North Rockies Design - Project: Hummer » TremorMUV

Surplus Windshield

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:45:59 +0000

I’ve been making some progress on getting the build officially started. Though, it has been mostly behind the scenes type work. After getting the plans, build manuals, and build license from Rocky Mountain Coachworks, I acquired some materials from Pacific Steel & Recycling in Idaho Falls to put together the windshield from the TremorMUV plans. After building the first section, which is the header to the windshield frame,

The first two pieces of the frame header welded together.

I realized it was just a little too heavy – in steel – for my tastes. Knowing I want to try for the soft top version of a Hummer, and knowing that the real thing has a hinged windshield, I decided to go with surplus parts for the windshield. I picked up a HMMWV windshield on ebay and got it just in time for the Easter weekend. After carrying it out to my shop, I was glad I went with the surplus part…It weighed about the same as the steel header.

Three happy travelers in our pretend Hummer

In the meantime, I made a little stand for the steel I got, to keep it off the floor, because I get a nasty leak in the spring…not a moment too soon, there was a puddle on the floor right next to that wall the next day.

Of course, my helper thought it was fun to just be out in the shop.

It’s Official!

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:26:22 +0000

I’ve finally made up my mind what I’ll be building.

Duh! You might say. I’m building a Hummer replica. Well, yes, but for the longest time I hadn’t figured out if I was going to go it alone with no plans to speak of. That’s the part I’ve figured out! i’ve decided to use a tried-and-trusted planset from folks who have paved the way rather nicely.

I’ve received the TremorMUV planset. It’s a set I picked up secondhand—not something I’d recommend anyone else doing, right now I’m missing some of the important parts of the set…the build manuals. I was trying to save a few bucks, but in hindsight I should have saved up for the full planset.

Link and advertisement here:

The folks at Rocky Mountain Coachworks have a nice set put together from a nice working prototype they build a few years back. They’ve got on their website, www.tremormuv.com, everything you need to build a Hummer H1 or HMMWV replica, an extensive build forum with some current builds going on, and, most importantly, the most accurate plan set around that is correct to dimensions of the Hummer H1. The best part is, it’s not a kit. You don’t buy and ship parts from someone else, you put it together yourself, according to your needs. If you want to build it in aluminum, go ahead. If you want bulletproof doors and windows, your choice! If you want a soft-top, hard-top, wagon, slant-back, two-door truck, or to put an ambulance body on the back…go for it!

Now the details: If you’ve been reading along with my replica build, you’ll notice that I’ve been leaning in the direction of an open top like the 2004 Hummer H1 Alpha. It will save on some construction time and materials, not to mention weight. Since I live in Idaho, I’ll be considering a wagon hard-top for the winter. One that I’ve looked at and think will work is the wagon top from CalGoldProducts.com.

An alternative would be fabricating my own similar design out of aluminum. I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

Finally, I like the pseudo-camouflage that Shawn Smith used in his AngryIron.com Special Operator build…

Here’s a photoshopped look for what I’m going for, open top:

soft top:

hard top with a possible logo configuration, so I can write it off for advertising :

Help me save up enough to keep the project moving along…

Lull in the Project

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:14:00 +0000

Retooling, rethinking, but mostly replanning.

As I consider the upcoming work that needs to be done, I have encountered a couple dilemmas.

Here’s dilemma #1:
I have 6 large people in my family… even my youngest are tall for their age. So I am hesitant to put them in a rumble seat between the other two rear seats. For one reason, they might end up kicking the heater/component doghouse that I need to build. The other reason is that even before the older kids move out of the house, the younger ones might be hitting their heads while in the middle rumble seat.

One solution is to do it like Shawn did, six-seater with a soft-top option (which I also don’t think will work in ten of Idaho’s twelve months):

Another option is to lower the floor and go with a look more like Ben’s Badlands here:

But, I’m not a big fan of the Badlands, nor Urban Gorilla. They’re close…but the Tremor is closer.

Dilemma #2:
We’re soon going to have “Hummer-lover #7″ in the family. I first wanted to make a four-door replica like this one by Francois Couture:

or like the Tanto build:

There’s no possible way to have the wife and all five kids in the seats of a four door, so I’m leaning toward the wagon…but I want the soft-top look. I don’t remember seeing a final Tremor in Wagon form, and I’ve never seen a replica or even civilian wagon with a soft-top. Closest I’ve seen in anyis this one:

I would also like to try the removable hard-top for the 10 winter months in Idaho, like this one from Fesler:

But, in wagon form…

So I grabbed a soft-top photo from the net, also from Feslerbuilt.com, and stretched it out for the wagon:

I think I like it.