Bro-coma.. getting unbro-d

[spc mike]

Im totally loving this build! Maybe one day i will be able to build up a Tacoma too! Are you a fabricator by trade?

[86bobbedtoy]

alot of holes! must have taken a while.
but sweet, and way way stronger.

[BHT12]

  Holly Holes!! looks bad ass i bet that took awhile

[Zs Confederate Toy]

You certainly have some time in those frame rails. They look good though, you will definitly have a hard time tearing it up out on the trail.

[-Matt-]

i did it strictly for looks. didnt want to use round tubing, but didn't like the look of a long bulky rectangle frame so i found a happy medium. took so long though. about 50 holes with a lenox hole saw through 3/16s with a hand drill... FML.

[pumkin toy]

i did it strictly for looks. didnt want to use round tubing, but didn't like the look of a long bulky rectangle frame so i found a happy medium. took so long though. about 50 holes with a lenox hole saw through 3/16s with a hand drill... FML.

looks sick dude!  I dont think I have the patience for that, haha  The FML cracks me up. I just got a bunch of stickers made cuz I like to say that too, check it out

[-Matt-]

Haha nice dude

[-Matt-]

im making a fake fuel cell. im just gonna encase my tank and all the original components without changing anything so smog will be do able and i wont have to screw with any of the sending units, but the idea is it will look good. its gonna be kinda difficult because im gonna try and make it small as possible. but its kinda hard because the tanks are so awkward. also the top portion will be removable just incase i need to get in there or prove something.

[-Matt-]

didnt have to much time today but i got the bottom of the tank done, it will go somewhere around here on my truck. made is so the sheet metal is touching the tank all the way around so its as small as possible.

[46&2]

Thats actually a really cool idea. Keeping it simple but attractive. 

[BHT12]

Yeah i like that too it looks good. too bad it couldnt fit a little lower in there. Could you notch those ends on the back so the top top of that frame around the tank fits flush with the top of the frame you built on the truck? just a thought? 

[-Matt-]

ya iv though about it but it would be even more of a pain in the ass. honestly it shouldn't be any different than a normal placement of a fuel cell, or wouldn't even be much higher than an f150 tank between the frame rails (like i originally planned). im just doing what im working with. sometimes its not worth it. plus im not worried about center of gravity. i have one tons with lots of attached to them, so much unsprung weight. its gonna look more like a small tool box. its gonna look overly large for a fuel cell and look like its super heavy with fuel but you have to remember its still a stock 19gallon tank in there so it shouldn't be bad. i made it hug the bottom as close as possible to keep it low. the top lid has a little more room since there's a lot going on in there but the weight is still lower to the ground.

im almost done with it, should have pictures tomorrow evening.

[BHT12]

alright.. i want to see what you have planned done.

[-Matt-]

finished the fuel system, hooked it up just to make sure it all worked then took it back off so i can start the build. everything worked. tuned out clean. its a little large looking because there's the squid box and other like the filler neck in there, it will look less bulky once i get the rest of the tubing and sides back on the truck. the whole point was to make it more appealing and make it look more like a small truck box. got a little top storage out of it. all the weight is on the bottom since its where the tank sits. should be pretty standard to a typical fuel cell as far as weight/location.

o and just for a heads up, even if you vent the tank for 3 days with a fan and lite a torch inside numerous times to make sure there no more fuel vapors in there...still fill it with water if your doing any welding. i knew about filling with water but thought i had it all fine and didnt want to deal with the mess.. was i wrong. some of the plastic inside still leaks vapors for a long time so i went at it, thing blew up. very miner explosion since there was very little vapors in there, didnt even come close to hurting me and was super slow motion but it fucked the tank up a bit (had to fix it, probably turned the 19gallon tank into a 21 gallon tank though haha). it was dumb not filling it with water, dont want someone else to make the same mistake.

[BHT12]

  looks damn clean. i like it.
Hey at least you get a couple more gallons out of your tank hahaha

[-Matt-]

HaHaha ya it was kinda intense. Blew 3 shotgun sized hole in the tank where I had it bolted to the subframe since it got bigger real fast.

[BHT12]

it blew holes in the gas tank itself?

[BHT12]

dude that would be pretty sick if you just made that box into a fuel cell and just mounted the electricaly box what ever it is on the left sid where it L's if that makes sense and made a cover for it on a hinge.. just thinking out load

[-Matt-]

Ya blew a few holes in it because I had it mounted to the bottom and when it expanded it didn't have anywhere to go but up so it ripped where I had a few bolts that were mounting it. Just welded them shut and pressure tested it

And the whole reason I didn't just do a fuel cell it its not smogable. The whole idea was to not modify anything thatt he truck came with. Only thing I did was cut the filler neck down.

If I made a cell and even put everything like evap on the cell it still wouldn't fly because the tanks not dot approved

[BHT12]

Oh wow that sucks.. I never thought about that.. better keep that in mind when i baja mine... SOMEDAY.. way down the road =\

[-Matt-]

its been a while but now that all the holidays are done, a little less broke, and taking a break im gonna start working on it durring my weekends again. worked a little bit on it today

got the rear axle under and got the lowers in. everythings mock up and not finished. ill start on the uppers next. i have the wheel base at 120" right now and i think it should work out fine. also made the lowers the same length as the front. about 42" eye to eye. to get better geometry im gonna fully triangular the 4 link and run a 2 piece driveline. ill support the center driveline from my link cross member with a real pillow block that i will get. (probably have to machine it a bit to fit the existing tacoma setup). hopefully everything will work out. my rear driveline from pillow block to axle is gonna be short. probably about the same length as the front.

im gonna shoot for my uppers being 30% shorter than my lowers and try and keep the uppers 5* off parallel from the lowers. unless anyone else has some 4 link tricks or ideas then thats what im going for.

[BHT12]

Looking good man.. This thing is going to be your crawler? if so with that short wheel base and how far back the frame goes it kinda gives it a crummy approach angle but im not sure what your plans are?

[spc mike]

Looking good man.. This thing is going to be your crawler? if so with that short wheel base and how far back the frame goes it kinda gives it a crummy approach angle but im not sure what your plans are?

You mean Departure Angle? and i agree the frame looks a little long in the back, in relation to the current axle location.

[Zs Confederate Toy]

and i agree the frame looks a little long in the back, in relation to the current axle location.

X3 I was thinkin the same thing

[BHT12]

You mean Departure Angle? and i agree the frame looks a little long in the back, in relation to the current axle location.

Departure angle approach angle what ever.. same thing..

[-Matt-]

yea... i might adjust it a bit. i need to cut the bed sides and get those partially done to see whats gonna work best. its also kinda deceiving because nothing else is there. also the rear of the frame will also be a bumper to the bed wont even fully be to the rear.

i might move the axle back 2" it would only take me a few minutes to do. i told myself i wouldnt go over 122" for lenght. but id be totally content with 122.. so that would be perfect if i moved it back 2 inches.

and thats exactly why i first use mock up link material becasue it doesnt matter how many times i cut or splice into it. i can change it as many times as i want untill im content.

[46&2]

Looking great man. Keep up the good work. The frame looks really good.

[hansi530]

sooo bad a$$ 

[pumkin toy]

looking sweet dude!

[-Matt-]

well i redid my t case crossmember and got the rest of the lower crossmembers/tie-ins together. ill put a skid on it later. set me back a few weekends and was a pain in the ass changing everything but it was well worth it. im really happy with how it came out. way easier to remove everything. placement is way better and im able to unbolt everything besides the rear lower crossmember because that one doesn't matter. i think im at around 400$ just in grade 8 bolts in this thing so far. 

wont get done tomorrow, its my gfs 21st bday , but im at a good stopping point till next weekend.