share stories about secondary inspection and all the places on our trucks the customs guys look for dope and aliens. No worries, all I have on board is just a full tank of of fuel, a well programed cell phone, my current ID and a fading sense of humor if you mention a body cavity search one more time.

So, if anybody reads this blog, it was written with the express purpose of exposing the perils of Mexico and warning all who read it to stay away from the half price fuel just a few minutes south of the border. It burns just as well as the stuff up here that costs twice as much and you have to install a tank in the back of your truck to really take advantage of the savings. Don’t call Precision Off Road Engineering to build you one of those shiny aluminum tanks either, I hear that they are pretty nice guys who don’t charge an arm and a leg and deliver your tank in about three days, right to your doorstep. Don’t let this little secret get out, we wouldn’t want to encourage anybody into taking that dangerous drive down South, risking life and limb all for a few bucks would we?  I’ll see you at PEMEX, and feel free to stop by POE and pick up a tank on the way there.

Now that’s RIDING DIRTY,

Snakecharmer

I wrote my last blog on the eve of this weekend, that more than likely i think is more fun than Christmas. We had the fireworks, the margaritas, a house full of kids and loud adults. now its time for the final hoe-down. the last party for the kick off of the summer. i am drafting this before the yee-haw all starts. the next one may have a lot to be desired in grammar and diction. but stay tuned. if you don’t see another post form me sometime late this evening then i probably took that trip downtown.  can you please check to see if they will allow posting of bail?

getting ready to flog

Snakecharmer

Yup this is it, my favorite weekend of the year. We started it out with a few fireworks and the cops coming by to make sure that we were all safe.  Gotta love that, there i am with a hard hot and goggles, match in one hand, nice cold margarita in the other, and fuses ready to be lit on the ground.  All that concern over my safety. Damn i felt important.           (by the way, that’s APPLE JUICE in the little one’s shot glass) [by the look in my eyes, the apples i drank got stuck in a barrel for a good long time before I got to ‘em]

i even had my favorite drinking partner with me.  She gets little mean when she drinks and damn near got me arrested.  well i mean invited to go down town. i thought that was damn nice since gas is so expensive and a cab takes forever….. downtown is where its all going down, right?  Suckers, did’nt follow through however, and here i sit drunk as a monkey and still not downtown.

Anyway we had a big family get together, useally during those we can count on at least a few of us getting to go downtown. nothing like a good dose of protect and serve, I think you guys are number “1″ heres to ya!!!

Anyway have a safe and happy weekend. if you see me walking pick me up. somebody must have took my keys and i probably don’t know my way home.

Flog it….

Snakecharmer

tiI was asked to post up some more picture of the titan. here are some shots of the titan suspension, roll cage, lowrance GPS, interior pictures and race pictures. unfortunately my computer is jacking up, it is late and the beer is gone. will reconvene with every intent of getting it right next time.

so happy looking. beaten and blog’d down

snakecharmer

Using the stock titan rack and pinion for racing off road was more than it was ready for. Yup, we tried it, and we broke it. However, it made it alot further than anybody expected, about 200 miles of the MINT 400, and it was still “steering the truck” as it went on the trailer.  We owe the longer life and the fact it still worked at all to the steering stabilizer we built out of a small fox shock. This kept the rack from getting the full force of the smash and bang and thus a stayed with us a little longer.

Using the steering stbilizer system we built will keep your rack alive a long time providing that it is not subjected to the kind of punishment the Vegas desert has to offer while going as fast as the truck will roll. It kept the 37″ tires in line and made it alot easoer to drive in the rough, just not that fast and rough.

Currently we are switching to a steering gear box with hydraulic assist. Due to the position of the motor and the steering shaft location this seemed to be a much less challenging conversion than giong to an aftermarket rack. I know U-joints used in tandem can make some pretty good twists and turns, but damn it man we would be asking it to look like a pretzel in order to get to the rack.

Being adventerous cheap asses, we are modifying a saginaw gear box and drilling two ports to accomodate the lines needed for the hydraluic cylinder. I took picutres of the disassembly of the box, (that’s the easy part) and will take pictures of the rebulid and installation of the whole system. One thing to keep in mind, that damn box has got about 20 or so little ball bearings that will jump out of that sucker fast as hell. Those little bastards are next to imposible to find once they hit the floor, thus the count of “20 or so” as reported herein. If anybody knows how many little balls really live in that box let me know, if it is more than 20 I need to go russle up some more balls.

A picture of me on the floor with a magnet trying to find those suckers will not be part of the gallery, but I promise that a step by step photo shoot of the rebuild and line installation will be. You see this is bait. If you have any interest in this process at all, you have got to check back in the next few days to see the pics. 

A BLOG FLASHBACK for Gas Prices Suck

Has anybody asked their date if they know how to siphon gas yet? I did. She had no idea what siphon meant and was totally sick over the fact I would suck gas through a hose….She was, however, in tune with the parallel I eventually got across to her (the art of sucking and blowing and such). That was refreshing.  Such was her level of skill, in her preferred arena, she could have got the preverbal golf ball through a garden hose should she have tried. Different strokes for differnet folks, bless her heart. For me, I will stick to gas.

That’s flogging and this is blogging.

Ride Dirty,

Snakecharmer

For some time now we have been working on increasing the travel of the front suspension in our Class 8 Titan. (Front suspension TOP PHOTO) Since the advent of the trophy truck, Class 8 has become somewhat unappreciated, and I for one think that’s a crime. Well maybe not a felony, unless I hear you talking poo poo. Anyway, Class 8 mandates that the original manufacturer’s frame must remain damn near untouched, thereby making real “off the hook” suspension modifications a bit of a challenge. This is not to say that our suspension is wimpy by any means, (see the pictures) but it does mean that we are confined to certain physical parameters that limit the amount of actual wheel travel we can achieve. (rear, bottom photo)

In the trophy Truck class the A ARMS that make up the front suspension are attached to a “bulkhead” in the center of the vehicle. The mounting points, when they are deep inboard in this fashion, allow for much longer  A ARM’s and thus a greater amount of actual wheel travel. On most of those trucks, a “J shaped” upper arm is used to complement the long lower arm. This “J ARM” assembly allows for the shocks to be mounted side by side on the lower arm and retain proper geometry  throughout the motion of the suspension. Anytime the length of the lower is increased the upper arm length must also increase, and “therein lies the rub”, and mean this quite literally. Remember we have extended the lower arms almost to the center of the vehicle and now we must do the same for the top; one problem exists however, the damn engine is in the way and due to the rules we can’t move it.  The “j shaped” upper arm allows us to work around the engine and keep the geometry correct AND increase the suspension travel by about 25%.  We expect to achieve about 21.25″ of actual front travel….yes inches do matter.

We have tested, drawn, redrawn, re-tested (tested in this industry means take the truck out and try to break the new part). Did i mention this part is fun? Oh yeah its fun, right up the point where you fail the test, ie. break the new part, and then out come the chains, tow straps and sometimes the hiking boots. 

I believe we have arrived at a final solution that will prove to be very effective and the first of its kind to be released for the Titan. When I say released, I am not suggesting that this will be a bolt on kit, but we have a version that can be installed on your Titan with some basic welding and a little patience.

Keep an eye out next week, I will post another bit on the J ARM project along with pictures. 

Flog on

Snakecharmer

I know this is supposed to be a blog about off road parts, fabrication and Nissan race trucks but once in while you gotta write about somthing different. In that regard, this post is the wandering mind of a man lit up on 3 margartias and very little ice.

Watching the news tonight I saw a report that questioned if “gas theft” would start to be a problem. Hell no, as long as we don’t get caught. I mean really, don’t you have a Kentucky credit card in the back of your truck? For the uninitiated, that’s a section of clear hose, about 3/8″ in dia that slides right into almost any hole that has gas in it. Suck on that baby and you’ve got the makings for a cheap Friday night on the town.  CLEAR HOSE, did you get that?  This is important. Why you ask? Well, its friday night right? Just so you know, it’s next to impossible to get that hot chick wearing dasiy dukes and a wife beater to talk to you with “gas breath”… not good, not attractive.  Here’s the point. with a clear hose you can see the damn gas BEFORE it gets in your yap while you are sucking your brains out trying to get it the siphon rolling. This whole siphon thing should be the making of every mans dream. No stupid, not sucking on the hose yourself, but the act in general, applied to a more specific task, one best done at your beck and call by the lovely daisy duke from the dew drop inn down on main street. THink about it men…I mean this takes a woman’s the best practices into consideration, first the blowing , then just as fast some sucking, and if it’s good there ain’t never a need to spit. Lets put that into the real mans rule-book for questions to ask before a first date. “Have you ever siphoned gas?” should be one of the first things we ask our prospective lovely counterparts. Follow that with, “are you any good at it?”  Providing you get an affirmative to both questions you have got one hell of a night in front of you. Just think, you can get where you’re going for next to nothing and upon your arrival she wont spit.  If you signed up for this dream date…..you might be a redneck.

Yup, that’s what i call Flogging the Blog.

Ride Dirty,

Snakecharmer

It seems that the Nissan Titan is just now getting the attention it deserves. We sure have given it some. because we could not find 90% of the stuff we needed to build a hard core off titan, we ended up building the parts ourselves. If you are looking for parts for your titan, tough stuff that will serve you well in the dirt, give us a call. I am sure we have thought of the same things, and needed the same modifications. We took that thinking to another level and built the damn stuff. Upper and Lower a arms, steering stabilizers, brake modifications, horsepower treatments, and rear suspension modifications to name a few.

Not to mention a one piece fiberglass hood. That was a real SOB of a project. The plug (that’s the thing you make the mold out of) is done.  The mold has been laid and we are ready to now offer the hood as an aftermarket kit. There are a few pictures in the gallery of this project.

Anyway, quite a few folks who have been reading this blog have called in with either questions or requests. we welcome both. 800-518-2535  .

ride dirty

snakecharmer

We have recently given the shop a “makeover” to keep up with the demand for our parts and service. It is interesting how a business grows as it follows the demand for its service. This is an invitation to come by in person to see the changes and new stuff. For those who are too far away, I will post pictures up on the site as well as in this blog. I want you to know that when you see something on here you cant live without, and its too far to drive to pick it up in person, your credit card has got long arms and I will fill them with our stuff.

Many new projects are coming out all at once. That includes this website. Our products that we have available for sale should be on the site by the end of this week, and a ton of pictures of everything from fabrication projects in production to shots of the people of POE will be on there. 

I am even considering a section that is dedicated to the lovely girls that show their support by giving them their own little slice of fame here on the site. I mean come on, if they give us a slice it only fair that we give a little something back, right? So keep an eye out for the “girls of POE” coming soon to the site. Hey, we all dig new parts, right? Then nothing is better than having a tan babe dressed in postage stamp size lycra hold your favorite part for a picture is there?

I never been happier then when we did a photo shoot of our Titan and about four of these hotties got into the frame.

I guess I should say watch for this, but I know you will. My “how to” blog has got nothing on their “how to blog” , the best part is they go ahead and tell you how to without any shame. How’s that for off road fabrication?

More to follow. Stay tuned.

On that note, and until I flog my blog again, keep the greasy side down and ride dirty.

Snakcharmer

I was on the Titan forums recently and wanted to make mention of the information available there. I am pretty impressed with the quality of advise and the various parts offered. As a general rule i have not been a fan of forums, mostly because it is like getting into Fort Knox when a guy wants to sign in. I mean come on, do i really have to supply my SS#, a brief description of my political preference, a picture of myself naked on the beach and disclosures relating any sexual encounters with farm animals just to get a user name and password?

all that aside, and once i provided all the required personal information, the forums that relate to Nissan Titans have been both interesting and informative. So, if ou haven’t already, grit your teeth, scan in that picture of you on the beach and sign up. Once you get past all that, it is actually worth the effort.

floging and bloging

Snakecharmer