Tweaking

Previous Page

It has been two months since my project was completed, here's an update on some of the small changes I have made.

  Since I have no leaf spring hangers out front the first thing that comes in contact with rocks is the front axle housing,  The existing guard was just a piece of 1.00 x .120 wall tube, it was pretty dinged up after a few trips out.  I fabricated a plate from .25" thick steel, put a few speed holes in it and then welded it over the existing steering ram guard.

My plastic skid plate gave up the ghost about the 2nd trip out, it was made from a piece of 1" thick cutting board as an experiment. Some cross braces might have helped keep it from breaking on the unsupported mid section but I also discovered cracks forming around the mounting bolt holes.

We had some scrap .25" thick pieces of aluminum at work so I used a piece of that material for the next go around.  Since the rails that hold the skid plate are setup for 1" thick material I had to bolt some spacers all around the perimeter of the new skid plate to make that thickness 1".  I also plan on bracing the area under the drivers sear where the last one broke. 

I haven't babied the new rig and the body panels show it.

I had made a new set from .04" thick aluminum, I liked the previous plastic ones but they had started to crack before I even took it out of the garage. 

Still trying to get the pedals setup just right.  I noticed if I moved the gas and brake pedals over a bit I could make a small dip in the floor and gain some more legroom.  I got the bug to finally start this project and it really wasn't that bad.  Using the materials I had in my scrap bin I extended the gas and brake pedals approximately 4.5" towards the transmission tunnel.  Then I fabricated a sunken floor by trimming the old floor back a ways (this small piece now just covers the battery), then bent up a piece of expanded metal to fit the new hole.  I added a second layer of expanded metal to the first via some small tack welds to stiffen up the sunken floor.

I also finally got around to installing a brake proportioning valve.  In my previous buggy I had run the stock Samurai proportioning valve but I didn't carry it over to the new buggy so the rear brakes have a tendency to lock up before the fronts on loose surfaces.  When this happens the rear axle tries to change places with the front axle which can get a little exciting. I tucked the Baer proportioning valve in next to the power steering filter.  I can reach it from in the cab by reaching around the firewall. 

I have a few other things to do before our club trip to Moab this March,  I ordered some winch rope to replace the steel cable on my winch and the rear seat is finally on order so I'll have some pictures of their installs to add to this page in a few weeks.