Piddlin'

I was using clean oil as coolant, did that harden the stainless? This is my first time fooling with stainless. @hurt4x4

I am able to put an oval muffler in there between the frame and t case, maybe an inch or so of clearance all the way around. I was just admiring how much room and accessibility I have on this chassis. @untchabl

does that silver fiberglass “carbon fiber” wrap really insulate worth a darn or am I better off with a foil insulation? I won’t know the extent of my cockpit heat issues until she’s wired and running.
 
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I was using clean oil as coolant, did that harden the stainless? This is my first time fooling with stainless.

Stainless is very finicky in general HSS bits can be a major pain when drilling stainless.
 
Make sure you also go slow. Stainless is a crappy conductor of heat so the spot where you drill will get hot very very very quick.


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I'm going to run that fiberglass exhaust wrap on mine. Got two 2" x 50-ft rolls off ebay for $25. I'll probably also put the adhesive backed foil insulation on the bottom of the floor pan panels on the driver side.
 
it fits, but not by much. I wouldn’t be a opposed to a bullet muffler. But i thrown away enough glasspacks to know that they don’t muffle. Anyone know of a compact bullet that actually is tolerable to be around.
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I bought a Flowmaster bullet cause it was half the price of the same one from Magnaflow. It's 2.5" in/out, 14" long body and 4" diameter. Gonna be awhile before I can tell you how it sounds though. I had the Magnaflow version on an XJ years ago and I was happy with the sound on it.

An oval like what you have will probably be quieter than a straight thru bullet. On my build I don't have room for an oval muffler so bullet was my only option.

This is the one I got for the buggy.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/flo-71416
 
I found a 2-1/4” three bolt exhaust flange and welded up a preliminary muffler set up. The angle of the dangle is a little more than I’d like, but that’s what makes it preliminary. Most of it should be above the flat belly.

I’m challenging myself to have it running by Thursday. Got lots of electrical goodies from amazon recently.
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Worked pretty hard on the buggy the past 2.5 days. Got all the main circuits wired in. Used 1/0 welding cable coming off the battery to a Blue Sea master cut off, then more 1/0 to the starter, 4 gauge charge cable coming off the alternator to the master cut off, and 5 gauge feeding the Blue Sea fuse panel. Currently just wired to run, charge, and cut off. Did some head scratching when it didn’t start, called a buddy that knows his way around propane and ended up switching a few vac lines. Fired right off after sitting for 3 years! Now I need to find a throttle cable for my unconventional set up.
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I got around to bending some nicopp yesterday and measuring for front and rear braided brake lines between the chassis and axles. Put the rear end at full droop and got 35ish degrees. At ride height, Rear drive shaft is around 17 degrees, at least that’s according to my computer phone.

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If you have issues with the muffler rattling against things, you could always try a glasspack and one or two of those exhaust noise reducing insert thingies.
 
Just trying to stay “relevant” on my favorite social platform. Ol @DannyH and I went for a shake down/ break down at URE.
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Right out of the gate. Idle was too low. Fixed that. 3 minutes later, throttle cable was sticking at 1/2 throttle. Fixed that with electrical tape, motor oil, blue handle channel locks.

Thought I broke a hub, but turned out to be a loose tierod to steering arm bolt. Ran most of the trails. Got it on the trailer and realized the t case cross member had lost 3 out of 4 bolt and was sitting on the flatbelly. Bought some Nylock nuts to remedy that. Got to digging around and realized the carrier bearing flanges were a little loose. Tightened them up and added lock tight .
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things that need addressed before next outing: move hydraulic fittings to back side of ram, new axle seals in the front, storage of some kind for LaCroix, nabs, and blue handle channel locks, and secure CO2 tank in boat sides, possibly a longer and laminated throttle cable. Fire extinguishers! Drop my tire pressure. Add exhaust wrap and possibly heat reflective foil to the side of the t case.

overall, I’m really happy with how it shook down. Ride was comfortable, heat in the cockpit was bearable, it doesn’t rattle like my old cab truck, the air shocks were set alright, and she even handled at speed pretty well.
 
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Trying to decide how to secure my 5lb co2 tank in the boat side. It fits perfect, with maybe a 1/4” on either side. Probably need to shield it from exhaust heat too.
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I’m also planning to weld on some angle iron mounts to bolt a small sheet of aluminum to build a shelf for mounting a Hard case for tools and larger fire extinguisher.
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Whipped up this storage rack with 7$ worth of 3/16 angle and a 32$ harbor freight Pelican case. A guy I know who has access to a thing that does things, he cut me some fire extinguisher quick release mounts. So those will be going on as well.
I can only open the toolbox up about 1/2 way before the lid contacts the roof, but I’m just happy to have a place to stash some tools and whatnots.
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I knew that question was coming. I’m a “whole lot of talk and not a lot of action” kind of guy, that coupled with four cylinder fuel economy, I figure I will probably only need to fill the tanks 4 times a year (optimistic). To access the tanks, remove fire extinguisher and just unbolt the cross members at the 4 mounts, slide it out. The tanks take a little finesse to get into the brackets as it is, but oh well. I’d say it’s a pretty fair trade off for how tight everything is Packaged, and the fact that I’m not a fabricator. I would like to find some room to add something similar to the artec 4 banger quart crate. @pitbullcruiser
 
Sounds good. Just get them removed, topped off and reinstalled prior to wheeling. This is one of the reasons I am switching my propane setup back to gasoline.
 
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