As we approach the midpoint of the winter quarter, it’s a perfect time to take a retrospective look at accomplishments made since our last public update.

Chassis team lead Kurtis Wragg and team captain Danny Kim spearheaded the fabrication of our chassis at the end of fall quarter, and were successful in guiding the team towards delivery of a fully tack-welded chassis in just three days! Our fabricators accomplished what usually takes a few weeks in just a fraction of the time.

The human interface team has nearly completed all designs and are poised to begin mounting of their components once we receive our laser-cut tabs from our generous sponsor, Taylor-Dunn.

As for the powertrain department, we’ve received our Briggs & Stratton engine and are working out the kinks of packaging all components, bracing against all vibrations, adding precautionary shielding—things of that nature.

Machining of various suspension components is under way, as is fabrication of the associated tubing for our frontal arms. The design of the rear suspension components is taking longer than expected since we’ve switched to a semi-trailing arm rear design, as opposed to the double-wishbone design of last year.

With our competition starting on May 19, we recognize the importance of getting our vehicle fully-functional, and anticipate being ready for vehicle testing by early April. Until then, most of our team will be living in the shops, relying on fast food and energy drinks for sustenance.