Other Projects:
Vortex 3-wheel Vehicle
17' Wind Turbine
Bradly GT II Kit Car
1966 Ford Fairlane GT
Spinning Wheels
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| Links to other monthly logs: | 12/2004 1/2005 2/2005 3/2005 4/2005 5/2005 6/2005 7/2005 8/2005 9/2005 10/2005 11/2005 12/2005 1/2006 2/2006 3/2006 4/2006 5/2006 6/2006 7/2006 8/2006 9/2006 10/2006 11/2006 12/2006 1/2007 2/2007 3/2007 4/2007 5/2007 6/2007 7/2007 8/2007 |
Log
Due to the large number of updates I have split the log page up by month, click on the desired month to view progress.
General log/comments/milestones:
| Date | Comment |
|---|---|
| 12/17/04 | Construction begins! |
| 1/18/05 | Complete chassis as well as chassis fiberglassing done. Fiberglassing performed by PS Composites |
| 2/13/05 | Complete windshield frame and roof supports. |
| 4/10/05 | Complete engine subframe |
| 4/30/05 | Complete rear swing arm |
| 5/1/05 | Mount the engine subframe and rear swing arm onto vehicle |
| 5/10/05 | I have added a comments section to my web site, for your use. Feel free to leave any comments and/or suggestions! |
| 5/20/05 | Complete and mount the front subframes and suspension onto vehicle |
| 5/29/05 | TOUCHDOWN! It finally stands on it's own and rolls. |
| 5/31/05 | Install engine with mounts into vehicle |
| 6/23/05 | I added an 'Other Stuff' page for things that keep coming up and no good place to put them. |
| 6/23/05 | Updated the 'Forward' page with other topics |
| 6/28/05 | Completely redo the entire exhaust system |
| 7/05/05 | Completed installation of steering column, all pedals, master brake cylinder, clutch cylinder and wiper assembly. |
| 7/11/05 | Finalize design of adapting sprocket on intermediate shaft to flat belt drive pulley. |
| 8/12/05 | Got back the completed hub/sprocket assembly from machine shop. |
| 9/26/05 | My 2005 Toyota Prius has arrived!!! |
| 12/4/05 | I completed applying skin to the rear canopy. |
| 12/11/05 | The door frames were completed, made them completely from 3/4" square steel tubing. |
| 12/17/05 | Project has hit the 1 YEAR mark and still moving... |
| 1/31/06 | Completed (basically) the exterior glassing of the body/shell |
| 2/1/06 | Recently in some conversations I was kidding about the amount of detail that is contained in this website and laughingly referred to it as the "Dummies Guide to Building a Vortex" (which is a reference to me and not to anyone else), I think that it is fitting and renamed my site accordingly. |
| 2/4/06 | The rear canopy and doors are cut off of the glassed body! Butterfly doors work effortlessly and are fun! |
| 3/06 | Lots of work done on doors! |
| 4/8/06 | Alex Smith sells his Vortex to Dustin Stern, I help out with the move and it is temporarily at my place. |
| 4/28/06 | Complete installing in 2006 Hyundai Sonata taillights. |
| 5/19/06 | Made locator pins and installed expanded steel under louvers and finally got the rear canopy mounted onto the vehicle. |
| 6/11/06 | Finished applying the wheel well flairs onto the front fenders, and glassing the insides of the wheel wells. |
| 6/16/06 | Paint is starting to be applied, initially sandblasting/primering/painting all steel components. |
| 6/18/06 | Finished up modifying the rear offset brake rotor spacer, dimensional drawing included. |
| 6/26/06 | Rear canopy hinges are mounted, also latches and locator pins/buttons installed. |
| 7/06 | Complete installation of front trunk latch, and mounts for door nitrogen cylinders , finish detailing headlight and taillight areas |
| 8/12/06 | Got the nitrogen gas springs and latches working for the rear canopy |
| 8/15/06 | Got the nitrogen gas springs installed for both passenger doors |
| Started applying Rage Gold body filler onto vehicle | |
| 8/18/06 | PS Composites completes total revamp of Dustin's Vortex front end, doors are reconstructed to incorporate air intakes. |
| 8/25/06 | Got 2 coats of primer onto vehicle (less doors, trunk lid and sunroof) it is starting to look good! |
| 8/27/06 | Sanded off about 1/2 gallon of primer, back to Franken-Vortex, then another coat of primer on vehicle, starting to look clean! |
| 8/29/06 | Enough modifications to original Vortex to warrent new name: GENESIS! |
| 9/2/06 | And then God said "Let There Be YELLOW" |
| 9/11/06 | Doors returned from PS Composites and outsides are done, next I have to work on the insides |
| 9/17/06 | Major body-work and painting done with windshield in, it is starting to look like a vehicle finally! |
| 9/29/06 | All windows installed and mirrors mounted onto doors and pop-up headlights installed and working. |
| 10/06 | Engine reinstalled, drive train hooked up, weather stripping put on, custom radiator ordered, electrical system started. |
| 10/27/06 | Added ability to search website, put up google ads to assist in webhosting fees. |
| 11/26/06 | The installation of the electrical wiring harness is completed and tested with only minor 'tweaks' needed. |
| 12/09/06 | Got the engine running and purred like a kitten! I have to say that I *really* like the way that the spark arrester sounds! Some where between a motorcycle and a hot rod, and had some nice low throaty sound! Wow was it exciting! |
| 12/11/06 | I finalized brake/clutch/fuel line fittings and components. Here are the details. |
| 12/17/06 | 2 Years worth of work and project is in it's finishing stages! |
| 1/8/07 | No one sells 7/16"-24 jamb nuts for a 1/4" brake line fitting! However my local machine shop has a tap and is making them for me!! Problem solved. |
| 2/18/07 | Finally completed the brake lines, installed new brake and clutch master cylinders and front sway bar. |
| 2/24/07 | Made shifter out of solid aluminum, installed it and have all shift linkage worked out. |
| 3/06/07 | The Grizzly 3616 milling machine arrives! |
| 3/11/07 | Modified rear brake caliper mounting bracket and mounted rear brake caliper. |
| 3/16/07 | Propose a potential reverse solution for my vehicle using planetary gear drive. This design can be easily adaptable to other vehicles/motorcycles as well! |
| 4/1/07 | Enough research has been done and data collected that I decided to create a separate page to contain all the information pertaining to how I implement my reverse operation. |
| 4/22/07 | For the first time in 2-1/2 years the engine is running and the vehicle moves under it's own power! |
| 5/1/07 | A temporary torque strap was fabricated, and it works to keep the engine from 'rotating' slightly under power and causing an issue where slack developed in the chain. |
| 5/5/07 | First public showing at the Cheat River Festival in Albright, WV |
| 5/10/07 | Brought vehicle to WV State Police to get DMV-1B Went to WV DMV and picked up forms DMV-62-TR (builders affidavit) and DMV-1-TR (title application) |
| 5/13/07 | Gathering of two Vortex vehicles and other custom vehicles at Arvil Shepards in North Carolina |
| 5/21/07 | Applied for WV title and VIN plate at local DMV. |
| 5/25/07 | The Grizzly 4016 floor lathe arrives! |
| 5/29/07 | Now offering welding/machining services to others for their projects! |
| 5/31/07 | Basic project has been completed (future refinements and modifications excluded)! |
| 6/14/07 | The VIN plate and title finally arrive from the state. |
| 6/15/07 | Got insurance at Progressive Insurance online for $293 for 12 months liability coverage only. |
| 6/18/07 | Picked up plates from DMV - vehicle is officially on the road! |
| 6/24/07 | First test drive, ended up going about 20 miles - grinning all the way! |
| 6/28/07 | State inspection done - I am now street legal! |
| 7/4/07 | After driving the vehicle a bit and fiddling with the gearing ratio I have finally came up with a good compromise. |
| 7/14/07 | Completion of the prototype reverse unit, still have to mount it and do some testing. |
| 7/27/07 | Got the FMF Megamax muffler in, put it on and *extremely* pleased with it. The new muffler cut exhaust noise down by 1/2 and seemed to help low end performance! I would *highly* recommend this muffler for any similar vehicles. |
| 9/30/07 | Switching over to Maintenance mode. |
| 10/2/07 | Lost a good friend today, Arvil Shepherd passed away after fighting pancreatic cancer. Shep is the builder of the Scorpion which is a Vortex derivative. He is and forever will be missed. |
| 5/16/08 | 2008 Carlisle Kit Car Show |
| 6/8/08 | I installed my custom made bearing mounts for the jack-shaft, they use tapered roller bearings instead of pillow block bearings. |
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| Links to other monthly logs: | 12/2004 1/2005 2/2005 3/2005 4/2005 5/2005 6/2005 7/2005 8/2005 9/2005 10/2005 11/2005 12/2005 1/2006 2/2006 3/2006 4/2006 5/2006 6/2006 7/2006 8/2006 9/2006 10/2006 11/2006 12/2006 1/2007 2/2007 3/2007 4/2007 5/2007 6/2007 7/2007 8/2007 |
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