Her Name is Frank

[Twisted Minis]

Ya I clip a lot of stuff with that Toyota suspension because its a good design. That Datsun I did needs a new clip after he wrecked it the last time...bent his up. I will keep that in mind. Maybe I can do it when I get this "shop truck" on the road. Cost me a fortune going up there in Grandpa's F350.

[THK Matt]

oh no doubt those diesels haul like a son of gun but dont treat the pocket too nicely lol.

Thats pretty cool though that it has a good design and your gonna adapt it like that.

[Twisted Minis]

Ya I stuck with the 79-83 suspension on my blue truck, and just swapped to the later spindles, and I had a ton of camber all the time. The design is very similar to the newer trucks, it looks almost the same. But I have bagged a few 84-95 trucks, and clipped the Datsun with that suspension and installed my control arms, and it works awesome. Only a few degrees of camber change, and handles pretty good, barely any bump steer. It way easier than sticking with what is there, or designing my own (which I have done, but trying to keep it simple). Plus, $100 for the clip is less than it would cost to build from scratch.

[Montana300]

This build is awesome, Your a BOSS!

[Twisted Minis]

Thanks.

Here is an intake I modified for a guy with a doored truck. Needed more hood clearance.

[BUDDERS]

Nice!

[Twisted Minis]

Making my own tube caps for the links.

[Twisted Minis]

Started working on my crossmember.

[Twisted Minis]

Pulled the motor.

[Twisted Minis]

Here are some pics from Joel of some laser cut stuff.

[twistedtoy92]

very nice Twisted, looks good! hows the progress on the shop truck coming along?

[Twisted Minis]

I'm going to work on it this weekend. Got a surprise visit by the Volvo again today. But made enough to probably buy the bags for the shop truck.

[Twisted Minis]

Also sounds like the VW Double Cab will be coming back in a few weeks to get nearly drivable. I'm excited.

[Twisted Minis]

Plated the frame and got the rear crossmember installed.



Then moved to the front. Took some measurements, cut the old clip off, narrowed the new one, and slapped it on.

[bslh8tr]

Sick can't wait to see what a "shop" truck looks like...lol

[jimbo74]

that is going to be a shop truck?! pretty sweet.... haha, tax write-off

[83 Crawler]

haha that is pretty sick!

[Twisted Minis]

Ya this is gonna be my shop truck. Lol. Bagged with a raised bed floor. Gonna leave the body alone because its okay-ish, and almost has a patina look (ie faded and chipped). I will use it to pick up steel and dirty parts and stuff that my Audi is not so good for. And to keep the mileage down on the Audi, I've put too many on it for work stuff. And then I get to have a bagged truck again, and something for shows maybe? Lol. I want to try to build a hybrid motor for it, since I know its going to feel slow after driving a 300 HP car every day. And I may build a header since I can't really afford to buy a nice one, and I don't want an eBay one. Unless I find used.

Rear is getting a nice 4-link, with some racing influence. I might have to try to make this thing handle well if its gonna be slow for a while.

[Twisted Minis]

Also my employee keeps trying to talk me into getting vinyl door logos put on it. I'm not sure yet.

[46&2]

Also my employee keeps trying to talk me into getting vinyl door logos put on it. I'm not sure yet.

Why not? It is your shop truck afterall. Gotta advertise.

[bslh8tr]

You could always do a big logo on the back window!

[THK Matt]

VERY NICE! and do the vinyl man! FO SHO!

[BUDDERS]

I'll sell you my '87 2wd extra cab if your interested.  Should be fairly easy to turn into a show truck compared to most of the wrecks out there.  PM me for more info if your interested.

[Twisted Minis]

But I just bought this one? Lol I'm too broke to buy another truck ATM, or I probably would. I really like that bodystyle extended cab. I loved the one I bagged like 2 years ago.

I guess I could go for a door logo, just not sure I would like it that much. Big one in the back window might be hard to see, and the back window is tiny lol. Need room for a small club sticker.



Before narrowing the frame clip I built a fixture between the motor mounts out of scrap to hold them in place. I trimmed a little off each side, and stuck them back in the frame a bit lower so the motor won't be moved up.

[kneedownnate]

Your work never ceases to amaze me man.  Great job!

[THK Matt]

WOW man!

[Twisted Minis]

Thanks. You can't even tell the frame is narrowed now. It just flows naturally. Doesn't really look Z'd either.


Finished plating the top of the frame transition but forgot a picture. Made a shift knob a while back. And modified the engine crossmember for a little more engine clearance. Also found a picture of when I did the bottom of the transition, I used a thicker plate and tapped it for a sway bar mount. Its near the stock ones (you can see one of the stock holes), but I have no idea if a sway bar will fit.

[THK Matt]

you do some flatout nasty and sick work dude. you need WAY more recognition son!

[Twisted Minis]

Thanks man. Not really sure how to gain more recognition though. I can't really afford advertising.

[Twisted Minis]

Also if anyone has some decent carpet for this thing I am looking. Haven't seen anything I can clean up at pick n pull, and I don't want to spend the money on new carpet.