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By: Jay Kopycinski - 4/2002

JD2 Model 3 Bender gone homebrew hydro

With the base frame ready and the engine and drivetrain mounting taken care of, it was time to start thinking about what would become the rest of the chassis. I started by buying a JD2 Model 3 manual tubing bender and did my own homebrew hydraulic conversion. With the bender complete and some practice using a stick of 1" tube, I was ready to try the real thing.

Rear of the chassis

I had decided to build the main cage portions from 1 3/4" x .120" wall HREW tubing. I started by fabricating the main vertical cage hoop that would rest behind the seats. To that I added a halo top hoop, and then began constructing front pillars. I made temporary mounts for my seats to get an idea how everything would fit together. After that I began the rear portion of the "bed" area. The rear horizontal hoop is tied to the stock frame in six places. I then added two fastback bars for added support to the rear of the cage.

Starting to construct the hood area	Rocker bars tied to hood line and rear	Another view of the chassis in progress	View from behind the seats

With the main portion of the rear complete, I started on the front by adding the hood line hoop. The height and slope of this bar was largely dictated by the engine. With the hood bar in place, the rocker bar was added on the bottom of the chassis and tied up fron to the hood bar and tied in the rear to bed bar. Each rocker ties to the stock frame in four places. Another support bar was added behind the seat area.

The front end was somewhat difficult to design but I eventually decided on something and ran with it. I used some cardboard boxes to mock up my radiator and allowed room to fit the winch up front. Bars were added to tie the hood bar to the frame and the engine was further caged. I added a pair of Harley Sportster H4 dual beam headlights. Stock filaments are 55/60W, but I may increase power output later.

More tube work here and there....check out the pics.

Side view up close	Another front shot	Starting front grille area	Filling in around engine

Harley H4 headlights	Shot from front corner	Hmmmm....bad camber	Crossmember work

Tail lights and real plate	Fastback bars done	More work on front end

More to follow........