HP Craftwoks - Reboot!

Welcome to HP Craftworks, a different car company(™?). Established in 1955, HP Craftworks, or Heizenrader Motor Customs as it began, started out in a garage, as most companies used to do. It was exactly as it sounded, a customs business that began as a hobby. It began with hot rodding various things found in local junk yards, to then building up friends and neighbors rides, until eventually it turned into a business. As it progressed requests starting coming in for one off builds, which eventually led to Heizenrader Motor Customs. By 1955 HMC had a team of roughly 20 people designing and building cars, and the company moved into a full-fledged garage. At this point the Sports Car Club of America was starting to kick off, and HMC started getting involved in local races, making it’s way up to regional, then national events. After a few years, HMC had made a name for itself as the place to go if you wanted a car to win races with. The following year HMC began working with the SCCA to develop a new set of classes for specially built cars, promoting backyard engineering and production with strict rules but open to interpretation that kept the cars and the racing interesting. At the same time HMC began a new business venture, one that would shape the path of the company forever, the introduction of the kit car. Lack of assembly and the use of a preexisting drive line from a donor car meant production numbers could be high while costs stayed low. Starting out with purpose built cars for the SCCA classes helped with sales as everybody wanted a piece of the HMC action.

More will be added to this to help with the lore as I continue work and development of the company.

Cheers - Racer13

The new car that started the company will be posted tomorrow. As a teaser, it blasted it’s competition out of the water and set the local racing scene on fire.

I do hope that’s literal.

[quote=“Vri404”]

I do hope that’s literal.[/quote]

:laughing: There were fires in every race paddock. Maybe the early days of Astronaut Magazine will have to get it’s hands on an assembled version of the car for a test drive?

HYPE!

I’m ready for these cars :slight_smile:

K, I’m posting tomorrow, or later today if you actually look at the time stamp. I need sleep. And ice cream, oddly enough. Mmmm, ice cream. Anyway. Sleep thing. Yes. Car. Tomorrow. Happening. Be there.

Cheers - Racer13

[size=150]HMC Presents the CRK Series 1[/size]

[size=125]The Start of a Legacy[/size]

The 1950’s saw the beginning of the kit car, and HMC got into that action quick with the introduction of the Clubman Racer Kit Series 1, or CRK Series 1 for short, and how it was referred to by the SCCA, the racing organization it was built for. The CRK Series 1 was built from the ground up to be a simple, cheap, reliable race car that could easily be built in a garage with minimal tools. Not only that, but it had to be a consistent winner, but not so unruly that only pro drivers could get it around a track fast. And the CRK Series 1 did exactly that, grew the brand new SCCA amateur constructors class into a national field within a matter of years. In fact, it was so successful that it got it’s own spec class after the top 15 cars in the National Runoffs for it’s class were all Series 1s.

[size=125]Simplicity[/size]

As a race car, the CRK Series 1 had be competitive, but if it wanted to be successful as a product, it had to be simple above all else. It had to arrive at somebodies front door in a crate, and then they could put it together with a wrench, a screwdriver, and a hammer. Built on a simple steel ladder chassis with MacPherson front suspension and a solid rear axle on coils, the Series 1 was easy to understand, build, and set up. With a moderately tuned inline 4 with twin, single barrel carburetors built by HMC as an option, which most customers ended up selecting, the most advanced piece of equipment was the four speed manual transmission. A simple construction with clear, detailed instructions quickly made the CRK a hit among anybody who wanted to build a car to have fun with on the weekends.

[size=125]Performance[/size]

The CRK Series 1 was by no means a record car. It wasn’t going to set the fastest lap times of the day, and it wasn’t necessarily going to impress anyone with straight line speed. That said though, it wasn’t a dog either. With a moderately tuned 1.4 liter overhead valve inline four cylinder making a modest 74 horsepower it would happy stay at it’s 4,500 RPM redline all day long, keeping it reliable, thus keeping running costs down. And while the suspension was nothing advanced, it kept the car predictable but interesting, and the fiberglass body meant the weight stayed low at only 1,315 pounds. A four speed transmission meant you always had something to do, and would get you from 0-60 in roughly 12 seconds and on to a top speed of 110 MPH.

[size=125]Relaibility[/size]

Of course, if a car is going to successful, whether it’s a consumer car or a kit car, but especially a race car, it has to be reliable. Failures are inevitable in motorsport, it’s the nature of the sport, but unless you are a large team you probably can’t afford to always be replacing parts. And when your market is looking for something affordable poor reliability isn’t going to appeal to many people. So out of the box HMC offered components that were proven and tested to be reliable, and kept any part that might go through high stress, such as the engine, a detune. These components could easily turn out better performance, and if owners were willing to sacrifice reliability they were open to tinker, but otherwise these parts had to last, which meant keeping them as far away from their failure point as possible. Of course, this also helped the company because it meant they didn’t have to spend as much making high tolerance parts. What this meant was a car, if treated properly, could go a season or even more without needing any serious work such as a rebuild.

[size=125]Affordability[/size]

Thanks to the limited tooling required and the relative simplicity of the components, not to mention the fact that there was no need of an assembly line to put the cars together, costs stayed down. Anything that could be outsourced was, and having many options available to the costumer such as drivetrain options, stages of completion, and things such as interior and safety options meant the customer got exactly what they wanted, but also that there was going to be something in their budget. A complete car, however, with all the options available cost roughly $9,000 in today’s money, making it one of the most affordable options to go racing that have ever existed, and brought full fledged, premier race day competition to the masses. Not only that, but as a direct result of the owner building the car, he learned more about how his car worked and became more at one with the car than ever before. All of this meant the Clubman Racer Kit Series 1 was an ultimate success, and paved the way for a long and colorful history in motorsport and consumer products for Heizenrader Motor Customs.

HP Craftworks, *a different car company.*™

Very nice :slight_smile:

I’ll probably reboot my company some time in the future, or just make a second one. The ideas I have going on with mine are kind of awkward in retrospect XD. I really like the kit car idea. This is more like what I had in mind when I was trying to put a company story together.

I’m just waiting for the next update, because with the new spaceframe chassis, I’ll make a lot of kit cars :smiling_imp:

Space frames will be awesome! Can’t wait!

Done the Review, Racer. Bit short though…

viewtopic.php?f=41&t=8425&start=30#p94600

I’m curious as to how the engine blew up, given it was built for reliability. Could be that it hasn’t been rebuilt for a while. Engines that have been sitting for to long, especially carbureted engines, have a tendency to develop problems. Make sure the owner gets a good rebuild on it.

Cheers - Racer13

HP Craftworks is now looking for someone to fill a photography/marketing position. Due to my limited resources I am in need of assistance to bring this company to it’s full potential. I’m not necessarily looking for fancy stuff, just making the cars look better and more professional. If you are interested in helping send me a personal message and I will be happy to discuss any ideas either of us may have.

Cheers - Racer13

Prepare yourselves as we jump into the future. Last week we unveiled the car that started it all, the CRK Series 1 which was launched in the mid '50’s. Now, we jump forward 50 years to the present where we see one of the consumer vehicles HP Craftworks has to offer in 2015. Mark your calendars, this Friday we launch a benchmark for modern sports wagons.

[size=150]HP Craftworks Presents the Series 6 Wagon[/size]

[size=125]Style[/size]

In 2015 HP Craftworks began rebuilding and redesigning it’s line of consumer-ready cars, as well as introducing some new cars. Among this re imagined lineup was the Series 6, which along with a sedan now sported a wagon which offered even more utility than before. The new image of the Series 6 made for a more modern, sleek, and relatively understated design, while losing none of the flair or quality customers had grown accustomed to in HPC vehicles.

[size=125]Performance[/size]

This model shown here is equipped with the Sport Package, which features premium, alloy wheels wrapped in 225 millimeters of sport compound rubber to hold the road with a death grip at all four corners, and a sportier, active suspension with seven different settings to adjust the ride from the entertainment system in the car, so the car can be tighter than that bolt you can never get out when you want it, and then calm down and relax like a monk on Sundays when you need it. But if it’s raw performance you are looking for, look no further. The Sport Package is more than just some wheels and suspension tweaks, it’s an experience, that once you try one time, you’ll never be able to stop. The Series 6 Sport Package offers up one of the most sophisticated drivelines HP Craftworks has to offer. With a savage six liter V8, always on, HPC designed and race proven active and adaptive all wheel drive and limited slip differential, the seven speed flappy paddle gearbox will move you, your mother-in-law, and her entire apartment up to 62 miles per hour in only 4.1 seconds, fast enough to blow away many sports cars. That is of course assuming her spine hasn’t come out from the acceleration. Oh yeah, and that’s with the engine in Eco Mode. We can’t provide details on what happens when the car is switched into Sport Mode because our test drivers are scared of what might happen.

[size=125]Utility[/size]

But we also realize you don’t buy a wagon unless you intend to use it to move stuff, which is why we gave you enough space to help your girlfriend move out when she finds out that you got a new car instead of that engagement ring. Be warned though, you will find hair pins in the car many years after that move, we are not responsible for that. With the back seats up this little number will comfortably seat four with plenty of leg room and head room all around, so at least your mother-in-law won’t complain about that after you pick her up from the airport, there is still plenty of space in the back for all 12 of her suit cases, because yes, she is staying for three weeks, and there’s nothing you can do about it. But ‘Oooh’ I hear you cry, ‘I still need more space!’. Fear not my friend, those back seats will fold completely flat, allowing you to throw in four sets of ski’s, a tent, a mountain bike, that water chair you never used, three hiking back packs and a full size grill with rotisserie action so you can have the craziest adventure you never knew was possible. And when we say completely flat, we mean, completely flat, not just sort of flat like a lot of our competitors will try to sell you.

[size=125]Comfort[/size]

With all of this functionality you would think when it came to the interior of the car it would be an after thought, because surely this car is already out of your budget, but you’d be wrong. We at HPC don’t believe in cutting corners, and are willing to make sacrifices to ensure we are providing the best product we can to our customers, which is why when it came to the interior we gave it the same kind of care and attention that we gave the rest of the car. With quality leather, wood, and milled metal materials, the inside of the Series 6 is a symphony of class and sophistication that simply isn’t found in cars with a similar price tag, putting the Series 6 in a class of it’s own. With a modern, timeless styling and some of the most comfortable, body hugging seats made of memory foam wrapped in hand stitched leather we’ve ever sat in, and electronic seat controls for position, reclining, lumbar, headrest and leg support, you might never want to get out. So go ahead, click that gearbox down into auto mode, switch the engine to Eco Mode and move the suspension into Comfort and sit back as the car does the work for you, making this car perfect for long road trips.

[size=125]Sophistication[/size]

Of course, no road trip is complete without some nice tunes to rock out to, which is why we partnered with harmon/kardon to create a 10-speaker audio setup that would probably be more at home in a home theater than a car, hooked up to a AM/FM/Satellite radio, 8 disc CD changer, and AUX/USB jack for MP3 players, plus a media slot for a Micro SD card located in the passenger glove box. Alongside that is a built-in touch screen entertainment center with GPS that can control almost any aspect of the car, including the seven-zone climate controls and features wireless bluetooth hands-free connectivity to any smartphone on the market, with voice controls and call controls on the steering wheel. But don’t think the driver is the only one that gets to have fun. Each of the back seats get individual climate controls as well as a T.V. entertainment system built into the back of the driver and passenger headrests. And with full-window sun shades, the back seat passengers can enjoy some privacy, or relax and take a comfortable nap. With so many luxuries, you may end up wanting to spend more time in the back seats than driving, which is a shame, because it’s a really fun car to drive.

[size=125]Affordable[/size]

By this point you are probably thinking well this all good and everything, but there is no way all of this luxury, performance and sophistication can fit into my budget, I’m not rich or anything. Lucky for you my friend, all this car only comes at a price of $32,640. At that price we are practically handing you the keys the moment it leaves the factory floor. All you have to do is sign on the dotted line and you are on your way to the best all around automotive experience you have ever had. Cars will never be the same again.

HP Craftworks, *a different car company.*™

I like it. Looks like a high end modern car without being a wall of fixtures (no offense to any fans of that thing).

Thank you. I prefer the cleaner, simpler designs. A well proportioned car with clean lines can, in my opinion, be infinitely more attractive than something with excessive details. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Cheers - Racer 13

HMC will be unveiling it’s second car next week, the successor to the CRK Series 1. After the success of the Series 1, other companies started to take notice of HMCs winning platform. So, only a few years after the original release of the Series 1, HMC was able to partner with some big names for some tuning help creating an even more competitive platform for racing. Not quite an entry level product, but fast enough to be desirable, the new car would fit right into another new class for the SCCA that HMCs founders were developing. Not only that, but the new car would offer customers even more choices than the original, while retaining the same core values as the Series 1. So be sure to keep your eye out as HMC continues it’s development into the company it is today.

Wow it’s been a long time since I did anything on this company! I don’t know if I even still have the original files anymore! I have some new cars and lore to release for this company after getting the UE4 version up and running properly on my new system, as well as a recreated version of the CRK Series 1 using the new engine. So let me ask you guys, would you rather I continue off this thread or create a new one using the cars from the new version of the game?

Cheers
Racer13