A couple more...

 

Might actually be able to stop the rear tires now too...

 

So... What did you do this weekend? Well...

Got some leafsprings reassembled and put back on the ground along with some shocks mounted in place.



Ummmm, what else...

Oh, mounted some bedsides...







Punched a hole in the firewall and this goofy thing fell thru it!



Knocked out some more jungle gym stuff... (yes internet perfection land... The resi isn't straight, that's also intentional so get over it.)



Mounted a fuse box, a resi, and cut out a crap load of extra unnecessary wires.



Some other resi stuff... Oh the humanity!!! The resi's aren't mounted the same side to side, what ever shall we do?



Oh and somewhere along the line this...



managed to turn into this. And the result was an engine that you can turn the key and it actually starts and runs again!




Tomorrow night the fun continues! Then Tuesday night I gotta prep for a trip and I'm outta town for most of next week.

 

Wow!! Lots of work has been done!! I wonder why i never got a email update?? Oh well awsome work!! How hard was it to turn that rat nest into a running harness??

 

Well might not be the sexiest of updates, more like nitty gritty details.

Got the center console wiring pretty much finished up or well all the wiring in general pretty much done. Got another probably 2-3 hours to go on that stuff and interior will be ready to go back in finally once and for all I think.

Switch plate installed with room for future additions. PTT button also installed. Doesn't look amazing but somehow when it's installed it looks perfect. Don't judge by this picture alone!



Underneath... 2 main plugs and a single ground wire and the whole console is removed as one unit. The cigarette lighter ports aren't cause we're chain smokers, the incar cameras we have will get power from them...



Dash is similar, 2 main plugs, GPS antenna wire and it all comes out as one.



Lights installed on the bumper and ballasts mounted securely and wired up.





Got the firewall patched up with the intake coming thru and the final wiring harness mounted coming thru also.



Other then that, I got a lot of minor detail non picture worthy stuff done too. Engine grounds mounted and hooked up, power distribution block mounted, all battery cables routed and secured ready to hook up, etc...

Yesterday afternoon the truck actually left the garage!!! It's at a shop having the driveshaft built. Took a couple pictures of it on the street for fun.










So the truck's outta my garage and progress stops right? Nope... I pulled the bypass shocks off before it left and tore into those last night so I could put fresh oil in them and set them up with some initial valving so we have a known starting point. I also have a few templates made up for parts I'll work on getting cut out and ready to weld up when the truck returns ASAP. Heck, just cleaning up the garage took a few hours! LOL

 

Looking good!!! So how much are travel are yall looking to get?

 

About 17" up front and 18" in the rear with everything how it's setup right now.

 

Just noticed the intake tbrough the fire wall. What is that for?? Cleaner air? Yall gonna get high off them gas and oil fumes??

 

Exactly, in case we actually are fast and catch people it helps keep the filter much much much cleaner. You gotta remember, these races typically last 5-10 hours and you're hopefully running non stop passing and being passed by others in the dirt kicking up a lot of dust. It's asking a lot for a filter to handle so the more you can do to keep it clean the better you are. It's not like we just go cruise for 30 minutes, then sit and BS with friends for 20 minutes while we knock the filter clean and then repeat. Filter in the cab is hopefully one less thing to worry about as far as race day pit stops go.

 

Well we're down to crunch time to make the deadlines we're trying to pull off and a lot of it is revolving around relying on others to come thru as hoped and as promised! Well, the first of those "others" knocked it out on time and I'm very happy with it! Huge thanks to Adam's Driveshaft in Henderson Nv. for a quick turn around and finishing it on time as promised for a good price!



So the truck came back home last night from their shop... Got it pushed in the garage and dove right back into it. Filled in the rear windows real quick cause we're going to have a friend around the garage this weekend knocking out some body work to hopefully clean up all my ugliness!





After that I got the rear back up on stands again...



And yanked out the drivers side leaf spring to fix an "oops" I discovered just before it left for the drive line shop. Should have the rear end back on the ground tonight. Then if things go well I'm also hoping to get the fuel filler mounted/installed, fuel vent line routed, and maybe get the coilovers off the front and torn down for baseline valve install and fresh fluids. Get the shocks back on the truck in the morning, align it, get the master battery switch installed and battery cables hooked up and then get started on the rear shocks mounts. This weekend we should see some body work getting knocked out along with hopefully the final of the wiring done and interior going back in it for a final time.

 

Yall gonna run pump gas or what?

 

Yes, pump gas for sure. Motor is stock with just headers and intake plumbed into the cab. We're not gonna get all crazy with the engine. Stock is reliable and with the leaf springs, most of the time we probably won't be using all the power anyways. Long term (like years) it might see some love in the power world but that would probably still involve pump gas, it also would probably involve cutting a firewall and adding more cylinders of a bow tie shape possibly. LOL

 

VORTEC BABY!!! but yall should atleast put a mild cam in and a tune during the next down season i know there is no time for any changes for this season... yall did atleast remove the governor right? Or did u bypass the vss

 

Nope, all still in place. But then again, I highly doubt we're going to see governor related speeds in the desert. Remember, $250K-500K, 700-800 hp trophy trucks don't see much more then 120mph ever in the dirt. Trucks built WAY beyond ours rarely push into the 100mph range. On average over say like a 250 mile race, a top running trophy truck is only going to manage 55-60mph. I'm "hoping" to be in the 30-40mph range!

Dirt is kinda like water, you feel like you're really hauling butt but when you look at the gauge you see, really, you're typically not! LOL

 

For instance, this is incar from a vehicle that's a few 6 figures more expensive then what we've built.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J5b7cKaEXs

 

Ah guess im used to circle track speeds lol

 

LOL, throw in rocks, 2-3 foot deep bumps, square edged rain washouts, blind corners that you don't know cause every corner is different and even lap to lap the corners change, etc and see where the speeds are at.

 

Thats all??? Jeez u need to drive down more logging roads lol jk

 

Well in baja you can add dogs, on coming car traffic, drunks, fires, hand built ditches to make you crash, hand thrown rocks into your cab and all sorts of fun stuff like that too.

 

Talk about dirty