Topic: project extend-a-toy

[HogCanyonHopper]

awesome build. beautiful work 

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

You cut yourself on those axles?

i kinda thought that as well when i was unpacking them..    they almost look like they are in a blood bath..     not mine  though!!   

and thanks everyone for the compliments..  i hope you guys dont mind the 6 year long build..   although sinse then i have rebuilt my landcruiser almost twice and still this one is sitting..  if anything, i enjoy just seeing where i can take this truck.....(along with my bank account..  lol..   yikes..)

[Wainiha]

Compliments will keep flying your way,  I'm sure.  You can build!

[theslayer85]

It took me a few days but i finally made it through all 14 pages. I have followed you fj45 build too. Good work and it is always good to see someone do something different.

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

i got a bit ambitious today..  i am waiting for some parts for the cruiser so i have time to work on Extend-a-toy today..
  i have a lot of stuff thats clogging up the garage at the moment so i figured i should get some stuff put together..  i started off the morning with a good garage clean..  i am still finding a ton of stuff to throw away and recycle..

i did stumble across something kind of neat today though..  i was going through my stack of tranny and t-case shifters and was looking at throwing away a few 3 litre v6  t-case shifters that i had kicking around and thought i would try an experiment..  turns out that the shifter handles are exactly the same but the bases are different.. so if you are ever needing a shifter handle but dont have any minitruck ones kicking around this may be an option..

here in this pic the 3 litre v6 shifter and base is on the left side of the pic..    the middle shifter is one from a 1982 t-case and the far right shifter stub is from a 1979 case..   you will also notice a bit of a machining difference at the tips of the shifters too..  but all the shifter handles will interchange into the 1st gen shifter base..




next up is the used diamond axle that i got..   its kind of wrong but have no problems modding what i need to make it work..  i spend an hour or so cutting off all the brackets and then cutting an opening so the elocker motor can sneak into the housing..  i will drill the remaining 4 holes tomorrow for the mounting of the 3rd member and also clearance the knuckle balls a bit sinse everything seems to hit when i put the longs in the knuckles..









and after i got stalled with the front diff due to not having the proper 8mm tap i then turned my attention to the t-cases..

oh yeah, i sold my 4.7 case to another forum member here and am taking the oportunity to build my ultimate heavy duty tcase using the Marlin Crawler 30 spline front and rear upgrade, Marlins newest 4.7 gear set and a complete rebearing throughout..

the other big news is that i have decided to go with TRIPLE CASES in this truck..   do i need them??  nope.  do i have the parts to build them?  yup..   
so now the crazy final crawl ratio will be 3.8x2.28x2.28x4.7x4.88= 453:1

i had to rip apart 2.5 cases to get all the parts that i need to make this happen..   i had bought a few used cases a while ago and turns out one was run while low on oil and burnt some gears and bearings..  also the drain plug looks like it was tagged by something hard at some point and cracked the bottom of the case and also bent it..   and the other case was dropped at some point before i got it and wrecked part of the reduction housing section of the t-case...         i was able to get everything that i needed though i think... i will know more once everything is cleaned up better...



and whats left over to build with.. 

[Wainiha]

^holy s...uh...smokes

[HogCanyonHopper]

very ambitious. looking good 

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

i got the crap work done tonight..    all 2.5 cases are now bead blasted and ready for assembly..  i also got some new 4.7 gears all cleaned up and ready to go too..    i would like to find a couple new bearings but probably isnt necessary.. the ones in the case look good but i thought if it wasnt too much of a hassle i would change everything and start fresh sinse i was in there.......
  toyota's price on the few bearings that i need is stupid expensive even going to a toyota USA discount vender to buy them and MarlinCrawler might be a bit of a wait depending on what they actually have n stock...    i will see what i can figure out.. i want these cases back together as soon as possible..

i will start on both the crawler case tomorrow and the main 4.7 t-case..  i completely forgot that i had an EDO from work so i have the day off to work on this stuff tomorrow..

just a few quick pics..


here is the new Marlin Crawler 30 spline main shaft, the Marlin Crawler 4.7 low gear and the low gear cage bearing..   this stuff is massive compared to stock.. 




these cases were horrible with caked on gross oil and dirt.  it took almost an hour in the industrial hotsey washer to get them pretty clean..  then it was into the bead blaster..   in here are 2 cases completely cleaned up and maybe ready for assembly depending on what i find with the idler, and front drive bearings..  and thats what ate up this entire evening...   things take sooooo long when you are making everything look purdy..

[kawazx636]

Just started following your build, excellent fab work! 

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

ok... so i got a few more things together..   i also got a lot more parts coming in..  still collecting stuff..  i will just let the pics do the talking..






and finally......   my coilovers showed up today from evolution machining.....    i get my hydraulic bumps in a few weeks but i was excited to see the coilovers..    the radflo's are pretty nice overall..  i think i got one set of wrong coils though..  i will call tomorrow and see whats up..   other than that, most of my parts are here..

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

 i got my crawl boxes almost done..

the rundown on the new drivetrain is.....

-Marlin Crawler competition 4.7 gear set in the rear case..
-Marlin Crawler 30 spline upgraded front and rear t-case outputs..
-Marlin crawler 23 spline input..
-All new bearings in all three cases..
-glass bead blasted cases..
-2.28 crawl ratios for the two front crawl boxes..

with my v6 tranny and 4.88 dif gears this puts me at almost 500:1 crawl ratio.. 

here are a few pics..

new front 30 spline 4wd output along with 23 spline input..


new 30 spline rear output..


completely rebuilt crawl boxes.. X 2


front view of tripple cases


rear view of tripple cases..

[HogCanyonHopper]

  damn that is so sexy 

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

so the plan is to work on the truck just till the end of this month and then it has to sit for a while.. if i have time here and there i will tackle little things but for the most part I have to get back to getting my fj45 done and driving again so i can get to the Blackhills cruiser classic and then back to the Rubicon this year again for the Marlin Crawler Roundup with the wife so we can meet up with all the really great people that we got to meet when we were there last time.... this time i will make sure Marlin wont have to help fix my truck to keep sparks from flying out of the hood.. lol..  darn battery cable..

anyways,

i also got more done on the front diamond axle.. I got the knuckle balls cut clean again so i can turn them to the proper caster that i will need for this truck..   i also got the rest of the elocker mounting stud holes drilled and studs installed..

specs are as follows...

-diamond diff with 62"wms
-8 inch high pinion elocker with 4.88 gears built by Marlin crawler.
-original bobby long longfields and inners with hub gears
-Marlin crawler axle seals
-Marlin crawler elocker guard.
-Marlin crawler heavy duty axle seals
-Marlin crawler 25mm upper and lower trunion pin upgrade
-Trailgear 6 shooter knuckles
-Trailgear knuckle wiper seals
-4x4 labs high steer with gm tie rod ends.
-v6 brake calipers and vented rotors


yes, this turd is completely polished..   :lol:


the drill bits that i got extended to fit all the way down the hole in the elocker housing..


all the studs in..  when you use the 3rd member for a template and drill guide they sure go in straight...


3rd member mounted, knuckle balls clearanced for the bigger longfields and coming together..


the elocker motor guard..   i am actually kind of impressed with this..   it was a perfect fit..


ahhhh, only the best.. RIP Bobby long.. 

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

BOOM!!!!!!!!!

so i got my order from EMF rod ends today..  they are beautiful and well worth the money.. although it is a little depressing to see a couple of boxes that are in total 81 pounds and there really isnt much in there.. hands down these put all the other rod ends in the market to shame..  like absolutely no comparison at all...
 i dont have my hydraulic bumps yet but they are coming next week.. 

so the heims are gonna go like this..   i bought the big ones for the lower links..   the second biggest are going to be for the upper links and the smallest heim is going to be for the panhard.. 
 sinse most people seem to take pics of their new stuff with a can of beer beside them i thought i would take mine with my favorite beer sinse i dont drink..  Mmmmmmmmmmmm, rootbeer..



and these are the bushings i bought for the other end of the links..

[HogCanyonHopper]

those are purdy  good choice in beer

[yotaneck13]

Very glad to see you're still working on this. I'm probably almost as excited to see the finished product as you are.

[blackdiamond]

Is it going to make it to completion before it's 10 Anniversary?  You're just a few weeks from 9 years since the first build post.

 

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

Is it going to make it to completion before it's 10 Anniversary?  You're just a few weeks from 9 years since the first build post.

 

haha!!   we are going to have to wait and see!!    entire families have been made in the time that i have been playing with this truck..   the biggest obstacle for this truck to get finished is that i am rebuilding my landcruiser....
   I will be collecting parts throughout the summer for Extend-a-toy and after October I will be back at it full time again in the garage..  with all of the major turns that this truck has taken, it really hasn't had a chance to get finished..   i do have a lot of nice parts still coming..  i have some fiberglass boxsides, front high clearance fenders and rear flares coming at some point too.. i am just waiting for everything to get finished from the supplier..  the other big thing that is happening is that i am getting a custom diamond axle for the rear too..   the specs will be,  same wms as the front diamond, 8" elocker diff, centered diff housing, 80 series landcruiser outers from a 1993+ diff that will allow me to make this diff a full floater...  this might be happening in july....               i would love to have the truck done for the 2015 Marlin Roundup..

[yotaneck13]

Sent from my shop, hiding from my ole' lady.

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

ok, its update time... now that the cruiser is more or less done for now i can now get back to this poor truck.....  i have a ton of parts coming for it and new stuff is happening.. i have back at it for a week or so now......   

this thread is proof that when you take way to long to build a truck you end up changing your mind 16 times along the way with what you want to get out of it..
   first order of business is to get that truck at least 4 inches lower... the goal is to be on 37 inch tires and still get out of my 6 foot garage door.. i will not settle for any higher.. its already a pain in the ass to get the cruiser in and out of the garage.. i have to pull two wheels off and drive it in on rims every time i need to get it into the garage to work on it.. i dont want two trucks to have to do this to..

how this is going to get done is first by dropping the body almost two inches closer to the frame.. when i was building this truck i thought it would be awesome to have a built in two inch body lift so working on it would be way easier.. well, flopp that idea in the face.. i am dropping it back to the frame.. i am going to leave about a 1/4- 1/2 inch between the can and the frame this time... next will be the suspension... as everyone knows, i have been collecting parts for a while now to do a 3 link in the front of the truck.. i think i should be able to drop the truck another 2 or so inches up front now that i have got rid of the springs..

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

so here is the start of some good stuff..    i have been talking to Brian from Front range/diamond axle and got my diff cut up to send Brian what he needs to make me a new full floating rear diff for Extend-a-toy..

here is what a 80 series Landcruiser diff looks like waiting to be cut up..




and getting stripped down....



and now cut up



poor poor 80 series diff..   diff ends and all brackets are farmed off of it.. i sure am glad I grabbed two of these things when i was in the states last year.. i should have grabbed a third...




and the ends that i am sending to Diamond axle to make me my new full floater diff..  i will be buying the Nitro axle "cut to length" full floater axle shaft for this thing...  in the end i will have a full floater diff with an 8 inch center that is an e-locker with 4.88 gears..    what also nice is that i now will share all the same brake components as project Rankenstein and its 80 series diff..

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

and here is whats going on with the body...  and thanks benp for all your help with this so far..   i am super motivated to get this truck on the road soon..

again, the plan was to cut out all the 1x1 bracing that i put underneath the cab to give it a bit cleaner of a look...  the floor really doesnt need it anyways and will be rigid enough on its own with what little bracing i have left under there..   also, we cut out the foot wells and most of the rear floor..  i am getting a piece bent up with ribs in it for structure and the floor will be smooth back there...   
 Plans changed a bit when i was able to come across a rear split bench seat from a 2001-2004 taco double cab..   i have always wanted to see if i could get one to fit and although its a little tight for anyone over 5'9" back there for the feet it is totally doable...  thanks to Double-D for that seat...  also part of the motivation of getting rid of the drop boxes was partially for weight and also just to clean up the underside of the body but mostly it was for making room for a rear 4 link..    at this point there was no room for links and brackets to hang off of the frame due to the drop box foot wells being in the way..  not a problem now....
here are some pics of the madness...





and some of the cut out 1x1...

[John Doe]

Progress looks great! Get this thing ready for next years Round up!

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

 I would love to drive the 36 hours down in this truck to the Roundup next year but i somehow dont think its going to happen..     Unless i come down in primer i wont be done paint and body work by the time the next roundup will happen.....  A person never knows though.   

i will be working on this thing pretty hard this winter again and hopefully have most of a truck together by spring..

next months order will include a set of trailready beadlocks  with some toyo MTs's..   i really like the 37x13.5x17's that are on my cruiser so I will probably go that way again with this truck..  basically, as soon as my diamond axle is done i will be coming down to the States again and picking up the axle, tires and rims at a place that accepts shipments not far from the border..   its amazing how much we get hosed up here with shipping by the time it has to cross the border..  i can go pick up all this stuff, stay there for 4+ days and still come out better than try to ship these to my house in Canada..   

I am still trying to figure out if I want at 61" wms or 62" wms...   i know its only an inch but my tires are already sticking out quite far and the plan is to keep this street legal so i will have to already put some extra coverage past my 5 inch flared fenders that i have already so i dont get tickets driving this thing around..

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

so I decided on going with a 62"wms for the truck..   i sent my 80 series full floater ends away a couple of months ago and the rear diff from diamond should be ready to go!!   i cant wait to go get it.. i will be driving down to the states to get it because its actually cheaper for me to go get it than it is for them to ship it across the border to me oddly enough...     anything that is big and crosses the border is crazy expensive to get across by the time you pay for duty and all that crap... 

i figured i should do a quick update with the thread till i get some more parts..   

so i had this big hole now in the middle of my cab floor that i needed to fill in....  just to refresh..   i am going to be 4 linking the rear and realized that the drop down foot wells that i had made in the floor were going to get in the way..  so i cut them out..        i got a local steel shop to bend me up a new section of floor with some ribs in it for extra strength..   i then also got another cross member that will serve as the place for the front seat brackets on the rear seat to bolt to..   anyways, enough jibber jabber..   here are some pics..

here is that big hole in the floor....




and the new floor section i got bent up....




and the rear seat mounting cross member..




and here are some new cab mounts..




and the new floor in place.... this was a lot of work to get it right..  it turned out great though...



and here is what a 2001-2004 double cab tacoma seat will look like in the back...   its gonna work out quite nice.. i cant wait..



and just because i dont think i posted this from early summer last year....  its all my fiberglass fenders and flares from toyotafiberglass.com..   very nice stuff..  i still will have to bob the box sides down to what will work with my truck but they will really finish off the look of the truck i feel...

[dropzone]

Glad to see this is still moving forward.  One of my favorite long term 1st Gen Builds.

Make an extra full floater for me too

[brainlessfool]

hey frankie, don't mean to complain butt I'd sure like to see this done before I go to the old folks home! and looking for a finished frist gen with a 3.4 swap as that's
now what I want to do to mine! PIC'S or it did not happen! 

[fj-rankenstein [OP]]

Trust me. . I know. .   I was in my early 30s when I started this build...     I am hoping to get at it some time soon....   I have a few things in the way but it's going to still happen...      it was fun being at the roundup and getting some more inspiration for project extend-a-toy. .. 

[THK Matt]

HE LIVES!!!

[81ToyTrek]

This is great. Everything I want to do to my '82 and more! You sir, are an excellent example of ingenuity.