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Legends Class 4800 Build - "Tinkerita"
- Thread starter FSU Off-Road
- Start date
There's been a lot going on over the past couple of weeks. To start, my goal of April 1st is quickly approaching, however I know we're super close. This past weekend, I had a "work day" scheduled at my buddies shop, which meant I needed to get Tinkerita loaded up and on the trailer. Was not an easy task as I needed to complete a few more things on the "to do list" and get her mostly assembled for travels. To start, I finished the front end steering and got everything torqued down and aligned. Also got axle shaft measurements that I needed and got those shipped off. I also worked on a few additional things like rear axle shafts, slug kits, and putting all of the panels back on while tightening a bunch of bolts.
My goal was to haul Tinkerita down Thursday afternoon and work on her Friday and Saturday. The hardest part in all of this was loading up all of the parts I still needed to finish up and take with me. Literally took me hours to get everything loaded up before hitting the highway. But in the end we got there, unloaded, and awaited the long days ahead.
Having an actual shop was simply amazing to work in. I'm so used to a small cramped space, it was a game changer. My goal was to drive her on the trailer by the end of the weekend so there was a lot to be done. Over the course of Friday and Saturday, we knocked off a bunch off the list while adding a few along the way as well. It was so good to have multiple hands, eyes, and ears around while we knocked out what we could. I'm truly thankful for all the people who showed up and helped work on her! That includes the families that fed us, people that encouraged us, and those who offered great advise. Thank you ALL!
We focused on the main things that would allow us to get her moving first, then did other smaller things along the way. Some of those included completing the coolant lines, welding brackets and mounts, fixing the bumps, routing vent lines, fluids, finishing the bottom skid, etc. Things were going pretty well until they weren't. Unfortunately once we got the brake system, I over tightened some of the flares which lead to a bunch of brake fluid on the shop floor. It was a big bummer for me, however we were able to use some spare fittings, old buggy parts, and some new goodies to cobble up the brake system. Although not permeant, it works for now, which means I added brake lines back to the list. We also got the coilovers adjusted and reservoirs mounted, trans cooler filled along with the transmission, intake fitted up, worked on the throttle pedal and installed a new tensioner. To say the least, there was a lot that got accomplished and I wouldn't of been able to do it without the many hands involved.
With a lot of time invested over this past weekend, we're one step closer in the overall completion. We pushed Tinkerita out of the garage while we flipped steering lines, burped the coolant system, fixed additional leaks, but more importantly got her running and trans fluid pushed through enough to have some forward motion. Since the exhaust isn't yet complete, the longer she ran the richer she got so we turned her off. After much discussion, laughs, and a sigh of relief, we officially drove Tinkerita onto the trailer... of course with half brakes and super rich running LS1. But we did it!
With a quick load up, a bunch of goodbye's, and a grateful heart for my friends, I headed back home. There's still a lot left to do, but this weekend was encouraging and I truly feel our deadline can be met. With another long weekend ahead of me and a list that seems to grow, I'm going to make sure this thing is ready!
If you're wondering why April 1st, its not for an April fools joke, but it's opening weekend here in NC at Uwharrie Nation Forest or URE for you locals. Cheers
My goal was to haul Tinkerita down Thursday afternoon and work on her Friday and Saturday. The hardest part in all of this was loading up all of the parts I still needed to finish up and take with me. Literally took me hours to get everything loaded up before hitting the highway. But in the end we got there, unloaded, and awaited the long days ahead.
Having an actual shop was simply amazing to work in. I'm so used to a small cramped space, it was a game changer. My goal was to drive her on the trailer by the end of the weekend so there was a lot to be done. Over the course of Friday and Saturday, we knocked off a bunch off the list while adding a few along the way as well. It was so good to have multiple hands, eyes, and ears around while we knocked out what we could. I'm truly thankful for all the people who showed up and helped work on her! That includes the families that fed us, people that encouraged us, and those who offered great advise. Thank you ALL!
We focused on the main things that would allow us to get her moving first, then did other smaller things along the way. Some of those included completing the coolant lines, welding brackets and mounts, fixing the bumps, routing vent lines, fluids, finishing the bottom skid, etc. Things were going pretty well until they weren't. Unfortunately once we got the brake system, I over tightened some of the flares which lead to a bunch of brake fluid on the shop floor. It was a big bummer for me, however we were able to use some spare fittings, old buggy parts, and some new goodies to cobble up the brake system. Although not permeant, it works for now, which means I added brake lines back to the list. We also got the coilovers adjusted and reservoirs mounted, trans cooler filled along with the transmission, intake fitted up, worked on the throttle pedal and installed a new tensioner. To say the least, there was a lot that got accomplished and I wouldn't of been able to do it without the many hands involved.
With a lot of time invested over this past weekend, we're one step closer in the overall completion. We pushed Tinkerita out of the garage while we flipped steering lines, burped the coolant system, fixed additional leaks, but more importantly got her running and trans fluid pushed through enough to have some forward motion. Since the exhaust isn't yet complete, the longer she ran the richer she got so we turned her off. After much discussion, laughs, and a sigh of relief, we officially drove Tinkerita onto the trailer... of course with half brakes and super rich running LS1. But we did it!
With a quick load up, a bunch of goodbye's, and a grateful heart for my friends, I headed back home. There's still a lot left to do, but this weekend was encouraging and I truly feel our deadline can be met. With another long weekend ahead of me and a list that seems to grow, I'm going to make sure this thing is ready!
If you're wondering why April 1st, its not for an April fools joke, but it's opening weekend here in NC at Uwharrie Nation Forest or URE for you locals. Cheers
Not going to lie, over the past week I didn't sleep very much, pushing to get Tinkerita done for the weekend. With multiple late nights under my belt, unfortunately April 1st came and went and I was still stuck in the garage slamming parts and pieces back onto Tinkerita. It was a bummer watching videos and seeing pictures of everyone enjoying opening weekend, but I'm reminded from my wife that I'm only one person and can only do so much. Regardless, I still push hard and with only 1 big setback, I'll consider it a win... I'll get to that later.
First let's catch up a bit... once I got Tinkerita back home and stripped back down, I broke out the old and battered "to do" list. With multiple things added and marked out, I needed to refocus on what was a true necessity to get this thing trail ready. Notice I didn't say race ready, one step at a time lol. There were still lots of fluids to be filled, fab work to be done, and a huge amount of bolts to be torqued. To be completely honest, I knocked out the easier stuff first, to make a larger dent in the list. This included oil cooler lines with accusump, intake mounts and filters, the trans dipstick, vent tube, and fluids... also fix a few drips as well.
The next big ticket item on the list that was going to take some time was the exhaust. I'm definitely no exhaust guy, nor claim to be, but I knew enough to get myself started. The hardest part for me to wrap my head around was the carrier bearing on the driver side. So to help learn, I used my amazon special 2.5" SS pre-bent exhaust to mock up the passenger side. With a base knowledge, I then used multiple bends to go over and around the carrier bearing. After that it was time to start tack welding everything together, which included the hangers. Once I got everything set in place where I wanted it, I added a few additional welds so I could remove both sides without any bending. Once removed, I had a buddy weld up the exhaust with a SS mig wire, which worked perfectly. Although not his best welds, I wasn't concerned because it would all be wrapped, which is exactly what I worked on while he welded. This included the headers. Once it was all wrapped, we coated it all to seal it in and finalized everything by putting it back under the chassis.
With the exhaust done, it was time to start knocking out and finalizing the suspension. Coilover springs, tighten bolts, nitrogen charges, etc. Not going to lie, I was originally going to have someone charge them for me local since I didn't have anything to do it, but after calling around, there's literally no one (Scott did message me back, but it was too late). So I made a quick decision to order everything and pick up a tank at a local welding supply place and within a couple days I just filled everything myself. I also added the secondary springs on the front and rear, while torqueing bolts and installing the limit straps. Although a little light on the spring rates on the front, its close enough for now and the rear seems to be perfect.
.... part two below...
First let's catch up a bit... once I got Tinkerita back home and stripped back down, I broke out the old and battered "to do" list. With multiple things added and marked out, I needed to refocus on what was a true necessity to get this thing trail ready. Notice I didn't say race ready, one step at a time lol. There were still lots of fluids to be filled, fab work to be done, and a huge amount of bolts to be torqued. To be completely honest, I knocked out the easier stuff first, to make a larger dent in the list. This included oil cooler lines with accusump, intake mounts and filters, the trans dipstick, vent tube, and fluids... also fix a few drips as well.
The next big ticket item on the list that was going to take some time was the exhaust. I'm definitely no exhaust guy, nor claim to be, but I knew enough to get myself started. The hardest part for me to wrap my head around was the carrier bearing on the driver side. So to help learn, I used my amazon special 2.5" SS pre-bent exhaust to mock up the passenger side. With a base knowledge, I then used multiple bends to go over and around the carrier bearing. After that it was time to start tack welding everything together, which included the hangers. Once I got everything set in place where I wanted it, I added a few additional welds so I could remove both sides without any bending. Once removed, I had a buddy weld up the exhaust with a SS mig wire, which worked perfectly. Although not his best welds, I wasn't concerned because it would all be wrapped, which is exactly what I worked on while he welded. This included the headers. Once it was all wrapped, we coated it all to seal it in and finalized everything by putting it back under the chassis.
With the exhaust done, it was time to start knocking out and finalizing the suspension. Coilover springs, tighten bolts, nitrogen charges, etc. Not going to lie, I was originally going to have someone charge them for me local since I didn't have anything to do it, but after calling around, there's literally no one (Scott did message me back, but it was too late). So I made a quick decision to order everything and pick up a tank at a local welding supply place and within a couple days I just filled everything myself. I also added the secondary springs on the front and rear, while torqueing bolts and installing the limit straps. Although a little light on the spring rates on the front, its close enough for now and the rear seems to be perfect.
.... part two below...
This part two is where things turn...
While working out some parameters in the Holley system, I was able to get her leaned out a bit with the new exhaust. I was playing with this in order to help cure the exhaust wrap and of course hear what the final exhaust sounded like. She's definitely built for the track, not the neighborhood lol. Regardless, I was happy with the end result. Now, in my efforts to make April 1st, I took time off from work again in hopes to finishing up enough to go play. As the saying goes, things were going good until they weren't. There were just a hand full of things on the list to take care of and I figured I could knock them out within a couple of days. The biggest on the list was the front axle. I saved this for last because I needed to strip off the knuckles and add additional plates for strength, which meant I wouldn't be able to move the chassis. So I needed a good amount of time to take care of this. Luckily I was able to make quick work of the teardown and knuckle gussets/plating. After a quick coat of paint, I started the assembly. This time included the front axle shafts which is where this story takes a turn. I wasn't able to get the axle shafts seated all the way, they would seize up when I started tightening the unit bearings. After some careful inspections, I noticed the actual axle shaft was hitting the inner axle tube. Since I put this axle housing together, I didn't know how far the axle shafts would sit in the housing and I didn't allow for enough clearance. My first thought was to just trim the shafts, but knew it wasn't the correct fix, so I started the miserable event of cutting out the 4" axle tube. I removed 3/8" from both sides in order to have enough clearance for the shafts. This setback costed me over 8 hours in total, which meant I didn't get everything else done on the list. To say the least, I was completely exhausted, bummed, and a little mad about my mistake. When you don't know, you just don't know.
After facing defeat, April 1st came and went with me in the garage. Taking care of family plans early on, the afternoon and late night consisted of me putting interior panels back in, finishing up some last minute brake lines, and nut and bolt checking everything. To say the least it was an eventful week/weekend that left me completely dead. Although super happy to have a drivable and somewhat ready race chassis, I didn't want anything to do with it when Sunday morning came around lol.
Since then, I have bleed the brakes, continuously checked fluids, and terrorized the neigborhood with the deep growl of Tinkerita. I still have a long list to get her race ready, but like I said before, one thing at a time. I need to get her out in the trails and see what she's capable of. No time to slow down now, KY Race is just a few weeks away!
While working out some parameters in the Holley system, I was able to get her leaned out a bit with the new exhaust. I was playing with this in order to help cure the exhaust wrap and of course hear what the final exhaust sounded like. She's definitely built for the track, not the neighborhood lol. Regardless, I was happy with the end result. Now, in my efforts to make April 1st, I took time off from work again in hopes to finishing up enough to go play. As the saying goes, things were going good until they weren't. There were just a hand full of things on the list to take care of and I figured I could knock them out within a couple of days. The biggest on the list was the front axle. I saved this for last because I needed to strip off the knuckles and add additional plates for strength, which meant I wouldn't be able to move the chassis. So I needed a good amount of time to take care of this. Luckily I was able to make quick work of the teardown and knuckle gussets/plating. After a quick coat of paint, I started the assembly. This time included the front axle shafts which is where this story takes a turn. I wasn't able to get the axle shafts seated all the way, they would seize up when I started tightening the unit bearings. After some careful inspections, I noticed the actual axle shaft was hitting the inner axle tube. Since I put this axle housing together, I didn't know how far the axle shafts would sit in the housing and I didn't allow for enough clearance. My first thought was to just trim the shafts, but knew it wasn't the correct fix, so I started the miserable event of cutting out the 4" axle tube. I removed 3/8" from both sides in order to have enough clearance for the shafts. This setback costed me over 8 hours in total, which meant I didn't get everything else done on the list. To say the least, I was completely exhausted, bummed, and a little mad about my mistake. When you don't know, you just don't know.
After facing defeat, April 1st came and went with me in the garage. Taking care of family plans early on, the afternoon and late night consisted of me putting interior panels back in, finishing up some last minute brake lines, and nut and bolt checking everything. To say the least it was an eventful week/weekend that left me completely dead. Although super happy to have a drivable and somewhat ready race chassis, I didn't want anything to do with it when Sunday morning came around lol.
Since then, I have bleed the brakes, continuously checked fluids, and terrorized the neigborhood with the deep growl of Tinkerita. I still have a long list to get her race ready, but like I said before, one thing at a time. I need to get her out in the trails and see what she's capable of. No time to slow down now, KY Race is just a few weeks away!
pennsylvaniaboy
make fullsizes great again
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2020
- Member Number
- 2192
- Messages
- 1,061
Dig it. Thanks for taking the time to put it in here. What brand brake lines are you running? All braided and no hardline?
Thank you for watching... Originally I ran hard lines on the axles and soft lines to the calipers and flex joints. But I accidently overtightened the flares on the rear causing leaking when we tried to bleed the brakes. So I used what I had to fix the issues. The fittings and line are Aeroquip PTFE 3an. I've used them in the past and no issues.
G23crawler
Member
Looks good! I definitely know the feeling of not wanting to touch the race car for a couple days lol. I don't think most understand how mentally draining building a car that is purpose built to race is. The thought of having another persons life in your hands always lingers in the back of your head.. This caliper of racing, you always have to put safety first.
Side note, after talking to Wilwood in person at KOH and then loosing a soft line in the rocks we are switching the car to almost all hardline when possible. The wilwood guys said you wont believe how much better the pedal feels. Just a thought if later down the road you get the chance.
Side note, after talking to Wilwood in person at KOH and then loosing a soft line in the rocks we are switching the car to almost all hardline when possible. The wilwood guys said you wont believe how much better the pedal feels. Just a thought if later down the road you get the chance.
No, I agree. I already have everything bent for the hard lines. Just going to switch over the flares to an flares to keep it all the same now. I will be going back and redoing the hard lines on the axles (chassis still has hard lines), but for now the soft lines are going to have to hold me over until after Rush. Just not enough time to test everything while preparing for our first race. Times really winding down!
Well, as you can see above, I was able to get Tinkerita running and driving... unfortunately I was unsuccessful at getting reverse with the transmission which is a huge issue. Therefore in a last minute decision, I loaded up Tinkerita and headed back down to Digging Deeper Race shop for some transmission fixing. After some pressure testing we dropped the pan in an effort to modify the reverse servo, we were still unsuccessful at getting reverse. Therefore, we had to drop the transmission and get it shipped out. As you know, the Rush race is right around the corner, so time was of the essence. Luckily, Fritts Transmission Shop hooked us up in a last minute upgrade/rebuild. Was only a few days and we were reinstalling the Th400. We shouldn't have to worry about the transmission ever again.
In the meantime, while I awaited the transmission to get back, I worked on a few other things to the chassis race ready. Some of those included new last minute tire mounting, finishing up the skid plates, and getting the last few things ordered and installed.
When I was able to bring Tinkerita back home, now with reverse, we were set. The last few things left to focus on were all cosmetic. So I spent a few late nights working on the fiberglass work and bondo. I added some fiberglass to both the hood and the cowl. The fiberglass hood was to stiffen the center where we cut it, and on the cowl, I used the fiberglass to cover the holes created when getting it all fitted up. While waiting on the fiberglass to cure, I cut out the old exhaust hangers (on the wrong side for thermal expansion) and installed new ones. I also painted the grill, giving you a little taste of what's to come. Speaking of what's to come, we've been working with Routh Signs in Greensboro for our wrap. Not going to lie, the ideas are sick! But to finish this update, the last thing I did was knock out the bondo. I tried to cover the fiberglass as best as I could, and recreate the A pillar mounts. Although a little rough, they will work.
Although I need to finish sanding everything, I'm very pleased at the results. I was able to get everything back together and ready for it's maiden voyage. Trust me, you don't want to miss my next update, coming tomorrow.
Stay tuned...
In the meantime, while I awaited the transmission to get back, I worked on a few other things to the chassis race ready. Some of those included new last minute tire mounting, finishing up the skid plates, and getting the last few things ordered and installed.
When I was able to bring Tinkerita back home, now with reverse, we were set. The last few things left to focus on were all cosmetic. So I spent a few late nights working on the fiberglass work and bondo. I added some fiberglass to both the hood and the cowl. The fiberglass hood was to stiffen the center where we cut it, and on the cowl, I used the fiberglass to cover the holes created when getting it all fitted up. While waiting on the fiberglass to cure, I cut out the old exhaust hangers (on the wrong side for thermal expansion) and installed new ones. I also painted the grill, giving you a little taste of what's to come. Speaking of what's to come, we've been working with Routh Signs in Greensboro for our wrap. Not going to lie, the ideas are sick! But to finish this update, the last thing I did was knock out the bondo. I tried to cover the fiberglass as best as I could, and recreate the A pillar mounts. Although a little rough, they will work.
Although I need to finish sanding everything, I'm very pleased at the results. I was able to get everything back together and ready for it's maiden voyage. Trust me, you don't want to miss my next update, coming tomorrow.
Stay tuned...
As you all know, I was time crunching to get Tinkerita race ready for Rush this weekend. We were actually suppose to arrive today to debut our new 4800 car into the Legends Class. Unfortunately, as some of you know, that's not what happened today. Tinkerita and I were left behind as an accident happened leaving me hospitalized. Now I'm not one to post a lot of personal things on social media platforms, however this one changes a lot.
Sunday before loading up, I was finishing up nut and bolt checking everything, and decided to check all the fluids. While finishing up the transmission fluid, one of the radiator elbows blew off while I was underneath, leaving multiple first and second degree burns down both legs and forearm. As a result, I was transported to Baptist Hospital and admitted into the burn clinic for the night. After hours of care, scraping/cleaning, and heavy medication, I was able to go home and get settled for the long road to recovery ahead. To say the least, I will not be at the race this weekend, honestly just grateful to be alive. It could of been so much worse.
Now home, I wish I could say things are all better. Unfortunately it's not that simple. It's been a rough few days on bed rest with a long road to recovery still to go. The worst is having to clean and redress the open wounds every day. However with that said, I've been surrounded with so many amazing people willing to help in so many different ways. For that, I am truly grateful for everyone in my life right now, especially my wife.
With all of this said, I just want to wish all the racers the best of luck this weekend at Rush. For those of you that are like me, I pray you all are safe while working on your rigs/haulers/toys, and I simply hope none of you have to go through this ever in your lifetime. It's going to take some time, but I'll be back at it and ready to hit the trails. See you all soon.
Sunday before loading up, I was finishing up nut and bolt checking everything, and decided to check all the fluids. While finishing up the transmission fluid, one of the radiator elbows blew off while I was underneath, leaving multiple first and second degree burns down both legs and forearm. As a result, I was transported to Baptist Hospital and admitted into the burn clinic for the night. After hours of care, scraping/cleaning, and heavy medication, I was able to go home and get settled for the long road to recovery ahead. To say the least, I will not be at the race this weekend, honestly just grateful to be alive. It could of been so much worse.
Now home, I wish I could say things are all better. Unfortunately it's not that simple. It's been a rough few days on bed rest with a long road to recovery still to go. The worst is having to clean and redress the open wounds every day. However with that said, I've been surrounded with so many amazing people willing to help in so many different ways. For that, I am truly grateful for everyone in my life right now, especially my wife.
With all of this said, I just want to wish all the racers the best of luck this weekend at Rush. For those of you that are like me, I pray you all are safe while working on your rigs/haulers/toys, and I simply hope none of you have to go through this ever in your lifetime. It's going to take some time, but I'll be back at it and ready to hit the trails. See you all soon.
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2021
- Member Number
- 4387
- Messages
- 3,601
How does that even happen?
chaplinfj60
Well-known member
Honestly, I don't even know what hose elbow it was. If it's the one I'm thinking, it has a hard 90 elbow that must of had a looser clamp. I'll know more when I'm able to look at it.
Opiebennett
XJ_Ranger
I hope for a full recovery man. That sucks.
aczlan
Good Morning!
Ouch, hope your recovery goes smoothly...
Aaron Z
Aaron Z
WiscoF100
Red Skull Member
You’ll have 50 of them to check
Also, ditch the silly bellows on the diffs. Route a proper vent line. They won’t last one lap. You didn’t build a comp crawler.
Wisconsinite
Red Skull Member
Holy shit, that looks like it sucks hard. Good luck with the recovery.
WaterH
Well-known member
Damb, This is the first time I saw this thread and what a build. It took a long time to go through it and I still have to go back and watch some of vids. I was really excited by the time I got to the last page. It sure didn’t turn out as expected. Hope for your fast recovery. Great job and I’ll be watching now. Thanks for taking the time to post.
white-rhino
Older than dirt
Wow. Safe healing.
It has been a few weeks and I'm happy to announce that I am making a speedy recovery according to the burn doctors. Not going to lie, the first 10 days were pretty unbearable, but we've managed to stay positive and get back into some type of normalcy. I have been gaining more and more mobility as the healing has progressed which I'm thankful for. For everyone that has prayed for me, encouraged me, and supported me through all of this, sincerely THANK YOU!
This past weekend I managed to jump back on the horse and make some small progress on the race jeep. I was able to diagnose the problem child, and unfortunately in a rush I missed a bead roll on a coupler. That's what happens when you're in too big of a hurry, however it was a humbling experience regardless and it taught me a lot. None the less, I rolled Tinkerita out of the garage to clean up and prepare for what's to come next.
Although not perfect, the overall profile turned out better than I could have imagined. Aside from some more sanding on the bondo, the last thing to complete the look will be our wrap. We have the designs almost completed, trust me, we're going to stick out for sure. That'll come with time thought, right now I'm working on finishing up everything to get this thing race ready. Obviously I'm planning on going through the cooling system again, just to make sure, however I'm still a little limited on leg mobility so I've been focusing on stuff I can accomplish standing. This includes getting all the components on the dash installed and wired. Thanks to Rugged Radios for getting everything shipped out in a quick manner. Had we raced Rush, we would of had them with time to spare.
Aside from a few additional switches, the dash is pretty much completed. There's just a few things to change up and add to the chassis before she's tech ready for racing, but it won't be long until we're officially done the build. I cannot wait to have this thing on the trails and track!
This past weekend I managed to jump back on the horse and make some small progress on the race jeep. I was able to diagnose the problem child, and unfortunately in a rush I missed a bead roll on a coupler. That's what happens when you're in too big of a hurry, however it was a humbling experience regardless and it taught me a lot. None the less, I rolled Tinkerita out of the garage to clean up and prepare for what's to come next.
Although not perfect, the overall profile turned out better than I could have imagined. Aside from some more sanding on the bondo, the last thing to complete the look will be our wrap. We have the designs almost completed, trust me, we're going to stick out for sure. That'll come with time thought, right now I'm working on finishing up everything to get this thing race ready. Obviously I'm planning on going through the cooling system again, just to make sure, however I'm still a little limited on leg mobility so I've been focusing on stuff I can accomplish standing. This includes getting all the components on the dash installed and wired. Thanks to Rugged Radios for getting everything shipped out in a quick manner. Had we raced Rush, we would of had them with time to spare.
Aside from a few additional switches, the dash is pretty much completed. There's just a few things to change up and add to the chassis before she's tech ready for racing, but it won't be long until we're officially done the build. I cannot wait to have this thing on the trails and track!
After my last follow up, things are looking good. There will be some light scarring in areas, but that's about it. Lets be honest, I'm no leg model so I'm perfectly fine with a few scars. Thank you!
Unfortunately you are correct. It was pure misery for the first week or so. The worst was having to redress the areas... was literal torcher.
But we built the trans originally. There wasn't anything that we messed up on. After sending the trans off, it was discovered that there were a few passages that weren't fully machined which caused the issues with reverse. I would have never known.
Last week, I went over my U4 tech sheet and started finishing up everything that I needed. With mostly everything already done, there were a few fuel related things that I needed to address. Per the rules, I needed shutoff valves, something I overlooked originally. So I made quick work of installing shutoffs on both the supply and return. Everything else regarding the fuel like baffling and rollover valves were previously installed. Good news, my design of the coolers worked out perfectly for quick accessibility.
Over the past weekend, I was able to finish up the wiring under the dash. In order to utilize the Switch-Pro to its fullest, I changed some trigger wires around and was able to use them elsewhere. Also installed the 5V Autosport Labs sensor for the transmission temp and uploaded everything in the Holley system. The last thing I completed was getting the in-cab winch controls installed and pre-ran to the front. Since I'm using my old Warn winch, I needed to have a grounded momentary switch. Last thing to do will be to simply install the winch, but that shouldn't take too long. After getting everything buttoned up and secured, I finally installed the dash for the hopefully the last time.
With much excitement, there's only a few things to do on my list before this things 100% ready. Some of those things also include upgrades that aren't necessary right now, but still on my list. However, the one lingering thing that really does haunt me is the dang coolant lines. It's only fair considering the injury that occurred. So, in order to ease my mind, I'm redoing the lines with AN fittings and hoses. I've decided to install AN weld bungs on the radiator, took measurements off the water pump for those AN fittings and will be running AN hoses with the proper fittings for each end. Although pricey, just for the simple ease of mind and safety, it's worth it! I'm going to be leaning on some buddies for welding aluminum, and then throw everything back together. While doing so, I have a new alternator to install, new tensioner, new belt, and just installed a new idler pulley so everything will be brand new. Meaning I'm also starting to collect spares.
Stay safe out there!
Over the past weekend, I was able to finish up the wiring under the dash. In order to utilize the Switch-Pro to its fullest, I changed some trigger wires around and was able to use them elsewhere. Also installed the 5V Autosport Labs sensor for the transmission temp and uploaded everything in the Holley system. The last thing I completed was getting the in-cab winch controls installed and pre-ran to the front. Since I'm using my old Warn winch, I needed to have a grounded momentary switch. Last thing to do will be to simply install the winch, but that shouldn't take too long. After getting everything buttoned up and secured, I finally installed the dash for the hopefully the last time.
With much excitement, there's only a few things to do on my list before this things 100% ready. Some of those things also include upgrades that aren't necessary right now, but still on my list. However, the one lingering thing that really does haunt me is the dang coolant lines. It's only fair considering the injury that occurred. So, in order to ease my mind, I'm redoing the lines with AN fittings and hoses. I've decided to install AN weld bungs on the radiator, took measurements off the water pump for those AN fittings and will be running AN hoses with the proper fittings for each end. Although pricey, just for the simple ease of mind and safety, it's worth it! I'm going to be leaning on some buddies for welding aluminum, and then throw everything back together. While doing so, I have a new alternator to install, new tensioner, new belt, and just installed a new idler pulley so everything will be brand new. Meaning I'm also starting to collect spares.
Stay safe out there!
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i doubt you will pass tech with that valve setup and quite frankly wouldnt want to run a car that way. also its hard to tell, but is the return line just ziptied to the fuel pump?
youre lid, knocked out from a rollover, will a spectator/course worker be able to find and shut the fuel off easily? like within seconds before gas find a source of ignition?
youre lid, knocked out from a rollover, will a spectator/course worker be able to find and shut the fuel off easily? like within seconds before gas find a source of ignition?
Wisconsinite
Red Skull Member
Besides the zip tied line, what is wrong with that setup/what would you do differently?
the unpopular opinion rebuild the back of the car. i wish i was paying attention to this thread earlier to offer some insight sooner.
id wager $20 they dont make it more than 20miles on race day before a vapor locking event disguised as fuel pump failure and if they do, $100 they dont finish the complete race. now with the pump in the tank they might have a fighting chance, but i would not be confident in that.
worst case scenario in a rollover, broken fuel line, driver codriver knocked out, ignition on they burn to the ground with the car. those valves are COMPLETELY inaccessible in race trim. FSU Off-Road ask buddy who isnt intimately involved in the car, but a 'car' person to find the shutoff valves and turn them off, time them. then have his wife, your mom, mother in law or a child find it and turn it off with your instruction to them, time them. in a race shituation that time will be significantly longer.
next best option would be to move the valve to the edge of the car, but thats a little less than ideal because you run the risk of clipping it on a rock. id probably add a cutout in the side panel and mount them inside the edge of the car by about 3" on a brackets with labels on the side panel.