Ready for more rapid fire updates of the Rock Bug?  It is now early afternoon on a fairly sunny Colorado Saturday (1:53 pm MST to be more accurate) as final assembly work continues on the Rock Bug.  The front bumper/light bar is now finished, even more plumbing is routed (will it ever end???), brakes are installed, the rear sway bar & end couplings are in place, and the rear lower tubes for the body panels are just getting tacked.  Enjoy the video and pictures we took just minutes ago and we’ll see you back here again real soon.

Here is another rapid fire video as assembly continues on the Rock Bug.  We are finishing up the install of our all new concept lightweight spindle & hubs together with our all new gun drilled 35 spline 300M axle shafts. Check out the progress pictures (taken yesterday afternoon) and video (taken first thing this morning) below as we wrap up the last of the spindle and hub assembly.  Be sure to keep checking in as more updates are on the way!

Time is quickly running out, so here is yet another rapid fire update.  There is so much going on and so much to talk about, we will have to come back and re-highlight some of the concepts being shown off here, like the ultra light sway bar and mechanical lock for the rear hydraulic ram.  Keep checking in as more updates (and eventually detailed descriptions) are on the way.

Our first crack at a logo for the Rock Bug.  Love it?  Hate it?  Leave a comment here and let us know.  Oh and please be kind :-).

Here is another rapid fire update as the week moves faster then I can type.  So far so good as assembly continues on the Rock Bug.  Our custom 4130 hollow suspension bolts just came back from heat treat, so we wasted no time assembling the front and rear axles.  Yes, we made our own suspension bolts.  Hopefully this does not come across as an “exercise in excess” as the point of the Rock Bug is to test new & innovative concepts in an effort to build the strongest & lightest vehicle possible.  We focused specifically on the suspension bolts, an area that deserved improvement on both strength and weight.  A typical grade 8, 3/4 x 2-3/4” hex bolt has a tensile strength of 150,000 psi and weights 0.46 lbs. each.  Our custom 4130, 3/4 x 2-3/4” heat treated hollow hex bolt has a tensile strength of 182,000 psi and weights 0.35 lbs. each.  So we are 1.21 times stronger and 1.31 times lighter.  When all is said and done, we give up 10% in overall strength but saved over 20% in overall weight.  This may not seem huge by itself, but it all adds up in the end.  In addition to suspension assembly, we finished up the “doghouse” on the dashboard (removable instrument panel) and have continued to make progress on the plumbing.  Plumbing will absorb most of our time this week, with our ultra light sway bar and gun drilled axle shafts still on the list, and updates will follow as the progress happens.