BigMike's pictures

[BigMike]

Sept 14, 2008: MCR7









Aug 23, 2009: Strawberry Lake






Aug 31, 2009: 1st Annual VIP Run



Here I am eating a sandwich





This is my good friend Randy behind the wheel


Here is Randy again learning how to Crawl



Summit Lake peaking through the trees


At 10,000 feet elevation at the Parking Lot In The Sky

[BigMike]

Sept 12, 2009: MCR8










Oct 31, 2009: Mirror Lake

[BigMike]

Nov 17, 2009: The Making of the Marlin Crawler Commercial























....and that's about it for now

[*FFC*]

NICE!!!! 

[HDcruiser]

Great pictures Mike... 

[ajordan1975]

Neat!

[boomtacoma01]

Nice pics Mike!

[SloCrawler]

Sweet rides. Cant wait tell mine is as capable.

[BigMike]

Thanks for the comments guys. Get er done right the first time so you can enjoy many years of labor-free use

[MiniSimp]

You built a nice tri-pod Mike!

[BigMike]

It's a moving tripod with voice command

[gtoyonrocks]

sweet pics, thanks for sharing...

[Rocksurfer]

Dang I've never gone down that slab on Swamp, scary enough going up it. 

[MiniSimp]

When did you remove the pivot blocks? Did they tear?

[BigMike]

When did you remove the pivot blocks? Did they tear?

Take another look. They are still there and working GREAT. I run inner-lockouts on them all the time to limit the amount of pivot. I've installed a rear traction bar to alleviate unwanted load on the pivots

[MiniSimp]

Take another look. They are still there and working GREAT. I run inner-lockouts on them all the time to limit the amount of pivot. I've installed a rear traction bar to alleviate unwanted load on the pivots

Awesome! Good to hear they are still working good. Have you noticed any wear or ovaling in the tubes? Mine are still like the day I welded them on, but you wheel about 100 times more than I do.

[BigMike]

Awesome! Good to hear they are still working good. Have you noticed any wear or ovaling in the tubes? Mine are still like the day I welded them on, but you wheel about 100 times more than I do.

Hey don't kid yourself, you'd be surprised at how little wheeling I do. I haven't had my truck off pavement since last November But I've got a lot of trips planned over the next 3 months

EDIT: I did do a snow run in January but I don't consider that wheeling... that is just a bunch of skinny pedal abuse which is NOT wheeling in my opinion.

Regarding my rear traction bar I spoke of, ironically the two pictures I just posted above were before the bar. Here is a pic where you can see the rear bar:

Awesome! Good to hear they are still working good. Have you noticed any wear or ovaling in the tubes? Mine are still like the day I welded them on

I transferred them to my Tacoma rear axle about a year or so ago, and they were ovaling just a bit, but they are holding up really great. I run anti-seize in each pivot. I repacked em with more anti-seize when I transferred them to the Taco axle. I feel the anti-seize stays in the pivot longer than grease.

Mike

[BigMike]

Just got back from opening the Dusy/Ershim trail with the 4WD Club of Fresno. We drove the trail North-to-South which was a first for me and my truck. We cleared about 15 trees from the trail. I've never seen more mosquitoes in my entire life.

Jul 17, 2010: Dusy/Ershim Opening Weekend


Below is my truck atop the Parking Lot in the Sky at just over 10,000 feet elevation

[BigMike]

I've recently switched to 12" front shocks which improved the way the truck wheels by about 10 fold. It is SO MUCH smoother and easier to manage on the trail. The suspension is so soft now (before I had about 3" of compression with the 14"s).

I've recently lowered the truck another inch or so by removing more leafs and playing with shackle lengths. Sidehills much better and is rides a lot more stable.

I've recently moved the front axle forward about 2" by moving the center pin location on the front spring perches. My approach angle is greatly improved and despite the longer wheelbase, the truck seems to corner better. It has better turn-in also on the freeway. I'm sure it is a combination of the front sway bar, the different position on the arch of the front spring, and the lower center of gravity.

Without a doubt in my mind the truck is working the best it has ever worked. It is wheeling in it's prime right now.

Items remaining to address:

1) Finish the on-board-air. The RV2 compressor is mounted and "belted", and I can air up my tires using alligator clip wires to sort-of hotwire the clutch. I am running straight 30-weight non-detergent oil and it is too light. I get a lot of oil blow by if I rev the engine up. Therefore I am not using the compressor right now because I don't want to pump oil into my tires. And of course I need to get it properly wired up, install a pressure switch, air lines, build a manifold, install my 3 gallon air tank, get a pressure gauge and switches for the cab, yadda yadda yadda....

2) Get a new rear driveline. My current one is too short (I measured it wrong waaay back in 2004 and have been running it ever since) and it is starting to make a lot of clicking sounds. The CV must be on its last leg (I've been greasing it to no avail) and I am sure the splines are wearing as well because they are barely in contact with each other.

3) Install front bump stops. I am getting front driveline-to-custom under-the-bellhousing crossmember interference on steep drops and hard braking.


Once I get those issues addressed... Hmmm Dare I say the truck is just about finished?

[PBrown]

amazing truck. I think I'm going to do a little more searching for info on those pivot blocks. I'm really liking them.

[BigPapa]

Looking good dude !! Do the hood louvers make a big difference with the heat ? If so were did you get them ? I'm trying to figure out how to get some heat out of the compartment and those look cool !!

[BigMike]

They made a HUGE difference in heat. I can't say exactly how much since my digital temp gauge only goes up to 160 F, but before I installed them, my digital temp gauge which is mounted to the top of my airfilter would read "888.8" (which means over 160). After installing the louvers, it would sometimes drop into the 150s but would also stay at 888.8 as well (so it was closer to 160 and would sometimes fall below 160), and then once I installed the home theater fans to each louver, now the temps are usually between 140-160 F. Of course it depends on the temp, but generally speaking this is summer time wheeling in the 80s-90s and it  only goes above 160 if the truck is sitting still in direct sunlight.

The louvers are a wrecking yard special from a late 1980s Chrysler Lebaron GT, like a 1988 or 89. I've seen em with single louvers and dual louvers. The one I found had dual louvers. Here is a pic I found on Google of a 1989 GT:


I can't take credit for them though, I got the tip from Ruggedjeep here:
http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=11671.msg271303#msg271303

and here is the install of the vents and the 5" fans:
https://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=46211.msg580957#msg580957

Thanks
Mike

[crazykooter]

Hey mike what size shackles did you switch to in the rear.  I dialed my front height in but my mcrear4 springs are just to tall since these 1st gens are soo light in the rear.  I think I am gonna drop down to a 4.5" or 5' shackle.  Also I am a little confused on the shock swap.  How is it the 12" help ?  I mean if you had your 4"s of up travel and the 10" down then shouldnt a 12" limit you more.  I guess since you lowered the truck more but I am not sure how it helped handling.  Can you take a pic of how you put your sway bar on and does it have quick disconnects ?

[BigMike]

Hey mike what size shackles did you switch to in the rear.

Not sure, I'll need to measure them. Their size is good but the angle is a bit too laid down. When I load my gear in the bed, the rear of the truck sits a bit too low compared to the front. I'll need to move the hangers forward maybe 1/2" eventually. Remember I've also removed 3 leafs from each rear pack so my rear is pretty soft, which I want.

since these 1st gens are soo light in the rear.

Eggsactly. That is why I played with the leaf configuration.

Also I am a little confused on the shock swap.  How is it the 12" help ?

The issue was that when I did my Marlin lift kit it was on a weekend and we were out of short hoops but I wanted to run 14" front shocks. So I just mounted short hoops really high up on the frame and ran the 14" shocks. So it was wrong from the start and it took me all this time to put some 12s on.

Can you take a pic of how you put your sway bar on and does it have quick disconnects ?

That will have to wait for my Build Thread to catch up to that I have bolts with large pins to disconnect the endlinks from the axle. WOW WHAT A DIFFERENCE. By far the best mod I've done for street performance / daily driving experience.

[BigMike]

Check out this pic of Misato and me

[Shamb]

you leave alot to the imagination there BigMike         

[BigMike]

hahah you're crazy. We were walking around Willow Glen last night both sporting our Hoodies

[gtoyonrocks]

I have been thinking about putting some vents in my hood like that. I have heard that it helps quite a bit.

[Cheesemaker]

That will have to wait for my Build Thread to catch up to that

We've yet to see this.  But you do seem to be in a posting mood.  So, it may happen, but I'm not gonna hold my breath.  


Quote Bigmike  "I have bolts with large pins to disconnect the endlinks from the axle. WOW WHAT A DIFFERENCE. By far the best mod I've done for street performance / daily driving experience."

Would this be a future Marlin product???

[BigMike]

Negatory.