Posts by 3GunSteve

  • Other 3 wheeled vehicles

    The gentleman who built this one lives a few miles down the road from me saw him post about it this morning.


    "This is a home-made chariot I started building in 1969. Here's some photos of me welding the fins together and using Bondo to smooth out the frame. It was purchased by Ted in Newburg, NY and he had his restoration man, Tom, restore the entire chariot. He did a beautiful job. It's now located at Ted's motorcycle museum in Newburg, NY on display alongside another one of my motorcycles. If you guys get a chance this summer, head over and check it out! He has over 500 bikes on display"


    No photo description available.May be an image of 1 person and motorcycle

    May be an image of 1 person

  • Slingfest - Colorado Springs, Colorado - 6/15 - 6/18

    I've been off this form for a bit, real life has been crazy.... I have over 15k into this next upgrade mostly sitting in boxes that I need to get to :)


    I wanted to tell you all about Slingfest 2023 in Colorado Springs if anyone was interested. More info is on the registration link and this is a FREE event like all slingfests are. House of Sound and Zarate Steel works have already stepped up as Vendors and we have a lot more group rides planned than we did last year as folks really liked those. Info below, hope to see some of you all maybe!


    Link - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/s…2023-tickets-605315042587


  • Anyone converted a manual trans to auto?

    Quote from CDASlinger

    Sweet thanks all. Im looking to purchase 4 or 5 slingshots for rentals. I want NO manual trans. Too many people hammer them. Thanks

    I'd personally talk to a few folks who have done this and see if it meets your business model / ideas. I looked into this quite a bit in CO as seeing the prices on Turo and other self rental apps it looked like a risk I'd try to manage until they got in the green. Colorado Springs is a fairly decent tourist spot, zero slingshot rental companies here in town and closest are 45+ min drives away. Turned out insurance was one of the biggest hurdles, it's like telling your current insurance company your now an Uber on the side. "Any Drive Share Programs" and their are special HIGHER rates when customers say or they find out your part of these. So lets say you have them all insured properly, the insurance will cover damages now however how long does that take? Does that same insurance cover the rental income lost while you track down parts? (If your fixing these yourself) If taking to a dealer how long for them to order parts and fix, etc...


    "Too many people hammer them" - there is other ways to help with this. One of the best I saw was a contract used by a rental company in Vegas. Had it setup where they had fees for excessive speeding, braking, etc... and this was monitored by GPS. They couldn't "shut them down" on a customer really as I guess that's a safety thing, but got all the data to support the contract that had them paying all kinds of penalties when these situations occurred. That business I talked to has a fleet of slings, older manuals and newer autos. You'd think it might be mechanical issues on the manuals and while those do occur the majority of his damage is to the body. Front bumper, that bumper bar, and general front area. Most of his parked slings just costing them $$ were due to supply line issues since covid and waiting on parts - those have gotten better but still not back to where we were pre-covid.


    I wouldn't even consider converting manuals to automatics, just buy 2020+ factory automatics. There was at least one company offering these conversions before newer ones came out and as I understand it they were true automatics not just PCM shifted transmissions. I haven't priced out how much those conversions actual cost if they still offer them, but my guess is that's it's not cheep. You'll need a computer that can run an automatic trans and while they do have slave setups that probably work with existing PCM, it's not going to be just plug and play.


    I'm not totally trying to discourage you, just trying to give you some things to think about and solve for before you take on that risk yourself. This literally comes up in the facebook groups constantly. I'd search those posts out and see what others have said and create a list of challenges you need to solve for before you do this. 100% can be done and can be a solid income stream when done right. It's just no where as easy as folks think it is when they see those self rental apps. Last comment, because folks think this is easy and try to do it you can find folks selling sling packages from failed rental companies. That's what I'd look at as far as options to build a fleet and then hope your mechanically inclined to do most of these fixes yourself! Let us know how it goes if you move forward with your idea!

  • What was today's Sling project-Mods , goodies....?

    Parts, parts and more parts - it's like I have a stock sling again and just found Slingmods/DDM/ZZP. now swap those vendors for Summit Racing or Jegs as they getting the $$ now.


    Conversion pieces ordered from Bullet Speed - motor mounts, headers, water pump, accessory bracket, and fabBot conversion for the motor. Coil pack relocation kit, Fuel pump mount, ABS delete, and power steering motor/plate, all for the conversion. Have to say to Bob has been great to talk to and work with. Cheap isn't in his vocabulary however seeing all the billet/fancyness in the pics of what I have coming - I like it and don't mind paying for the experience and time it took to figure some of this all out.


    Ordered the ECM as well and went with the Holley terminator X (max version for drive by wire, will also support automatic trans if I do that later). I've seen a lot of haltec setups and I want something different and like the way the Holley has a lot of options and most importantly tuners in my area that know it. They knew of haltecs but didn't have a lot of experience tuning them. I also like how the dash has a bazillion configurations for gauges, simulated switches, etc. What I'm not sure is really how the waterproof ratings are. Looks like haltec might be better per their specs, it is in a plastic case too. Holley dash says in water resistant aluminum case and then I'm adding a bezel to help. We'll just have to see I guess. I also like how you can link these displays, so while I'll use one where my gauges are as those stock gauges are out...and could put 2nd where ride command is if we don't put a new radio there. Options...

    I have a set of LS3 heads and a new oil pan for this motor. Still need the intake/dbw throttle body, injectors, fuel system (pump, filters, regulator, and all the line and connectors to build the return system) and a cam. Can't decide on the cam although I'm almost sold on the Elgin e1840p sloppy 2). I need to call some tech places today and get some opinions on which of theirs they would recommend so I can compare those cam specs and go from there.


    Doing this one different, getting all the pieces in hand, motor ready to drop in, manuals and instructions read, and then getting this started to minimize downtime. It's been fun though learning more and trying to research so I buy/cry once - really looking forward to this swap and looks like a few locals already trying to be 1st to get my current motor that isn't for sale yet...

  • Trans swap questions

    I don't know much about that trans or swapping an automatic in. Have others done it? Assuming it fits if you got this far. I thought they used the 4l60's on the true automatic slings, but just what I've read/seen.

  • Slingfest - Colorado Springs! (Thu, Jun 9th 2022 - Sun, Jun 12th 2022)

    Thanks guys - yes we'll be hosting a Slingfest in Colorado Springs this year. June 15th - 18th. I don't have the flyer done and still working on some logistical pieces.


    Free like all slingfests are, and vendor wise Zarate Steelworks and House of Sound car audio have confirmed as two of our major vendors for this year. We had good turn out last year and expect a lot more this year based on the feedback we got. I'll post more as more is figure out!

  • What was today's Sling project-Mods , goodies....?

    Quote from VV11B40

    Changed the oil in the supercharger. What a bitch and what a mess. Hoses on filter were very difficult to remove. But it's done for another 2 years. Oh, did I mention the front turn signal corners are freak'n sharp! I have a nice puncture in my scalp. Fortunately it stopped bleeding. Next, wait for jri shocks to arrive after rebuild, put on SM license plate bracket and maybe intall new zzp rotor on rear. Don't really want to remove the new ddm rear Caliper do it.

    Nice, that oil is pricey and of course there is just enough left in that quart that you'll have to buy another one for next time to cover what it's short. At that price, should of been two fill-ups in the bottle :)