Build nobggrnchvy Goatbuilt Ibex

Bggrnchvy · Jan 26, 2026

I did a terrible job with pictures this weekend, but it's for the best. It's super tedious pulling wire, welding in zip tie tabs and trying to keep it tidy.

I chopped out the oil cooler mount and pulled it so the grill can barely squeeze into place. The fiberglass will need a little kiss from the DA on each side. The PS cooler hoses run right where the headlight plugs go, so I need to 45° them down and out of the way. At least now I can build headlight mounts and we start to see what the end result will look like up front. The oil cooler will have to get relocated ontop of the engine (there's plenty of room under the hood) and the hood may need some louvers as a result.

Among wiring things, I added 2 sets of seat heaters to the rear bench so my daughter/other passengers aren't freezing back there while we're warm up front. Pulling the cover off was not as bad I thought it would be, but the hog ring pliers they sent are garbage, so I have some other cheapies coming so I can resecure the cover to the bottom. I also chopped up their harnesses, removed the 3 way switch, stuck to high power only, got rid of their relay(s) and wired it to a single Deustch DTP connector. They're only rated for 6a ea, but I feel better with a 25a rated connector at 12a instead of a 13a DT.

Bggrnchvy · Feb 24, 2026

It doesn't seem like it, but I am winning.

It will all get tidied/loomed/routed when I'm done adding runs. Just not quite there yet.

It's amazing how many zip ties you put on and cut off trying to keep it laying where you want it, especially as you add runs to trunks.

cdemart2 · Feb 24, 2026

Put the zip ties on backwards while youre routing everything then flip them over so they latch once you have it all figured out. Or use twist ties from the grocery store for initial routing.

abrogate · Feb 24, 2026

I like the flipped zip tie idea. I’ve always used these:

https://www.amazon.com/150PCS-Reusable-Cable-Ties-Multi-Purpose/dp/B0C6HBBV8R

They are dirt cheap, quick and simple to open to add wires later.

desertPOS · Feb 24, 2026

https://www.amazon.com/Easytle-Plastic-Black-Twist-Cable/dp/B00ZV42X1Y/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2GGY1HVNBUGYC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bURIzeVa_2gJ_E0snO1yYVB8E7G6tjvxSRm8BkoJixrp2sVY2N63G3hyOHz-MrOfjy6yM901NUiqiYz_K84ybll1wV0T89mvDVcJDefv80E2LXfo7BzEfGmqvH8EpOWxQwtzba3Z7xwlMghm9MMHRay2ZnzryvwQst1XaxFAUnYASEstKkzeX6zGOgBTzSPi_lxNS16vMVe5yorIjNlgSD48-xpYU97ENfHXi9Z2JxY.qQdZ16ELBEpraziGNbxzTqQPSCM8w5aWlxcc8MV6aL0&dib_tag=se&keywords=twist%2Bties%2Bwiring&qid=1771997391&sprefix=twist%2Bties%2Bwiring%2Caps%2C217&sr=8-2&th=1

Bggrnchvy · Mar 16, 2026

Plugging away, trying to work on about 8 fronts at one time so I'm not stopped waiting on parts.

I had to land all of these ground in the back of the chassis and hated the bus bar solution because of the exposed studs, but the serviceability was nice. I tried to hybrid it and do a ground harness to a common lug with Deutsch connectors so it all unplugs and I could fairly easily unpin if I needed to. One plug it a DTP and one is DT, can't mix them up.

The oil cooler is going over the engine, but it will need fully removable mounts, as well as some ducting to drive air through instead of past. The 3D printer is helping me solve some of the issues without cutting material.

I am not a jeep guy and sorting out this marking light grill situation took an annoying amount of effort for something so simple. I just wanted amber LED markers to fit in the spots on the grill. I wasn't going to add anything until someone mentioned how silly it would look to have spots for lights, but no lights. In the end 2-1/2" generic round marker lights fit great. Drill 2x 2-7/8in holes and voila.

The same person mentioned how I would be dumb not to plan for a light bar even if I don't have one so I ran 10ga and connector up there. Then irate4x4 had another Baja Designs group buy and well, here we are.

Bought a battery and ran all the high draw wires. Ran out of red 2awg for the starter power lead, so it got black with red heat shrink. Hopefully I don't screw that up ever. The motor still needs a ground, but of course I ran out of terminals.

I also swapped out the 150a mega fuse provided by SwitchPros for a breaker. I was thinking that fuse should never pop, but if it does and I don't have a spare or if the spare pops after install I'm dead in the water. Much easier to have a breaker I can reach up under and reset or pull the top panel off to diagnose.

Chassis wiring is about done. I need to put in the engine harness next and see where I can find synergy.

Currently sorting out headlight mounting.

mobil1syn · Mar 16, 2026

Bggrnchvy said:
I had to land all of these ground in the back of the chassis and hated the bus bar solution because of the exposed studs, but the serviceability was nice. I tried to hybrid it and do a ground harness to a common lug with Deutsch connectors so it all unplugs and I could fairly easily unpin if I needed to. One plug it a DTP and one is DT, can't mix them up.

file these away for the future, a button head screw and looks cleaner

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Bggrnchvy · Mar 23, 2026

The oil cooler got kicked out of the front of the buggy a little while ago, just didn't fit behind the grill. The only other place I could find for it is over the motor. That will mean it needs some kind of ducting to drive flow through it, but first it needs to have a solid location. It also has to be fully removable otherwise the motor will not squeeze out of the chassis.

Step 1 was mock up my plan with some 3D printed peices and some thin wall tubing, which became step 2 and 3 when those didn't work quite right.

Go some peices cut, got them fixtured up and welded out.

Assembled the cooler and did a little final fitting and burned it in. The old hoses even fit with some creative routing.

Also fighting through headlight mounts of all things. The grill has to remove upwards, not forwards, so the lights have to come out first. Of course you can't get to the sides of them installed, so I had to come up with another solution.

2 peice with a slot for fine adjustment and it retains the tilt adjustment from Baja Designs so you can aim the headlights. It mounts on the chassis around the upper tube, via a cross drilled hole with a welded in sleeve that accepts a 3/8" bolt that will simply pull out letting the headlight be removed from the front.

I laid out the mounts and drilled my holes, then welded in the tubes. The mounts seem to fit in plastic. Soon to see in metal. You can see one of the above pictures I had to cut a heavy chamfer in the upper rad mount bracket to clear the headlight tabs.

Bggrnchvy · Mar 30, 2026

Headlight mounts are done. I added some G8 nuts and washers, after stripping them, to make them easier to service and install. The washers on the back of the headlight brackets themselves were supposed to both add a little more clearance to the PS cooler line fitting and make the easier to rotate/adjust.

The rest of the weekend was a series of small things, but the major take away was powering up the chassis! Other than blowing a headlight highbeam fuse with all the lights on and a 50% battery that was probably undersized as it was, it all works great. All the lights, compressor, solenoids, fans and seat heaters all work off of the RCR12 and the key power and hi/lo beam switch do their jobs.

Light output from the dome lights seems about perfect.

This shows the range of lights available. It's a lot of light with the high beams and light bar on, I'm glad there are 3 stages (lo beam, hi beam, lightbar/a pillar) so there's alot of modularity.

The radiator fan doesn't work on temp control at the moment, because there's no coolant (or engine harness to run the motor if there was) but the bypass switch works and the 100% commanded speed is obnoxious. Glad it's there if you need it, but hopefully it stays under 50% speed it's whole life.

Bggrnchvy · Apr 8, 2026

Short weekend with Easter and family commitments, but I was tooling about.

Tires arrived.

Got 3 mounted of the 4.

The 4th one proved to be a problem due to Raceline neglecting to press in the pem nuts on the 4th wheel. Of course I only figured that out after I got the tire on. It's seperated again and the nuts should be in before next weekend so I can set them all and be done with mounting these.

Someone mentioned the solid mounting of the cooler may result in cracks down the road. Not a problem I had considered, but good input. I printed some TPU washers and gave the brackets a kiss of ovaling to account for the increased width and gave it some ability to isolate.

Last efforts are on the fuel cell vent. Going with the old PBB FATS plan, 3 sides and fuel filter off a 1st gen Ram gasser at the end. I'm going to bring it back up from the filter and cap it with a breather to prevent plugging. 3D printer is helping keep the routing clean. I am also putting in a ball valve at the back of the fuel cell so I can shut it off for whatever reason, seems like cheap and easy backup.

Bggrnchvy · Apr 20, 2026

Punchlist is getting hammered.

Harness is loomed front and back in a combination of techflex/heat shrink/Tesa tape. It's not perfect, but clean enough for me.

Fuel cell breather is finished. I was going to use a sintered breather, but the restriction ontop of the 90s was too much. I parted off a barb fitting to clean it up and give this cheapy filter a cleaner installed look, then proceeded to bury it behind the bypass shock. Not a lot of room, but it clears.

After plotting a design for the rear panel with a bunch of dimpled holes and and redrawing it a few ways, I settled on some dimples, but simple. They double as great tie-down spots for gear. Of course it needed more than the existing 4 holes to mount and those were the only easy ones to layout. Bolting tabs to the panel makes welding them on a mission. Instead I fixtured all the tabs to keep them in plane, then made 6x transfer screws. The regular ones aren't long enough for Riv nuts becuase of the recess. I bolted the panel in from the 4 existing holes, a little love tap to the 6 areas for the new mounts and it all bolts together easily.

Made the tailight harness as well and tested the running lights and brake lights (not shown).

The 4th wheel needed the pemnuts installed and setting the ring back on top, sans tire, and using a cheapy 1-2-3 block masked made really easy work of setting all 32. Just insert the lubed bolt through the block, thread the nut on the backside of the wheel lip, tighten with an eletric ratchet and they're all done in 15 minutes. I wish it hadn't have happened, but it was a simple thing to solve after I got the wheel back off the tire.

Last project of the weekend was mounting the grill.

First to make sure it fits right, I had to make it fit nicely. This meant removing the interference.

I'll put some glass on the backside and use some filler to smooth this out after.

Then I built some top tabs that bolt into the radiator mounting holes. The 1/4-20s in the grill itself got nuts welded in the backside and the side mounts have pemnuts installed as well.

To close it out for the weekend, make sure to top up your tig cooler tanks with biocide and/or clean out the system oncein a while. Otherwise you may find yourself doused in glycol whilst welding and get the oppurtunity to tear it all apart when it's least convenient.

mobil1syn · Apr 20, 2026

that breather is small in diameter, if you run into vapor locking problems that would be the first place to look.

Bggrnchvy · Apr 20, 2026

mobil1syn said:
that breather is small in diameter, if you run into vapor locking problems that would be the first place to look.

If I run into vapor locking issues, I think the fuel cell vent is always the right place to start.

It's a nearly stock 6.0l, a vent the same ID as the fuel supply should be ok. I have to delete the rollover valve if I want to step up either way. I will keep it in mind though.

abrogate · Apr 20, 2026

Bggrnchvy said:
If I run into vapor locking issues, I think the fuel cell vent is always the right place to start.

It's a nearly stock 6.0l, a vent the same ID as the fuel supply should be ok. I have to delete the rollover valve if I want to step up either way. I will keep it in mind though.

I’ve run the same charcoal filter and vent filter set up as you have for almost 10 years now, I’ve never once had a problem with vapor lock.

Ghetto Fab. · Apr 20, 2026

Thats a charcoal filter? Whats the part number?

Bggrnchvy · Apr 20, 2026

Ghetto Fab. said:
Thats a charcoal filter? Whats the part number?

Mine is not a charcoal canister, just a fuel filter from a 1st gen gasser Dodge.

abrogate · Apr 20, 2026

Bggrnchvy said:
Mine is not a charcoal canister, just a fuel filter from a 1st gen gasser Dodge.

I misspoke. It is just a fuel filter.

Wuz-A-zuk · Apr 21, 2026

Bggrnchvy said:
Mine is not a charcoal canister, just a fuel filter from a 1st gen gasser Dodge.

Is this just because you had it laying around or....

Would this be the same deal as just running a catch can setup just cheaper? Or is there more to the filter than I'm considering?

Bggrnchvy · Apr 21, 2026

Wuz-A-zuk said:
Is this just because you had it laying around or....

Would this be the same deal as just running a catch can setup just cheaper? Or is there more to the filter than I'm considering?

Basically the later. It works as a cheapy catch can and a secondary barrier to to the fuel cell. The idea all came from the old PBB fuel air trap system post from maybe 20 years ago.

Bggrnchvy · Apr 27, 2026

I tried my hand at fiberglass and body filler to fix the holes in the grill to clear the tubes. I cleaned up the backside, laid 2 layers of glass/resin, then did 2 layers of body filler on the front to smooth it out in between a bunch of sanding. Also filled some other imperfections while I was at it. For a crawler it will work, respect to the body guys out there, hard to make it look good.

With the grill mounted I started mounting the hood. There's no support directly under the flat in the corners of the hood where hoodpins fit the best, so I had to cope a peice of tubing and add a tab, but it works. Hopefully the other 3 go smoother, this one fought me a good bit.

Before I assemble the front axle, it was time to paint it. I got it roughly cleaned up and taped off and my wife was nice enough to lay down some primer and hammer finish to seal the housing and the knuckles up for me.

I'll let it bake out over the week before I try and get it back in the garage.

Bggrnchvy · May 4, 2026

Busy working on other projects this weekend, but I did get the final hood pins and supports in.

Hood fits snug.

Plenty of height over the cooler. I need to work on making a bottom and top duct to drive airflow.

chaplinfj60 · May 4, 2026

if it fits it ships :smokin:

Bggrnchvy · May 18, 2026

Lot of small tasks, nothing major.

Engine wiring harness is in, only thing that needs to modded is the throttle body connector which I assumed since it's on the wrong side now.

Made a mount for the harness relay/fuse block even if half of the ciruits are dead/unecesary. I may unloom and depin all the extraneous crap when I tear it all down for paint...then again I might not :laughing:

Finally chucked up and turned down the 1350CVs for the 2-1/8" x 3/16" wall tube. They needs ~.020 turned off for a nice fit.

Started reassembling the front axle, it needs to go in for mockup one more time. HYDRODYNAMIC nordlocks and threadlocker used on the ram mounts.

I had some concerns about getting any airflow through the oil cooler, so I modeled some scoops and printed them. After working out the protoype issues in PLA I did them in PETG. The center support interference isn't right and it cracked at the weakest point. I'm fixing that this morning hopefully.

SLOWPOKE693 · May 18, 2026

No fans on the oil cooler? The scoop will be useless when you are crawling...

Bggrnchvy · May 18, 2026

SLOWPOKE693 said:
No fans on the oil cooler? The scoop will be useless when you are crawling...

Average engine load and air mass + velocity seem proportional.

I have room to add some pulling fans, but at the moment I'm going to refrain from adding any more systems until I find a problem. We will see if cooling is an issue, but I doubt it. I think the rad will handle 99% of situations and the extra BTU's I can pull out via the oil cooler will keep this mostly stock engine in check.

Build nobggrnchvy Goatbuilt Ibex

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