SXOR single seater build

[hokie_yj]

Got a little more done over the last few days. Not as much as I had hoped, but that's life.

Got the fuel cell and Corvette filter/regulator mounted.





Bolted up the rear midship shaft.





Painted the filler panels for the kick panels and the upper panel behind the seat. They have aluminum trim pieces that rivets to them that I had powder coated flat black. These were a translucent red lexan. I painted them with 3-4 coats of plasti-dip on each side. It turned out really good. I think I will probably use the plasti-dip on the hood as well.



The new rear shafts came in from Branik. I slid them in the housing and bolted on the drive flanges.





Got the front midship shaft welded up, painted, and bolted in.











I had some pieces cut a few weeks back to make the steering double shear and add a little reinforcement to the knuckles.





I took the knuckles off so I can weld them up. Going to preheat to about 250* in the oven then post-heat and slow cool.



Started pressing out the ball joints and my HF press finally bit the dust. Stripped the threads right out of it. After I threw it across the garage and had my cussing fit I sit down on my stool, got on EBay and bought a used Snap-On ball joint press. It will be here in a couple days.



I did add some weld washers to the bolt holes for the steering arms.



In between other stuff I riveted on all the springs for the Dzus tabs for the skins. This thing right here is the best $50 tool I've ever bought. Beats the hell out of riveting by hand. Pull the trigger and it's done.

 

[sleepsontoilet]

A lot of bling in one post. Those hard lines look ***s, still not sure how I'm going to do mine. Are both of the midship shafts WOD?

 

[hokie_yj]

Thanks man! The hard line is 1/4" x .049 wall 316 tubing. The fittings and flex hoses are all Swagelok stuff. It just so happens that I work in an industry that I'm familiar with installing the tubing and fittings. Lol.

Both of the carrier bearings did come from WOD. I think they have changed the design slightly since I got these, but basically still the same.

 

[Rokcrler]

Re:

What'd you end up doing on the bent spindle?

 

[hokie_yj]

Nothing. The housing wasn't bent anywhere near as bad as I originally thought. The new shafts slid right in. It is a little warped for sure but I'm just going to run it and see what happens.

 

[Rokcrler]

Re:

Excellent!

 

[stuftmunky2k]

Im ready to see this thing in action. :woot:

 

[hokie_yj]

That makes two of us! Lol

 

[hokie_yj]

Got the knuckles finished up today. I baked them in the oven @ 250* before welding, then after welding I buried them in oil dry to let them cool slowly.





















In the morning I'll start putting the front end together.

 

[hokie_yj]

I got the knuckles back on and the front axle buttoned up today.

















Also got the battery box and batteries mounted.



And I plasti-dipped the hood.

Before:



After:



Then I couldn't resist putting on one of the kick panels, the hood, and some tires to see how it looked. I think it's going to look decent.











Unfortunately today was most likely my last day off until mid May or so. I'll be on straight nights for 3 weeks minimum. So progress will be slow if not non-existent for a while.

 

[mcutler]

Re:

Badass my friend

Sent from my SM-G925R4 using Tapatalk

 

[kmcminn]

PSC cyclinder?

 

[hokie_yj]

PSC cyclinder?

Yeah, it's a PSC XR series ram. I just painted it to match the chassis

Badass my friend

Sent from my SM-G925R4 using Tapatalk

Thank you!

 

[kmcminn]

Yeah, it's a PSC XR series ram. I just painted it to match the chassis

Thank you!

Cool is yours a pain in the ass to move back and forth.

 

[hokie_yj]

It's tight, but I can turn it by grabbing the knuckle without too much effort. I had to loosen the little plastic plugs in the ports though to let the air out. Before that it was difficult.

When I was checking the steering clearance at full lock I used an air hose to cycle it back and forth.

 

[kmcminn]

It's tight, but I can turn it by grabbing the knuckle without too much effort. I had to loosen the little plastic plugs in the ports though to let the air out. Before that it was difficult.

When I was checking the steering clearance at full lock I used an air hose to cycle it back and forth.

Yeah thats what psc tol me to do. Thanks

 

[hokie_yj]

You're welcome. It will probably loosen up a little the more you do it.

 

[hokie_yj]

Resurrecting this thread from near death. I worked on the buggy today for the first time since April.

Last week I finally got the motor back from tuning. Today was the first chance I've had since then to work on it any.



Today I got the motor back in and all bolted up. I also got the radiator, trans cooler, oil accumulator, and steering reservoir mounted. And I also got the ECM mounted and the harness routed.

















Getting the motor back was the biggest hold up since this whole thing is basically built around the drivetrain. Hopefully it won't be so long until the next update.

 

[Beerj]

Nice rig! Welcome to Hardline! :D

 

[hokie_yj]

Haha!!! Thanks.

 

[sleepsontoilet]

I love everything but the color...

 

[hokie_yj]

You don't like my bling? Haha.

 

[mcutler]

Now we're cooking.... glad to see progress!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[hokie_yj]

I guess I need to update this thread and explain why there hasn't been any progress in 3 months. Not that anyone really cares, Haha.

Two days after I last updated this thread this happened at the plant I work in:

https://youtu.be/17sxCwrWpuc

The repair and rebuilding effort has been huge. Literally thousands of people working around the clock for the last three+ months. I've been working 12hr night shifts continuously since it happened. I'm sitting here at work typing this before I head home to crawl in bed. I've had maybe 8 days off since that day, and on those few days I've pretty much done nothing but sleep. To say I'm exhausted would be a huge understatement. So as you can imagine I haven't laid a finger on the buggy. I've only cracked the shop door a couple times when I'm dragging home in the mornings to make sure it's still there. Haha.

But I promise as soon as this is all over and I get my life back this thing will be finished!

 

[ToyotaTom]

Boom!!!

 

[mckeddie]

You need to take about 2-3 more years finishing this up, then hit me up to buy the yj buggy. I should be ready to get back into wheeling about then.

 

[hokie_yj]

Haha, that’s not too much of a stretch considering how long it’s take to get to this point.

 

[hokie_yj]

Well after 115 days of the nightmare at work I’ve finally been back on my regular schedule for a couple of weeks. I’ve managed to find a little time here and there to get in the shop and piddle on this thing.

I got the headers installed.







And the brake lines buttoned up.







Oil accumulator plumbed.





And got started on the fuel system plumbing. The line will leave the filter to a ball valve to kill fuel in an emergency, then rearward to the fuel rail.



Rollover catch can for the fuel cell.



Also got started on the new longer rear driveshaft. The tubing is cut, just have to fit it all up and weld it up. Originally the front and rear shafts were the same lengths, but moving the rear axle back ~ 8” necessitated a longer rear drive shaft. The old rear shaft will be a spare front now, and I’ll eventually build another rear shaft for a spare.




Still have quite a bit of plumbing to do. I miscalculated on the fittings and hose I was going to need so I had to order more stuff. Most of that was delivered today. Then I guess it’s on to wiring.

 

[jp fan]

Looks great man and glad to hear your back on a regular schedule

 

[hokie_yj]

Thank you! It’s nice to halfway have a life again. Haha.