2012-End of Days build

[broncocraigellis]

I'm calling it 2012 because that's probably when it'll get done. Me and a buddy have a running joke about when we'll finish our buggies...hopefully it will be before the Mayan calendar runs out on 12/21/12 and the world ends.

I do have a pile of parts so far:

5.3 Vortec
4L60E fresh rebuild/beef
Novak adapter
D300
Chevy D60
14B
42" Iroks on 12-bolt H1s
14"front and 16" rear Fox air shocks
M8000, soon to be narrowed
Midwest Control 7/8x3/4 heims
Blue Torch/Ballistic/RuffStuff brackets and tabs
Double pass aluminum radiator
Wilwood brake pedal/master cylinders
Corbeau Ultra seats
10 gallon poly fuel tank
Southwest Speed nylon brake lines
early CJ5 hood and a CJ grill

Still have to get hydro steering stuff, build the front axle (Detroit, chromo outers, flanges), and buy a huge pile of the $100 parts that quickly add up.

Waiting on tubing and have to bolt the powertrain together, so I can get it cribbed up and start bending tube.

Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll be able to start building in earnest. I have a couple of nights during the week and the weekends to work on it. Next time I'm at the shop I'll get some pictures of the parts pile.

[HottyToddy]

Are you going full tube chassis, or a mixture?

Yea...post up some PICS !!

[rccolacc]

Well I guess you are building a buggy. Disregard my question in the PM then, haha.
-RC

[broncocraigellis]

All tube. Here's a couple of pics of a couple of parts and of getting it cribbed up:






I'm building it at bump, so the oil pan is 12" off the ground.
111" WB
52" chassis width

[JWP]

Good luck with the build. If you need help with any dimensions or anything, give me a shout and I can measure on mine certain things. I know it may not seem important but stuff like frame rail width and roof height are sometimes hard to nail down. I have looked at these things a lot and came help with that kind of stuff.

[broncocraigellis]

I appreciate it. After a test run last night, we're going to set the rail width at 27.5. The exhaust manifolds will be flipped over and switched sides to keep me from buying headers. That's as narrow as I can get it without raising the drivetrain up.

It'll be 52" wide at the cowl and B-pillar to fit a 7" narrowed CJ grill and hood. Floor to roof is taken with me sitting in the seat and adding around 5-6" to give plenty of room with a helmet on.

I should have more pics after this weekend.

[broncocraigellis]

Day 3 of tube work today.

I'm building this at Offroadwerks in Fulton, so I owe thanks to the owner, Craig Seay, for allowing me to rent space and for offering much-needed advice.

If you need anything built on your ride, he's the guy to go see. His labor rates are below what you might expect, and he is a dealer for Blue Torch, PSC, and Ballistic, among others and has good prices on DOM and HREW.

You can get anything from a bare chassis to a turn key buggy, too.

Okay, scratch the 52" width. After laying it out, I felt more comfy going closer to 54" for a trail rig.

I made the subframe tubes Saturday, got them tacked on, and made the outside rails today along with notching and placing the tubes for my front and rear lowers.

In true budget/low-skill style, I've laid out all bends so far on the floor to get it in my head. If I can keep getting my real work done, I should be able to sneak over to the shop and get this thing rolling around in a couple of weeks.

[broncocraigellis]

[broncocraigellis]

[broncocraigellis]

[broncocraigellis]

The last batch are from yesterday afternoon and tonight. I've made a couple of changes on the fly: changing the width a couple of inches and giving up the "cool" looking low roof tube in order to have enough headroom with a helmet.

By Monday the goal is to have the shocks mounted and the suspension tacked together. The geometry is figured out based on what I have to work with, but I need to put it all together. I don't have enough DOM to make my upper links, so I'll make one from HREW until I can get more.

The links will have 7/8x3/4 Midwest Control heims.

[JWP]

Looks good so far. Where are you doing all of this work at?

[broncocraigellis]

Thanks I'm building it at Offroad Werks in Fulton. The owner, Craig Seay, can build anything someone is looking for from simple bumper and cage jobs to full-on chassis builds.

He's the only fab shop in the area and is a dealer for most common companies: Blue Torch, Sway-a-way, Ballistic, Ruff Stuff. He can get anything too for the same price or better than the other guys.

I like supporting local businesses, so my $$$ for parts and renting shop space are going to him.

[broncocraigellis]

Thanks I'm building it at Offroad Werks in Fulton. The owner, Craig Seay, can build anything someone is looking for from simple bumper and cage jobs to full-on chassis builds.

He's the only fab shop in the area and is a dealer for most common companies: Blue Torch, Sway-a-way, Ballistic, Ruff Stuff. He can get anything too for the same price or better than the other guys.

I like supporting local businesses, so my $$$ for parts and renting shop space are going to him.\

He's about ready to take the next chassis job...who's next in line??? You can get anything from a bare chassis, a full-roller, to turn-key buggy.

[broncocraigellis]

That's it. On to the front suspension on Wednesday.