Build JHF Trail Chassis

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woody

woody

eternal noobie
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Jesse Haines Fabrication has released a new JHF Trail series chassis. This is one of the first production units. (#2) Plans are: (updated 2021-03-23)

Chassis specs:
  • B-pillar, shoulders: 52"
  • B-pillar, seat/floor: 48"
  • A-pillar: 48"
  • Wheelbase: 112"
  • WMS: 70"
  • Track: ~83" (current tire/wheel combo)
Crawl ratio:
  • 3.059 x 2.62 x 1.92 x 4.88 = 75.093:1 (front)
  • 3.059 x 2.62 x 1.92 x 5.29 = 81.402 (rear)

Test fitting seat position now.....engine is under 24" long, so plenty of space available. (Rear radiator)

PXL_20201013_173010792.jpg
PXL_20201013_173026319.jpg
 
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Just an idea to get some more headroom, what if you angle the drivetrain slightly to drop the seat a little bit more? How far off the belly is the drive train? And by the belly I mean the actual skid plate
 
Lil Rich said:
Just an idea to get some more headroom, what if you angle the drivetrain slightly to drop the seat a little bit more? How far off the belly is the drive train? And by the belly I mean the actual skid plate
Click to expand...
eyeball clearances:
  • t-case to bellypan: 3/4"
  • rear of trans pan to bellypan: 1/2"
  • converter to front belly tube: 3/4"
With the seat on the test-fit cross bars, it's 1" off the top of the flipped D300 alum cover. Headroom is more than a fist (no helmet yet) Cozy, but perfect :)
 
Nice!! That looks like a sweet chassis, is goatbuilt doing them? I didn't see them on their website
 
gadjet911 said:
I know you’re pretty tall, how is the headroom in this chassis?
Click to expand...
With the seat ~7" off the bellypan (IE: super low), I have plenty of headroom. Need to put a tape on it to check however, but with my Axel helmet on, my fat fist clears the cage :)
 
woody said:
With the seat ~7" off the bellypan (IE: super low), I have plenty of headroom. Need to put a tape on it to check however, but with my Axel helmet on, my fat fist clears the cage :)
Click to expand...
I'm curious how an atlas may fit. The belly dimensions seem similar to my lizard and the atlas being taller top to bottom created quite the headache for seat packaging. I now see you and Rich are both running d300's so I guess time will tell. I'm guessing the wider B pillar will help with it though and potentially the engine sits farther forward...or back i suppose
 
knapp870 said:
I'm curious how an atlas may fit. The belly dimensions seem similar to my lizard and the atlas being taller top to bottom created quite the headache for seat packaging. I now see you and Rich are both running d300's so I guess time will tell. I'm guessing the wider B pillar will help with it though and potentially the engine sits farther forward...or back i suppose
Click to expand...
With both the 300 and the Atlas clocked flat, there is only a 1” difference. I am running passenger side drop, while Woody is running driver side drop. For your lizard, you could always cut the seat a little bit (if you have a suspension seat like PRP or Beard) to afford about 2 more inches of room. This was a thought of ours until we put woodys drivetrain and seat in and realized we had plenty of room.
 
Lil Rich said:
With both the 300 and the Atlas clocked flat, there is only a 1” difference. I am running passenger side drop, while Woody is running driver side drop. For your lizard, you could always cut the seat a little bit (if you have a suspension seat like PRP or Beard) to afford about 2 more inches of room. This was a thought of ours until we put woodys drivetrain and seat in and realized we had plenty of room.
Click to expand...
My atlas is clocked down maybe one notch and passenger drop. Notching the side def may have been an alternative I didn't think about but would have to consider how far into the suspension seat you may compress on a hard hit(~4"?). I'm 5'11" and you wouldn't want to be over 6' in my lizard in current config (had a guy 6'2" sit in and try to buy it) but there are probable other better ways to do it. One thought was trying to use the low backs to gain some leg room and be able to sit the seat farther back in the chassis .

Love the builds guys!
 
knapp870 said:
My atlas is clocked down maybe one notch and passenger drop. Notching the side def may have been an alternative I didn't think about but would have to consider how far into the suspension seat you may compress on a hard hit(~4"?). I'm 5'11" and you wouldn't want to be over 6' in my lizard in current config (had a guy 6'2" sit in and try to buy it) but there are probable other better ways to do it. One thought was trying to use the low backs to gain some leg room and be able to sit the seat farther back in the chassis .

Love the builds guys!
Click to expand...
Low backs will definitely help set the seat back. The idea with cutting the seat is that you wouldn’t want anything (obstructions) above the bottom rails and directly under your spine/butt. But on these rigs, the seat sits fairly far back behind the case itself, so cutting a bit of the seat out of the way (under the legs) isn’t a big deal. Especially if the tcase is clocked down.

No offense on some of the other builders like 801 or Kalif, but it is nice having a car that is comfortable for a larger bodied person like myself. The other chassis’ were just too small for me personally.
 
Lil Rich said:
Low backs will definitely help set the seat back. The idea with cutting the seat is that you wouldn’t want anything (obstructions) above the bottom rails and directly under your spine/butt. But on these rigs, the seat sits fairly far back behind the case itself, so cutting a bit of the seat out of the way (under the legs) isn’t a big deal. Especially if the tcase is clocked down.

No offense on some of the other builders like 801 or Kalif, but it is nice having a car that is comfortable for a larger bodied person like myself. The other chassis’ were just too small for me personally.
Click to expand...
That's a valid point and something I will look into for sure. The tcase is pretty much directly under the middle/front of my seats in the current config but I guess in front of what you would be compressing your spine into. Good idea!

Yeah, I totally agree the small chassis make things tight and interesting problems to work around and the belly dimension of this new JHF seemed close enough to my lizard to make me wonder. I was able to make mine fit me at 5'11" well, wheel 16+ hours and not be uncomfortable but it's pretty specific to my dimensions and could always use a little more stretch out room.
 
MNorby said:
Axle change I see? Also allows to run the 300 in standard pass drop. That also help with your drivers seat height?
Click to expand...
Yep, decided to bite the bullet and go all in the first time....t-case drop won't necessitate a difference in seat height, I'll set both sides equally. (my wife wants to drive it, so I need a comfy shotgun spot!)

Lined up motor/trans position last night, mocking up mounts today.
 
So, this will be fun....haha

First, welding up the engine mounts
PXL_20201030_162831197.webp


And, motor mounts installed....still need finish welding and bracing but the motor is centered and positioned.
PXL_20201030_195823149.webp

PXL_20201030_195835952.webp


The passenger seat sits over the D300. Currently, it's 8" above the belly pan. Modifying the seat frame will easily allow for another inch of drop.

PXL_20201030_200050559.webp


Seat bottom to bottom of cage tube is 37.5"
PXL_20201030_200132401.webp


PXL_20201030_200152521.webp


Now for headroom....selfie in the passenger seat
PXL_20201030_200301155.webp


And my block of wood headroom measuring spacer....the block is 6" long...

PXL_20201030_200324593.webp
 
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