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Am wondering if any of you would be so kind as to share some of your best looking Dirt Late Model/Sportsman pictures...I need some ideas! If you could maybe throw in some info on where the graphics you used came from that'd be helpful,too! Am looking to purchase a racing graphics package - money is tight(as I'm trying to convert over from hand lettering to vinyl) and want to know where I can get the most bang for my buck, any suggestions? Found some free templates on the Five Star website...anyone know where I can look for more? Racing season doesn't start until April, just want to get a jump on this and be prepared when it hits -we all know how racers like to wait til the week before the first race/practice to call. (my husband, a racer, being the worst about waiting til the last minute!)
I bought the complete graphic collection from Aurura Graphics / Dave Dorsey. If you buy that, you will never need anything else! Go to www.auroragraphics.com
""Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" - Will Rogers Posts: 3489 | From: Beautiful Newaygo, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2003
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The best advice I can give you about the vehicle templates is...
Don't bother.
Here's a few things to consider... Vehicle templates are great if the drivers build their cars to those specifications. Sure, NASCAR has strict rules but few of the local race tracks do. Many teams will alter the doors, change hoods between models and add hoodscoops and exaust holes in the middle of the doors because the track rules allow them to.
Following the templates can lead to some costly crap. Having to redo a 1/4 a panel because they decided to cut the wheel wells bigger (to keep the tires from rubbing them) or move the fuel entry into the middle of the trunk lid are a couple examples. If your good with paint, a few minor adjustments can do the trick instead of having to go back to the shop and recut the stuff so that the lettering isn't cut in half by the hole.
I've done well over 100 dirt cars, many of them Late Models, and I have yet to see any two that were built the same, much less to template specifications. Drivers are always looking for the grey areas of the rules and many will do so with the bodies.
Are they going to call at the last minute? Yes, but maybe a few phone calls well in advance of the season can get a schedule together. The day after Thanksgiving was always a good day to touch base with these guys...many are off from work and with the NASCAR season ending at that time, looking forward to next spring. Break out the contact list and try it.
I've found that drivers will often wait until just about everything else is built before they worry about the body and lettering. You don't need a running car with a motor in it, just a surface to work on. Propose to them that they hang the body onto the chassis early and get the graphics done. This has two benefits. Your schedule will allow for more time to do the work and the drivers/teams often will be more sucessful gaining sponsor support when they can show them how the car will look to the crowd. Much more effective for them than showing a potential sponsor a bunch of parts on a bench next to a chassis.
If you are determined to use the templates, contact the track. Many of them have deals with manufacturers like Performance, Five Star, ARP, etc to run their bodies exclusively and may be able to help you get them.
Hope this helps... Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I wasn't planning on using the templates for the finished job...just to get an idea of what the car would look like- but thanks for that advice- it's very true! One of the cars I lettered a few years ago had to have half of one of the sponsors names cut out because of a tire rubbing, I also remember some lettering getting cut out on a hood because a bigger air cleaner had to be used.
I'll agree with the fact that there's no money in lettering racecars, especially when there are lots of sponsors- it's like doing 8 or so signs for the price of 2 if you're lucky! I guess this is my charity work as I love racing and know what kind of money these guys dump into it- we've been racing for 7 years. Got a bonus out of one job last year- customer/friend let me drive his purestock in the Powder Puff and I got a trophy outta it. That was a blast! Also, am going to make it standard procedure this year to put my business name on every car that I do (unless, of course it turns out looking like crap, then I'll put someone else's name on it- HA!)...could lead to bigger things.
Am going to check out that graphics link right now...thanks!
Posts: 51 | From: Spout Spring, VA. | Registered: Feb 2005
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Here's a start for pictures of late models. Save your money and do the graphic design yourself. Most graphics packages suck anyway and they just don't work on race cars. A little tip, design the numbers and lettering first, work the graphics next. These other guys are right, don't expect to make any money. Sure there are a few guys doing well in the field, but only a few. It's kinda hard to compete with free.
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