[drewskiren]

No pictures, but I had an epic failure on the road yesterday. Panhard rod snapped in two! It has a sharp 90 degree bend in it as it goes over the diff and a huge whack on a potholed gravel road did the trick. I realized there was an issue when I started smelling tire smoke, as I pulled over a huge cloud passed me on the passenger side. UH OH. As I was feeling around in the dark (5am duck hunt), I discovered the inner sidewall was quite soft and gooey, the axle had shifted over and the inner tire was rubbing the fenderwell. Luckily it hadn't blown out.
We unloaded the 4wheeler, drove it to the duck blind, hunted a few hours and then dealt with Young Frankie. We borrowed a trailer, towed it to a barn with a welder, pulled out both sections and welded it back together on the dirt. Put it back in and drove her home 2 hours with no issues. I guess its time to put Frankie back in the shop and reopen this build thread! I have a few things I want to build differently and a few things need to get finished that never did. And no, I have no desire to build a 4th door. In fact I hope to not do anything that would require any paintwork. The fun should begin in a few days!