SXOR single seater build

hokie_yj · Feb 21, 2015

Wow, thanks man! I really appreciate that.

zayne2427 · Feb 22, 2015

kmcminn said:
This is my favorite build thread.

one of my favorites as well. i love these chassis

Haulin4alivin · Feb 22, 2015

I NEED MORE!! Lol this thing is awesome!

hokie_yj · Feb 22, 2015

Lol, thanks guys. Ya'll keep me motivated to stay after it.

hokie_yj · Feb 23, 2015

I crossed a couple more things off the mile long to-do list today.

Storage space was pretty much non-existent on this thing so I wanted to add a place to carry a tool bag, cooler, recovery gear, etc. So I picked up a Baja basket from Poly Performance.

Here it is sitting in place while I was figuring out the mounting.

To mount the front I added a tube between the two c-pillars and used tube disconnects to make it removable so the engine can still be pulled.

To mount the basket to the tube I used some large trick tabs and the hood pins that have the hard rubber bushing to hopefully help cut down on the rattling.

The back is mounted the same way off of the radiator hoop.

Here's it is installed.

I kinda wish it didn't sit quite so high, but I think it still looks ok and will serve the purpose. It took me way too long just to mount this thing. I fought with it forever trying to get it lined up perfect, but with this style chassis hardly nothing is square from side to side. Even the c-pillars are at slightly different angles and lengths because the belt rail on the chassis from the b-pillar back is angled in more on the left side than the right. I finally just eyeballed it from every angle until I thought it looked good, said screw it, and welded it.

After I messed with all that for most of the day. The only other thing I got accomplished was finding a place for and mounting all my vent/ rollover catch cans. The smaller ones with the breather on top are PSC catch cans with a ball bearing rollover valve. The bigger ones are just normal overflow tanks that have the vent straw that extends up to the top of the can.

These three will be the front axle, transmission, and transfer case.

These two will be the rear axle and the steering reservoir.

This one will be the PCV catch can to hopefully keep oil out of the intake. The two valve cover ports will be tee'd together and tied to the inlet of the tank, and then the vent straw will go back to the nipple on the intake.

And this one will be the radiator overflow tank.

hokie_yj · Mar 9, 2015

I haven't had a lot of time in the garage over the last couple weeks, but I've piddled around a got a little bit done when I've had the chance.

The more I looked at the tubing I had added for the interior panels the less I liked it. So I cut it all out and will start over on that. When I originally did it I wasn't thinking ahead and just threw it in there. But I realized that if I didn't make it removable that the only way I could ever pull the tranny or t-case would be to pull the whole drivetrain. So when I re-do it I'll use tube couplers so it can be removed and the tranny or t-case can be pulled from the inside.

I worked on mounting the ECU. This is a BinksFab ECU mount that I modified a little bit to work for me. I added the three bolts on the top to mount my TAC module to, and changed up the mounting bracket a little bit. I just plugged the wiring harness up to make sure everything was going to reach.

I also got the intake sorted out. Just waiting on the filter to show up. The filter I originally ordered was too long so I had to order a smaller one. I just used a 4" short radius 90 and cut each leg as short as I could. The filter will go right on the end of the MAF. I know that's not ideal for the reading, but it will have to work.

After seeing JohnG's post about the Race Mirrors I decided I had to have a pair myself.

One of the next jobs I'm going to try to tackle is setting up the 3rd members. I've never done gears before, but I've been doing a lot of reading and watched a lot of YouTube videos and I'm pretty confident that I can do it myself.

After that's done it will be time to turn this pile of stuff into some driveshafts.

zayne2427 · Mar 9, 2015

looking good man. getting closer

ibrokeit · Mar 9, 2015

Looking awesome!

hokie_yj · Mar 9, 2015

Thanks guys. I know it don't look like much, but at least it's things I can mark off the list.

Making a to-do list and sticking it on the wall in the shop has actually helped quite a bit. It's a huge list, but at least it feels like I've accomplished something when I can check it off the list.

patooyee · Mar 9, 2015

Awesome rig if I haven't said it already. I feel like that luggage rack might be a bit high though. Anything in it will be above your roof line and first to hit when you roll. I realize you'r trying to fit 50 lbs of **** in a 2 lbs bag though. You've done an awesome job so far. My rig has most of the same **** in the chassis but is probably double the size.

ibrokeit · Mar 9, 2015

I would almost have made the luggage rack off the back instead of so high. Make it pretty easily removable back there. chances of rolling backwards would be less than rolling side to side, I would think.

hokie_yj · Mar 9, 2015

Thanks man, I really appreciate it! That really means a lot to me coming from someone who has built a rig like yours.

You're right, this is definitely a 50lb of **** type situation. Lol. Pictures really don't show how small this thing is. I agree that the rack really is too high, but I'm not sure I can get it any lower. The only things I plan to put in it are a small tool bag, recovery gear, and a soft sided cooler. So hopefully nothing that would take a lot of damage in a rollover. I'm always open to suggestions though.

patooyee · Mar 9, 2015

hokie_yj said:
Thanks man, I really appreciate it! That really means a lot to me coming from someone who has built a rig like yours.

You're right, this is definitely a 50lb of **** type situation. Lol. Pictures really don't show how small this thing is. I agree that the rack really is too high, but I'm not sure I can get it any lower. The only things I plan to put in it are a small tool bag, recovery gear, and a soft sided cooler. So hopefully nothing that would take a lot of damage in a rollover. I'm always open to suggestions though.

I've seen those chassis in person. Unless others have also I really don't think anyone here has a reference for how small they are being kind of a west coast chassis. I could never fit in one. Poeple think Jimmy Smith chassis are small ... well they ain't nothing compared to the SXOR.

hokie_yj · Mar 9, 2015

Yeah, it's all I can do to fit in it. Hopefully I can lose some weight by the time it's ready to ride. Lol.

sleepsontoilet · Mar 9, 2015

http://www.polyperformance.com/XR-Series-1-5-Vent-Catch-Can-with-Rollover-Valve-Tube-Clamp

Dang they are proud of those! Buggy looks sweet sitting that low.

hokie_yj · Mar 9, 2015

Yeah they sure are. Lol. I actually got mine on eBay for about half that. Apparently PSC has some sort of overstock warehouse and they list on eBay. They shipped in a PSC box straight from them. I just happened to see them on there one day and snagged 5 of them. Wish I would've bought a bunch more.

GONOVRIT · Mar 9, 2015

Where did the driveshaft parts come from?

hokie_yj · Mar 9, 2015

For the yokes, long spline, and coupler I found all my part #'s online and ordered everything through my local fleet pride. They beat every price I could find online. I can post the part#'s if anyone is interested.

The midship bearing is from WOD. I have another one that's not in this picture. Both front and rear shafts will be two piece.

And since I just needed shorter pieces of tubing in somewhat uncommon sizes I just ordered all of it from Speedy Metals.

I believe I can do it all with no machining by using DOM bushings to mate everything together.

zjtrey · Mar 10, 2015

Looks good Ben… whats the wheelbase? I can relate to the 50lbs of ****...

hokie_yj · Mar 10, 2015

Thanks man! The wheelbase is roughly 104-105"

hokie_yj · Mar 10, 2015

I spent a little time in the shop today before I had to come in to work tonight. I looked at what i could do to lower the basket. At the most all I could get would be about 1" lower, and that's if I tilt the radiator forward as far as it will go. It won't lay back toward the rear of the chassis because of how narrow it gets back there, and it can't go any lower either. To me 1" isn't worth the trouble and time it would take to do it, so I guess it will just stay where it's at for now. WHEN the day comes that I yardsale this thing laughing1 if the basket gets trashed then maybe I'll look at doing something different. I do appreciate you guys input on it though. I'm always open to constructive criticism. thumb.gif

I did start on redoing the tubework for the interior panels, but I ran out of time before I got much done worth taking pictures of.

patooyee · Mar 10, 2015

If it were me I would cut the basket down and put it in that area in front of the radiator and behind the cooling fan you have behind your head there. It seems oversized for that buggy. My basket is 1/3 that size and I manage to fit everything I need in it in terms of tools. And my tools are bigger than yours because rockwells are big. It would look less out of place, too.

hokie_yj · Mar 10, 2015

patooyee said:
If it were me I would cut the basket down and put it in that area in front of the radiator and behind the cooling fan you have behind your head there. It seems oversized for that buggy. My basket is 1/3 that size and I manage to fit everything I need in it in terms of tools. And my tools are bigger than yours because rockwells are big. It would look less out of place, too.

I don't know why I never really thought of that. :dunno: That just might work. I'll stare at it some more again tomorrow morning after I get home from work and sleep a bit. Thanks again for the input.

patooyee · Mar 10, 2015

hokie_yj said:
I don't know why I never really thought of that. :dunno: That just might work. I'll stare at it some more again tomorrow morning after I get home from work and sleep a bit. Thanks again for the input.

NP, hope you don't think I'm ragging on just one little thing because overall I think that rig is ****ing bad-ass and makes me want to sell mine to build something small like that.

hokie_yj · Mar 10, 2015

patooyee said:
NP, hope you don't think I'm ragging on just one little thing because overall I think that rig is ****ing bad-ass and makes me want to sell mine to build something small like that.

I don't think that at all. Like I said before, I appreciate the constructive criticism too. I agree that it looks out of place up there. I just didn't know how else to do it. Sometimes I just need someone elses perspective on things to help me figure it out.

And I definitely appreciate the compliments on it! Stuff like that keeps me motivated to get it done. thumb.gif

sleepsontoilet · Mar 11, 2015

I know space is tight, have you thought about corner bags that mount to the cage? Hellfire Fabworks sells some for a fair price. They're actually cheaper with a forum discount.

http://hellfire-fabworks.com/product-category/gear-bags/

hokie_yj · Mar 11, 2015

Yeah, I have one already. I may get another one or two down the road.

hokie_yj · Mar 11, 2015

I had a little time today so I re-did the interior tube work. Each piece of tube has a tube coupler on the chassis end so it can be removed if needed. The panels will be .100" aluminum.

And the new air filter came in today so I threw it on to see how it fit. It tucks just inside the chassis.

hokie_yj · Mar 13, 2015

I started working on the interior panels today. Still have more to do, but I got a decent start on it. All panels are .100" aluminum. Everything is mounted with threaded trick tabs so it can be removed without too much trouble.

Trick tabs all layed out.

Test fitting the first panel. The cutout in the near right corner is for clearance for the intake elbow.

Cutting the hole for the twin sticks. I measured several times for this, laid it out, cut it with the plasma, and still somehow managed to get the angle wrong on it. :dunno: I have the boot that AA ships with the Atlas on it right now, but the shifters won't travel all the way because the hole is on the wrong angle. I found a boot by JB Fab that has a bigger opening so I went ahead and ordered one. I'll fix that problem when it comes in.

I originally planned to use an Art Carr shifter, but the rear exit cable made it hard to package. So I decided to go with a B&M Pro-Stick instead. The gates will be modified so you can hit neutral or reverse easily. It's mounted on a quick release bracket.

Cutting the gauge/switch panel. Plasma with a standoff /drag tip made cutting this stuff a breeze.

Gauge/switch panel installed. Tomorrow I'll cut the holes and mount the 12voltguy switch panel and the Autometer dash pack in it. And I also have to find somewhere to mount the Blue Sea battery selector/kill switch.

I think I'll end up either painting or doing some kind of coating on these panels. With a copper chassis and black skins I think having the panels black would look a lot better than plain aluminum.

hokie_yj · Mar 14, 2015

I got a little more done on the interior today. I cut the holes for the switch panel and gauge cluster and got them mounted. The switch panel is from 12VoltGuy, and the cluster is a Autometer Pro-Comp Pro Dash.

I made this piece just to fill the hole that was there.

And I also decided on a spot for the battery switch and cut the hole, but I didn't have long enough bolts to mount it. I'll pick some up tomorrow when I'm out so I can get all that back together.

I'm also going to cut a piece of aluminum to try and fill the hole beside the seat the best I can. The front driveshaft will be just a few inches away so I at least want a little something between it and me in case something flies apart.