New Project - SPAWN

[Maize]

I had to work until 7p today, so I couldn't get a ton of work done.

I went to Custom Hose this morning to have the ski shock hoses made up.

I got the shocks all mocked up tonight. Here are the fronts ready to be rebuilt:



I wasn't going to put ressies on the front or center, but then decided that I wanted to be able to ditch bang it here. I want to be able to set them for riding here and in the mountains, so I added them.

Here is the new center shock mocked up with a banjo bolt instead of an elbow. I ground the head down to about half its size to give more clearance:



I also got the 440X steering post ground down to fit the Sea Doo riser:

[madam328]

1/4" aint much. Did you consider a drop and roll?

[Maize]

1/4" aint much. Did you consider a drop and roll?

That 1/4" of clearance is from the edge of the paddle to the cooler. The clearance you need to consider is the distance from the bottom side of the track to the cooler.

The edge of the paddle to the cooler only matters if you are running studs. To move snow, you need to figure the bottom of the track (the bottom of the paddle) to the edge of the cooler. My clearance there is almost 3".

Paddle clearance is little misunderstood. Even if I had 1" of clearance, snow is going to pack in the tunnel to the edge of the paddles anyway. It is only going to move snow that something hits to move it. It wouldn't matter if you have 1" of clearance, or 1.4" of clearance. It will pack and form itself to the edge of the track as the paddles pass it.

The edge of the track isn't going to pack in the snow. What is going to pack the snow is the bottom of the track to the smallest opening.

The track is 2.5" in track. I also run a fully ported track. I have 2.88" from the bottom of the track to edge of the cooler.

The edge of the paddle to the cooler doesn't matter to me. The distance from the bottom edge of the track to the cooler is what more concerns me.

If I was running a 1.25" track and only had .25" clearance it would be worth doing a drop and roll. That would be an opening of 1.50". But I have almost double that at 2.88" opening.

My old sled I had to drop and roll because I couldn't even get a 2.25" under that. But I had 2.5" of clearance from the bottom of the track to the cooler edge. I had no issues with that sled and I have riden mountains in at least 7 different states with that sled.

I have even more clearance on this sled so I didn't think it was worth the extra time or money.

[Maize]

I got a bunch of stuff done today. I got the wiring harness in place, the rear heat exchanger hoses, the gas tank, tank braces, oil tank, coolant reservoir tank, voltage regulator, electric start harness, steering braces, steering boots, exhaust stoppers and the belt guard put in place.

I took the side off of it for better cooling. I then cut the sides of the cover down to make it look like it is supposed to be that way.



















Tomorrow it is going to be putting the front plastic on, the rear skid in the sled, the Snow Eliminators riveted in place, the Van Amburg edges bolted in place the rear bumper and rack put in place.

More pictures tomorrow...

[Maize]

Well...another day of working in the guy-rage (as the wife call's it).

I got the Snow Eliminators and the VanAmburg edges on. I got the cooler riveted in place and the center piece in place. I got the rear bumper and rack put in place.

I didn't get the front body panels on as I had to change the oil and rotate the tires on the Tacoma and remove and install a new golf shaft in a buddies 9 iron. So that took some time away from the project.

When I put the adjusters on the inside, the bolts that hold the adjuster hit the bolts that hold the extension in place. I had to make a spacer plate to give clearance. That was another hour killed.

I also got the rear suspension under her, but it needs a little finese to get bolted in place. I had to cut up boxes from supplies and parts that came in this week. That took over an hour. By the time that was all done up, I decided to call it quits for the day...

This is what I got done today:

[braindead1684]

Just seeing that skid under her gives me chills Lookin real good maize.

[Maize]

Just seeing that skid under her gives me chills Lookin real good maize.

You and me both. I didn't do much on it tonight. Monday is my one day to watch TV.

How I met your mother, Two and Half Men and Big Bang Theory have to be my three favorite shows right now. So Mondays are my TV nights. LOL

I did get the one cap rebuilt and the shim stacks put together on the front shocks. Tomorrow I will be putting them together. So by the end of the week I will be putting the rest of the front end in place and finishing up the rear skid.

I am hoping to have it sitting on its own by the weekend, and putting the motor in her over the weekend.

[Maize]

Ok...don't know where the measurements went wrong, but apparently the XP skid is mounted in a different location.

According to regular calculations, a 2" rail extension should have been fine. With the 154" skid and a 163" track, that left a 9", subtract 2" for the 9" wheels, that leaves 7" and divide that in half should be 3.5". I set the skid back 1.5" from the stock location, so that leaves 2"

Well....not! It is still 70mm (2.75") short. So I contacted Wild Child to get a new set made ASAP.

The angle of the skid must also be different, as I think I have to lower from front A-Arm mounts. I just have to wait and see after I get the front suspension on tomorrow.

Anyway, the wife put the rear skid in the sled tonight. LOL. Here is a shot of here putting in the front A-Arm bolts. LOL I love a woman who can turn wrenches....



Here are some shots of the rear skid in the sled.





I also got the steering post and Sea Doo riser back from Cool Concepts. Here you can see the extra bracing from the race sleds that I put in place. I still have to put in the bolt on the left side.





You can see that it is a total of 10" of riser from the console. That is just perfect for me.

[Maize]

As stated in earlier posts, I took today off work and worked on the sled. I got a bunch of stuff done on the front end today.

I got ahold of Wild Child for the new rail extensions. I got the front end on the sled and all the panels riveted in place.

I took all the foam off the under side of the panels and used adhesive remover to get all the guey stuff off. I removed all decals and residual stuff. I cleaned all the panels and cut the holes for the remote ressies. The right side I had to angle down a little more to make enough clearance for the nitrous bottle.

I also put the reflective sheeting on the exhaust side of the panels. It was a bunch of little things that just took time. I got it all done up today though.

I also got both front shocks done up today. I used a set of Adrenaline shocks for the mock-up as I didn't have to mess with the ressie flopping around. I just have to put the nuts on the A-Arm bolts and they are complete. I had to file down the West Coast Sleds bushings to get them to fit the spindal with the powder coating.

I am on track to drop the motor in the sled for the weekend.

[Maize]

Here is getting the hose fit to the body panels to get the holes in the correct location. Then in place then with the side panel on it.







Here are some shots with the panels on





Here are some shots of the whole thing with the panels in place and the front suspension on the sled with the new Pilot 6.9's. I am going to try these skis to see how they work. They are brand new and cheaper than Powder Pros. If they don't work out, I can always get the Powder Pros.



Here is a shot of the sled set at the proper ride height. I will have a settle-in of about an inch.



Here is the shock installed and ready to go.