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.