From simple beginnings as a bone stock 2003 Hyundai Elantra, to unique mutant vehicle… We removed the roof, doors and door pillars to allow a more flexible base.
After driving the car around for about 20 minutes with no roof and doors it became VERY apparent that once you remove major structure from a unibody car, you do in fact end up with a wet noodle… as much fun as it was, I decided that putting in at least ONE brace might not be a bad idea before I proceeded any further.
All of the square tube shown here is 1″ .125 wall, bent in house on our JD Squared Model 53 rotary bender
One of the biggest problems I noticed about a lot of mutant vehicles is that the driver is either completely isolated, or TOO in the fray… I made sure that the singe entry and exit point is easy for the driver to see and control, while having a definite buffer zone around the operating area ensured.
Through extensive testing and pure dumb luck, I managed to find the perfect bend for a seat-back… these are 1/2″ square tube, also bend in-house… there are 136 of these tubes that make up the bench seat in Slag.
It always starts with one! My roundabout jig, actually worked out perfectly… for what it was.
I would love to say the whole thing picked up a rhythm and went quickly, but the actual length of square and straight pieces is slim… needing quite a bunch more attention to achieve what I was going for.
At this point I actually had a neighbor stop by and ask why I was building a cattle feeder out of a Hyundai… Ive learned to just go with it here in rural Texas, its just easier.
Here Im getting a rough fit before its back to the bender again… I COULD have just made straight sides… but what fun is THAT to try and replicate on a bender?
Drivers side top tube on… the top tube is actually just 3/4″ pipe, which is considerably stronger than one might think. Would I want to make a roll cage out of it, ummm no…
One of the key features to Slag, is that there is only one entry/exit point, and as you can see, in clear view of the driver.
