This car is going to be so nice, that you may be afraid to drive it. I wish I could do half of what you have done. Keep up the great work.
BUILD THREAD “The Juggernaut”
- Thread starter Rktpwrd
- Start date
Took these last night after returning home from a 2 day work road trip in which I drove over 1000kms (and worked) in less than 48 hours.
Popped the tinted marker lights in quickly now that the lower half of the bodywork is done and it’s standing vertical again, and maybe it’s just the exhaustion delirium talking, but the tinted lights are quickly growing on me.
They don’t look quite as purple as I thought they did earlier, and I’m loving the overall look.
Can’t wait to get back on it again this weekend.
Popped the tinted marker lights in quickly now that the lower half of the bodywork is done and it’s standing vertical again, and maybe it’s just the exhaustion delirium talking, but the tinted lights are quickly growing on me.
They don’t look quite as purple as I thought they did earlier, and I’m loving the overall look.
Can’t wait to get back on it again this weekend.
Looks great! Donovan has more time in his bumper than all the body work in my last two project cars and it shows!
Been gone for awhile and it's good to see your progress. Killer work D. !!!
Thank you Tony, it’s nice to see you back! Thanks for catching up on the progress.
Starting to accumulate some stuff on the to-do list now that packages are arriving and other things are starting to gel.
I received my Summit order yesterday, a pair of 2” taller upper mounts for my RideTech Shockwave front airbag/shock combinations:
The Shockwaves I currently have are the older versions, so hopefully these upper extensions will still fit and work properly. They have the shock valving adjustment knob located on the top vs on the side of the bottom on mine.
Why am I going to replace these you ask? Because with the way the car is currently set up, the ride height setting on the computer controlled AccuAir system is still a little too low to provide adequate wheel and tire clearance, even with the recently added Malibu fender flares. I only have about a quarter of an inch clearance from the fenders with the wheels turned at ride height. One small bump at that configuration is going to lead to fender damage.
Now yes, I could compensate for this by increasing the air pressure to the front Shockwaves to lift the front end up, but that isn’t really the correct way to address the issue. It would ultimately decrease the available suspension travel, and increase the front suspension travel resistance leading to a harsher ride. By increasing the length of the shock, this way I can regain the additional height needed and not have to sacrifice the other parameters.
Now, do I think I need 2” of additional travel? No I do not. I much rather would’ve preferred something in the 1”-1 1/2” range, but 2” was the shortest available from RideTech. Hopefully it doesn’t affect the static height too much when it is aired down as I love the way it looks when it’s slammed.
In addition to the upper mounts, I also purchased the clamping tool that will be required to hold the shock shaft for removal/installation without damaging it:
On the bumper project, the now shortened bumper shock substitutions have been sent right back out again, this time for powder coating. I feel confident enough that my measurements are accurate that I won’t have to have them modified again. Just waiting for the call to come pick them up, it should hopefully be sometime next week.
I’m still waiting on USPS to get my package from Mr. 69hurstolds, at they speed they move, maybe by Christmas.
And the one other thing I need to update on, is the modified height 3D printed mirror gaskets. At very long last, I FINALLY have a viable product that I will be able to work with. I won’t go into too much in-depth detail here, but this has been an EXTREMELY long drawn out process.
Months were spent on creating, testing and modifying the computer file for them, followed by months more of 3D printing test pieces and refining those. I’ve had the assistance of the guys at work more versed in the intricacies of the 3D printing world on this, and, after several failed attempts using regular filament, we ultimately decided to print them in resin. The resin versions will be much easier to modify and add to/refine if necessary, and the finish is much nicer than with filament. The other major upside to resin is that it’s UV stable as that’s how it’s cured, whereas the filament is not. It would eventually break down and disintegrate over time when exposed to the elements.
There were a couple of issues with getting these printed out too, mostly related to the file, but last week I was finally presented with a tangible finished product:
They are still in their rawest unfinished state at the moment, but it’s something I can finally work with.
The backsides will have to be ground and sanded flat and flush, these bumps are from something in the file that didn’t translate well into the end product.
Not too concerned though as that’ll be easy to remove.
So once I finish the bumper project and can switch gears into addressing these other little projects, I’ll be crossing these off the list one by one. Once I’m certain that these gaskets are perfect, they’ll have to be prepped and painted satin black so that they appear factory.
Because that’s just the way I roll.
D.
Very interested in seeing how the extention works. And I think we can all say that this is possibly the most work done on mirror gaskets. Ever.Thank you Tony, it’s nice to see you back! Thanks for catching up on the progress.
Starting to accumulate some stuff on the to-do list now that packages are arriving and other things are starting to gel.
I received my Summit order yesterday, a pair of 2” taller upper mounts for my RideTech Shockwave front airbag/shock combinations:
View attachment 242816
View attachment 242817
The Shockwaves I currently have are the older versions, so hopefully these upper extensions will still fit and work properly. They have the shock valving adjustment knob located on the top vs on the side of the bottom on mine.
View attachment 242819
View attachment 242820
Why am I going to replace these you ask? Because with the way the car is currently set up, the ride height setting on the computer controlled AccuAir system is still a little too low to provide adequate wheel and tire clearance, even with the recently added Malibu fender flares. I only have about a quarter of an inch clearance from the fenders with the wheels turned at ride height. One small bump at that configuration is going to lead to fender damage.
Now yes, I could compensate for this by increasing the air pressure to the front Shockwaves to lift the front end up, but that isn’t really the correct way to address the issue. It would ultimately decrease the available suspension travel, and increase the front suspension travel resistance leading to a harsher ride. By increasing the length of the shock, this way I can regain the additional height needed and not have to sacrifice the other parameters.
Now, do I think I need 2” of additional travel? No I do not. I much rather would’ve preferred something in the 1”-1 1/2” range, but 2” was the shortest available from RideTech. Hopefully it doesn’t affect the static height too much when it is aired down as I love the way it looks when it’s slammed.
In addition to the upper mounts, I also purchased the clamping tool that will be required to hold the shock shaft for removal/installation without damaging it:
View attachment 242818
View attachment 242821
On the bumper project, the now shortened bumper shock substitutions have been sent right back out again, this time for powder coating. I feel confident enough that my measurements are accurate that I won’t have to have them modified again. Just waiting for the call to come pick them up, it should hopefully be sometime next week.
I’m still waiting on USPS to get my package from Mr. 69hurstolds, at they speed they move, maybe by Christmas.
And the one other thing I need to update on, is the modified height 3D printed mirror gaskets. At very long last, I FINALLY have a viable product that I will be able to work with. I won’t go into too much in-depth detail here, but this has been an EXTREMELY long drawn out process.
Months were spent on creating, testing and modifying the computer file for them, followed by months more of 3D printing test pieces and refining those. I’ve had the assistance of the guys at work more versed in the intricacies of the 3D printing world on this, and, after several failed attempts using regular filament, we ultimately decided to print them in resin. The resin versions will be much easier to modify and add to/refine if necessary, and the finish is much nicer than with filament. The other major upside to resin is that it’s UV stable as that’s how it’s cured, whereas the filament is not. It would eventually break down and disintegrate over time when exposed to the elements.
There were a couple of issues with getting these printed out too, mostly related to the file, but last week I was finally presented with a tangible finished product:
View attachment 242822
View attachment 242823
View attachment 242824
View attachment 242825
They are still in their rawest unfinished state at the moment, but it’s something I can finally work with.
View attachment 242826
The backsides will have to be ground and sanded flat and flush, these bumps are from something in the file that didn’t translate well into the end product.
View attachment 242827
Not too concerned though as that’ll be easy to remove.
View attachment 242828
So once I finish the bumper project and can switch gears into addressing these other little projects, I’ll be crossing these off the list one by one. Once I’m certain that these gaskets are perfect, they’ll have to be prepped and painted satin black so that they appear factory.
Because that’s just the way I roll.
D.
Well, for the first time ever, tonight I tested positive for Covid.
I managed to avoid it all through the Pandemic for years now, but yesterday it caught up with me. I’m not too concerned about it, just another cold to get over, but it’s going to put a serious crimp in the bumper progress in the next little while.
In the meantime here’s a couple quick pictures of the most recent progress, it’s coming along well.
And as if that wasn’t enough of a kick in the a$$, the other night I learned that I’m losing my storage spot for Olds Cool in my neighbors garage. He needs me to move it out so that he can access his ‘50 Chevy sedan to ready it for sale. That’s really going to interfere with my plans for the Juggernaut moving forward.
So once I kick this crap, I now have to clean and reorganize The Skunkworks to make room for Olds Cool again. It’s going to be do-able, but just a major PITA.
D.
I managed to avoid it all through the Pandemic for years now, but yesterday it caught up with me. I’m not too concerned about it, just another cold to get over, but it’s going to put a serious crimp in the bumper progress in the next little while.
In the meantime here’s a couple quick pictures of the most recent progress, it’s coming along well.
And as if that wasn’t enough of a kick in the a$$, the other night I learned that I’m losing my storage spot for Olds Cool in my neighbors garage. He needs me to move it out so that he can access his ‘50 Chevy sedan to ready it for sale. That’s really going to interfere with my plans for the Juggernaut moving forward.
So once I kick this crap, I now have to clean and reorganize The Skunkworks to make room for Olds Cool again. It’s going to be do-able, but just a major PITA.
D.
Sucks Donovan. Covid probably won't be a big issue. It's usually over fairly quickly. Storage, or lack thereof might be though. 
