Topic: My '82 LowRider Build on 42" Treps - Custom Chassis

[the_white_shadow]

Thanks. I cant wait to get it out on the trail.

[the_white_shadow [OP]]

I did get the cab back on yesterday. Makes this thing look so much lower at full bump than without it on there. Now the fun starts with the interior. Its going to be a mix of welded up 14ga steel, some bolted in aluminum panels, and maybe some expanded metal in the footwells  so I can see in front of me while wheeling. Not sure if ill leave them open or not. Still up in the air on that one.






Also ordered some AR400 plate (3/16") for my skids and some aluminum sheet for interior panels/floor from ALRO.

[the_white_shadow [OP]]

Kept at it over the weekend.
1. Hacked up the original dash to fit around the tube work and narrowed it some. Still need to notch the dash cover and make an aluminum cover to cover some of the hacking i did.
2. Installed the factory steering wheel and modified the column to use the factory 3/4" borgeson style joint and the 3/4" u-joint from the firewall. Shortened it some and connected it all to the orbital.


3. Orbital mount. Everything clears but its stupid tight.


4. Pic of the Jimmy's Wilwood pedal that i modified to the left for more foot room and for a sport for the gas pedal.


5. A shot of the drivers side floor pan welded in. Im leaving the front open for visibility for now. Not a fan of mud so if it gets too messy, ill enclose it. Engine will get an aluminum doghouse.


6. Modified the way i mounted the radiator. Still need to remove the tabs in the center of the crossbar.



7. Mounted the power steering cooler in front of the radiator. May try to squeeze the trans cooler in front of the radiator as well, but will probably just mount it in the rear next to the fuel cell on its own fan. Power steering cooler is offset to the drivers side so I can fit the winch control box in there somewhere.



Power steering resi will get mounted near the firewall on the drivers side. Lots of work left to do but its starting to take shape. 4 weeks left until the maiden voyage...i hope.

[the_white_shadow [OP]]

Work continued.

Thanks to Ron for letting me use his bender last week to bend a couple 1.5" tubes for the center console.




The patchwork quit floor boards are welded in. You can also see the shifter mounted up and the down tube i added to the door bar.




Charged and mounted up the coilovers. Sitting a little high (3" front and 4" rear) according to the amount of shock shaft showing (~10"/12"). I still need to add the fuel cell, battery, cooler, etc to the rear end so it should come down some. The front only needs fluids added and some misc stuff. Not sure how much it will come down.





Full droop up front


My aluminum sheet for the doghouse still hasnt come in. Apparently, and i quote, "We forgot to load it on the truck. It will have to come on Monday". DaFuq? Going to start on the electrical this week to hopefully get it started by this weekend. Im hoping once i add the weight to the rig, it will settle some. Right now, its just up there too high IMO.

[the_white_shadow [OP]]

Started the fun part of any build, the wiring. I stripped out all the wiring from the old truck and moved it over to a piece of aluminum that i will bolt between the seats. I removed some of the im not going to use this time around (wipers/HIDs) and added a couple other circuits (trans fan). Mostly just did some general cleanup. My headlights will now be a set of Baja Designs Light pods i won in a raffle last year and ill also have a light bar up front. Since im not running a windshield, im thinking about installing a big single row up top along the top cross bar, but under the top of the cab.

The start of the wiring.


Well, finally got my aluminum in and started to add some panels to the interior. I hate interior work. Going to work on the side pieces this afternoon. Its going to suck as i have to add a bend or two to enclose everything up.


Added the 4wd fenders and mocked up the front end again to see where everything was going to fit. Going to need a little trim here and there.

[the_white_shadow [OP]]

Drivers side and passengers side panel doghouse panels are in. A pic of the foot space with the brake pedal installed and the gas pedal sitting in place. Need to build a bracket to use the stock gas pedal. Shouldnt be too hard.



First attempt at the air intake tube. Dont think it will get enough fresh cool air here so i moved it out some.


Fuel cell is in and plumbed. Trans cooler is mounted and plumbed.




Walbro pump and vette regulator mounted & plumbed.


Dash pad is in. Steering wheel disconnect is welded in. Need to make an adapter to mount the stock wheel. Gauges are in and wired. Switch panel is in and wired to the main panel. Engine harness in connected. Need to make a couple new battery leads to power the battery disconnect then i should be able to fire it up. Hopefully this evening.



Ill then continue to wire all the accessories (E-fans, lights, etc) and clean up and loom the wires. Its getting closer.

[the_white_shadow [OP]]

So last night was supposed to be a huge step forward. Made new battery cables. Added all the grounds to the engine/body/frame/etc. Topped off the trans with new fluid. Gave everything a once over. Hit the start button and click...click...click. I guess after 5 years the Diehard Platinum finally the bed. I charged it the previous day, but i guess with it sitting on the shelf almost a year (on two separate occasions), it had enough. Even hooked up jumper cables to it and it would turn over once or twice, then click.

Headed to 4WP during lunch to day to get an Odyssey AGM since it fits in the same Ruffstuff battery tray i welded to the chassis. :homer: There went $280.

The 3rd attempt to start it. Fail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DNmaLua160

[the_white_shadow [OP]]

Getting closer to driving this thing after the work completed this weekend:
1. Gas pedal mounted to the doghouse. Used the stock pedal and swing and made a bracket.


2. Brakes are mounted. Got lucky that the wilwood residual valves and the brake lines run nicely through the fittings on the orbital. Braided SS lines are ran to all 4 corners. Just need to bleed them.


3. Wiring is 98% complete. Need to wire in the brake/tail lights once i have them mounted. The wires are ran to the back. Once i get my new light bar i'll wire that in as well. Looking for a ~40" single row to mount under the top lip of the cab. Rock lights from All4Offroad are on their way. Fixed a bad injector plug that cleared the CEL. Now its running on all 8 again. I have a little bit of cleanup to do but its pretty much done.


4. I thinking about mounting a set of these all4offroad toyota branded rock lights on the front fenders. They are bright as flopp. Ordered a set of 4 white ones to use on the underside.




5. Center console complete. Waiting on a RAM mount to come in to mount a table. Cup holders, USB power outlets, shifters are all in.


The to do list is getting shorter. Need to weld in mounts for the crotch belts, then i can get the seats and belts in. Once i bleed the brakes i can do a nut and bolt check and do a test drive. Then I can start on the finishing touches (bedsides, doors, paint, etc) Less than 3 weeks until its maiden voyage at the Jambo.

[OVRAROK]

This truck is bad a**, top notch job  .

[joeyf]

All the electrical under the center console is a great idea. Its a little hard to see but are the t-case shifters straight to the case or are they cable shifter.

[the_white_shadow [OP]]

All the electrical under the center console is a great idea. Its a little hard to see but are the t-case shifters straight to the case or are they cable shifter.

Thanks. I think its going to be a lot easier to fix relays/fuses/etc as they go out. Last rig had everything under the dash and it sucked lying on my back all contorted trying to diagnose issues.

I cut and bent the stock shifters and extended them 5-6". Thats why the hole surrounding them is so big. The further away from the case, the longer the throw.

[the_white_shadow [OP]]

Lots of work done over the weekend.
1. AR400 skids are on the bottom and sides and under the oil pan.
2. Passenger seat is in and harness is mounted.
3. Doors are on and gutted. (No window glass and removed the vent wing)
4. Fenders are trimmed (Still need another inch or two as the tires still get in it)
5. Passenger bedside is mounted.

Couple things that need to get taken care of before the shakedown run on Friday.
1. Trim back the sliders to match the fenders. (tires just kiss it when flexed and turning)
2. Install rear bumps.
3. Fab up something to keep dirt/mud/rocks from hitting me in the face.
4. Fix fuel crossover tube leak on the intake. (More of a seepage than an actual leak)
5. Bleed the brakes a little more.

Pics from this weekend. The truck drives great. Everything functions as it should. Got it up to around 55 mph before i felt any vibes from the driveshafts. It tracked straight as an arrow. So far the spring rates and the valving in the coilovers from Ryan at Accutune are feeling great.

Looks like a truck again.





If i dont end up installing a windshield i was thinking about adding a light bar up top under the lip of the cab, you know #becauseracecar. Bought this 30" single row curved Rough Country bar and zip tied it to see how it would look. I think once the top of the cab is painted black, it will blend in nicely.




Added some dynamat knockoff to put underneath the ecm mount under the passenger seat. I figure anything can help wince the exhaust on the passenger side is routed under the seat.

[redneckcustoms13]

Nice progress! Now just finish it, paint it brown, and I'm on the way to come get it lol

[daniresch]

soo much want... watching!

[the_white_shadow [OP]]

Lonestar Toyota Jamboree 2017 Trip Report

Another Jambo in the books and another year where my skin is stained oompa loompa orange from all the dust, but wouldnt have had it any other way. Weather was unseasonably cool for May in TX and it was awesome. The Squirrel performed great and kicked ass on every trail. No major carnage from the group other than one sheared tie-rod end on Daniels toyota. Never seen one sheer off before. I made a couple small character dents on the sheet metal, but other than that no issues. Ran 190* most of the day even with me beating on it. I guess the new water pump and rerouting the steam lines did the trick.

Pics.
Loaded up Chris's truck and took off early Thursday morning.


Chris's good side :flipoff2:


Rock lights worked great


Chris on twister


Chris in the red truck. He killed it all weekend.


Group shot


posing



More pics from Chris






wedged under a rock. Had to get winched up some.




Ill post more once they come in.

Vids:
Clyde's Ravine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v28mgD7UMBM

DeWoody.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z83n7GLAPjU

Twister at night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxXHrFFAbU0

Some Random Trail
https://youtu.be/FIF7yC7Zq4U
https://youtu.be/IqweoayvLd8

Right Line on Dewoody
https://youtu.be/OHY0oZn5SuY

On Twister at night in reverse. :shaking:
https://youtu.be/HW_evNI65BU

Daniel's 4-runner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bLvfV6H9ZI

Chris on Twister
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A30W8BUZAqw

Chris on some trail (Im horrible at remembering what trail names are)
https://youtu.be/rKNRJ33cG0k

Some stuff that needs attention. Tires got into the rear bedsides some.  Need to trim out 1/2" or so at the top. Need to make a panel to enclose the center console area. pregnant dog is hot inside the cab. Also needs some expanded metal in the footwells to keep rocks out of the cab.

Next trip is to K2 on Memorial weekend. Plenty of time for some finishing touches.

[nwflyoda]

The Jambo is in eastern TX right?  if so, i went to it one yeah...back in 2013.  was a great time!

[the_white_shadow [OP]]

The Jambo is in eastern TX right?  if so, i went to it one yeah...back in 2013.  was a great time!

Yep. NE TX at Barnwell Mountain in Gilmer.

[nwflyoda]

Yup, thats it!  I sadly didn't get to wheel there much with my rig, had a bit of a back fire issue blow out my clutch master cylinder resi.