Gettin' My Junk Done

[Mr. Gutwrench]

The main reason for starting this project was cause I wanted to build a tube chassis. I got that out of my system. The other reasons were to improve on the TJ I had been wheeling. The buggy has the following improvements over my TJ:

*No sheet metal
*105? wheel base vs. 95?
*Same overall height but 4? of additional skid plate clearance
*The crankshaft is 4? lower in the chassis than the TJ?s .
*48? wide.
*Improved rear 4-link
*4-link front
*Full hydro steering
*4.3 Vortec
*D44HP front diff
*No sheet metal

http://www.mrgutwrench.com/front.jpg
http://www.mrgutwrench.com/side.jpg
http://www.mrgutwrench.com/back.jpg

Still alot of work till it's done but I'm getting there. There are things I'd change if I were doing it over, but for the most part I'm happy with it. We'll see how it works on the rocks.

[Steven_Mc]

Looks good! That's a lot of orange, definitely won't be able to miss you on the trail!

[coaz4x4]

That thing is BEA-UTIFUL... looks like it might scrape getting out of ur garage tho.

[2LoudDodge]

Holy Buggy Build Batman.

That thing is freakin huge. Looks good!

[Mr. Gutwrench]

Looks good! That's a lot of orange, definitely won't be able to miss you on the trail!

Thanks. The white sides will break up the orange, I hope. The whole color/painting thing was a learning experience. The Mrs. thinks my junk tends to look too redneck and insisted the buggy should be more ascetically pleasing compared to past projects. So we found a color combination in Street Rodder we both liked but when I headed to the paint store, I learned that particular color only came in a more expensive paint. The closest color in the cheap stuff ($38 a quart!) was hugger orange.

If I had to do it over again, I would have either rattle canned the chassis or had it powder coated. There?s too much waste trying to paint 1-1/2 tubing with a paint gun. The paint project started with a small $9.99 Harbor Freight gun that went through paint like a spigot. Steve let me use his HVLP gun and told me to adjust it to a small round pattern, which worked much better. The bottom line is that paint store materials are far too expensive, and I had too much waste.

[Eric]

I don't like it, that garage floor is WAY too clean :D

[Mr. Gutwrench]

That thing is BEA-UTIFUL... looks like it might scrape getting out of ur garage tho.

Thanks for the compliment. The camera angle makes it look taller than it is. It will clear the door by several inches, and as the engine, trans etc. are added it will settle. Also, the tires are at 30 psi to make it easier to push.

[Wally]

I don't like it, that garage floor is WAY too clean :D

That's because that damn thing has been sititng there for well over 3 years :flipoff2: When are you going to joing the wheeling community again lee :D

[Steve]

Lookin' GREAT Lee. :thumbsup: I'm really looking forward to the maiden voyage.

Now that I'm back from a week in Tucson (tough duty :P ) I can get back to work on the cage. I hope to finish it this weekend.

[Mr. Gutwrench]

I don't like it, that garage floor is WAY too clean :D

Well the Mrs told me if I'm going to post pictures of the buggy on the internet, the area around it needs to be clutter free or I'll look like a redneck. So I cleaned it up cause I want to be :cool:

[Mr. Gutwrench]

That's because that damn thing has been sititng there for well over 3 years :flipoff2: When are you going to joing the wheeling community again lee :D

Yeah I know. Actually it?s been a little over 2 years. The first sparks were made January 2004. I was going to call the buggy ?project too long? but that name has already been taken. What can I say? At this point in my life there are more demands on me than building a buggy. And don?t forget I?m elderly :D

Hopefully it won't be long now till its on the rocks. Final assembly in process.

[Mr. Gutwrench]

My first shot at a rear 4-link was on my TJ. The main objective for the TJ 4-link was that the pinion retained the correct angle as the diff was cycled. It seemed to work well except for the rear steer. It was pure luck that the antisquat was in the ball park.

The pictures below are from when the buggy's 4-link was first mocked up, and the results showed there was little if no rear steer. Only time will tell if the antisquat is right, but there are several holes in the front upper mounts to allow for adjustment.

My resources for 4-link info were:

Race Car Vehicle Dynamics -- by William F. Milliken, Douglas L. Milliken

Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics -- by Thomas D. Gillespie

http://4wheeloffroad.com/techarticles/suspension/131_0307_link/

There's good stuff on Pirate too, if you don't mind the bickering.

Here's some pics of the buggy's 4-link.

http://www.mrgutwrench.com/rear4link.jpg
http://www.mrgutwrench.com/4%2DLINK.JPG

Notice the top links have rock rash. It worked out that I could repurpose the bottom links from the TJ and use them for the top links on the buggy.

[Mr. Gutwrench]

Being a novice fabricator, before the first sparks were made on the buggy I did a little research into chassis building. I read all the info I could get my hands on and talked to as many experts as I could from a Busch/Truck Series chassis builder to rockbuggy builders as well as competitors and they all stressed in there own way the following statement by Herb Adams: ?A frame must be designed to withstand the high bending and twisting forces it will be subject to. However, frame design and construction is more than just welding together a bunch of tubes?.the basic shape for constructing rigid structures is the triangle. Its shape and dimensions will not change much unless one of its three legs is broken.? Chassis Engineering, p.85. In other words triangulation. Where have I heard that term before?

As far as using DOM vs. HREW is concerned I had one chassis builder tell me that for his buggy he wouldn?t be afraid to use HREW. What counts is how the chassis is constructed. For my project I used just about 100 percent DOM, however, if I build another one, I?d use much more HREW in the front and rear bays.

Must Reads
"Race Car Chassis Design and Construction" by Forbes Aird

"Chassis Engineering" by Herb Adams.


Below are two links on how tubing is made:

DOM-- http://www.ptcalliance.com/dom/dom.asp
HREW-- http://www.ptcalliance.com/erw/erw.asp