MX5 Bronco Miata/Baby Bronco

[houseofdiesel]

Update 9/23/11

So got the front motor mount ears braced up, and the rear one link main bracing cut and in. Coming together nice. Let the wife throw down some welds on the inside of the skid and cut the bracing. She did pretty good for her first day. I even laid down my first ever TIG welds. Only did a couple open spots where I could get set up at good easy angles. Inside corners, weren't going very smooth once things started to get boxed in, so I'll just need to practice a bit more before I feel comfortable TIGing full time. I love it though and can't wait to get the hang of it, and figure out all the tips and tricks to tough spots. So plan is once I finish all the bracing, I'll drop the motor to finish welding all the tight spots, box in the front and rear one / uni link brackets, and paint things up. Ordered axle bracket, and trac bar hiems tonight, so progress should stay pretty steady. It'll take a little bit extra time to make sure all the links are bent perfectly to 90 to the axles, so that if I ever need to adjust the pitch of the axles or tweak the distance of the axles further out I can. It won't have more than a 1"-1.5" of adjustment but it's nice to at least be able to adjust the pitch of the axle, instead of the tubes being welded directly to the axles and never being able to adjust anything. If you are questioning the design, don't worry you'll see it very soon, 2-3 weeks max.

 

[houseofdiesel]

Update 10/4/11

So got the brackets welded up and painted for the transfer case mounts. Also drilled the to slot the body mounts for the passenger side skid that has the long carry. The plates on the top will attach to the roll cage so that the skid can not by chance just rip the supports through the sheet metal and to assure the center of the skid will have some extra rigidity directly to the cage.

 

[houseofdiesel]

Update 10/6/11

Had to connect the two support plates to the cage. In order to make sure that the seats will clear had to get load the kids in and check for room and positioning. I realized how misleading the pics with the body mocked on are. The cab and chassis is way smaller than it appeared in the photos. Here are a couple pics of the 8 and 6 year old in the seats. Thank goodness the 10 year old is tinny. It'll probably only be a 3 seater for 2-3 years max.

 

[JDJ]

Just a question, what would stop you from taking the cage hoop behind the front seats and moving it back 8"-12"? Wouldn't that give you more room for the kids to grow and still be able to use the vehicle?

Just wondering. I know that currently you are looking at being able to haul 1-2 passengers in the back.

 

[houseofdiesel]

Just a question, what would stop you from taking the cage hoop behind the front seats and moving it back 8"-12"? Wouldn't that give you more room for the kids to grow and still be able to use the vehicle?

Just wondering. I know that currently you are looking at being able to haul 1-2 passengers in the back.

Oh in due time, I will. The 6 year old can barely reach the pedals right now as is. Eventually I'll open it up and make it a two seater. In a couple of years.

 

[bknbronco]

Is it gona be street legal? If not whats the point? IMO bad investment of money and time! Why not just get the kids 4 wheelers? Theyll have that thing trashed in less than a week!

 

[broncobsession]

Well, personally I think this looks more safe and I'd much rather have something my dad built than a store bought 4wheeler any day! This thing is bada$$. Props.

 

[BRONCO_POWER]

I can't wait to see the final product.

 

[Izzy]

Is it gona be street legal? If not whats the point? IMO bad investment of money and time! Why not just get the kids 4 wheelers? Theyll have that thing trashed in less than a week!

What was the point of this comment? I think the fact that he is willing to spend so much time and energy on something for his kids just shows how much and loves them.

Houseofidiesal,

Keep at it man, I think it's awesome and your a great dad for doing it. You are building priceless memories and that by no means is a bad investment at all!!

 

[Rox Crusher]

Had to connect the two support plates to the cage. In order to make sure that the seats will clear had to get load the kids in and check for room and positioning. I realized how misleading the pics with the body mocked on are. The cab and chassis is way smaller than it appeared in the photos. Here are a couple pics of the 8 and 6 year old in the seats. Thank goodness the 10 year old is tinny. It'll probably only be a 3 seater for 2-3 years max.


I was wondering what motivated you to do this build...............the smiles on your kids face explains it all.

They are gonna have a blast !

I officially nominate you for Dad of the Year.

 

[bronco-billy-66]

Very cool.. I want one

 

[houseofdiesel]

Thanks for the support guys. I really do not like motorcycles, especially for children. Not only do kids not have the knowledge to throw themselves away from the bike, but they don't have the strength to overcome an out of control bike. And yes the respect, love, and appreciation of building something with your own bare hands are the main driving forces for this build. It will be awesome to have the kids putting around behind me in their own rig. It will be impossible to ever hear them through the headsets over the laughs and smiles.

 

[sprdv1]

Any updates man..?

 

[houseofdiesel]

Any updates man..?

Side tracked. Gotta fix a couple things on the '05 SD and get rid of it, AC went out on the MegaCab, had to go down to DMV myself to clear up all the paperwork for the Salvaged F150 (Bureaucrats were pushing my wife and shop hand around), gotta help the wife straighten out some insurance crap on her Touareg so we can get it fixed and sell it (Fuel Fire from static electricity), and the dog got hit by a car and I had to bury her. I'm not one for excuses, but it's been a rough couple weeks. I gotta head off to Oklahoma next week and spend a couple days in the Austin area to check things out. So probably won't be able to start making some serious progress again until early November.

Right now I striped it back down to weld up and gusset the skid/crossmember and counter sink all the holes. Tedious crap, but progress should roll once we flip her back over and shoe the drive train back in. Plus tight on cash right now and really need to order the front hydro system, before I can set up the front.

 

[CORE4WD]

Love this build! There's absolutely no price on memories with the family....

 

[houseofdiesel]

Update 3/21/12

Man it's been awhile. Welds are a little rough, back is a little sore. Nice to finally get out in the shop a bit though. Plan is to hopefully have a self powered rolling chassis for Fabulous Fords Forever at Knotts Berry Farm. A lot to do in one month but think I can make it happen. Picture is at ride hight or just over. Had to limit the front to a 10" Coilover. I might be able to change it out later to an ORI 12" or 14" but for now the 16" Air Shocks are way to long up front. And with how narrow I kept the axle there just isn't enough room on the sides to run the shocks passed the frame rails. I just happened to have a set of 10" King Coilovers on the shelf. Anyways I've got the two lower brackets tacked in and the trac bar bracket off the frame. Things are starting to move along so next week I'll order the steering ram and set up the steering, and finish up the links. All links will tie into the bushings 90* to the axles. Three up front and 4 in the rear. The two lowers will be the main arms that hold the axle at length, and the uppers will just be resistance to hold axle from rolling. I used adjustable bushings for two main reasons. One to have some adjustment. Two to have some kind of give and relieve the pressure that a one link puts on the single heim at the chassis.

 

[sprdv1]

Better late than never.. can't wait to see the finished version

 

[BRONCO_POWER]

I cant wait to see this when its done.

 

[Canadianbacon]

this is going to be fantastic!

 

[Tasty Geezer]

This is just amazing...keep up the awesome work...really excited about seeing this finished!