Some People Buy Shoes......

My addiction is for hard iron........ We couldn't pass these up.

Watch closely Pinzgauer Fans.......Looks like we are going to get some screen time! EI was pleased to be able to work with the studio on this project. After the release of the film we should have some excellent new designs available to the general public.

EI Sponsored Buggy Wins Calrocs Pro Mod Class

IT was an Awesome season for Craig Thompson,/Red Dragon and the #37 buggy. When all of the dust cleared, all the scores were tallied, they won the Pro Mod Class hands down. Pretty nice to see a buggy running Unimog Portals with 1950's technology take the win. Congratualtions to the #37 crew.

Figured it was time for a bit of an update. Our portal axle'd rock crawler is doing very well this season. We have had the opportunity to catch a couple of the competitions in person and are currently working on getting some of the video into the system. Craig Thompson's update is below:

"Saturday we were in 8^th place out of 10 because we had the worst day of my whole career (as you saw, we didn’t finish any courses). Sunday was a whole different story, we finished with the best score on Sunday and finished a course that nobody else did (A2 – with a score of 12). The next best score on that course was a 39. We also had the best score of the day on A1 – not a bad day! We finished the shootout and ended up in 5^th place.

We have another comp up at Donner July 10^th for the 3^rd CalRocs event. We are sitting in second place in the overall standings for Calrocs so this is an important event for us. We need to finish 2 spots ahead of the first place team in order to make up the ground and be in contention for the Championship. I am pretty sure that we can do it, we just need to have 8 good scores instead of the 6 or 7 that we normally have.

We have 3 more comps and then the Nationals. Nationals have been moved to SLC on the same dates. This will be Man Made courses which I like a lot – fair for everybody! We are now over half way through the season and so far our results are 3rd, 10th, 3rd, 3rd, and 5^th. Hopefully we can make it past that 3rd barrier this time around and stay up there till the end of the season. It has been a respectable season – tougher than we had hoped!"

Keep up the good work Craig and the PTM Crew. We are rooting for you guys. If you have never been to a competitve rock crawling event, you are missing out. Talk about a spectator sport! Not to worry about our rollovers....We asked Craig to position the buggy so that we could get a picture of our logo upside down. He was kind enough to oblige! :)

Haflinger Treffen at Lake Shasta

Kathy and I needed a little mini-vacation to get away from the grind. So with a little negotiation Kenlynn and McKinley got to spend the weekend with their older cousins while Kathy and I jumped ship and headed to Lake Shasta for the Treffen.

Looking to have a little more comfort than a sleeping bag and tent I started the hunt for a nice hotel in the Redding area. I figured there might be a problem when I called the visitors bureau and asked for recommendations for a nice place to stay. "You do realize this is Redding, CA don't you..." was the initial response! After further discussion and being told the closest "nice" hotel would be in San Francisco, we figured we might try something a little different. I asked for any local bed and breakfasts and was told there were some great ones overlooking the river near the Sundial Bridge. Success! We ended up staying at the Bridgehouse Bed and Breakfast. http://www.reddingbridgehouse.com/

Jim and Emilie Molloy were the driving force behind this Treffen and they chose a great location. The Chappie Shasta OHV park at Lake Shasta was our starting point. We lucked out this year with awesome weather that was not too hot. Shasta Lake was at capacity which I do not think I have seen it this full in 10+ years.

We had a total of 7 Haflingers at the event which was a great group of enthusiasts. Everyone was there to have a good time, meet new people and enjoy our little vehicles. I have done a photo dump of all of the trip here: Scotts Photo Dump

We are already looking forward to next years Treffen.

Unique Applications - 404S

We have seen a lot of specialized uses of the Unimog concept. This company took it literally when the comment was made to "go fly a kite...." Makani Power based in Alameda, CA used this vehicle for that. Some day we hope to get some photo's of the truck in action.

Side Trip - Normandy France

While moving the warehouse in France, Brian was able to make a side trip to Normandy and Omaha Beach. Very moving....

MVCC Camp Delta Event

Friday afternoon my son Mckinley and I headed over to the Camp Delta event for a short walkabout. Anything that involves military vehicles, uniforms, and armor is always a hit with a 4 year old! The recent rains had created a bit of a quagmire at some of the "Dry Camping" areas, but in general the campground was full. It was nice to chat with some of our friends and customers.

BAE was displaying one of their MRAP vehicles. This was the first chance I had to see one up close and personal. The size is impressive. My boy has decided that the old WWII Jeeps are not his cup of tea........it's MRAP all the way!


This is definitely a fun show to spend some time at. The European military vehicles are few and far in between, but that is what would make it more fun to attend in your Unimog or Pinzgauer.

A Little Spring in Your Step?

Reports are slowly coming in that they had found a few 404 coil springs at the warehouse we just acquired. Here was the first load.......I think we will be running some specials. Yes these are only front and rear coil springs. Lets see...alternative uses....

Video Suggestions Wanted

We have begun the process of putting together some of our tech video's. The Pertronix Install is up, and I expect us to continue with more regular installments in a month or so. I know we have slated a video on Electrical testing and ignition basics, wheel cylinder rebuilds, and carb rebuilds. We would like to hear from our customers with additional suggestions on what they would like to see.

NOS Spares Acquisition - France

EI in conjunction with our European Partner has completed the acquisition of a large batch of NOS Unimog 404 spares in France. Brian Mason has been onsite in France handling the project on behalf of EI. I tell him he is mining NOS Gold! It will take a few months for these to work there way to the states, but once they do we should have some nice specials on items such as coil springs and canvasses.

EI Sponsors PTM Racing in the World Extreme Rock Crawling Championship Series

Well this year we jumped into the rock crawling scene. Considering the "crawlers" have become some of our best customers with their Unimog portal'd rigs, we figured it was time to have a little fun. This year we are sponsoring PTM racing in the W.E. Rock series. Craig Thompson and PTM will be competing in multiple crawling competitions with their 404 portal'd buggy. Still waiting for the final results from the Oroville competition today, but it was covered well by Pirate 4x4 here: http://www.pirate4x4.com/trailreports/werock-oroville-2010/index.php

Well Craig Thompson/Red Dragon and the EI sponsored #37 finished in 3rd place in the Pro Modified Class. At the end of the day shoot out they were the only rig to finish in the Pro Mod class. Congratulations to the PTM crew.

PTM at about minute 1:45

Brian's European Vacation! Well...maybe not.....

I dropped Brian off at the airport this morning as he heads off for a an extended stay in Belgium to coordinate a recent spare parts acquisition. (More to come on that later.) Needless to say we will be a little short handed while he is overseas. I'll have him post up information as he can in the blog so that those interested can follow along with the progress.

Pinzgauer Fiberglass Hardtops - Test Fitting

This weekend we did a test fit of the first Pinzgauer fiberglass hardtop. We were very impressed. We should be in production within the next 2 weeks. Give us a call to place your order.

EI's New Technical Advisor

Yep, after repeated attempts, we have finally hired a new technical advisor. His help will be greatly appreciated.

Aftermarket 404 Snorkel a Flop!

On the Unimog 404 snorkel side, we received back the preliminary tooling quotes as well as the some feedback that we had posted up on the Benzworld and Pirate Sites. Unfortunately, the cost factor versus interest level is not viable on this project. Basic tooling was going to come in at $6000+ and it didn't appear that their was much interest. We will do a couple of prototypes for our own trucks, but will NOT be going into production on this item.