DETROIT, MICHIGAN: Since 1937, when EATON Detroit Spring was started by Mike Eaton’s grandparents Frank and Grace, the leaf and coil springs manufacturer has become a titan in the industry. With more than 24,000 OE blueprints and 80 years of experience, EATON Detroit Spring has provided its expertise to dozens of custom projects. But a call from Randy Becht, owner of Hoosier Restoration and Movie Props, particularly caught Mike Eaton’s attention. “I am amazed by the things I get to learn in this business,” Eaton said. “Randy’s tank project reinforced that one never will know it all.” Becht has been in the street rod business for many years, and throughout his career has restored military vehicles for museums and movie sets alike. But his newest project was perhaps his most ambitious ever, and he knew he had to call on the best to make it a reality. “It was my wife Janet who had the idea of rebuilding Gen. George S. Patton’s tank,” Becht said. “She told the (Indiana Military Museum) CEO, Jim Osborne, that we could do it.” Patton’s tank—a WWI-era M1917—stands over 7 feet tall and is 16 feet long. It’s equipped with a machine gun and keeps a crew of two soldiers. A rebuild had never been attempted.

Over the next 18 months, Becht and his team, Grant Becht and Brian Bartholome, made slow-but- steady progress rebuilding the tank. The 7-ton machine had very few original parts, and no blueprints. “Most of the parts were built or recreated from pictures, but that’s what we pride ourselves on—building what was lost to history,” Randy Becht said. When it came time to build custom springs, however, progress came to a halt—until Becht contacted Mike Eaton at EATON Detroit Spring. “Randy sent a rather vague email asking if we could build four springs to special specs,” Eaton said. “Because he could not give much information, I was afraid we would not be able to help him. But once he said the spring was for Gen. Patton’s tank, I knew we would make it happen.” Becht explained that the importance of the spring setup was unexpected—without the right rates and specs, the tank not only wouldn’t sit right, it wouldn’t function properly, either. “What we started with was flawed,” he explained. “EATON Detroit Spring came in and saved the day. They not only corrected 100-year- old flawed engineering, but improved it greatly.” To create something that would work, Eaton’s first steps were to ask the questions needed to build the custom tank springs, including: The length of the area the springs would fit into; The distance from the center bolt location to the center of the spring eyes, both front and rear of the spring;  Maximum width allowed;  Distance between the bottom mounting plate of the springs and the center line of the eyes when the springs would be loaded with the weight of the tank; The weight the springs would be supporting;  And how the weight would be distributed front and rear. “Randy gave me what he could and mentioned a couple of weak points that he saw in the original design,” Eaton recalled. “Then I went to work.” Calling on his 40-plus years of spring-building experience, Eaton created a design he believed solved all the problems, including a way to make a quick correction if needed. “Randy installed the springs and called me happier than a kid in a candy store,” he said. “The tank sat perfectly.” It was one of those projects where talented individuals come together to create something special. “Randy is an extremely talented man,” Eaton said—though Becht is quick to share the accolades. “Without the dedication and charity of industry leaders like Mr. Eaton and others, we would not be able to do the things we do,” Becht stated. “We thank God for our ability to do what we love and to bring happiness to museum patrons everywhere we send our creations.” Those creations are delivered to institutions all over the United States, with additional collaborations beginning with several European museums next year. As for Patton’s WWI tank, it was dedicated November 2, 2017, received by George Patton Waters, Gen. Patton’s grandson and fellow veteran. It is now on permanent display at the Indiana Military Museum in Vincennes, Indiana.

December, 2017 – Career-long industry members and current GForce Performance Engineering management, Bob Engel and Jesse Powell, have purchased GForce from private equity that has held the company’s stake for several years. GForce Performance Engineering is a Wichita, Kansas-based company focused on driveline upgrades for performance vehicles, positioned as an industry leader in independent rear suspension components.

“Obviously, we are extremely excited about the acquisition,” says Powell, GForce president. “We feel by unifying management and ownership with a common vision, the company will really hit its stride and continue the growth and success we’ve been working toward.”

Powell began his career at Aeromotive, Inc. as marketing and communications director. After Aeromotive, he did a brief stint with The Enthusiast Network before leaving to step in as president of GForce.

Engel began his career in the automotive industry at AutoMeter. After many years working his way up the ladder, he left to become a manufacturer’s rep for Kunzman and Associates, only to eventually pursue his passion in performance tuning.

For the last two years, GForce has been under the direction of Powell and Engel and seen significant growth.

“GForce has a unique opportunity in today’s market,” adds Engel, vice president and partner. “The product is extremely relevant and the manufacturing process is one that GForce has worked hard to develop. This, coupled with some of the processes and procedures we have added over the last couple of years, has produced some of best driveline parts on the market.”

GForce Engineering was founded in the mid ’90s by aerospace engineer and longtime drag racer Chris Nichols. The company saw several iterations, from a local speed shop to a fabrication and machine shop. In 2009, Nichols reimagined GForce Engineering as a true manufacturer and quickly found his place in the industry producing performance CV axles, driveshafts and driveline components, specializing in IRS and AWD performance vehicles. Nichols continues his interest in the company as lead engineer with a focus on new product development and R&D.

“Bob, Chris and I believe that in today’s performance marketplace, real innovation will come from manufacturers that are led by enthusiasts with a passion for this industry. That’s why we are investing so much into new products and new procedures, with a goal to produce better products at a better price for our customers,” says Powell.

For more information about GForce Engineering and the advantages its products can provide, visit www.GForce1320.com or call (316) 260-8433 M-F 9am to 5pm CST.