General Tech The Mango Bastard - A Rockwell Buggy story

[_Auzzy_]

And here's how she's looking now. Boss man stepped up and picked me up some rockers ❤️

 

[_Auzzy_]

And finally while out bajaing around with the rear bumps in it turned out I needed a gusset on my bump stop pads. The passenger side hit hard enough it bent the 1/4" pad down, the bump slid past it, hooked it, then bent it up. Thankfully it didn't hurt the bump stop. Built a new 3/8" pad with a stiffner ridge for support




Also almost forgot to show off Cory's bitchin limiting strap link mounts



All in all for a first couple shake downs I couldn't be happier with it! Next time I'm home we'll get the new fans on, skins painted/decals on, etc.

 

[_Auzzy_]

AAAAANNNDDD

I picked up a trailer finally. Has the bigger tube 6 lug axles, 20'x8.5, single axle brakes. Gonna rewire it with new LED lights and reverse lights, throw a 2 5/16" hitch on it, remount the jack, tongue box, all new tires and spares, flush mount tie down spots, winch mount, all the cool guy stuff

 

[Greg]

Congrats, that has to feel good!

 

[_Auzzy_]

It was an amazing feeling finally rolling out on it's own power. Can't wait to see how it is at 100%

 

[_Auzzy_]

Haven't really wheeled it too much due to the over heating issues which we've necked down to either A. Not enough natural air flow to and through the radiator and B. Something possible wrong inside the motor itself like bad gasket etc. Things we've gone through so far this last month:

-Checked resistance on all sensors
-Adjusted timing up to 12*
-Tried different thermostat options
-Switched to a taurus fan from the 14' fans
-New radiator cap with relief bar
-Air bleeder fitting on thermostat housing
-Checked compression, range from 110-120
-Checked all plugs and wires
-Installed new water pump. Had a counter clockwise on by accident/ignorance
-Diagnosed an alternator issue, getting it rebuilt
-Found out my rear bump pads weren't long enough after destroying a bump stop
-Fixed vacuum line issues
-Milled out the throttle body spacer for more flow

And other little junk. We did get a few good runs here and there on some small stuff where it performed great! Even with the over heating issue I couldn't be happier with it and can't explain how grateful I am with everyone helping me get to this point especially my buddy Cory for all the bad ass fab he's done.

 

[Herzog]

Hell yea! Shakedown status. Has to feel good!

 

[_Auzzy_]

It felt amazing! Even though I ripped up a bump stop I still am azed by it's capabilities

 

[YROC FAB.]

The bump that bent the bump stop.

 

[_Auzzy_]

The bump that slid off it's pad and got caught on it. Turns out when you put the full weight of the buggy on the corner it goes pass the edge.

 

[_Auzzy_]

So a small yet bug update.

We moved the radiator up behind my head and got everything done up like the coolant lines, outlet welded on, air bubbles bled, etc and so far she's not getting hot! Staying right around 200-210. Got it up to 220 doing some serious throttle and slamming through gears with a small section of uphill, but better than before!










Also played with skins. Got them in and dzus tabs done, about 75% of the panels are complete just need to start on the side/top engine pieces. Also played with ways on how to mount the spare and I think we got it figured

 

[Ashcat]

Lookin good with some panels!

 

[_Auzzy_]

Totally forgot I haven't updated in awhile. Had an amazing time at KOH with this! Performed far beyond my expectations

Hottest it got was 220 during some serious rallying, I really need my bump stops in! Possibly stiffer springs on the bottom of all 4. But still a blast to rage through the desert at 55mph. Ran into some issues with stuff like alternator dieing, fuel leaking from vent, some other misc stuff but all in all not bad! Wheeled it the whole time up till Thursday night at back door I beat on it extremely hard, harder than i ever will again, and ended up breaking a shaft which I'm pretty sure I have a good idea what happened.

Any ways here's some shots

 

[_Auzzy_]

Also forgot to mention I splurged and got my new seats ordered but sadly they didn't show up till after we got home from Koh

 

[Ashcat]

Springs only support the vehicle, if you need more dampening control then you’ll tune with compression valving, n2 or even dark IFP depth voodoo. Springs and preload look good in the front, secondary in the rear looks good judging by your photos. If anything the preload is borderline excessive and the primary looks light. If you’re considering heavier springs due to body roll, the rear shock angle is the culprit. Valving and sway bar is the fix, again springs only support the vehicle.

Springs are not a tuning device and will only introduce poor handling characteristics or magnify other tuning issues. I’ve been down this road before against my own judgement and will.

 

[_Auzzy_]

Springs only support the vehicle, if you need more dampening control then you’ll tune with compression valving, n2 or even dark IFP depth voodoo. Springs and preload look good in the front, secondary in the rear looks good judging by your photos. If anything the preload is borderline excessive and the primary looks light. If you’re considering heavier springs due to body roll, the rear shock angle is the culprit. Valving and sway bar is the fix, again springs only support the vehicle.

Springs are not a tuning device and will only introduce poor handling characteristics or magnify other tuning issues. I’ve been down this road before against my own judgement and will.

Great info! I agree the valving needs to be a bit stiffer and some stiffer springs with a sway bar for the roll then air bumps for jumping

 

[_Auzzy_]

Nothing too exciting lately. Finally wrapped the skins with orange vinyl from Amazon. Still performing good and getting the job done! Nothing broken yet since the rear axle shaft too.






Took it out to Moab even and had a blast with it. Now to decide between switching out some parts like heads/intake manifold to help with heat/power or find a 6.0L and start building it for a winter swap

 

[Ashcat]

How was the task of wrapping a panel? Any advice?

 

[Bart]

Looks amazing.

 

[ID Bronco]

it looks SHARP! Nice job finishing it up. I love it.