Grassroots Motorsports
Issue link: http://grassrootsmotorsports.epubxp.com/i/397024
Grassroots Motorsports 96 "LOOK AT NEARLY ANY RACE CAR RUNNING IN THE PRO RANKS, WHETHER IT'S NASCAR, IMSA, PIRELLI WORLD CHALLENGE OR WHATEVER: ODDS ARE THAT THE BODY HAS BEEN WRAPPED." boring hue. There's nothing wrong with white, but we felt that our 818 needed something that showed off the car's curves and creases. It's just hard to intimidate Civic drivers when your car is the same color as their clothes dryer. Besides just changing the color, we also wanted to add our logo on the car. Why? Because the more people who discover and read our magazine, the more cool projects we can build for your amusement. With this goal in mind, there was one obvious choice: a vinyl wrap. But this isn't just about us. Look at nearly any race car running in the pro ranks, whether it's NASCAR, IMSA, Pirelli World Challenge or whatever: If it looks pretty, odds are that the body has been wrapped. The days of masking off a custom paint job and then applying stickers have come and gone. Modern adhesive vinyl is quick to apply and can make an endless number of looks come to life. Determined to put a photo of your face on the hood? Want to give the entire body a graphic scheme that uses a whole crayon box worth of colors? Vinyl can let you do so. In many cases, the process is less expensive than traditional methods, too. What exactly is this vinyl wrapping? Think of it as a bumper sticker on steroids. Changing a color, design or logo is as easy as peeling off the vinyl and sticking something else in its place. Try that with airbrushing. After deciding on a base color, which we'll affec- tionately call Grassroots Motorsports Red, we hopped into our 818 and drove it down to VisionX Custom Graphics. If you've watched a car race on TV, odds are strong that you've seen VisionX's work. They do a lot of wraps for pro teams. How much? For something worthy of Daytona or Sebring, figure anywhere from $2000 to $12,000. It all depends on the size of the car, the complexity of the design, and the material selected. A wrap like ours retails for about $3750– fgure that covers both material and labor. Have a smaller budget? You can do a basic, solid-color wrap at home. The right vinyl can be found on eBay, and a few hundred dollars will buy you enough material to do an entire car. No matter what route you choose, the steps will be about the same. Plus, if you change your mind, the paint underneath stays protected and ready for the day you pull the wrap off. Here's what it takes to wrap a car: 1