The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

The Manxter 2+2 & Dual Sport. Created as an answer to the limitations of the classic Meyers Manx.
Brad
Posts: 165
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:41 am

Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by Brad »

So with the material in and the plan confirmed it was time to get down to making the chassis for the Baja Edition. The majority was made from 1 1/2" x 0.095 walled DOM 1020 grade with a few select pieces made from 0.120 wall.

The design as simple enough get full travel with 2.5 shocks and keep it all under the DualSports Body.

Got to spend a bit of time playing with the bender.

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Front shock hoops are 158 degrees if anyone wants to make a set :)

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The primary upper and lowers are sleeved onto the beam and front section. I do this but chamfering the 1 1/2" tube and then making a sleeve from 1 3/4" cut on the same angle / notched. When they are installed I run a root pass on the 1 1/2" tube and then slide the 1 3/4" over the outside and tig it in place as well.

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Doing this reduces the stress point and gives you two separate welded about 1/4" apart.

The end that is not going onto the other tube etc is notched at 90 degrees so that the weld sleeve is not a straight shear,

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Everything is then cleaned, cleaned and cleaned again. Fit and checked and checked

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Once I am happy with the fit it is time to get welding. My original plan to get my mate to weld it out didn't work out as he is crook as a dog and this build time line waits for no man. With that sorted I spent a few hours running some beads and getting my heat issues sorted and set to welding it out.

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Once the roots were done I could push the sleeves down and burn them in as well. I had to get the sequence correct.

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Anyway far from perfect but I am sure by the time I finish welding it out they will get better.

Hope to have her on wheels by the end of the weekend so I can do steering geometry and start buttoning up.
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vincent9993
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Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by vincent9993 »

Brad wrote:
vincent9993 wrote:What's going on Brad? No update today? Where's our build porn?

The night is still young Vincent .. finished up at 0430 this morning after a 15 hrs Tig Session .. few more hours and the chassis will be done ... unless of course I change my mind, with over 26 days to go anything is possible ... 8)
You guys rock!
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manxvair
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Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 5:00 am
Location: Mohave Valley, AZ

Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by manxvair »

So is this the new "Off the shelf" DSBE chassis that will be available to the general public?
Mike Dario
Mohave Valley, AZ
Manx Club #957
Manx Club President

Tow'd (Hers)
Manxvair (His)
Manxter Dual Sport #30 Baja Edition #2 (Ours)
Resorter #19-Fuscia(under construction)
Brad
Posts: 165
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:41 am

Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by Brad »

manxvair wrote:So is this the new "Off the shelf" DSBE chassis that will be available to the general public?
The END product will available as a rolling solution and works with an existing DualSports Kit.

We will not be selling just the bare chassis etc as the overall design is all about integration and that is right down to shocks, valving, spring rates, wheels, tires, pedal, brakes etc. It will be offered with either a Type 2 or a SubaruGears Transmission setup tabbed in.

More Details will flow as we finish the build and then complete our test run down Baja and back.
Brad
Posts: 165
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:41 am

Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by Brad »

with the chssis underway it was time to look at shock towers and getting the most out of the setup. I had heard a lot of interesting numbers quoted but from the outset I was going to be happy with anything over 12". With that in mind I pulled out the 4" Foddrill Arms and pressed in the bushings to the carriers. I have gone with King Kong Stubs and matched them to the Jamar Pro X 4 pot callipers.

Pressing the bushings into the spindles I was very impressed with the fit and finish, Foddrill had done a great job and they all went together well.

Once done I hung one side and started playing with shock placement.

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I had the body on and off many times and was very happy to have a body I could use for alignment before we pickup the real Kit next week.

Fast forward way to many hours and the chassis is welded out and ready to move to the next stage. I was lucky enough to have my custom weld positioner on hand to let me flip it around and avoid any bad out of position stuff.

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With that done it was onto the lift for the next phase which will be getting it on wheel, getting steering mounted, getting rear support sorted, getting shocks mounted and then laying out the additional braceing before pulling it all apart again to weld out to put it back together again to keep moving.

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The engine and transmission combo I will be using is a SubaruGears 5 Speed Transmission mated to a Subaru EJ25 SOHC engine. As I don't actually have my actual engine and trans yet I have managed to get a setup engine and mated it togeather. With the SubaruGears rear mount the point of balance is spot on and with a SteelArt Creations 3" shorter sump there is plenty of clearance.

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Talking of sumps Paul will be here next week to join the build but just cause he aint here yet don't mean he ain't working. Like all good buggy guys he just started making the sumps for the car in the few days before he fly's out.

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Sweet ...
Brad
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Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:41 am

Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by Brad »

It was a pretty big weekend with lots of thinking, assembly and testing. Of course with the race around 3 weeks I would have liked to get a lot more done than I did and I know I am going to be pulling it down a few more times yet before it is time to bolt it up finally.

I managed to get the wheels on front and rear and start cycling the suspension to see what hits what and what I need to take into account when I add in the rest of the support bars.

I should be picking up the DualSports Kit from Meyers Manx this wee so until then I just keep using my other body.

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Now I had the body on I also started to looking at mounting the PRP front seats. I was lucky enough to get some spare frames so I could move them around without any chance of damaging them.

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The Fortin 2.0 Steering rack was also put in place so I can begin to design a mount. To start with I made an adjustable setup so I can get it in the best position to limit bump steer.

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Then I pulled it apart a few more times and hope to have the engine and trans mounted this week along with some more tube work done.
Brad
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Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:41 am

Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by Brad »

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vincent9993
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Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by vincent9993 »

Good evening Brad you continue to impress with your dedication! You guys are in a different league: Building, Documenting and Planning on a deadline is unbelievable.

Do you know who's participating to the Norra 1000? Would be great if you guys ran a findmespot in addition to the official tracking devices for us to follow you guys.
Brad
Posts: 165
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:41 am

Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by Brad »

vincent9993 wrote:Good evening Brad you continue to impress with your dedication! You guys are in a different league: Building, Documenting and Planning on a deadline is unbelievable.

Do you know who's participating to the Norra 1000? Would be great if you guys ran a findmespot in addition to the official tracking devices for us to follow you guys.

Send me a spot .. if they work as well as the C2C it would be a waste of weight ...

Thanks for the feedback, we try our best. The rest of my build team is currently airborne and should be landing in San Diego in about 14 hrs ... that should mean productivity goes up in about 16 hrs

I think you will find we are all a little bit unstable ... I mean here is a picture of what Paul has packed in his Suitcase for his overseas holiday ....

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Not what most would consider normal..

That being said he will also need some gloves and some steel caps so I am guessing they are in his carry on :)

We get our Kit on Thursday this week so it is all on after that :shifty:
Brad
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Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:41 am

Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by Brad »

With 20 Days to go the rest of the Build Team has arrived. After a team meeting someone decided we should do Race Prep on the Meyers Tow'd to get it out the way before we finished off the Baja Edition.

I am not exactly sure WTF Happened next but as you can see from the below video the build of Baja Edition just took on a few distractions.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFIUHcmBrhA[/youtube]
towd-dude
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Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 6:00 am
Location: Gardnerville, Nevada

Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by towd-dude »

Besides your Manxter and two Towds are there any other Meyers buggies racing ? Exceptional quality effort on the DSME project. If any of your team comes to Buellton I would really like to purchase a Australian Manx Club hat and one of your key fobs..
Wish I could be there to participate in this effort.
Bob
Brad
Posts: 165
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:41 am

Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by Brad »

towd-dude wrote:Besides your Manxter and two Towds are there any other Meyers buggies racing ? Exceptional quality effort on the DSME project. If any of your team comes to Buellton I would really like to purchase a Australian Manx Club hat and one of your key fobs..
Wish I could be there to participate in this effort.
Bob
Not sure to bus trying to get the car built so we have something to drive. Not sure who the 2nd Towd is We have one Towd and a Manxter
Brad
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Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:41 am

Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by Brad »

Well we are into it now, the boys arrived from Australia and before they had a chance to settle in we headed over to Meyers Manx to pickup the Manxter DualSport Kit, Baja Edition.

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The Baja Edition starts life as a Normal DualSports Manxter and then gets an upgraded cage ( 1 1/2" 1020 DOM 0.120 wall ) and Tiw Welded with different rear shock mounts to suit the 2.5 Coil Overs. The rest ofd the modifications happen during assembly with additional internal supports and base plates.

The Kit like all Meyers Manx Kits comes complete with all the fasteners

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Winnie goes through the kit and checks everything off the list.

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The colour is a nice Orange that Winnie had made.

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With all of it checked off we load her up and head back to teh shop.

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Brad
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Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by Brad »

Tic Toc goes the race clock ...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7-rGrioWi4[/youtube]
Brad
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Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:41 am

Re: The Road to Mexican 1000- Building a Manxter DualSports

Post by Brad »

It has been together and apart many times.

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We are hopeful of getting some paint on the chassis by end of the week and begin final assembly.

At the moment the Arclight CNC Plasma is going most of the day as we pump out all the stuff we need to keep welding out on the two cars.

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Andrew got the short straw and got to cut the new fiberglass to suit the coil overs. With the 2.5's Sonny from Down South Motorsports setup for us we need a bit more room than standard.

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