Drifting in the A with @thickrickdrifting
Lauren Rafferty • March 3, 2021
If you’ve been following us on social media, you’ve probably seen a lot of drift cars rolling into our shop. Over the last couple of decades Black Jack has built a strong bond with the Atlanta drift scene. No one likes a wrecked car but in the drift world a bent frame is inevitable and once you’ve put blood, sweat, tears, and considerable cash into modifying a car for drifting, the idea of scraping and starting over after a wreck is a non-starter not only because it’s inconvenient and a pain, but also because it’s way too expensive. 240drift.com explained it well saying,
“With all things considered, including insurance, tires, repairs, track fees, and gas, drifting costs about $3500 a year, assuming you drift once a month for 8 months. Your car will realistically cost you another $2k, and first time repairs+modification could cost another $500. On average, your first year will cost you about $6000.”
That’s where we come in. When a dented body panel isn't going to keep you off the racetrack, a bent frame will. We strive to help our motorsports friends keep chassis going on a shoe string budget so drivers can get back on the track and do what they love.
So if you’re drifting, you're crashing, into a wall, into another car, and probably more than once. This is how we’ve gotten some… well, regulars, like Richard Hixon. His e30 BMW has taken her licks but keeps on ticking.
Hixon pursues it hard on the track and is quoted saying recently, “You're not driving hard enough if you’re not breaking stuff is something people keep telling me lately... “ and it’s true. It’s also not as much fun.
Coming from the Texas Drift Fest scene, Richard aka
@thickrickdrifting, has become a part of multiple Lynch pin locations in the Atlanta area for drifting, iTrackmotorsports and Gridlife to name a few and we’re happy
We’re proud to support the motorsports genre and can’t wait to see Richard roll in again… I think :)
If you’d like to learn more about the Atlanta drift scene, check out these links:
Why a Black Jack Frame Machine is right for you:
For years the Europeans and Japanese have preferred Vector pulling over tower type machines because of it's versatility, multiple pulls and ease of operation. The problem was most were either bench or floor systems. Now Black Jack gives you all this power and capability with the convenience of a Drive-On rack. No more working on the floor! Now you can anchor, multiple pull and measure with ease. Black Jack stacks the cards in your favor. The Black Jack lets you make any pull you want, even back on hinge pillar while door is on the car. No old fashion pull tower can do this. Just bolt socket base and anchor block anywhere on machine for pulls never before possible.
That was Ron Burgundy. I Loved that car. He was my ride or die adventure buddy and we had excellent taste in music. Even though it was a 2002, the first year Mini Coopers were manufactured in the U.S., it only had 60,000 miles on it when I bought it and had lived in a garage. It also had all the original wiring and belts and needed some upgrades. I loved my car and I wanted it to last as long as possible. It was paid for; no car loan! Hurray! So I invested about $6000 into it replacing parts with a fantastic shop of Mini experts in Decatur, called Sport Motoring . I knew it was a lot of money, but I figured, this car is going to last me a long time. I'll pay the card off in a year, easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Then, I got in this accident and my insurance company totaled the car. Because of its age, the market value wasn't worth it. Now I have credit card debt, heart break, and a car loan for the newer replacement car I bought, not to mention much higher insurance rate. If I had known about Black Jack, I would've gotten my car repaired, gotten my title back, and be in a much more secure financial place. It wouldn't have been easy. Those GA inspectors are no joke! When you have a Black Jack in your shop, you have the ability to do complete collision repair work and provide people a service that has real, lasting value. From California to Florida, we've got frame machines in auto body shops all over the country, even Canada! Want to become a true full-service repair shop? Call us today!