You figure with the holiday break we may get a few days off. Then again, with the King of the Hammers less then 3 months away, there is honestly no time to waste. So, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we’re back hanging with the Rock Bug.
On Friday we managed to layout the location of all four shocks using the mockup shock we got last Monday from King. Rumor has it we should be seeing the actual quadruple bi-pass shocks from King in as soon as two weeks. The video above shows the mockup shock assembled on the driver side rear axle. All shock tabs still need to be capped and gusseted.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we focused on the front radiator mount. Check out the size of this Ron Davis 19” x 26” x 4” radiator in comparison to the small V4 Scat motor! Insane, especially at a weight close to 40 lbs including its dual 12” fans. This was the radiator designed for King of the Hammers though and we won’t be responsible for blowing up the Scat, so it stays :-). The front two support tubes are 1” OD x 0.095” 4130 chromoly while every other support tube is 1” OD x 0.065” 4130 chromoly. The two lower support straps are 1/16” thick 4130 chromoly plate. The front filler neck will be capped and moved.
We were also able to get started on machining the Scat engine plate on Sunday as all the Scat accessories are scheduled for delivery on Monday. The order here will be to first machine out the engine plate so we can bolt it on the front of the Scat as shown in the video here. With the exception of forgetting to turn off the coolant for the video, all went smooth. We will then mockup all the motor accessories, switching back and forth from the Scat to our CNC until everything is nice and happy. This work will continue tomorrow through the rest of the week. The Scat needs to be in the hands of the motor builder by the 15th of December, so focus will soon begin on exhaust, pulleys, dry sump, and anything else necessary in getting the Scat ready for running condition.
Just got word YouTube is now streaming videos in high definition. You need a fairly good connection to watch them, but the quality is unbelievable. Check out this video of the Rock Bug and compare it to the exact same one from the last blog post. Thanks YouTube!
[UPDATE: YouTube has since updated their video player. To watch in HD, first hit play, then hit the HD button located on the bottom right hand side of the video player.]
Even with the Thanksgiving holiday quickly approaching, we managed to put in a few solid days of forward progress. The mockup King quadruple bypass shocks did arrive on Monday which allowed us to begin work on the front and rear shock hoops. It’s crazy to think with just four shocks you can spend days making brackets, checking fits, making more brackets, and re-checking fits. The reward is worth it though, for the first time we get to play with suspension travel. The video above shows the front axle at full articulation with the wheel turned 50 degrees.
When it comes to suspension travel, the motto “if it works don’t fix it” comes immediately to mind. Tracy has more rock crawling championships under his belt then we care to count, so it’s no surprise he is calling the shots on this one. The Rock Bug will be a dual purpose vehicle, competing in both the King of the Hammers and W.E.Rock, so the suspension will be set up as follows:
For Racing: 19” belly clearance, 6” bump, 10” droop (Compromise)
For Crawling: 17” belly clearance, 4” bump, 12” droop (Ideal)
The compromise here to make both work is with the Racing dimensions. Ideally we all would like more bump, but this would not be possible running the same 16” travel shock between racing and crawling.
Over the holiday weekend, we will continue working on the shocks. From there, our focus will shift in mounting everything under the hood. This way we can get the Scat motor back in the hands of Powerhouse Motorsports for some final assembly. Until next time, have a great Thanksgiving!
Today we spent a little time manufacturing some trick clevis mounts for the Rock Bug’s PSC double ended steering ram. These clevis mounts are almost identical to the mild steel ones we currently sell on our website (part #: CLV-001). Biggest difference here is, like everything else on the buggy, they are manufactured from 4130 chromoly steel. The connecting link between the ram and steering arm will consist of one chromoly clevis mount, one chromoly threaded insert, and a small piece of 1.25” x 0.095” wall 4130 tube. After the connecting links are all tig welded, they will be heat treated to carry a final yield strength just over 170,000 psi.
