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Brunton StalkerXL #23 Build


jevs

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Finished the bracket for the sensor mounting. I just have to get the heim attached now and round off the sensor arm so it looks better. Based on what some of you are saying, I might bump the throw up to 3.5". It looks like the tension is going to be good. No other springs needed and close to stock feel.

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After waiting for a backordered class 1 safety chain loop for months and then being told it would be even longer, I finally gave up and made my own. This one is better anyway because the shape will make the chains want to be away from the receiver tube more so the coating will last longer.

I used 1/4" clip pins. I stretch them out and matched them up to my Curtis class 1 hitch on my other car so they were the same diameter. I then cut them and tacked them together. It was easier to line them up on the car as one piece.

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I finally finished the throttle pedal setup. I ended up with near the same pull as stock and 3-5/8" travel. I used a 5/16" male and female heim to join the two parts. I did have to make both the female and the male heim parts shorter. I machined my own spacers from spare hardware in my "spacers" bin.

I also finished the front aluminum panel.

The shop was a mess after all this cutting, grinding, and welding, but I got it cleaned up and ready to make a fresh start on something else!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I got my rubber hood seal. It is a firm rubber, which is exactly what I wanted. So I decided I had to get back to the fiberglass torture since the pedal hurdle was defeated.

 

I was going to just grind the lip out and build it up manually, however thanks to some bad resin that gave me more working time than I should have had, I got a better idea. I had time to think of letting the hood mold it for me. Well this worked, but it would never set up for me. I tried to blend some good resin in with the bad, but I just got a candy shell. So, I removed it all the next day and started over.

 

This time I taped the seal to the hood. I applied all the glass and resin and then covered it with wax paper and set the hood into it. I then clamped the hood down and let it cure.

 

This worked great. It did allow the hood to kind of go where it wanted a little on the drivers side. The passenger side was already getting a little firm, so it did not squish as much. There was no way to get it on the first try, since I actually want the scuttle to force the hood where it needs to be.

 

Anyway. I did a lot more sculpting and got the passenger side pretty close without adding any more glass. I had to add some more on the drivers side and let it get hard so I could sand it down until the hood set where I wanted. I then had to add a little more to fill some low spots last night, and that is where I am now.

 

It is getting there, this should work out so I can use a seal under the bottom lip on the sides also. The top corners of the scuttle are going to have to be shaved off a bit to match the hood once the lines are right. No way around it. The hood edge is just smaller than the scuttle, but I got it now so not much will need to come off for a nice alignment and the hood is held nice and tight.

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More pics of the hood and scuttle work.

 

I scored some Nascar hinges off eBay. These things are only 3.4 oz for the pair and they act as hinges and they lock open. These are longer than any others like this that I could find. They are one offs, so sorry, no link. Not sure what team made them. These will act as my prop rods.

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Maybe "big Heads" fastenters?

I couldn't find anyone selling them in the US and ended up ordering from East Coast Fibreglass in the UK.

 

I will most likely fiberglass an angle bracket into the hood and then weld one on the frame. Not sure of the exact details until I can get to it. I am debating on doing it soon, or waiting until the engine is all in so I can check more than pictures for clearance.

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Well I have been doing body work for many evenings and some days now. I think I have the scuttle lip finally ready for some high build primer.

 

Trying to work on one thing does not work well when you actually get a whole day to do something. You need something else to do while the other thing dries. So, I decided to go ahead and add the rocker rod "hoods" to the hood.

 

I ground the back side a little and ground the gel coated side edge down to fiberglass. I then removed the shocks and moved the rods to the most interfering position.

 

I used a piece of pipe foam for a form.

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I used wax paper again so the resin would not stick. I stretched some fleece that I had leftover from another fiberglass project to make the shape. I used dabs of hot glue to hold it on the back side here and there. I believe this is probably about the same method Brunton used to make them on the green car (based on the same shape I am getting), although I trimmed the lips in front of these on each side to be about the same width first.

 

Next I coated the fleece with resin and added some small strips of fiberglass for filler where the fleece meets the hood.

 

Next I will have to trim them to shape, add a couple layers of fiberglass to the back side, and a bunch of sanding and some filling to get it all smooth.

 

Can't wait to get back to the mechanical/electrical stuff. I hate the mess of body work.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have not worked on the car in quite some time due to a lot of other projects that needed to be done. Here are a couple pictures I did not have time to add. I did finally get my wheels that I ordered 6+ months ago.

Hopefully I will be back to the car soon. I finished most of the other things up that I had to get done. I bought a new 16x40 lathe and this required me making a lot of rearrangement to the shop to fit it. I also had to find room for yet another set of tool boxes. I had do a little rewiring and the lathe itself needed a lot of tweeks. I also had to install a snow plow on my zero turn mower which of course required some custom fabrication, welding, refinishing for the "universal fit" system.

I got the scuttle lip remade and primed. There will still be some straightening on the top and sides, but I think the hardest part is over. I also have to make and glass in some mounts on the bottom of it on the dash side. I will be welding some tabs to the dash tube. It is way too flexible in that area and needs to have some solid mounting points or it will just flex up and down constantly and rub away the "carbon fiber" dash over time.

I finished the glassing on the "hoods" over the rocker tubes. Those just need to be sanded, trimmed, and imperfections filled, etc.

I also added some glass to the inside lip of the hood. The thickness was not consistent. This will need to be sanded so the lip mates to the scuttle well and being smooth will be easier on the rubber gasket over time. It will also have consistent strength. It was pretty easy to flex it in a couple thin spots.

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I finally finished up a bunch of other projects and had the rest of the afternoon to mess with the car. Hopefully I can work on it a little more regularly again.

I had to bolt a wheel up just so I could look at for fun and make sure everything did bolt up ok.

315/30-18 11" wide wheel with +20mm offset using 1.5" spacer (Brunton recommended sizes)

I sanded down the fiberglass I added on the bottom of the hood edge. The thickness is a bit more consistent now and the mate to the rubber will be smoother.

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The messy work is finally starting to pay off a little. The mate between the hood, rubber gasket, and scuttle are finally good.

There is still a lot to do, but this stuff should be easier. I have to add some mounts for the dash side of the scuttle, make the body lines actually line up (they are terrible), trim and smooth the little rocker arm hoods I made, sand the final hood to scuttle body gap, and then try to get all the dips, bumps, and waves out of all this.

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Shaped the rocker rod "hoods" today. Luckily it was nice enough to sand outside.

 

Jevs,

 

That's a nice looking (functional) pair of rocker rod "hood"s. Unless this is something you simply want to keep in your back pocket, you should share this with the Minehearts'. :cheers:

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They already did something about the same on the green one they built. They don't seem to be doing it on the hoods for the do it yourselfers though. They just leave that unfinished looking cutout. So, I more or less copied them. They must have done theirs about the same way I did mine by the looks of it. I did not ask.

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