In the rear I made 1/8-inch aluminum panels to protect the produce drawer from rocks that might get thrown up by the 42-inch tires, and to also hide the wires that will run to the tail lights. The panels are mounted on tabs so they sit in the center of the tubes.
That way if the chassis leans into some rocks the steel tubes will protect the panels from damage. Some builders cover the whole chassis with thin body panels, but I’d rather have the tubes showing and the panels functional. Often time’s buggies with body panels are built for competition where lots of sponsor logo space is needed. I also chose thicker aluminum than most comp buggies use since I’d rather not be replacing them after every third wheeling trip.
Up front Drew’s been re working the suspension links and steering. The steering now runs to the bottom of the high steer arms and is mounted in double shear plus the mount ties the upper steering arms to the knuckle for added strength. We had been running the track bar to the driver’s side front knuckle, but decided the bend in the track bar could pose a problem so we integrated a Poly Performance driver’s side track bar bracket onto the axle housing and ended up with only a slight bend in the track bar. This bar will be made from chromoly and then heat treated for insane strength.
More updates in 48 hours.