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Welcome to the wonderful month of November. Why so wonderful you ask? Well November has a lot of cool things in it, like Thanksgiving, my Dad and Sister’s birthdays, and more importantly, it’s the month for Sema. Yes, Sema – the world’s biggest car and truck extravaganza, and its all set in beautiful Las Vegas. Of course October, now that months sucks a big one. Why? Because October is the last minute rush month for getting project cars completed just before Sema, including the SSM 2k Wagon. Somewhere along the first week of the month, I decided that if the wagon was going to Sema, it had to be orange. Phone calls were made, and I got hooked up by House of Kolor for some Sunset Pearl. It’s a killer orange that I have loved for a long time and I wimped out on for the Civic. However, it was a perfect color for the wagon. That being said, I called up my buddy and club member Jai, to help out on the project. First on the list was the obvious – shaving it. Jai works at Autobody Solutions here in Phoenix, and has access to a ton of really cool tools. Now I’m sure you’ve heard of Fusor products before, well we decided that on the door handles we would try something a bit different, and yet similar to Fusor – Panel Bond. This is an I-car certified product which you can use to repair bumpers, and graft quarterpanels on. In fact, Jai has used it before to do door handles on a Caprice wagon. That being said, he went over to our mutual friend Little Robert’s house to get some panels bent, and the handles were shaved. First went on the panel bond. Then after 24hrs, it was grinded down smooth. Then fiberglass filler was applied, followed by Gold Rage and glaze. After that it was the trunk. The trunk was fully welded up with special reinforcements to keep the trunk solid. This also minimized warping. Not much filler was needed as a result to get the car as straight as you see it here. After that came the hood squirters, and roof rack holes, as well as some minor dents the car has aquired. All in all the bodywork was looking good when we brought it to Jai’s buddy Doug’s shop in Glendale. The color itself is very transparent as we found out. A heavy coat of white base must be applied before you go into the color, otherwise you will see what’s beneath it. I’m not going to say how I know this, but I will say that if you apply enough color you will eventually get the same result. Finally we used a ton of clear to make it stand out. As of Sema time, the car had not yet been color sanded or buffed, but it got a ton of attention. I also picked up some new sponsors for the car, and installations of their products you can find right here in the coming months. Let me know what you think – email me at kewhipps@goodnet.com. Next month its on to exhaust, interior, and stickers for my sponsors (on the windows thank you). See you next issue, same phat time, same phat color. Sponsor List Here it is folks, a partial breakdown of all of the sponsors I have for the Focus. Listed below are current sponsors who I have received product from, and what that product is. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, or have any questions at all about the wagon, you can contact me at kewhipps@goodnet.com. Customatix: www.customatix.com. · Shoes and killer gear! Customatix hooked me up with some killer kicks for cruising around in. The cool thing about this site is that you can design your own shoes from start to finish and get them in about 2 weeks. Skate shoes, running shoes, boots… It’s a killer site. Check them out. Toyo Tires: www.toyo.com· (4) 215/35 ZR18” Toyo’s. Toyo makes some of the best handling tires on the market today, and the guys down there were kind enough to hook the Focus up with a set of tires. They also hooked up the Bad Apple Civic too just prior to its demise. Look for these tires on quality rides. Focus Sport: www.focussport.com· A set of spark plug wires in yellow and an intake system. If you have a Focus, go there. Go there now. You can get everything for your hatch, sedan or wagon. They have cam gears, underdrive pulleys and lots of other goodies too. Directed Electronics: www.directed.com· The motherlode: two amps, a DEQ, 5.25” component set, (2) 10” subs, every RCA cable, speaker cable, and wire I needed, PLUS a Python Alarm with window module, shock sensor, and the works! A big thanks goes out to these guys for hooking me up. Look here for a full install report soon. Pro-Hopper Hydraulics: www.prohopper.com· Every miscellaneous part I needed that I didn’t have and then some! BIG Thanks goes out to Rick and the crew at Pro-Hopper for helping me big on the wagon. They originally hooked me up with some switches and cylinders for the Civic, and now have continued to help me out with all sorts of other parts that I needed for the Focus. Thanks again guys! Street Beat Customs: www.streetbeatcustoms.com· 35X67” Slider. Ok, I didn’t get it for free, so don’t call them hassling them for free stuff. However, Rick did hook me up with a great deal and I appreciate it. Check out their new line of electric sliders coming out next month, and as always, if you want a big slider, go to Street Beat. KMC Wheels: www.kmcwheels.com· 18X7.5” Chrome Units. Big thanks to Jaime, Steve, Ray, Kevin and all the guys who are down there at KMC. They helped me out a ton with the Civic, and I’ve hung out there a couple of times too. Great fun to hang out with, and great guys in general. Give them a call, and check out their new product line at their website. Oh yeah – and make sure to tell Jaime to lower his truck some more! Naiser Racing: www.naiser-racing.com· Classic II Steering wheel & Custom adaptor. Although you may not know it, Naiser Racing makes some pretty killer steering wheels, that bolt up to the industry standard LeCarra adaptor. They’ve also got billet accessories. Give them a call. American Products Company: www.4apc.net· Clear bumper lenses, billet rear view, billet plate frame and billet cigarette lighter. I think you’ve all heard about APC. In the past year they’ve come out with a ton of products including the popular Euro-Clears, and other products. Flatline Graphix: Santa Barbara, CA· What can you say about Trent and the gang? Lots. Trent hooked me up with all of my vinyl work for the Focus, including all of my sponsor stickers. They also do vinyl graphics if you’re interested, as well as display boards and other products. House Of Kolor: www.valspar.com· Sunset orange paint and all “wet” materials. I loved my Civic, and one of the main reasons I did was the really cool Limetime green paint that was on it. For the Focus, I had to have something similar. Since I chickened out on doing orange on the Civic, I had to do it on the wagon. SPAL USA: www.spalusa.com · (4) 35 lb door poppers. I used to have a set of poppers on my Civic that I loved, and they were made by another company. Once I got these however, I found a new favorite. The SPAL door poppers have a longer pull, a strong cable mount, and are very easy to mount.
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