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After the unpleasant hit I took over Memorial Day in the final baja just off the start line, I have some repairs (and upgrades) to make.
The body suffered some damage in the hit.
The Bronco hit hard enough it bent the inner quarter, too.
On a positive note, here's how the Zero Rust held up..
Passenger side looks fine after a bath.
The spot welds at the bottom of the quarter broke and may need repaired, and the tire rubbed the entire way around the wheel well - looks like a body lift may be required, or I'll need to cut the wheel arch away.
The front fenders got it a little, too, from tire contact.
The driver's side body mount started punching through the bottom of the outer frame.
While the passenger side mount starter peeling away at the top again.. after being re-welded after February.
The tilt front clip cross piece proved a little too light gauge, too..
(notice the 1/4" wire mesh to try and keep big rocks from taking out the radiator)
Along with all of that, one rear shock was destroyed during the race - lower mount completely gone and the upper shock eye broke from the shaft, while the other rear shock is loose. One front shock broke the lower mounting bolt, too.
All of this needs to be addressed..
So I used the torch and heated the front clip hinge support area and pried the bent 1x1 back into something resembling straight, then put a second piece of 1x1 under it and welded them together.
It's not as straight as it was, but it's better than it had been.
The air-chisel made short work of removing the recently installed quarter and end-cap..
I had to empty my shed to get them out, but I pulled out the fiberglass quarters I bought from Scott Satterlund some time back. They're Howteron quarters, manufactured around 1996 if the newspaper packaging is any indication.
I cut out the filler neck hole and test fit..
I guess that inner quarter is bent..
After some head scratching, I came up with a solution that didn't involve cutting the entire quarter assembly off and hnging the panel from the rollcage.
That's either 1.5x1.5 or 2x2x.120 angle. I don't remember. It's now welded to the B and C posts, shimmed up a little to make it the right height.
I drilled a few holes along the top piece, then set the quarter in place.
Another piece of 1x1x.120 flat was clamped to the angle such that the top lip of the quarter was captured between the two, then I drilled and bolted it together.
In this manner, I'm not molesting the quarter much, and it's captured the entire length of the bed rail.
The end-cap area snaps snugly into the tailgate spot, so no worries there. I have to stretch the panel a little to get it to pop into place up front, but I knew I needed to add something to hold it in place.
Thus..
There's one more smaller piece down lower as well. These will just bolt to the B post and clamp the quarter to the B post. Piece of cake.
I also did a rather poor job of welding up the body mounts. I used a jack to put things back into place before welding, but I didn't prep the area very well, and I'm not proud of the welds..
I will probably pull the wheels off and get a better angle at things and go over them all once more before the next race, hopefully doing a better job. I also want to try and gusset the mounts in some fashion.
I then tilted the front clip open to get a better look at the front shocks..
The lower bolt on the passenger side sheared during the race, and it was a poor design in the first place, and since I broke a rear shock and lost it, it was time to do some upgrades.
I'd been running some 14.75" travel Bilstein 5100 series shocks up front, more or less straight-up, with some 12" Rancho RS7000 shocks in the rear, angled as much as they could be, touching in the top center.
I did some looking around, and found a good deal on a pair of Bilstein 7100 series remote reservoir shocks.
They didn't arrive with the valving I think I need, so I ordered some 360/80 valve shims and some shock oil, and I'll be revalving them shortly.
In the mean time, I wanted to make progress on mounting the shocks.
Start with 4"x.250 plate.. same stuff I used on shock "hoops" years ago..
Add in a 2.75" hole saw..
Then a bandsaw..
Then go to the drill press again..
I think it's less work than starting with some 2" flat and hole-sawing a semi-circle out of it.
Then I cut the old Chevy stock mount from the front axle tube, and mocked up the new stuff.
The 7100s have a longer body than the 5100, so I had to raise the upper mount, while I was also slightly raising the lower mount to make it level. I did this, because you might notice the mounts are being built to accomodate TWO shocks this time..
The upper mount will have a piece of 3x2 angle welded to it to come out and around the end of the heim at the upper end of the shock, so the shock bolt will be mounted double-shear.
I'm also not certain where to put the reservoir. For the moment, I think it'll go right about where it is. I bought some 2" muffler clamps and I'll try to do something to stand it off from the shock hoop.
The yellow 5100s are moving to the rear, where I'm also building new mounts.
I've cut some more of the 4" plate and drilled so it'll sit over the existing U-bolt ends and bolt down. To this plate, I'll weld some flat strap on the sides to build a double-shear shock mount.
I'm then cutting the bed, outboard of the frame and inboard of the wheel tubs, and I the shocks will come up through the floor.
I'll then build a hoop off of the frame that'll probably tie into the cage to mount the shocks at a forward angle to get enough travel out of the 14.75" Bilsteins.
I'm also setting this end up for double shocks while I'm at it. Eventually I'll get another pair of 7100s for the rear.
Getting on the "critical" list is getting the quarter painted, though. BinderBash is a week n' a half away, and I need to get the paint and clear down on the quarter, give it a little time to cure, then get the stripes put on and some decals..
Plus, since I've cut the shock mounts off the front, that really needs to get done before it's time to go, too. The rear should get done, but isn't critical for taking it to a car show.. but IS critical before the next race. :D
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Mid painting.. first coat of ZR applied.
6/15/2005 after three coats of ZR Black.
A little progress on the new rear lower shock mounts.
Done with the black and some clear (IIRC).
Masking and painting the stripes.
I cleared over the stripes this time, too.
Welded the lower shock front mounts and upper mounts, and hung the reservoirs with some exhaust clamps.
and.. done..
And ready to go to Coeur d'Alene for the JI Binder Bash 6/24..
The rear shocks didn't get finished, and the front shocks need revalved, but it was fixed enough to take to the show..