Latest Sand Car Re -Build

[Fullthrottleguy]

I was gonna wait and put this up after the first trip ... But given the GD Reboot I figured why not now

Since the Pandemic hit for me at the end of the 2019/2020 Dune season I decided to tear my car down and do a couple safety checks and a few Minor Updates ...

I really liked the car, light (1800lbs), fast Supercharged LS, and for a Toys4Boyz Buggyworks Chromo car it handled well,    and really tried like heck to live with the Old school look  ... well I ended up changing a few things

Car started out like this: 





then I started tearing it down  - luckily it was in great shape no cracks no issues - the front end was already beefed up - the one area that was weak on these cars .... But the car is light  so It never had issues



the 8.50 tires on the front had to go   10.75x15's ride So nice ...

.





well not much to save on the wiring 



deciding  do I just clean up the chassis and Powder coat????



I built myself a little plan ..... Maybe a few days of work...







Now the Fun Begins.. I  showed my Plan to John Mosebilt and asked if he could roll the Chromo for the roof since my Harbor Freight Roller is lame  

He said sure just bring the car up .... I grabbed a bunch of sticks of tubing and printed out a few pics of some rolled roofs I liked including my last Mosebilt car and headed to Lovely Upland ...

 

[Fullthrottleguy]

John talked me into having him do the Cage and roof, since I was going to have him build me the rear arms anyway/ I worked with him to make sure every met my approval ...  one week later car was done







And built a new website for John as well -   www.mosebilt.net

I started modifying  the spindles for 2" hollows



and I needed a few tabs and brackets 



I added a couple extra tubes as well ...



I decided to make a shifter for the S4 as well - I wanted something tall and different







and of course there were other sand cars that needed attention  - so Mine sat for a month  ....



that engine was toast - the "clown car" got a new 441 I built

Back to My car 



Spindles came out Ok  - ready for strip and Powder Coat

That same Day Matt86m Posted a bunch of BBQ Picts on Instagram - so rest of the day was making ribs ..... this is why your own cars takes months not weeks 

 

[Whipsandshyt]

Coming together nicely 

 

[Fullthrottleguy]

So now I have to figure out what to do for tin work -  so over the Home depot for 100ft roll of Cardboard and 6 rolls of Masking tape 



Started with deciding I wanted a "firewall"  since I have a Gas Tank with Baffles and Not a Fuel cell, and I have fuel pumps and filters behind the tank, even running a Fire system, I wanted some protection in case crash or split tank -  and given i was "turning up" the Engine and adding a Flex Fuel e85 setup and keeping the car around 2000lbs - its cheap insurance



I started working on the nose  - and my goal was to keep the hood as flat as possible -  I HATE  cars where you "stab and steer" and have to guess what you just ran over - stuff happen fast in dunes  - I want Max visibility







I played with a dozen different designs  - and when Got something I liked , I replicated in new cardboard before going to Alum.

I used LOTS  if Cardboard  



Throughout this process I sent a bunch of Videos to Buddies







I was Totally Burnt out on the "wide hip" Rounded look on a lot of cars -  I wanted a more squared off look



so I took a break and added some tear drops to My spindles - It was good to get away from it for a day 



A little more Diversion I started building the dash





I ended up scrapping that profile after I welded up the whole dash

Right about then Biden "won" the election  and I took a couple days off to read a book



Even the office dog was upset



And the Wifes' washing machine died, crappy week -  of course it stripped a trans gear  - had to fix that. Probably the only washer using Swepco 201  as trans fluid

My laundry room smells like a fast ride from Gecko road to Olds  after a couple loads of wash ...



By now it was time to start making panels   7 4x10 sheets of .063 should do it..

 

[Wrecked]

Good to see I’m not the only one going through this pain. 

 

[Fullthrottleguy]

Fast forward a week ...

I built the body  





Took me a while to do the rear fenders as I wanted to do them in piece - lots of rounded breaks ...  used Cardboard get exactly what I wanted







I  liked the look  and have to admit  the "short" rear panel was something I loved from the Tatum dragon  so I tried it

Another Sand Car "fix" got in the middle of the Build .   that one was fun .... 

Back to my Car  - a few hours rolling edges





And fitting panels 



I decided to do Aluminum Inner panels since they only added 14 Lbs of weight



I went back to doing the dash design and  since the hood was going to flat and sloped down to maintain my driving sanity, I wanted Dash bubble retro to 60's cars ...  Got on the english wheel and rolled out a bubble



I wanted a flat roof  that exposed the bars, but wanted the back curved and with some strength so I rolled and shrunk a panel to weld on



Lots of work was done with my Nibblers electric shears and other tools but sometimes you just have to muscke the Wiss shears





Next thing was the hood  - I wanted it flat but peaked so I rolled it best I could being one person - COVID kept the Buddies away 

I had to planish the hood for hours to get it flat and usable

I ran out of talent on fitting it and took the easy way of overlapping the hood .  This was initially because I was going to make it open  - But after I made the mechanism to latch and hinges it was nearly 40 lbs - too much I scrapped it - I was weighing the pieces as I built them - the car was getting close to 2000 especially after the huge rear arms



These were before I welded and of the pieces on the hood  - this was all shear, Brake, wheel , hammer and roller



I then moved to the back and welded in  the rear panel and light bucket - I admit I will never win a Tig contest





I finished the dash and started covering it in Vinyl



Because  the car is a two seat and the back area is tight I needed some access panels for the ECU and Fuse Box and general service





Not my best work but I wanted the car done by now  - there was a done of clean up on the panel edges  and file and fitting fun





Panels were done and Fitted ....

 

[Banshee380]

Clean rebuild! 

 

[Fullthrottleguy]

After many hours of sanding and metal working dings etc, I was ready to epoxy seal the panels in and out  -  even though the back of the panels will coated with Bed-liner I wanted to eliminate any corrosion and give the prime and paint some  "teeth"

Luckily I can seal off half my shop and have fans and vents  - so small panels I can paint inside  - Normally I would use my Buddies Booth - but them again COVID









All i there were 17 panels  ...

while I was sanding ad priming the priming I sent the Chassis out for Strip and Powder 

Did it in Satin Black  - I think its clean and easy to repair if if ever its needed

It came back and started refitting the panel prior to paint in case I F'd up ...













I did the inner side panels in vinyl as well -  I wanted them flat and smooth - could have gotten fancy - byt Clean and cool is the look





I also made a console  - the funky looking Knobs - are really just headset plugs 



I went for the "Ferrari  look on shifter and turn brake  using some .090 Aluminum and the mill ...



I installed the dash  -  just waiting to install the Holley Dash



Let the wiring begin .....







Then came the Brakes and Clutch -  I decided to do the floors in 1/8" Carbon Fiber to keep the car lighter ...



I put in a Big engine oil cooler and made  shroud and fan set for it





Plumbing coming together





And I painted the car as well 

Dodge Challenger "Green with Envy" color



Shocks rebuilt  - Front end rebuilt  - ask me how I know King has huge back orders ...

 

[Fullthrottleguy]

For a basic upgrade I kinda went a bit overboard  ... I the only things left from the original car are the lower chassis and front A-arms and Shocks, fuel tank and Intercom.   I did save the seats, New engine and Holley ECM and Paddles and wheels I put in one trip before pulling the car apart... 

This sport is more addictive than Crack

 

[MakinHP]

Looks Great! Where do you get the 1\8’’ Carbon Fiber ?

 

[GBR]

That is turning out great very nice remodel and awesome work. I like the lines of your body work.

 

[L.R.S.]

Looks great man! I've always appreciated, and even more so envied, your DIY abilities and attention to detail. 

 

[Admin Dude]

Just the "know how" to do something like this is amazing!!!!!

 

[J Alper]

That is a lot of work, good job

 

[Stugots]

Thank you for posting this, having my morning coffee and reading this thread started my day off right. Brother you have talent and are doing a amazing job, car is going to be badass!

 

[Grease Monkey]

Would like to know more about your choice on the carbon fiber floor.  Strength? Cost? Sheet size? Why other than weight?

 

[bringenkaos]

wow great job. now post a complete picture 

 

[Fullthrottleguy]

Answering all the Questions on Carbon fiber ....

IMO - its crazy expensive if you have to buy it - Buy Aluminum is crazy expensive now too...

a 4'x4' sheet is ~$450

I have a friend with a composites shop that build parts for Formula cars, so I go there and lay out the Prepeg sheets myself  he auroclaves them and it saves me  money.

The place most people get it from is Dragonplate.com

I have done Lots of CF on y cars in the past dashes, intake tubes scoops, side panels, roofs

The weight savings and strength is why I do it as long as you use it correctly it stronger than 6061 aluminum and it looks "racy"

Many of the pieces I did that were flat like my last roof was done very reasonably ... A contractor friend was replace a Bank window that Grafitti'd it was big, he gave me the glass, I bought strips of Pre-inpregnated epoxy isotropic singke weave CF and strips of Kevlar and layed it up (took an hour or so and then bagged the glass and CF with a plastic and used an AC Vacuum pump to pull the air out  and moved it into the sun, a few hours later I had a rally nice CF sheet that if I bought would be 4x the price.  I did the dash the same way except I made the Plug out of wood and Bondo

If you want one off pieces its cool material to use 

 

[DVS1]

Awesome job!! Looks like its turning out great.  Its post like these that fuel the passion for a lot of us, so thank you and keep up the good work!!!