Carwash Crawler - Build Thread... again.

[fabricator]

let me get this straight...

this tank is gonna be so heavy that it should have tracks, right?

you gonna have the wife and kids cruisin in it off side of mountains, right?

you are going to use plastic instead of steel brake lines, right?

why?

to save 2 hours labor and 20 bucks, right?

trying to get this clear in my mind?

[maddhatter]

let me get this straight...

this tank is gonna be so heavy that it should have tracks, right?

you gonna have the wife and kids cruisin in it off side of mountains, right?

you are going to use plastic instead of steel brake lines, right?

why?

to save 2 hours labor and 20 bucks, right?

trying to get this clear in my mind?

My thing is will the ID of the lines be enough to move enough fluid.
Will it weaken as the brake fluid get's really hot and will it hold the heat in the lines to well. I am very much wanting to see how these lines work out.

[carwash]

the more i think about it, the less i want to use them...

Spent a full day on it today...

got power steering pump on, finally got replacement pump from station. He sent me his new improved super pimp bad ass pump. Pulley installed on it, measured for a serp belt...Buy two at a time i guess, not bad to carry a spare. I wish the steering pulley wasn't aluminum, as i'm concerned if i have to remove it to swap pumps later or something, that i wont get any more use than just once out of it. Guess i could have one made from steel if need be.

Filled the STAK with fluid, so that i could put the last floor panel in. Gear oil was like glue, since it had been in the shop in the cold, so i heated it in front of the torpedo, still flowed crazy slow thru my tubing funnel thingy. I was a retard, and neglected to look at my STAK directions packet before starting to fill. I wasn't thinking at all, and just started throwing fluid in it, waiting for it to come out the fill hole, telling me it was full. When I got to 4 quarts, i realized that was way too much fluid, ha! So, i rifled thru all my stacks and stacks of paperwork looking for the STAK packet. In the meantime, i dialed up Jess at High Angle, knowing he would know that answer on capacity. Just as he said "2 quarts" i found the paperwork that says, "2 quarts". So i drained the damn thing, of course it drains right onto the damn crossmember, oh joy. I collected it all back into bottles, well almost all of it. Almost a quart stayed in the damn thing, the cold of the case turned it back into glue. Anyway, got 2 quarts back in it, plugged it and put the final floor panel on. Interior is complete. Even got the driver seat installed and seatbelts all bolted up...

List left of to do crap:
wiring
plumbing
steering lines
trans lines
radiator hoses
propane main feed line
axle vent hoses
air filter setup
prep and paint panels / hood / cowl
brake lines
switch panel
exhaust
fluids - diffs, trans, motor, steering
limit straps

ugh, im sure im forgetting about 3700 things.

[mckeddie]

the branik guys have run the plastic lines on all 3 buggies in xrra, and all over the place on the trails, they haven't had any probs yet, and stan, roscoe and dino beat the ever living piss out of those things. i'm thinking of switching mine over to it b/c i don't like teh way my lines are currently set up (single line runs to each axe, then there is a T fitting that splits the fluid to each caliper, makes bleeding them a *****).

greg

[carwash]

All interior panels in, all three seats in, the last of the exterior panels prepped. Heater hoses ran to propane setup, engine braces in, gauge hold downs finalized... some shots as it sits right now..







The boy approves. he has more seat time in it than i do at this point. Not really fair i guess.







Ok, so next problem. With my required pulley setup, i had to relocate my alternator way high an on the right, directly in line with where my rad hose would head to the radiator from the water outlet.







So I'm looking for a water outlet for a sbc or bbc that points somewhere around the 6:00 position. Then i also need a hose that can snaked around the alternator and still get to the inlet on the radiator.

I found some on summit that rotate 360 degrees, and some hoses that bend and kink where you want them...

This fitting has a nice 90 degree, and i can stick it where i want it. Its damn cheap too, which is odd for anything from summit lately it seems.



And here is a hose, that is stainless and flexible, comes with clamps, adapter ends, etc, but the damn thing is 80 bucks... guess i will look for something else, i can't pay 80 bucks for a radiator hose.



Today is brake lines, wish me luck. Shouldn't take too long. If i do decide i dont like the plastic lines or I'm afraid of them, what are my options for non plastic lines that use 1/8 npt fittings on the ends?

[JET455]

I like this one looks like he got caught doing #2 in your new seats!:p

[acousticrawk]

I like this one looks like he got caught doing #2 in your new seats!:p

i think youre baby looks liek a man child in that picture. he could be in one of those etrade commercials!

"shankopotomus!!!"
so funny.

i cant wait to see how this thing does on the trail.

[carwash]

Ok, so i started installing the plastic brake lines... here is a shot of the lines that go to and from the brake lockoff valves, and then some close up shots of each of the valves.







And here is a shot of the lines from the master cylinders thru the firewall, and then back thru from the valves, etc...



And after doing all of this, and running the lines to the front and rear of the vehicle... i have decided to not run them. I don't like the way they look, work, feel, etc...

I'm afraid of them being nicked, snagged, ripped, etc. Even if i put all of the lines inside a protective sheath, like fuel line etc, then i won't be able to find a burst if (when) it happens.

I just dont trust them, so i'm gonna pull them all out and go with steel lines through out. Peace of mind i guess.

[sarge]

for your upper rad. hose , make one out of some exhaust tubing or scrap DOM . Use short rubber ends to mate it to the Rad. and the therm. housing and your good to go. You can bend your self or buy s few pre-bent pieces from Summit. Just brainstorming for ya.

[Flxratd]

for your upper rad. hose , make one out of some exhaust tubing or scrap DOM . Use short rubber ends to mate it to the Rad. and the therm. housing and your good to go. You can bend your self or buy s few pre-bent pieces from Summit. Just brainstorming for ya.

if you do that you will want to role a bead or weld a bead on the end of the tube for the hose to have something to bite on or when the pressure builds up the rubber hose will slide off and make a very nice mess of all your pretty parts (speaking from experience)

[carwash]

not sure if i even have room for a tube bend in there. But at this point, thats my plan. Might look for a factory hose that has a 90. I did buy an adjustble swivel 45 water neck, so the outlet isn't stuck behind the alternator anymore. Bend me up a wire to match my hose and head to the parts store i guess.

Good call on the welding a bead on the welded tube, thanks.

[fabricator]

So u drivin this turd yet?
you goin to Harlan with us?

[carwash]

not driving yet. finished the brakes, minus the braided drops. need to wire it, get propane feed line, exhaust, etc...

harlan when?

[tinbeater]

The first weekend in April.
You have time.

[carwash]

not enuf time... I'd say my first trip out will be memorial day, maybe to harlan.