DSR1 build with pics

[rupert14]

Here is my DSR1 build. I started with the old "so cal fab" rhino. It has been around and many of you know the car.

I sent the car to AZP fab for a frame stretch. Having taken this car to 98mph in third gear (cbr1000) I can attest to the fact that 75-80" wheelbase at that speed is not safe.

The rear suspension mounting section of the car was thrashed. Here is what we found when we cut it in half.

We decided to scrap the back end and had a new rear section cut out with a waterjet and jigged it together. From there 17" of wheelbase were added to the frame. The purpose of this is two fold.

1. Safety. To make the wheelbase about 95-96" which should give the needed stability to go fast. We all want to have fun but it is not worth wadding a car up at 100mph.

2. This moves the entire Weller SR1 mount kit and motor out of the drivers compartment. The seats will be moved toward the center of the car about 5" each. This puts the driver in the middle of the front window, gives much more room in the drivers compartment, decreases driver noise/fatigue, and most importantly, increases the safety of the car by moving the time bomb away from the driver/co-driver.

Here is where we are so far. There are still several tubes to be added but you get the idea. Great workmanship by AZP fab!!

Here is a lead into several products "Raber Racing" is working on. If you have interest in these products let me know.

1. A DSR1 frame stretch kit that will make stretching your frame and entering the DSR1 class easy AND affordable.
2. A complete DSR1 chassis for those with a little more coin.
3. HUGE rear brakes/hubs that run 930cv's for use in any SR1, DSR1, or UTV that wants affordable 15" wheels and larger tires/brakes.
4. A custom front spindle for 2wd cars that uses much better brakes, bearings, possably front steer, etc.

I will keep the post updated with pics and we WILL be racing in the Henderson BITD race.

 

[rappy60guy]

that is so sweet

 

[cfyca]

Bobby that thing is looking sweet!! A couple things..

- Are your welds flame-annealed? Just wondering what the best process for this is with these metals.. Any fab advice would be greatly appreciated. We have a structural steel erection company so we do plenty with structural welding but all with a lot heavier stuff, these thin alloy metals are a little foreign!
- I may be interested in hearing more about the rear hubs you are talking about.. We are going to have to do something in that department and I would rather not go with Weller's kit simply because the lack of rear discs. Also we are going to be looking at running bigger wheels and tires, like Jagged.
- I think our car will be ending up right around 97-98" on the wheel base so I'm glad to hear your advice on the car length.
- What are you doing with the fuel cell? With our engine moved back behind the firewall I am a little sketchy about putting it behind/above the engine now. It seems like it is a long ways back there.. What are your thoughts of putting a rectangular cell between the seats?

Your car is looking sweet! Once ours gets a little farther along I will get some pics on here.. Thanks for all the help, it is GREATLY appreciated

Cody

 

[rupert14]

Bobby that thing is looking sweet!! A couple things..

- Are your welds flame-annealed? Just wondering what the best process for this is with these metals.. Any fab advice would be greatly appreciated. We have a structural steel erection company so we do plenty with structural welding but all with a lot heavier stuff, these thin alloy metals are a little foreign!
- I may be interested in hearing more about the rear hubs you are talking about.. We are going to have to do something in that department and I would rather not go with Weller's kit simply because the lack of rear discs. Also we are going to be looking at running bigger wheels and tires, like Jagged.
- I think our car will be ending up right around 97-98" on the wheel base so I'm glad to hear your advice on the car length.
- What are you doing with the fuel cell? With our engine moved back behind the firewall I am a little sketchy about putting it behind/above the engine now. It seems like it is a long ways back there.. What are your thoughts of putting a rectangular cell between the seats?

Your car is looking sweet! Once ours gets a little farther along I will get some pics on here.. Thanks for all the help, it is GREATLY appreciated

Cody

I think the welds are just standard tig. I have never flame annealed any of our welds but I am just a garage builder not a full blown fab shop. Jason at AZP would know. I will PM you his contact info and you can reach out to him on that.

My hubs will cost about $1500 a pair. They will have some serious brakes. It will only work with a 15" wheel but has many good race wheels available. The bearings are available at any parts house and are super strong for this application. Ok dang it, here is a sneak peak.

As for the fuel cell, we are running the cell that was in the car before in the rear of the frame just above the rear diff. The spare tires will sit on the flat part of the rear frame section. I really don't want the cell or anything flamable in the cabin. It would work if that is what will fit best for you. One thing to consider is this. When we stretch a frame we are adding a rather light part of the frame and leaving the heavy part up front. The driver cabin is not equally spaced between the front/rear tires. The R1 motor etc is relatively light. In order to transfer as much weight as possable to the rear tires, I would be ok moving the tank behind the rear wheels if it did not make the car so dang long. I would like to see a 40/60 front/rear distribution. Even with moving the cell as far back as possable, that is not realistic. Yes having the weight right above the rear suspension will change the suspension characteristics slightly as the fuel is used but I will do it to make the front as light as possable. IMO, keep the cabin safe and roomy and plant that sucker out back. There will be no problem with power and the added wheelbase will make the car so much more stable that I am not anticipating having any issues with it way out there. It also means the fuel lines only need to be 18-24" long and will be far from the hot exhaust. We are running a stock header under the motor.

Post up some pics when you can. I can't wait to see the car.

 

[cfyca]

Thanks for the info.

I would love to spend some time visiting with your fab shop to learn a little more about the processes they are using. If you could get me their contact info that would be great.

Those hubs look knarly! What is their availability/when they will be ready to sell? I am quite interested in them. How about the front spindles you mentioned? If we went that route on the rears we will be doing something different on the fronts to accommodate the larger wheels as well.. Isn't it great how one thing ALWAYS leads to another

I like your idea of putting the fuel cell just above the rear dif.. It will help lower the weight, which was one of my concerns. I too hate to put the cell in the drivers compartment after doing all this work to get the engine out of there! I'm sure ours will end up out back, just not sure where yet.

You said you are using the stock headers? How are you going to be mounting your engine? A way other than Weller's 2.5" cross tubes running between the frame rails? I noticed the stock header would work sweet running under the engine between the frame rails, but those two cross tubes that are in there block that space to the rear.. Are you coming up with your own engine mounts?

Thanks again for so much advice!

 

[rupert14]

Thanks for the info.

I would love to spend some time visiting with your fab shop to learn a little more about the processes they are using. If you could get me their contact info that would be great.

Those hubs look knarly! What is their availability/when they will be ready to sell? I am quite interested in them. How about the front spindles you mentioned? If we went that route on the rears we will be doing something different on the fronts to accommodate the larger wheels as well.. Isn't it great how one thing ALWAYS leads to another

I like your idea of putting the fuel cell just above the rear dif.. It will help lower the weight, which was one of my concerns. I too hate to put the cell in the drivers compartment after doing all this work to get the engine out of there! I'm sure ours will end up out back, just not sure where yet.

You said you are using the stock headers? How are you going to be mounting your engine? A way other than Weller's 2.5" cross tubes running between the frame rails? I noticed the stock header would work sweet running under the engine between the frame rails, but those two cross tubes that are in there block that space to the rear.. Are you coming up with your own engine mounts?

Thanks again for so much advice!

I will send that contact info over. The hubs will most likely be done in about 6-8 weeks. The best part is that we will have a matching set of front spindles that run the same bolt pattern and utalize tapered roller bearings with the same style big brakes. The set of front/rear INCLUDING the spindles will run around 3K. Not pennies but cheaper than a set of gear one hubs and you get front/rear, larger brakes, and parts store servicability.

The weller mount will work with some modification. I think we are adding a couple inches to the vertical dimension between the motor and cross bar. Call Jason Weller and ask him. He is the one mounting the motor and doing the SR1 stuff to the car. He is very helpfull and I am sure he can set you on the right track. He may even have some pics of how to do it.

Keep the build going. I think we are going to have a great season in 2012.

 

[cfyca]

Thanks, I will keep an eye out for the contact info. I have a few local friends with fab shops that that I can discuss it with as well.

They aren't cheap, that is for sure. But from the looks of it you wouldn't need to buy replacements in a year. That is always a good thing.

After checking ours out a little closer, I think we will be able to make the stock header work as well. The only potential problem I can see is the stock header comes up almost directly under where the fuel cell will potentially be placed. I know, I need to spend some time on the phone with Jason, just haven't had enough time to give him a call.

We are excited to come down and race with you guys. Our biggest problem is we have been super busy with work the last few months, which is a good thing, but not for the Rhino. So we haven't had a ton of time to spend on the build. We should be able to start making a little faster progress as the snow starts flying and things sort of slow down.

 

[rupert14]

Here are the updated pics. Motor is in, chassis is almost done. Just about to start putting it back together. It is scheduled to be done by the henderson 250. Should start coming back together pretty quick now.

 

[the stripping shop]

looking good just shows people what they can do to race and have fast car

 

[Big Guy]

Nice build!!

 

[Wild Earp]

looks good. Interested what its going to look like with fenders...

 

[DUNE DUMMY 29]

LOOKS LIKE A TROPHY TRUCK. I TOO AM WAITING TO SEE HOW IT LOOKS SKINNED. GREAT BUILD. THANKS FOR SHARING.

 

[cfyca]

Lookin' good! Keep the pics coming they are very helpful

 

[rupert14]

looks good. Interested what its going to look like with fenders...

We all want to see what it will look like with fenders. The cab will use the same skin etc but the back will be new. I wish I could skip the fenders because UTV stuff will be way too short. We are going for the pickup look so custom or ranger fenders will most likely be going on.

 

[Phxfe]

nice to see it still going. that car was a huge pain in the ass

 

[rupert14]

progress.....

 

[cfyca]

Any new pics? How is the progress looking for next weekend, are you going to make it?!

 

[rupert14]

Any new pics? How is the progress looking for next weekend, are you going to make it?!

yes we will make it

 

[cfyca]

Looking good! Can't wait to check it out.


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[rupert14]

The car is "done" enough to make the race. There are still several things to do like the aluminum around the motor, cosmetics, etc but for now it is going. The cab feels HUGE without a motor in there. This is the way to go guys. It runs great and can hold a drift across an asphalt parking lot at 30 mph. Not bad. See everyone in Henderson!!