Ascinder's 1-Ton VX... Cont'd

[nfpgasmask]

Yeah, I wish I could go to Moab. Honestly, if I had the time off I would be there for sure. I just don't understand how life is so unbalanced. Two weeks off a year is WAY outta whack. It's no wonder people get depressed and become alcoholics.

Going to Japan this year though. It's a long time coming. I really think it's gonna happen. We have our plans set to go at the end of October. Halloween in Tokyo! I'm pretty stoked to go, however I will be grappling with the problem of blowing all my vacation time in one go...and I have to wait until October to cash it in. I need to have a heart-to-heart with my boss and see what kind of unpaid time off I can take WITHOUT endangering my job. If I can pull it off, I want to take at least a week off sometime this summer to camp. Of course, if I could swing Moab into that I would.

Justin, what other trips to Nevada do you have planned? That unpaid week off I am hoping to spend in Eastern Nevada camping and wheeling along the Ruby Mountain range. It would be awesome if you could join in. And Beau, if you got the time off you should come.

Bart

[ZEUS]

You know what trip I have planned... Burn baby burn!

[nfpgasmask]

You know what trip I have planned... Burn baby burn!

Oh yeah, I totally forgot...

Bart

[TheGanzman]

I like it, I LIKE it! I have a similar dream - V8 and a beefy "shiftable" automatic - from maybe a late model Camaro or Chorevette. My design goal would be to LOWER the VX, remove the AWD function, and just make a REALLY quick "sleeper" PUV. Brake upgrades, differential upgrade (maybe a FULL Corvette chassis underneath?) Guys are putting them under earlier Corvettes all the time - I bet a cookie it could be done, and for not THAT much cake either...

[JAMAS]

I like it, I LIKE it! I have a similar dream - V8 and a beefy "shiftable" automatic - from maybe a late model Camaro or Chorevette. My design goal would be to LOWER the VX, remove the AWD function, and just make a REALLY quick "sleeper" PUV. Brake upgrades, differential upgrade (maybe a FULL Corvette chassis underneath?) Guys are putting them under earlier Corvettes all the time - I bet a cookie it could be done, and for not THAT much cake either...

ummmmmmmmm......what would be left that would be VX?

Engine Gone
Transmission Gone
AWD Gone
Height Gone
Chassis Gone

Sounds like you just want the "tilt wheel" functionality.

[VXorado]

I like it, I LIKE it! I have a similar dream - V8 and a beefy "shiftable" automatic - from maybe a late model Camaro or Chorevette. My design goal would be to LOWER the VX, remove the AWD function, and just make a REALLY quick "sleeper" PUV. Brake upgrades, differential upgrade (maybe a FULL Corvette chassis underneath?) Guys are putting them under earlier Corvettes all the time - I bet a cookie it could be done, and for not THAT much cake either...

I like the idea of putting in an upgraded drivetrain (i.e. Ascinder's build thread) but as soon as the suspension in modified to match a car, the VX becomes a "crossover" and not a "PUV." There are very many crossovers and very few PUVs. Just a thought

BTW I'm glad this build thread was made, its awesome

[Ascinder]

so, beau... you gonna take the extreme offroad 'ghetto' method i've seen of beefing up competition tires and sawzall every other block of rubber off those tires???

give yourself some serious gaps between tread to grab with..

If they weren't $400+ per tire, maybe, but the way things are heading, I want to be able to maintain high speed in the desert and on the road, while still doing good in the rocks. I think losing half of the lugs would put those wheels in the thump thump thump category going down the road. These wheels actually do extremely well if you just air them down. That's where the bias ply actually offers some advantages over the radial design that is far more common. Bias ply flexes very very well. Properly aired down these things resemble tank treads the way the tread lugs stack up on rocks. They are actually very similar to the creepy crawlers Billy recommended.

Best thread EVER!

Living in Louisville, KY area -seems so uneventful now.

Hopefully it will be if I actually pull this off. Even I have my doubts. There is just so much to do. It's not even close to as simple as it sounds.

X-2...oh wait, living in Fargo was uneventful BEFORE this thread...

Now it's uneventful AND meaningless....

You GO Beau!...

Well, for all the VX's we have driving around Reno, it's sad how uneventful it is here. It's really just Bart and I now. We're going to have to start using strongarm mobster style persuasion tactics to get some people around here to go meet up or hang out. I figure maybe if I make mine a VX among VX's, maybe some of these local lurkers will get interested and come out of their shells to see. Thanks for the encouragement too, it helps me stay on task.

I don't know what is taking you so long Beau. So far, I have only spent 7 hours making a 1-ton VX! I'm still cleaning stuff up - the shadow sucks! I need to find some hubs and lugs to throw in there too. Beau, is there anything specific you would like to see on this? Anything you don't like or want me to fix?

It's taking me so long, because it's easiest to do nothing, easy to do something, and incredibly hard to do something right. The VX isn't destined for mediocrity, so I'm taking things slowly and methodically for a number of reasons:

1)Mistakes are costly and I'm a cheap *&%^&%#!!

2)Mistakes take a long time to fix and I'm pretty lazy.

3)No one's done anything on this scale before except for maybe coachreed, but he has all but fallen off of the face of the earth. His website I used to reference is even down now, so good thing I archived his build log and several pictures. What I'm getting at is that there is no step by step guidebook for this stuff, I literally have to just make everything up and this is the first time I've ever attempted anything like this.

4)This is the ultimate case of the kneebone's connected to the legbone. Everything has to be done one at a time and depends on going in order for other things to work. For instance, I cant start putting in the front four link until I position the engine and trans and xfer case. If I did, I would no doubt hit things. I also can't start doing the hydro system until I find out where the axle will ultimately end up which is largely dependent on the four link. Do I have general ideas of where and how everything fit together? Yes. But like any other plan, it's only good until the first bullet flies.

>RANT OVER<

The photoshop looks awesome. I really dig it. As for any changes? Yes, how about some bikini girls. But seriously, it looks great. I am shooting for a flat tan paintjob instead of the white eventually. But not like desert tan, more like the color referred to as coyote in the tactical vest and gear market. Like this color:



And if you can color match the beadlocks that would be awesome. God, that thing is going to have an approach angle from hell!!

Justin, what other trips to Nevada do you have planned? That unpaid week off I am hoping to spend in Eastern Nevada camping and wheeling along the Ruby Mountain range. It would be awesome if you could join in. And Beau, if you got the time off you should come.

Just let me know when. I can almost always wrangle the time off. I'm an accomplished slacker you know.

ummmmmmmmm......what would be left that would be VX?

Engine Gone
Transmission Gone
AWD Gone
Height Gone
Chassis Gone

Sounds like you just want the "tilt wheel" functionality.

Yeah, that's almost exactly what I'm doing though. I don't see anything wrong with it. How many classic hot rods kept the same engines or transmissions when the were souped up? The AWD is nice, but how necessary is it really? The height I'll agree on a bit, but everyone knows, height is the enemy of speed and handling, not to mention mileage. The chassis I also think I would keep, since a Vette chassis is designed around a body that's extremely low slung, and putting a weeble wobble VX body up there might cause issues. But all in all, that's the beauty of the VX, you can take it in any direction to the extreme because it was designed to handle well(for an SUV type vehicle). We're about to have a hardcore rock/desert machine, why not a street/strip version. I say go for it.

[ZEUS]

The photoshop looks awesome. I really dig it. As for any changes? Yes, how about some bikini girls. But seriously, it looks great. I am shooting for a flat tan paintjob instead of the white eventually. But not like desert tan, more like the color referred to as coyote in the tactical vest and gear market. Like this color:


And if you can color match the beadlocks that would be awesome. God, that thing is going to have an approach angle from hell!!

OK, just to make sure we are on the same page... what I have shown now is a body matching dish. Would you rather have a black dish with the rings painted to match the body? Or do you like the idea of the whole wheel assembly being body color? Or do you just want the dish to be tan and the rings to stay black?

[Triathlete]

Are you going to shave that 14 bolt to prevent it from becoming a rock ancor?

Ohyeah, and I like the smooth cover over the diamond plate!

[Ascinder]

OK, just to make sure we are on the same page... what I have shown now is a body matching dish. Would you rather have a black dish with the rings painted to match the body? Or do you like the idea of the whole wheel assembly being body color? Or do you just want the dish to be tan and the rings to stay black?

I think black dish with rings matching body. But it may look good having the rings and the dish tan. Either on I think would look good.

Are you going to shave that 14 bolt to prevent it from becoming a rock ancor?

Ohyeah, and I like the smooth cover over the diamond plate!

I am still on the fence on whether or not to shave it. I have heard that once you shave it, you pretty much always end up with a leaky diff. which at my apartment wouldn't go over so well. I am also a little reluctant to do it because in the vast majority of shave jobs that are worth doing(in other words shaving off enough to make a difference) they usually sacrifice a lot of the lower bolts which is probably what's causing it to leak. It also presents a weak spot for peeling the cover off, although there are ways to fix that issue. The distance from the centerline of the 14 bolts axle tube to the bottom of the diff is approximately 7". The VX's stock axle centerline to bottom looks to be about 5 1/2". But I am also gaining 2 1/2" of lift from the new wheels ~32" going to ~37", also it looks like on the 14 bolt that there's about a half inch hanging down below the edge of the cover that I could lose without sacrificing anything at all, so really I gain 1 1/2" of clearance over stock. I haven't ever really had any issue running my diff over anything yet, so I don't know, I'm still undecided on that one. As far as covers go, I like the diamond plate, but I think that picture doesn't do it justice. I think I'd like to do the diamond plate with the 1/2" thick mid plating that makes the smooth diff cover picture look so cool. I think if you did a two tone paint job on the cover with the mid plating and bolt ring being one color and the diamond plate being another, it would look awesome. Big bird yellow just wasn't meant to be a diff cover color The other options I was considering for covers are these. They are about 1/2 the price and I'm digging the ribs. But, I also think they're only half as cool as the fabbed covers.

[Triathlete]

Ballistic 14 bolt cover.

[uncle_asa]

It will be amaizing if it ever be finished!

I'm actually getting everything together to build another diesel VX. But it will be 3.0L only and still with independent front

[taylorRichie]

Amazing Beau!! too cool!!

@ASA, Why not do a Cummins 4BT, or an Isuzu 4bd1t? They're the perfect engine for the VX IMO...

Plus there is a ton of good swap information out there, and kits to bolt to standard Chevy Trans.

Just a thought

[nfpgasmask]

It will be amaizing if it ever be finished!

Don't worry, Justin will be here this weekend, and with the 3 of us we should have it done by Sunday night.

Bart

[ZEUS]

Hell yeah! We'll even get the Falcon up and running this weekend too!
Yeah right, I can barely even get an oil change done anymore...