Krazy Ks new build.

[Mouse]

Any planned changes to the cage as the repairs are made?

 

[Bart]

OUCH. I remember this part of competing all to well. Good luck with the repairs.

 

[kmboren]

Any planned changes to the cage as the repairs are made?

No. Just cut tubes out. Have the frame put back closer to spec then replace the tubes.Then convince Katelynn to push in the gas when going down steep stuff. Two hard rolls in the last 3 comps that she didn't do that could have been saved.

 

[kmboren]

OUCH. I remember this part of competing all to well. Good luck with the repairs.

Yea. It's sucks. I am seriously considering going back down to Sportsman Class just don't know if Katelynn will do that. This promod stuff is not for the poor. Competition is suppose to be fun and I am not having fun when the car keeps getting beat up.

 

[N-Smooth]

Either go back down to Sportsman or stop doing bonus lines would be my completely unsolicited opinion. At least you can just bug Drew for new tubes I guess. That’s a perk

 

[Asbjorn]

Wow, that seems like a crazy amount of damage from a single roll! Glad to see everyone was ok. Having just fixed a bunch of damage from a roll myself, and a series of not-so-great wheeling trips, it is very discouraging/frustrating. Push through and get it back together!

 

[kmboren]

Katelynn decided she had time to work on so we got busy. Pulled the exterior seats and panels out and removed the skid plate and got the Atlas out. I used the rear suck down to help. Very little room to pull this big 4 speed out but it came out eventually.

 

[kmboren]

With Katelynns help we got the Transmission out. It's tight but we got it out.

 

[kmboren]

More damage report.
While attempting and kinda failing to fix things at my friends house, Steve Maxfield with his Porta power we pushed the cage back up about half an inch.
Part of of the problem is the chassis must be twisted. While the front is down on the front bumper and A pillar the rear on the same side is elevated.
Katelynn and I have made friends with Matt from Matt's off-road recovery and we have talked to him to see if he can hook us up with a frame shop (Robbie Layton) in Ephraim to see if we can get the twist out. If not we will cheat and replace the bent bars. Sadly I fear it will never be the same and is going to bug me for a really long time having a noticeably twisted buggy. Hopefully we hear back from Robby to see if he can give it a go.
Ntube from from the chassis manufacturer should be here Monday. Ultra Bell housing showed up today. We also discovered some broken tabs that hold the fuel cell and battery tray in. 3 of the 4 tabs were broke and the 4th was cracked. Looks like poor welding in combination of hard hits to the roof that broke them.

 

[kmboren]

A lot has happened as of recently. The old tubes were cut out and welded back in. When the door/arm bar was cut it sprung and released a lot of the twist. Things are a lot closer now. We decided to leave it be and put it all back together. Huge thanks to Steve Maxfield for making that happen.

Also a huge thanks to Logan at Road runner muffler and diesel shop for cutting rhe old broken bell housing and installing the new bell housing for us. Should be much stronger.

Now that it is back home I have been trying to clean up the wiring. I bought a Auxbeam switch panel. It will house our fan switch, lights and seat heaters. I hate wiring but slowly picking away at it.
I also fixed and replaced the fuel tank tabs. I made new ones as the old ones just broke off and bent. With some good heat I turned my welder up and burned the new tabs in on both sides. Hopefully these shouldn't bend and break off. Katelynn and I also started repainting the chassis also while we have most of everything out of it.

 

[kmboren]

Well got it mostly painted. I am sure we will find some touch up spots. We were going to mount the transmission today but quickly found that the torque converter was rubbing on the pump bolts. This bell housing bolts on via the pump, therefore spacing it out more than a standard bell. After some investigation, the website states it fits most 11 inch torque converters. Ours is a 12. Looks like we need to order a smaller new torque converter. 🙄👎

 

[N-Smooth]

Glad I’m not the only one with unforeseen problems lol

 

[kmboren]

I called the bell housing manufacturer and got some advice. I also took the torque converter and Transmission to a local shop. Sounds like we need to rebuild the torque converter but we can maintain our 12 inch. The bowl needs to be moved back so the bolts don't rub. I also bought thinner pump bolt washers and will have the bolt heads machined/sanded down to give us a little more room. Either way I pay to fix this torque converter or I pay for a new torque converter. 🙄

 

[UNSTUCK]

Thin head bolts instead of the standard ones in there now? Also, the torque converter will draw in towards the flex plate when you tighten those bolts. Will it clear then?

 

[kmboren]

Thin head bolts instead of the standard ones in there now? Also, the torque converter will draw in towards the flex plate when you tighten those bolts. Will it clear then?

No. Was planning on making them thinner by milling them down.

 

[kmboren]

OK some more updates.
Transmission and atlas are back in. I had to drop the Atlas in from the top which made it a lot easier. The new trans mount is poly instead of rubber so it lifted everything 1/4 of an inch. I then had to cut and add a filler piece to my atlas TMR tail housing support bracket and welded that back together.

On the transmission torque converter I had to buy some thinner washers, and I then ground down the bolt heads. This allowed the torque converter to move in a little more than 1/8 of an inch. When all installed now my torque converter moves that same distance to the fly wheel so I should be good. Glad i didn't have to to any more work to the converter because it was going to be expensive.I work tonight but we should be nearly finished with it tomorrow I hope. Our next comp is in 2 weeks and I have a family gathering and lots of work in between now and then.

 

[kmboren]

After a few rolls and wheeling this a bunch from fixing it it has been doing great. I noticed my rear truss welds were cracked. I am not sure it that is from the rolls or the suck down winch bit it needed to be repaired. I cleaned them up and used a cut off wheel to put a deeper line in them and welded them back together. I am pretty happy with it. Not bad for a Hobart 110 welder. Hopefully they stay for a min.

 

[kmboren]

So sometimes things happen that you don't ever think will happen to you. I was bombing up the dunes to show someone the Maze, 100 feet before the top of the world my buggy starts smoking in the engine bay a lot quickly followed by flames. I quickly unbelted and got my fire extinguisher out and the people behind me grabbed one that they had and we put it out. Its a good thing we had fire extinguishers or I think the buggy would have burnt to the ground. Turns out my Tranny cooler line got a hole from the hot exhaust and decided to dump right on top of the exhaust. Which is wrapped and instantly caught it on fire. It melted a couple of break lines and some other wire insulation. Going to try hard to get it fixed before the memorial run but not sure if I can get it done. I work the next 6 nights so in-between work and sleep it is going to be tight.
The good part is Katelynn was with Matt and the crew on the Maze and he had his wrecker so our buggy got a tow off the mountain. Should make for some good content the new girl on the team comes and saves her dad. Lol. You can't make this crap up.

 

[N-Smooth]

Dang, sorry man. I’m glad you’re safe and the damage doesn’t look too bad

 

[Tonkaman]

Wow! Glad you were prepared and reacted quickly.