Chris's 04 Rockbuggy
Chassis Custom 4 Seater, 1.625 x .120 DOM, 111" Wheelbase
Motor Supercharged 3.8l from a 99 Grand Prix, 300+hp
Trans TF-904 w/ Manual Valve Body, Art Carr TC, 2500rpm stall
T-Case Dana 300 w/ 32 spline outputs, 4:1 Gears, 50:1 Crawl Ratio
Front Axle 78 Chevy D60, 60" WMS-WMS, 5.13 Gears, ARB, 2" Spacers
Rear Axle 14 Bolt, 64" WMS-WMS, Spool, 5.13 Gears
Tires 40" Maxxis Creepy Crawlers on 17" Trailready Beadlocks
Suspension 4 Link Front w/ 14" Sway-away Coilovers
  4 Link Rear w/ 14" Sway-away Coilovers w/ Reservoirs
Weight No Water - 3688 lbs, 1810lbs front, 1650 rear = 57%-43%
 

Water (fronts) - 4072lbs, 2479lb front, 1593 Rear = 60%-40%

I have been 4 wheeling for quite a while as documented here.  My little red Suzuki eventually morphed into a yellow tubed hybrid of sorts.  Towards the beginning of 2004 plans were started to build a replacement from the ground up.

In my spare time I designed a 3 seater that would use most of my existing Suzuki/Toyota drivetrain.

By August 2004 I was ready to convert this pile of tubing into a rockcrawler, I dubbed the chassis "Project Bottomless Money Pit" and got to work. The weeks went by slowly but gradually a rockcrawler started to materialize.  As December approached I had nearly everything from the cooler mounts to the suspension fabricated.

Pictures from the maiden run in December 2004.

As with any project there was stuff I glossed over that needed addressing,  I made changes here and there and the buggy continued to morph. In May 2005 I had the opportunity to buy a set of Dana 60 axles, I took the plunge and spent another two months working on the buggy.  the suspension was also re-worked to account for the new axles and 42" Irok's.

By September 2005 the rig was pretty well tweaked and ready for anything I could dish out. Other than desiring a little more horsepower I was  happy with the project outcome.  The rig ran well until early 2006 when my 1.6l motor threw a rod out the side of the block in protest.

Project Hellraiser was the next phase of my buggies evolution.  The goal was 200hp+ at the wheels,  an automatic transmission and a transfer case that would allow me to do front digs.  The swap was finished in the fall of 2006 and I have been enjoying the results since then.

 
Project Hellraiser 4 started in June 2007 with the goal of adding a bench seat to the back end of the buggy.  I took this opportunity to tweak the rear suspension a bit and added 3" of wheelbase to the rig.  So far the rig has done stuff the old setup couldn't so I'd say the changes were a success.