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2012 King of the Hammers Race Prep

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Have you seen my 9/16" socket?

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    Posted: 24 June 2011 at 10:21am
So 1 or 2 of you may have noticed the lack of updates to my jeep build thread.  Don't worry I haven't given up, but an opportunity has presented itself to me that I couldn't resist.  Ever since I was a little boy I have loved two things: big trucks and goin' fast.  Today I get to start the story about how I'll finally get to combine both of those loves.

First, Ultra4 race series, the series who crowns its champions at the King of the Hammers, has announced  two new classes of racer.  The new stock and modified classes allow most anyone the ability to compete in this awesome race series.  Unfortunately, my Jeep will not qualify for either of these new classes and would not be competitive at the unlimited class level.

Secondly, my buddy Jordan (JRTOffroad) has selected me as his co-driver after becoming a registered modified class racer for the King of the Hammers race.  His Jeep qualified in ways that mine did not.  So this is my best chance to experience what its like to compete in the toughest offroad race in America.

We have a few short months to get ready for this race.  I intend to use this thread to document the process we take getting ready.  This will include prepping the Jeep, prepping ourselves, and race reports.
06 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited all torn apart.



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BamaBleach Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 June 2011 at 10:28am
Sweet!  Look forward to keeping up with this.
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Have you seen my 9/16" socket?

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Case Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 June 2011 at 11:26am


 The Jeep we are competing with is Jordan's 2004 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.  What we are starting out with is the dana 44 front end from all Rubicons, a custom 8.8 rear end, custom designed 4 link rear/3 link front, mild stretch, and some body work.

Oh and a warmed up 5.9 liter Dodge Magnum motor in front of a 46re auto.  Heart

What we are starting with:






As you can see from the first video, its a 'mostly stock' Wink jeep on 37 inch tires which qualifies it for the modified class.

As you can see from the second video the offroad handling and control could be a better.  At 60 mph out on the farm the Jeep is a little squirrely.  We are pushing for 80+ mph with good handling in order to be competitive.

Durability and reliability are incredibly important to finishing the race.  We can't win if we cannot finish, so we plan a few upgrades to the Jeep in order to toughen it up. 

In order to start this process, we want to eliminate as much weight as possible, upgrade the axles to true 1 tons, and meet tech requirements for safety and class.  Jordan does not have a lot of money to drop on this like a lot of other guys will and all of my money is tied up in my own build, so we are doing everything as cheaply as possible.  That means no super bling coilovers, no custom axle housings, no chromoly tubing.  We do have a few sponsors so that will help, but we need to careful with our budget.

The first part of this project was to chop off the front of the Jeep.  The frame has been cut just in front of the grill.  It's also been chopped at the bottom for ground clearance.  A new grill hoop has been installed.  Jordan wanted to keep everything tight in order to promote front approach angle.  You cannot see it very well from this pic, but the inside half of the grill (the radiator core support) has been cut out.  This was done to save weight since it was unneeded due to a new radiator being installed.  Anyways some pics:










The next step was to drop the dana 44 in favor of a 1 ton front.  Jordan was unwilling to drop the coin on the same kind of axle I got, so he found a killer deal on a ball joint dana 60 from a f350 superduty (or it was intended for one).  This particular axle was a factory direct assembly, brand new and never run.  It set him back less than half of what I payed for my 30 year old King pin dana 60.  

There is a reason it was so cheap.  These axles have a reputation for being difficult to install and inferior to a kingpin setup.  Since Jordan insists on doing "unique" things with his build we get to figure out how to make this work on his setup.

Now normally, it is common to truss these axles from inner c to inner c in order to strengthen them for jumps.  However, this setup came with some gnarly big tubes.  3.75 inch od 3/8 wall tubing is plenty strong on its own we think.  Since we are not trussing it (to save weight) we had to come up with a unique way to mount the upper link to the axle. Turns out the stock spring perches make great places to mount coil spring buckets to.  This saved some time (and weight).  We created some super beef outer knuckles for high steer, using crap we had laying around. Here are some pics:








We are working on new tube fenders now and I'll have pics of that soon.  We are also planning ahead for all of the safety gear we have to have installed and we'll be starting on that soon too.


Edited by Case - 24 June 2011 at 11:37am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRTOffroad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 June 2011 at 11:47am
If you're not 1st you're last!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CJ7OX Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 June 2011 at 1:00pm
Outstanding, guys! I look forward to following your progress!
~Sean
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Have you seen my 9/16" socket?

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Case Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 June 2011 at 4:05pm
Originally posted by JRTOffroad JRTOffroad wrote:

If you're not 1st you're last!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote spongy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 June 2011 at 3:08pm
RICKY BOBBY RACING!!!!!!!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 June 2011 at 3:00pm

Can we paint a cougar on the hood

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRTOffroad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 June 2011 at 5:14pm
Way to ruin the suprise! Wink

Seriously though, we've thought about it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRTOffroad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 June 2011 at 5:25pm
Don't want you guys to think I'm slacking off...  Here's a quick update:

Front end tube work is coming along.  Radiator lower mount is done (forgot to get a pic), upper mount will be built off shock hoop cross brace. 




Swapped hoods with case, just using this until I get a plastic one, so the trim job is pretty ugly.

Removed shock mount and spring bucket.  Need to touch up a couple spots I went too deep with the ol' angular grinder.

'New' Scout II steering box.  Not in final position, but close.  Don't worry, tubing will be added to replace that which was removed for clearance.


This or a toyota landcruiser box was one of my only options since I had removed the front of my frame to save weight and improve approach angle.  Note that the KOH Mod class requires use of a steering box, full hydro NOT allowed.


Hopefully my shocks get here soon!  (2.5 x 14" remote res. FOA coilovers)
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Have you seen my 9/16" socket?

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Case Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 July 2011 at 3:54am
Not hosting your pics on the RCRC forum makes baby jesus cry.  Cry

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bluetoy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 July 2011 at 4:20am
Looks awesome guys. Clap 
 
I wish I had enough spare time to come by and help ya'll out, but I can't even find time to work on my own junk lately. If ya'll need anything machined let me know. I might be able to help you out with that.
 
Maybe one day I'll at least be able to make it out there to watch the race. I would love to build a rig to compete, but I know that will never happen. Big smile
 
Keep us updated.
TOYOTA FOUR WHEEL DRIVE................need I say more?   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BamaBleach Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 July 2011 at 4:40am
Originally posted by bluetoy bluetoy wrote:

I would love to build a rig to compete, but I know that will never happen. Big smile
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Case Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 July 2011 at 4:50pm

So the theme of this post will be "STEERING BOX" Angry

The rules require us to run a mechanical steering box and linkage for steering.  This is part of the reason I cannot run mine as I am using full hydro.  Because Jordan cut the front of his frame off we needed to find a steering box with a forward facing pitman arm and mount it inside of the grill.

He has already posted a pic of it mocked up, showing how we had to cut the shock hoop to fit it.  This post is dedicated to more drama associated with it!

So Jordan bought a 40 year old scout II box bought off some dude somewhere which was sold 'as is' with no warranty expressed or implied.  This is what we got:



We fixed this up by running a weld bead down the egged out part, then creating a round 5/8" hole using a carbide bit and lots of patience:




Next we created a permanent home for our new 40 year old steering box:





As you can see in the above pic we sleeved thru the frame with some tube we had laying around.  There is no way this puppy is going egg shaped on us again:



Next we tackled the repair of the shock hoop.  This is not the most elegant of solutions, but we feel its the best way to fit the steering box where it has to go:



Short update for tonight.  Its getting late.  We are putting a lot of hours in everyday after work and on the weekends.  Only 200 or so days until race day!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRTOffroad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 July 2011 at 5:21pm
Continued work on steering, building the final tie-rod and drag link out of 1.25" DOM sleeved with 1.5" HREW:





To clear the diff cover and pitman arm, a bend was required.  This bend will be reinforced with a gusset when everything gets finish welded.



What's this?  A track bar in FRONT of the steering??? 





Edited by JRTOffroad - 08 July 2011 at 2:27am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRTOffroad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 July 2011 at 4:19pm
The work continues!

As you guys may have noticed, I've added a number of 'speed holes' to my rig.  This is not just asthetic, but is an effort to reduce weight where ever possible.  I do not yet have the funds for dimple dies, but hope to acquire a set before this build is complete.  As such, I'm still using some fairly thick materials (a lot of 3/16 & 1/8").  Drilling these holes is quite time consuming, so in an effort to speed up the process I built a quick punch setup (and future dimple die station) out of my trusty HF 20T press.  Maybe not my finest work, but for being built purely from scrap around the shop, I'm quite pleased:

Step 1 was to purchase a Punch Kit from HF, it turned out to be cheaper to buy the entire set, with the hydralic setup then to get the punches individually:



Get the scrap metal together:



Alignment pins:



Assembly:



Final Product:




Next, was to work on the bumpstops.  Since I am now going with Coilovers, I removed my coil spring mounts & stock bumpstop landing pads.  The bmpstops will now land of the axles leaf spring mounts.

initial mockup:


Boxed in top and bottom:




Tacked in final position on driverside, hit it with some primer since the inside will be hard to get later:






Passenger side in work:



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cj8lvr Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 July 2011 at 11:52pm
Originally posted by JRTOffroad JRTOffroad wrote:

Final Product:




Tell me that this is not the press formerly known as "scary shop press".

Looking good.
___/| [_\__\],
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRTOffroad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 July 2011 at 3:03am
Haha.  No, J$ still owns the one formerly known as scary press (a little welding has down graded it to 'frightening press').  Mine is a 20 Ton unit, which is a little less likely to collapse in catastrophic fashion
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRTOffroad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 July 2011 at 2:20am
Went ahead and posted this build over on Pirate.  I may not be as good about updating this thread, so check here for updates:

http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=993893
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote wfochris Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 July 2011 at 2:27pm
Awe-inspiring!

Maybe the fenders will inspire the rest of my jeep?
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Have you seen my 9/16" socket?

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Case Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 July 2011 at 1:28am
if you don't start hosting the pics on the forum i'm going to feed small kittens to bosco Angry


Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.  One day you will thank me when your workplace decides to filter all the picture hosting sites. Broken Heart
06 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited all torn apart.



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