Topic: misami second time around

[joblo]

i've been wanting to post a build for a while but wanted to wait till it was close to done. so heres a quick run down on the story before the rebuild.

i bought a semi built sami (toys w/ welded rear,no power steering,no cage,33"s) about 8 years ago as my first dedicated trail rig.
upgraded what broke or didnt work,cut off what got destroyed,wheeled the p!$$ out of it,and learned alot on a trial and error basis.
anyway it ended up lookin up like this...worked decent but you just cant stay satisfied for too long.

[joblo [OP]]

one of the main things i didnt like about it before was the handling/stability due to the p!$$ poor suspension geometry.
so i cut it back down to what was left of the factory frame...cut a little more off and started doing some research and working with the triaged link calculator.
Came up with something i hoped would be a little more stable.
moved the t-case up for a flat belly, had to make some mods to the mighty kong bucket (found some cracks)

[83yota]

lookin good

[joblo [OP]]

if you noticed in a few of those pics she was still sportin the engine/trans , hood/firewall, its because the original plan was to go propane on the 1.3 and stock trans simply because it always ran like a champ, but........i came across a low mileage (90,000mi) '96 16v 2wd sidekick/tracker with a th180 that only had a few hundred on the trans (receipt was in the glove box) and an engine that ran great for a whopin $400, soooo ......i couldnt pass it up and out came the old powertrain and some more of the factory frame.
hung the new stuff in a general location and started putin some tube through the bender. mostly 1.5"x .120" dom with 1.25"x .090" dom and 1" .070" dom.

[joblo [OP]]

as far as the cage/chassis goes it was definetly the most fun part of the rebuild. you can get more creative and at the end of the night you can stand back and look at your progress (as opposed to wiring or plumbing).
my theory was to keep it low and light.... real creative huh....
but i figured this particular powertrain (being aluminum,and really small) was not going to be too much heavier than two passengers and seats so the low placement of the seats/passengers was going to be almost as crucial as the low placement of the powertrain.....i dont know if that makes any sense to anyone but it seems logical in my head.

[pumkin toy]

looks like it will be a fun little buggy!

[joblo [OP]]

got alot of the main tubes tacked in and started checking, rechecking and triple, quadruple and whatevers after that before burnin anything in.
this took a little time but i'm glad i took the time. i ended up having to make some changes to chassis and to direction i thought i was heading that would have been alot more costly later.
i needed to change some tubes in the front to clear the hyd. pump to get its full adjustment,i decided to also make enough room for the radiator and oil coolers up front as opposed to my original idea of runnin rear mounted coolers (just seemed like runnin them in the back was goin to be more work than it was worth)

[joblo [OP]]

these pics are after the changes to the front end... i think i like the looks more anyway.
also got the shocks mounted (18"s.a.w.) i would never buy another set of air shocks period, but i already had them so thats what i used.

note at this point the chassis is being built at ride height.

[joblo [OP]]

got the front bump stops welded in, i really really really wanted some fancy air bumps but the price was just more than i could swing at the time sooooo i hope to swap some in later.
i started to look at how i was going to get a hood on her. i originally wanted to try and run a rhino or razr  hood but again the price kinda sucked, they arent easily modified  and just wasnt going to fit easily.plus i kinda have a thing against calling it a "buggy" so keeping the toaster slots in the hood and a few feet of frame would further justify my point of it still being a sami.

[joblo [OP]]

heres one with my boy  DEOGEE

[joblo [OP]]

got the seats and belts mounted. got most of the aluminum interior panels rough cut.
firewall done, controls done,shifter mounted, made sure everything was going fit and work...that includes diver and passenger min. 4" from helmet to tube

[joblo [OP]]

time to take her down to the min. for paint.
the color....the same color its always been and always will be. cat yellow
it took waaaay more primer and paint than i thought.

[joblo [OP]]

reassembled with coolers and radiator.
also mounted the suckdown winches front and rear mounted on the axles.
i know the front one is going to hinder clearance a bit but i'm hoping it will be worth the trouble to have the extra unsprung weight on the front axle when doing steep climbs.

[joblo [OP]]

finished the welding/narrowing of the hood and sprayed it gloss black.
had my brother tape out some super cool flat black flames.

[joblo [OP]]

got the uhmv cut,counter sunk and mounted for the belly pan,rockers and winch skid....
lookin through the pics i just noticed i didnt get any pics of the belly pan build, but heres the one ive got from the outside.

[joblo [OP]]

the gal you keep seeing in some of these pics is mine and let me tell you shes not just for looks.
she said she had an idea for some of the aluminum panels, i told her to get after it and this is what she did.

[joblo [OP]]

got it wired and fired,topped off the oils,fixed the leaks,filled the shocks with oil,charged the shocks.
and let my gal take grandma for a ride around the hood.

[joblo [OP]]

got the skins done with our club stickers(R.O.K.O.) on the back side with tinted paint behind them,got the limit straps done, and the leds wired.
so its pretty much ready for a real goodshake down run. its been almost 3 years of just work no play since i tore into this thing(it has been being built at my folks house almost 200mi from where i live and work so i get maybee 4-6 days a month to work on it) so i'm pretty stoked to say the least but i know you dont care to hear my whiney @$$ sob story so.... heres the latest pics.

[joblo [OP]]

here

[joblo [OP]]

more

[joblo [OP]]

i have some more pics but i need to change the resolution and its late and im tired ....ill postem up later

[joblo [OP]]

19" belly,67" roof,107"wheelbase.
wishbone front,4-link rear,18" s.a.w.,full hydro,toys w/ detroits and cryoed 5.29s,30 spline longs,six shooters,toy d-lines,6.5 TT sami t-case w/mighty kong,16v,2wd th180,36" sx on 15" steel allieds (have a set of 37" reds just need to buy some wheels),6000 lbs short drum front winch w/ cable for now,quad winch in back w/ cable
havent weighed it yet...anybody want to make a guess?
i know its gonna be heaveier than i wanted but i hope its at least under 3000lbs.

[timmaytoyota]

loks good  exept for the shocks look to long, have fun breaking the new rig

[joblo [OP]]

the shocks are waay too long....but i bought them the first time i linked it and well.... i built this thing on a budget that wouldndt allow a new set.

[*** YELLER ***]

joblo I remenber this from moonrocks looks good

[joblo [OP]]

thanks yeller. moonrocks is awesome... i'm thinking of heading out there at the end of the month to get in a GOOD shakedown run before the memorial day madness.i'll shoot you a pm and maybee we can get a few folks out there.

[snowshoebrue]

looks good man

[*** YELLER ***]

thanks yeller. moonrocks is awesome... i'm thinking of heading out there at the end of the month to get in a GOOD shakedown run before the memorial day madness.i'll shoot you a pm and maybee we can get a few folks out there.

[joblo [OP]]

i'll try and post some pics from moonrocks last weekend.

[joblo [OP]]

last weekend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1Mxk7pC8pA