1970 Nitro 295S

[ruppluver]

I went out & dragged ANOTHER tunnel in,yet another project,a 1970 Nitro 295S.
I did one of these before,but sold it before it was completed.I got the engine
through/from seacoastrupp.Long story,won't go into that.

The track is Chaparral,involute drive,NEW Kimpex,7
tooth,2.52 drivers.

[ruppluver]

I got the track into the tunnel & then installed the front driver.I centered the track in the tunnel & I am now trying to figure out where the bogie wheels need to be,to clear the inside driver lugs on track.One verticle leg on the assembly,needs to be moved & re-welded. It's not hard,just time consuming.Once I get one figured out,I will make the other 5 the same way.

Drive shaft/drivers in,still have to pop the seal in on
the cup side.

Leg in new position,waiting to be welded,in my high
tech jig!!

Outside wheel,is running close to the rib on track edge,
should be ok.
The first set of bogies,will be a set of 3 wheels,then 2,
etc,etc,etc. This sled will have 15 bogie
wheels,instead of 12!!Probably overkill tho'. Time will tell,like
next winter!!

[yellowlab2]

Love following your builds, Dan! Keep up the cool work!

[ruppluver]

Suspension going together!! Still have the last set
of bogies to put in,plus the rear axle.I'm getting
down to the not so good parts.Should finish the
suspension tomorrow.I used 15 bogie wheels,I had
refurbished earlier,like over a year ago or so.Those
wheels run straight as an arrow,they had all new
bearings in them.

Went with a different configuration on the bogie
assemblies.After the drivers,went 3,then 2 etc.A
Scorpion guy told me that beings how Scorpion,
Chaparral,JD tracks didn't have steel rods in them,
I should run 3 bogies on the first set,instead of 2.
It should add some strength to the track in that area.

[ruppluver]

After getting the track/suspension in,I tightened the track & it ran towards the chaincase side.It was rubbing on the bolt heads.Sooooo,today I pulled everything apart & did some measuring.The drive shaft was an 1/8th inch off.I have never thought to measure anything,because you would think everything would be ok,right?? So now,I have to figure out how to correct it,I have an idea,that I'll try today.If it doesn't work,I'll junk the tunnel.By the way,I checked tunnel for square,with everything off.The tunnel,is right on the money square wise.Later.

[ruppluver]

The modification I did,worked out just fine.Track/suspension
work/adjusts ok.

I rigged this spring tensioner up on this sled,instead
of riveting brackets inside,top of tunnel.Might work,might
not.It's adjustable to increase or decrease the tension.

Tension on rear springs is INCREASED in the picture!!! It raised the
back of sled.I hate it when the rear sags.

[nuts4steel]

very cool, thanks for sharing that.

[ruppluver]

Am working on both lower panels.They are in rough shape,
torn,ripped,out of shape,pieces missing,all mounting holes
are in the wrong place.Just about got both pieces all
roughed in,just a little glass work left.Then I have to
finish them off.Won't be perfect,but will be plenty good
for this rider.

[ruppluver]

Ran into a problem today,the L340 JLO won't work;it sits to HIGH.Soooooooooooooooo,I will have to try & find a different engine to use.BUT,I think I have the problem solved. A few years ago,I picked up a Tohatsu TR295S engine from a 72 Nitro.I think I might have a home for it,in this build.

[ruppluver]

I went over to a Scorpion friend & toured his junk yard for sleds,cycles,cars etc.Quite impressive.I found some LONG speedo housings/cables for my latest build,also found some much needed exhaust pieces etc for this build.The exhaust on this sled,will be the stock exhaust off a 70 Rupp WT with the JLO 440 engine.It will stand up on right side by my foot.I like this exhaust,because of the single rams horn header pipe,it also sounds very nice.The tailpipe,will probably exit through the lower fiberglas panel.I will have to make a very "tight" 90 degree bend pipe.I did it on my blue Sprint 40 with the Hirth 400 twin.It sounds "NICE".Will work on exhaust as time permits.Thinking spring.High on Tuesday should hit 48 or so.I'm also going back to the junk yard & get some different skis for this build,either Polaris or AC.

[ruppluver]

Went out to friends junk yard & picked up this pr of
skis.They are off an AC Pantara,in really good condition.
I will have to cut & weld on them,as nothing will unbolt.
Will have to use the blue-flame wrench.These are the same
length as the Rupp skis,ONLY a little wider.They will
work just fine.Not many of my Rupps,have the Rupp skis.
Dare to be different,a motto I have used in all the years
I've been working on Rupps.
On a side note,I got the Nitro engine installed,the
clutches aligned & the brakes done.Am now fitting the lower
panels.

[ruppluver]

Got the welding done,wear bars made,painted & put on sled.

They actually raised the front
of sled up a 1/2" over the Rupp ski setup.

[ruppluver]

Started to mock up the exhaust.Made the MAIN muffler
bracket,that gets bolted to engine. Note: the muffler
is wired into a position that will be close to where
it will finally come to rest.This exhaust came off my other
Hirth 399,that I took out of my sled,that I put the JLO R295
in.But originally,it came out of a 70 440WT w/JLO440
engine.

[ruppluver]

All the pieces for mount,are made & in place,waiting
on me to tack them, then weld them.The muffler &
the header pipe,will unbolt from the engine.

The Y pipe & the header pipe,both have gasket flanges.
I slid the header pipe into muffler & attached springs
to keep it tight.This part of the exhaust is done.

[ruppluver]

I worked on the exhaust today,still have some welding left & have to figure out the 90 degree tailpipe!!! Also have to do some work on the engine plate,cutting,welding & paint.I'm only working on this as time permits,plenty of yard work to do.I despise summer!!

This is my next project,the tailpipe.

[ruppluver]

This panel has been fitted to this sled.Fits ok,mounting
holes have been drilled.Needs to be finished.

I tried to fit this panel,not even close to fitting.
I have to lengthen the panel 1/2" on the end,by the
steering support.I've got lots of time on these,now
have to spend a lot more time on them.Now I remember,
this panel had the end cut off,so it would fit by the
steering support.So someone cut the end off,now I have
to add it back on.Good grief.I'm sure glad I LIKE to
fiberglas!! Oh well,it will get done someday.

[ruppluver]

Worked on this panel today,cut it & extended it 1/2".
Hopefully that will be enough.I'll try it tomorrow &
see how it fits.I like working on fiberglas.The hole,
is for the 90 degree exhaust pipe.I hope I got it close,
if not,I can fix it!Fiberglas is easy to cover up/fix mistakes!!!
The 2 steel plates,are there to hold pieces in place.They
will come out,once I get more glas on the splice.I have been
working on these 2 panels for over a month[as time permits],
& they still aren't done.Today[5/12],I worked on them,started
to put some bondo over all the areas that had fiberglas work
done.Slowly,but surely,I'll get them done.I will STOP working
on these,when they are TRAIL ready,getting darn close.My goal
is to have them,primed,painted by the end of next week.Lots
of outside work to do.

[ruppluver]

These were 2 of the worst panels I have ever worked on!!
I don't know what company made them,but they are super
thin & very hard to work on,especially trying to keep
their shape.I will stop working on them when they meet
my trail rider specs.Yes,they will have lots of flaws
in them.It would be different,if these were on a show
sled,but they are NOT!!!

My last clean gas tank.I do have 2 more center fill
tanks,both need tops cut off & cleaned out.One tank
will go to a friend for his Go-Joe project.

[ruppluver]

Today I sanded the bondo areas.I also fit both lower panels for the last time.They will now get finished off,I'm right on schedule for getting them done.Also fit the exhaust for the last time.Got the 90 degree elbow pipe welded on.Now I can paint & install.It got down right hot today.

[kerry]

Dan you really do inspire those of us that check back to follow your builds.You have great ideas and smarts when it comes to recycling stuff for your projects.I hope to do a quarter of what you do when I get a chance to retire.Keep up the great builds!
kerry