Marlin Crawler Formula Toyota Buildup

[Marketing]

Yes the rig will see both competition and trail rides. For trail use it will have a removable rear seat and roof rack. This year we only plan to attend 3 CalRocks competitions. We will get it to as many other events as we have time to attend.

[Marketing]

Today Andy built a fancy set of motor mounts for the relocated power plant. These burly mounts are so massive I think we can use them as tow hook points for recovery!

The motor was moved down 1" and back 4.5".

[Marketing]

While Andy was working on the motor mounts, I spent a few minutes tucking in the alternator. We are running the steering box on the inside of the frame rail. This means that the steering shaft will be much closer to the engine. To make more room for the shaft, the alternator needs to be moved over. Using a grinder the bracket was modified to allow the alternator to rotate close to the block. A shorter belt was sourced and fitted. The power steering pump mount was removed. Tomorrow the Chevy power steering pump will be installed on the right side (passenger) of the motor where the air conditioning would normally be.

[Marketing]

Using section of 5/8" thick plate steel material, Andy cut out a heavy duty pitman arm for the Saginaw steering box. A stock Chevy pitman arm was cut out and used as a splined insert for the arm. On the other end a tapered insert is welded in place to provided the needed taper for the FJ80 rod ends.

[TrackVino]

WOW, thats really cool. Are you giving tours at the shop now to show this off to the customers? 

[Willy Mammoth]

Any word on how many degrees the taper is on the insert? I need to make a couple myself. Or maybe you want to include these in your parts list?

Nice build up.

[Marketing]

We can sell you the FJ80 tapered insert for $5.

[Marketing]

On this project we have and will do some different and creative things but I think this one is the most controversial of them all. The rules state that the radiator must be in front of the motor. The rules do not say how large the radiator needs to be. We don't want the top of the radiator above the front cage tube going around the engine. We also don't want it go below the frame or we will have interference with the pitman arm. Mounting our steering box inside the frame rail further reduces the space we have available for the radiator. We had originally planned to have a custom radiator made to fit the tight space but looking through a Modine catalog we found a good fit. This is a 3 row upgrade from a factory 2 core radiator for a Suzuki Samurai. Sitting next to the stock Toyota radiator on the right, it looks more like a heater core! Dean placed a call to a good friend that works at a radiator shop and he explained what we were planning to do. He gave us an interesting formula. He said that a typical 3 row radiator will cool an engine equivalent to the surface area of the core. This radiator has a surface area of 13" X 13" or 169 square inches (normally aspirated). Using this formula, this radiator will provide cooling for up a maximum engine size of 169 cubic inches. Our stock 22re is 147 cubic inches. If we were planning to hook a trailer up to this truck and drive it full throttle up the grapevine on a hot day, I think we would see some serious overheating. However in this application we have a well ventilated engine bay and won't be using full throttle for more than a few minutes at a time so I believe with the help of a 12+" electric fan we will have sufficient cooling. This new 3 row unit cost just $109. We also like that it has an auto tranny cooler on the bottom that we can use to cool our power steering system with.



Samurai radiator on the left, Toyota radiator on the right.


Test fitting in the chassis..

[Marketing]

Today we also ordered up our drive shafts from the leader in competition shafts: High Angle Drive Line! We wanted the best shafts we could get and nobody builds better shafts than Jess! We went for the BEEF and ordered the super heavy duty, .188 wall tubing. These heavy duty monsters simply won't dent or bend.



http://www.highangledriveline.com/

[TrackVino]

Looking Good     

[FATB0Y]

  cool 

[Hyena]

sweet

[Marketing]

With the rotated MC08 dual adapter the rear case is turned 10 degrees to the left to lift up the 4wd section of the transfer case. This rotates the rear case crossmember mount and requires a different approach to crossmember design. We wanted a flat bottom with a large, flat skid plate. Andy choose to build a small crossmember and then make a separate skid plate that attaches to both the crossmember and to the frame. Using sleeves, the skid plate will bolt to the frame at 6 points (3 on each side). Another option for those wanting to build their own crossmember is the Front Range off-road rear crossmember plate. They rotated plate that is specially designed for the rotated dual adapter.

Andy used our metal worker to form a plate that fits around the front crawl box like a diaper on a babies butt. Legs go from plate back down to the frame.

[gotrocks]

where did you guys get the cage/body again

[WHITE_TRASH]

http://www.hendrixmotorsports.com/

[Marketing]

Last week we picked up a used forklift to help us move inventory in and out of the shop. Before it's put to work, I just had to give the  suspension a little twist. We still have a few hundred pounds of weight to add to the buggy but I was able to get 28" under the right rear tire. We should be able to get over 30" when done.

[Hyena]

Thats a cool idea for the t-case mounts.  Who is coming up with all thses great ideas? 

[Marketing]

The crossmember idea was all Andy!

[MidgetMike]

That is the sickest T case mount I can't wait to see what you guy's make next. 

[Marketing]

Today Andy finished the power steering bracket. The Chevy steering pump is larger than a factory pump and we just did not have enough room on the driver side of the motor. Starting with a the stock tensioner, a new mount was created to mount the power steering box on the passenger side of the motor. This pump will put out much more volume and pressure than the stock steering pump.



Front engine view.


The steering shaft coming out of the steering box take a right turn around the alternator on it's way to the steering wheel.

[Marketing]

The crossmember received some plating for more strength. The crossmember is still very light and is only 15 lbs right now.
Here are more photos of the crossmember from today.

[MiniSimp]

That T-Case mount is so sick, I'm tempted to drive down and see it in person!

[TrackVino]

Are you guys there on Saturday, It would be a cool idea if out of towners wanted to get a closer look, a Saturday workshop would be cool, even us local guys would like that.

[Marketing]

I am at the shop most Saturday mornings. Marlin is also here most Saturdays too. Stop on by.

[Marketing]

Last night Andy and Rocky mounted the chassis to the frame. For the front Andy bent the tubes around what will become our headlights.



The chassis is mounted 2" above the frame. This will give us enough room to run up to 39" tires if we ever want to go larger on tires. It also allows us to create a completely flat hood.








The steering box and gusset welding is now complete.

[MidgetMike]

I think I am gonna take a road trip to see this truck you guy's are realy out doing your selves with this   

[Roktoys84]

Hey Chris, won't a smaller power steering pulley pump more fluid than a larger one?     J/K

Looks awesome, keep up the good work. I wish I had mad fab skills.

[TrackVino]

Once again, very good work     

[Marketing]

Today we used our grooving tool to break up the tire tread blocks. For those that have not used a grooving tool before I thought I would take some photos.


Here is the business end of the tool. Notice the U shaped blade hanging down. This is the part that does the cutting.


It take about 20 minutes for the groover to heat up. Once hot, just lay it on the tire and gently push on the handle. It cuts through the rubber like butter.


You can cut tires many different ways. We choose to cut the blocks in half to create more leading edges for climbing.


We removed a total of 2 lbs of rubber from our set of four tires.


We purchased our grooving tool  from March Racing Wheels for $104 delivered to our door. That included two cutting heads (large and small) two pack of blades (#4 & #6). Their phone number is 479-524-4157.

[FATB0Y]

neeto