My original plan was to blog daily from Vegas, but because of really poor internet service I just didn’t have the patience to do so.
Day 1 saw the unveiling of the 3 Scion Tuner Challenge cars. The way it works is this selected “tuners” were requested to submit renderings of the way that they would design a Scion tC (at first it was an xB, but artists received those this year instead). After submitting the rendering the waiting process began. Here’s my story…after a long Formula D weekend in Vegas for Round 4. I received the call that I had been chosen to participate in the competition. I was excited to build another vehicle again as I haven’t really done a full build since my BMW and especially since it wouldn’t really be on my dime. We then all received the tC’s and were given almost 3 months to complete the build to come out like the rendering. Since my rendering really had no basis of comparison as it wasn’t based on a kit that existed, but more on an idea and the amazing artwork of Jon Sibal, it became a challenge for me to build a car that would be worthy of making Jon’s work come to life. With FD, SEMA, Red Bull Drifting World Championship, and this project build keeping me super busy it’s just been a long long last couple months…but well worth it.
On to the project vehicle’s Mark’s DTM inspired tC came out very clean as expected and the brake set-up was super original and just dope. The paint scheme mixed a gloss and matte finish to give depth and texture to the widebody, which was a great touch. The interior was very clean as well with the use of black suede, even wrapping the roll cage, for the GT3 inspired feel. Good seeing Mark as always!
Eddie Hahm’s car was just plain ridiculous with lots of detailing bringing the retro feel to the tC. A lot of ingenuity and originality came forward. The sheet metal work was very clean on the inside and out. My favorite touch of detail was using leather branded straps to hold down the hood. I also enjoyed the fact that he had painted on graphics and followed his theme throughout the build. I didn’t know much about Eddie before this build, but after meeting him and getting to know what he has done in the past I am honored to have been in the same competition as him.
On to my build…being a long time Scion owner (being one of the first xB owner’s in the US and Scionlife.com member #4 and still daily driving it) I felt I had a lot to prove. After my past BMW project I had a lot of expectations for myself. I have consulted on a number of builds in between, but really never had the chance to fully do a complete car the way I wanted to. I owe a lot to Jon Sibal and his rendering that I had to make come into fruition. Our first rendering that we submitted was an xB that I had completely figured out and had set my sights to build, but after having to submit a tC rendering I felt bad going back and forth and wasting hours of Jon’s time. So I gave him a brief outline of what I was looking for and told him to do his thing…the outcome of his rendering was just amazing, but at the same time scared the hell out of me as this was based on a few ideas and not an actual kit that existed. I knew my bodyshop was completely capable of handling a build like this, but due to budget issues and also time constraints made this very challenging.
For me the exterior of the car is the most important thing to focus on (sorry to all the engine guys and high horse-power lovers out there), but I am not a racer and when asked about “speed” I have always lived by the quote from the movie “Be Cool,” from John Travolta’s character and that is, “If you’re important people will wait.” The paint color was important and I’ve done the candy thing before and the flat paint fad is dying for me…so I went with a classic color from Porsche and chose Mexico Blue. This is a special order color from Porsche, but I originally saw it on the 911. BASF helped secure this rare color from Glasurite for me and I was stoked to get it. Just pure color with no metallic or candy or pearl, just a quality eye catching color.
The next step was picking the right wheels for the project. So I of course went with Jline’s as they are built to order, are full customizable, and because Stan is good friend of mine and when given a chance to represent a friend’s quality product will do so, even if it costs a little more ;). The end product was a 20 x 9.5 and 20 x 11 Jline 11RL3 3-piece wheels in a charcoal finish w/ semi-gloss black lips and I even went as far as to have the center caps matched and the Jline logo engraved. The Mackin Neo Chro lugs gave it a nice little touch once added to the car along with the silver Brembo’s behind it.
The widebody was completely built by hand using a mixture of carbon fiber panels and fenders, bondo, and fiberglass. Not easy work especially since I was constantly hounding the shop to finish the car fast to make the short deadline. A huge thank you to Long, Henry, and Martin from DTM Autobody for their great work and putting up with all my demands.
A host of carbon fiber products were used from the APR side mirrors and wing, Seibon hood and trunk, Racing Solution engine cover, custom side skirt pieces, and even the battery from Braille.
One modification that I would like to highlight would be the Agency Power exhaust. The custom center mounted exhaust was challenging, but came out great! The titanium tip just adds that extra nice detail.
The interior of the build was very simple and clean. I had the headliner wrapped in black suede as well as some additional parts. I used Recaro Sporter CS seats, one of my favorite seats out there. The combination reclinable shell seat is super comfy and I would love to have these in my car and possibly my office. Recaro just unveiled this seat as an office chair and I may have to pass on the Herman Miller for this! I went with a Personal steering wheel and Works Bell hub and quick release along with an ARC titanium shift knob. The electronic guages are from Greddy including Turbo Timer, Boost Control, and Temp guages. Sparco harnesses and pedals were chosen as they are silver and fit the theme nicely along with the silver powder coated roll cage.
I wanted to align myself with high-end companies and didn’t want to skimp when it came to quality. So I was lucky enough to work with both Alpine and Rockford Fosgate (thanks Jarod for the intro) on the audio system. Creative Car Audio and Motorsports has been my shop now for years and Ryan and the team there are like family. They were able to put together this complete system amongst other things in a very short time period and I think it came out great. The latest Alpine Navigation touch-screen headunit and monitors are assisted by (4) 12″ Fosgate subs and powered with (2) Fosgate amps that sit nicely in black and grey suede to stick with the overall theme. I also put together a DVD that showcased the build-up of the car up until the show.
This competition was very unique in that all 3 cars were different in there own way. Mark’s was supercharged, Eddie went with all motor, and I did a turbo kit set-up. The Greddy turbo sits in the engine bay alongside a Koyo radiator and Gallery engine pieces (thanks Jerry). One part that isn’t visible is the Exedy clutch.
KW Variant 2 coilovers make the car sit nice and low!
As you could tell I went over the original budget and came out of pocket for the build. It was a huge gamble to do this, not knowing if I would win the contest or not, but doing so for the love of building cars. I really hate half-assing anything and really value myself on doing good work. Yes, I could have saved a lot of money and went with FREE no name parts or companies, but I honestly believe that I used the best brands out there. Helping lace me down with gear for SEMA was Alphanumeric (Thanks to Mirko and Danny) and also Meguiar’s for all the car care. Of course there would be some things that I would change or revise a bit, but overall I am satisfied with how it came out with such little time. Taking home 1st place is a huge honor, especially considering the talent level of the other 2 designers. This win means the most out of all the other wins in car shows for me and I am stoked to receive the trophy, Sparco / Scion goodies, and of course the large check!
Being part of the Scion Tuner Challenge this year alongside great designers with Eddie and Mark has been quite the experience. Both these guys do amazing work and obviously you can tell by how their cars came out. It’s awesome to see the vision and different perspectives that even car builders can have on design. So I am truly honored to be a part of this competition and even more happy that I came out on top, even without any formal design training. I think that my experience competing in car shows in the past really helped as I knew what the judging criteria was and what judges specifically look for when judging a car. Again I could not have done this without the support of my friends (Stan, Jon Sibal, Ryan Uchida, Fred, Kelvin, Vic (iD), Danielle, Jay, Bryan, Jarod, Jose, DC, Em, Jordan (iD), RJ, Jerry and everyone else) and of course the gracious companies that supported me on this build.
The car will now be featured in Modified Magazine and also at the LA Auto show! Hopefully I get to build another car soon…I think I caught the mod bug again.
