Frame Build - Day 5

Day five of the frame build was just more of adding supports including finishing the bottom X support, welding on more of the lower diagonals, and adding on two more side protection tubes. I am waiting to proceed with the front half of the frame until I set the engine in and see how it fits in. 

There's more on the building of the frame under the "Frame" tab at the top of the page. Check it out.

Rod Ends for Four Link Suspension

I just placed my order for this rod ends kit (shown below) from "Racing Rod Ends" that will be used in making the four-link suspension.   The kit comes complete with everything from the 3/4 x 3/4 inch rod ends, cone spacers, jam nuts, and weld-in threaded bungs. They are not the really high grade rod ends but with a static radial load of 18,810 pounds and a much nicer price of just $167.20 they will do the job. Now all I need it do is make up some brackets and get the 1 1/4 by .120 inch tubing that the weld in bungs fit and I'll have everything I need to make the four link suspension setup.

There's a link to Racing Rod End on the right hand side of the page. They have a wide selection of rod ends at a very competitive price, the best I could find after a long internet search.

Free DIY Plans?

Hey everyone, I'm thinking of going through and making plans for the frame, 4-link suspension, and a basic "how to" of the entire build. I am looking to see if anyone would be interested in me doing that, the plans would be totally free and open to anyone to ask questions about. I don't want to spend the time making up the plans if no one is going to use them so let me know if you would like to get some plans for this project and I'll make them up within the next couple weeks.

Leave a comment below or contact me via my contact information to the right.

Frame Build - Day 4

Today I spent another couple hours working on cutting, notching, and welding up frame tubes. I added the top and rear X-supports.

I then started on the lower diagonals but ran out of time before I could get too many done.

I also added the side protection tubes, here's a picture of the entire frame as of this afternoon.

Frame build - Day 3

Day three of the frame build brought along significant progress, using up every spare minute in the shop either measuring, cutting, and notching tubes or welding them up onto the frame. Here are some pictures of the progress thus far. The first picture is mid-way through the day.

The next picture was taken after hours of work long into the night.

For more information on the frame build check out the frame tab at the top of the page. Let me know if there's something you would like to see that I haven't posted yet, Leave a comment.

A Mod Already?

Yes, I have decided that with the current frame putting the axle out in front will create a wheelbase of around 135" which is too long for the kind of handling I would like to get out of it. To cut the wheelbase down by around 15" and get it to a reasonable 120" I am going to cut the front of the frame down about 15" which will require me to slide the engine and tranny back as well.

Modifications like this are a real pain but if it's not done now, it will come back to haunt me in the end.

Let me know what you think about this length of wheelbase, too long? too short? Leave a comment below.

Pictures of the modified frame to come soon.

A Weekends Work

I have started the build. After finally getting all the materials I need and finalizing the design it was time to start the cutting and welding. Over the weekend I assemble the Notchmaster from JD Squared, (by the way I got the Notchmaster instead of the TN-100 as I had said in a previous post because I had hear better reviews about it), made a jig out of some scrapped wood, and started cutting up and assembling pieces for the frame.

Here is the Notchmaster after making many, many notches. So far its been great, just took a little fine tuning to get set-up right, as with all tool like this though. I've just been using a cheap old bi-metal hole 1 1/2 inch hole saw from Home Depot with it, it's been though over 35 cuts and still amazingly sharp. There's a link to Home Depot's website on the right side of the page, and here's a link to the 1 1/2 inch hole saw I am using.

Here's the jig I made up to assist in building the frame. Yes it is wood but is precise, cheap, and easy and quick to put together.

And here is the first work on the frame, still got a long way to go but at least it's starting to look like the design.

Let me know what you think so far, leave a comment below.

Frame Design and Cost

Here is what I have come up with thus far for a frame, sorry it is a little bit hard to see and the reference lines are still there. (I'll try to get better picture soon) It is more of a race buggy style frame but still with the solid axles and big V8 of a rock crawler, it's almost like a crossover between the two which will be nice for a big variety of terrain. 

The axles, wheels, engine, tranny, and seats where all measured up and then I made mock up's of them to assure it would all fit. I also measure how much head room and leg room I would need and made sure the frame fit the requirements of that as well.

All together, there will be about 210 feet of 1 1/2 inch by .120 inch round tubing used in the construction of the frame which will cost me just under $400 from "The Steel Yard" in Portland, OR. This price will fit my budget perfectly. (There's a link to "The Steel Yard" website on the right side of the page)

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

SolidWorks!

In a previous post I had said that I would be using the CAD software "Bend Tech" which is a great program for making all sorts of chassis, roll cages, bumpers, and much more at a very affordable price. But I recently got my hands on the SolidWorks program from work at no cost to me and since money is a big factor in this build I have decided to use the SolidWorks software to help me design a chassis.

In reality, unless you can find a Solidworks program you can use for little or no cost, in my opinion Bend Tech is still the better option. Not because it is a better program as you can do so much more in SolidWorks but because if it fits the requirements for what you are designing it is thousands of dollars cheaper.

I am currently designing up the chassis and will have a post on it soon.