SXOR single seater build

More wiring done today. Battery switch mounted and battery cables ran. Main fuse mounted and wired. Chassis ground cables ran. Starter and alternator cables ran. Also mounted the transmission shifter and and adjusted the linkage.





















Working nights tomorrow through Monday, but fingers crossed we might get to hear the motor run next week.
 
Today I finally got it to the point that I could fire it up for the first time. Still a lot of work to do, but damn it felt good to hear this thing hit a lick. The video doesn€[emoji769]t do it justice, it€[emoji769]s LOUD!

 
Well, I guess if I didn’t have bad luck I wouldn’t have any at all... this weekend I figured out that I get to tear this thing back apart because I’ve got a Powerglide that won’t go in gear. And it has to come completely out of the chassis to even get the pan off to see what’s going on. Anybody need a new project? I’m not giving up, but it’s EXTREMELY frustrating to be so close, and then have to take such a big step backwards. I seriously just want to light it on fire and watch it burn to the ground right now.

The best part is that I believe it’s all because of a stupid mistake I made. I’ve talked to a lot of people about it, and I really think the problem is that I didn’t get something hooked back up right on the valve body when I put the new shift lever for the B&M shifter in the case. I’ll feel like a huge idiot if that’s what it is, but that’s best case scenario so I really hope that’s it. I’m already well aware that I’m an idiot, so I can accept that fact easily. Lol.

I guess this week/weekend sometime I’ll get it pulled out and find out exactly what’s wrong.
 
Hokie_YJ said:
Well, I guess if I didn’t have bad luck I wouldn’t have any at all... this weekend I figured out that I get to tear this thing back apart because I’ve got a Powerglide that won’t go in gear. And it has to come completely out of the chassis to even get the pan off to see what’s going on. Anybody need a new project? I’m not giving up, but it’s EXTREMELY frustrating to be so close, and then have to take such a big step backwards. I seriously just want to light it on fire and watch it burn to the ground right now.

The best part is that I believe it’s all because of a stupid mistake I made. I’ve talked to a lot of people about it, and I really think the problem is that I didn’t get something hooked back up right on the valve body when I put the new shift lever for the B&M shifter in the case. I’ll feel like a huge idiot if that’s what it is, but that’s best case scenario so I really hope that’s it. I’m already well aware that I’m an idiot, so I can accept that fact easily. Lol.

I guess this week/weekend sometime I’ll get it pulled out and find out exactly what’s wrong.
Click to expand...
set backs sucks....but maybe a bigger learning thing going on. Just how much do you have to tear down for this repair? Just think if it where just wear and tear or a freak breakage? How could you refab or rethink the design to make just such a thing a bit more pleasant?
Case in point I knew a fella who cut the entire front off his buggy a few times to do motor work. Like three or more times.

Don't give up yet most of us are far from being where you are with this project.

I come from two schools of thought.....it drops out the bottom because of removable cross members and such. Or it comes out the cab via a sling and cherry picker because all the seating sub frame and sheet metal is removable.

EDIT YOU WHERE THINKING AHEAD i see the tube breaks.......not as bad as I thought you meant. STill Sucks A lot..
 
I got the transmission pulled out a couple nights ago. I found the root cause of the problem. Sure enough, I’m an idiot. Big surprise there. Haha!

Here’s what I found when I pulled the pan off. Notice the shift lever just hanging out attached to absolutely nothing...





Oh, hey there. Where’d this come from? It sure looks important.



So that’s how this thing works...



At least it was an easy find and fix. But it really sucks causing yourself hours of work and frustration because of a stupid mistake that took less than 5 minutes to fix.

I don’t know how I managed to miss hooking the shift lever up to the manual valve? I had instructions laying right in front of me the whole time I was putting it in. Just a stupid mistake. Oh well, live and learn. Still have to wrestle it back in and get everything hooked back up. But it should work now. Then it will be back to making forward progress instead of going backwards.
 
Got the transmission back in yesterday and it seems to be working fine. It’s still on jack stands, but it shifts through the gears like it should.

Nothing picture worthy, but I made a little more progress. Brakes are “mostly” bled, CTMs greased, diffs filled with oil, and a little more wiring done.

To do list:

-Weld up the rear driveshaft, and install both driveshafts
-Mount wheels and tires
-Charge the shocks
-Wire rock lights and dome light
-Wire the winch and in-cab controls
-Install seat and belts
-Mount fire extinguishers
-Cut and install skins

I’m sure there’s a dozen little things that will come up to be done, but that’s the major things for now.
 
This thing is slick! Sounds awesome, too. I was scrolling through the pictures and thought "hey, I've got the same shifter!" Nice choice...lol
 
Thanks man!

I’m hoping I’ll like the shifter. My previous rigs with autos have had Art Carr shifters and I really like them. But the way this thing is laid out a shifter with a rear exit cable just didn’t work. I cut off the reverse lockout lever and ground out the gate plate to allow for quick shifts to neutral or reverse if needed. We’ll see how my custom gate plate works out. At least it’s pretty easy to swap in a new plate if need be.
 
I love it, but in my experience you can't "slam" gears like you could with the Art Carr, since that one makes you zig-zag through the pattern. As long as you know the trigger pattern between the gear positions on the gate, you won't miss...but I think it is possible if you're shifting quick and hard to skip a gear. That's why I left the lockout on mine since I was mud racing. But you've got few choices for gears with the Powerglide, so I wouldn't sweat it. I've heard other people say they love it for the quick shifts between low/reverse, if you're using reverse manual valve body.

I had a B&M Mega Shifter in my CJ before this Pro Stick...I thought a ratchet shifter would be neat, but after a few races, I kind of hated it. So glad I have this one.
 
Yesterday I got the rear driveshaft welded up. Ran out of time before I had to leave for work and the paint wasn’t dry so I couldn’t get joints in it and put it in. The front driveshaft is in and the wheels and tires are on the front. Once I get the rear shaft in I’ll take it down off jack stands and charge the shocks.













The interior is together minus the seat and belts. And all the wiring is done minus the winch. Because of where the winch is mounted I need to get it wired before I mount the seat. I had to pick up some more welding cable for that so hopefully that will get done next week.

And just because here’s some pics when I was testing out the lights. These were all taken with all the shop lights off and it was pitch black in there.







It has the light bars, just needs an angry eyes grille and it will be legit #builtnotbought

The plan is Harlan the first weekend in June. That should be one hell of a place for a shakedown. Surely I can pull that off if nothing crazy happens. Fingers crossed.
 
Driveshafts are in, wheels and tires are mounted, and shocks are charged. Sitting at ride height it’s 22” to the belly and 67” to the roof with about 6” of uptravel. WB is ~112”









Current to do list:
-Mount engine skid.
-Wire winch and in cab controls
-Mount seat and belts
-Charge and Mount fire extinguishers
-Mount seatbelt cutter
-Cut and install skins
 
Work of pure art!
 
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