Johnny Quest
Web Wheeler
- Location
- West Jordan
are we there yet? are we there yet? are we there yet? are we there yet? are we there yet?
The "trophy husband" pro mod buggy build
- Thread starter N-Smooth
- Start date
I wish I could say I’ve made progress and just haven’t been updating the thread but alas that would be dishonest. The concrete project requires moving everything from my shed into the garage and well, just took a lot of my time and efforts so I’ve made almost no progress since getting the atlas. I’m actually just about to get in the garage and move some stuff around to get ready to work on it.
I need to chat with you and your boss about some axle tube though... I know we both would like to see Teraflex back in the competition scene and I want to make that happen
Johnny Quest
Web Wheeler
- Location
- West Jordan
have your people call my people
Well I did some gaskets- valve covers, oil pan, rear main and coolant crossover. I figured it’d be nice while the motor was out and I was waiting on other stuff. Since that was done I figured I’d reunite the motor and trans again but realized I needed to do some bellhousing cutting before doing that again. So I had to cut the driver side to clear the starter since this motor and trans did not come together. I also noticed when I mocked up the drivetrain last time that to get the passenger side lower link (frame side) where I wanted it I’d have to cut out even more bellhousing. Well, I came to the conclusion to cut the lower portion off completely like I’ve seen others do before. I have to say it was pretty stressful to cut up a trans that is becoming quite rare but I knew it needed to be done.
Boom, starter clearance for days.
Boom, starter clearance for days.
My garage is covered in aluminum powder now so that’s cool. With that nonsense done my motor and transmission decided it’s time to introduce somebody else into their relationship... Atlas. Of course I scrambled to find the studs/bolts to mount it and there weren’t any since those apparently come with the adapters that I didn’t need. Coooooool. Luckily I had a d300 clocking ring on the shelf and those studs will work fine for mockup purposes. With the whole deal bolted together I risked life and limb to wheel it over to the other side of the garage and get it in place-ish. I’m sure I will agonize over the smallest details for a while as I am figuring out its forever home. Wish me luck!
I haven’t been updating this but don’t get excited, not a lot of updates. But at least one of them is HUGE!
I just picked up this bad boy from Teraflex for the rear! I’m super excited about it okay more than that, I’m freaking out about it! It has been really cool to work with Dan (@Johnny Quest) and Ben on this. Teraflex history is very interesting to me and watching the company grow over the last 20ish years is crazy. Also, they’re 3 miles from my house and working with local companies makes me super happy. I’m also stoked to represent them in the competition scene. I can only think of one competitor that is running CRD’s and he only comes to one event a year. The axles are definitely up to the task and I’d like to bring them to the forefront. She’s a freakin’ beaut
Other than that just some little things that add up to big-ish things. I had Carlos turn my Baja blast cardboard into some head plates to serve as my “mid-mounting” solution. As well as a mount for under the trans and a fancy Atlas tail shaft mount. I got the driver side head mount tacked in place but need to finish the rest so I can get the front mount under the oil pan done. It’s hard to do any of this without worrying about needing to change something later. I really need to get over that and just start chipping away at the list.
Otherwise I got started on some of the front tube work but I need to widen it a little for clearance on the alternator.
I also got some shiny parts in the mail. After nationals and a long discussion with Ryan I decided to switch it up from running cutting brakes for just the rear. I’ve never seen a pro mod with front cutting brakes but plenty of people add a line lock for braking the front while “burning” the rear so this will accomplish that if nothing else. The other change is that I decided I’d like to run a zip locker in the front instead of a spool and see if I can use the locker and cutting brakes to turn the car like is normally done in the rear. It’s definitely going to cost me some coin vs what I had planned but hey I’m building a buggy, not a budget.
These cutting brakes are push-pull so it will be push for the front brakes and pull for the rears. It’s fairly standard for rear steer cars.
I just picked up this bad boy from Teraflex for the rear! I’m super excited about it okay more than that, I’m freaking out about it! It has been really cool to work with Dan (@Johnny Quest) and Ben on this. Teraflex history is very interesting to me and watching the company grow over the last 20ish years is crazy. Also, they’re 3 miles from my house and working with local companies makes me super happy. I’m also stoked to represent them in the competition scene. I can only think of one competitor that is running CRD’s and he only comes to one event a year. The axles are definitely up to the task and I’d like to bring them to the forefront. She’s a freakin’ beaut
Other than that just some little things that add up to big-ish things. I had Carlos turn my Baja blast cardboard into some head plates to serve as my “mid-mounting” solution. As well as a mount for under the trans and a fancy Atlas tail shaft mount. I got the driver side head mount tacked in place but need to finish the rest so I can get the front mount under the oil pan done. It’s hard to do any of this without worrying about needing to change something later. I really need to get over that and just start chipping away at the list.
Otherwise I got started on some of the front tube work but I need to widen it a little for clearance on the alternator.I also got some shiny parts in the mail. After nationals and a long discussion with Ryan I decided to switch it up from running cutting brakes for just the rear. I’ve never seen a pro mod with front cutting brakes but plenty of people add a line lock for braking the front while “burning” the rear so this will accomplish that if nothing else. The other change is that I decided I’d like to run a zip locker in the front instead of a spool and see if I can use the locker and cutting brakes to turn the car like is normally done in the rear. It’s definitely going to cost me some coin vs what I had planned but hey I’m building a buggy, not a budget.
These cutting brakes are push-pull so it will be push for the front brakes and pull for the rears. It’s fairly standard for rear steer cars.
- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
I'm jealous of the CRD. 😎
I'm still new enough at getting nice parts that I'm freaking out too. Between the Atlas and the CRD... wheeeeew
Thanks! Hopefully more to come soon
Thanks Bart! They're awesome axles and I never would've imagined I'd be fortunate enough to own one.
My wife decided it’d be neat if we painted the inside of our house so that’s been kicking my butt and keeping me from the buggy. It makes me sad. Today though I told her I’m taking a break and working on the buggy... Okay so I asked nicely and she said it’s ok.
I got the bottom portion of the front motor mount done. It captures 3 bolts on the bottom side and 2 on the front. I made those plates the old fashioned way with cardboard and my band saw mounted in the vise. It was actually pretty fun. The tube going to the belly pan has a tube coupler so the whole thing can be removed to drop the motor out of the buggy. There will be two more vertical pieces with couplers as well. Getting closer to having the drivetrain all mounted really makes me excited because that means roller status is getting closer. Fun stuff.
I got the bottom portion of the front motor mount done. It captures 3 bolts on the bottom side and 2 on the front. I made those plates the old fashioned way with cardboard and my band saw mounted in the vise. It was actually pretty fun. The tube going to the belly pan has a tube coupler so the whole thing can be removed to drop the motor out of the buggy. There will be two more vertical pieces with couplers as well. Getting closer to having the drivetrain all mounted really makes me excited because that means roller status is getting closer. Fun stuff.
I got the rest of the front motor mounts built today. Two more tube couplers to hold it all in place and then the motor can be dropped out the bottom. I will finish the passenger side of the mount when I do the belly pan. It’ll just be a few tabs off the oil pan to the belly pan so it’s all removable. The bolts are out so it’s not perfectLY square. I figured I’d make some eyes twitch
The front “frame rails” will be built off the middle tube and continue forward quite a ways to meet WERock rules.
The front “frame rails” will be built off the middle tube and continue forward quite a ways to meet WERock rules.
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Yes. The exhaust crossing over the trans is in the way of the mount I would've used off the top 3 bolts on the bellhousing. I could make fancy headers but honestly that's pretty far out of my fabrication skillset and I don't want anything that'll make the build take longer than it needs to. The passenger side mount may end up getting another tube from above or below to the passenger side... it depends on how the dash area pans out. I may have sacrificed the passenger side footwell "window" almost completely by using the factory exhaust but we'll see. I sat in Jesse's car with the motor offset like this and the window was so small it didn't seem to matter. I was hesitant to mount off of the heads but after talking to multiple (more experienced) friends about it, I decided to just do it.
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Today was a fun day. Got some “frame” tubes bent and notched. They sleeve into the rockers so it was a pain, way more work than just notching both ends of a tube. They add some good shape to the front end but it’s still meh looking from the side. It’s important to remember it’s a form follows function build but the hood will make it look cool when all is said and done.
After that I decided the next step was to get this chick up in the air. I built a quick wooden frame out of mostly scraps. I decided that a metal one would take too long and cost too much $ to justify. It turned out very sturdy so I’m happy with it.
I have it set at 18” belly height which is what I’m shooting for. The highest point on the cage (b-pillar) is just under 70”. Maybe that will give some perspective on size.
Naturally I had to throw the CRD into place- roughly. She’s a freakin’ beaut! Also the 0.5 zoom setting on my new iPhone is like a fisheye lens, I love it.
I have it set at 18” belly height which is what I’m shooting for. The highest point on the cage (b-pillar) is just under 70”. Maybe that will give some perspective on size.
Naturally I had to throw the CRD into place- roughly. She’s a freakin’ beaut! Also the 0.5 zoom setting on my new iPhone is like a fisheye lens, I love it.