BOOMSLANG First gen 4 seat trail car

[Tankard]

I decided to tear my fully operational first gen truck apart in order to include my family in on the fun. 

My original plan of attack was to make a walk thru cab and add two seats in the bed, then run a new cage for safety.  I would continue to move the motor back 16" from the factory location as planned; making room for the 3 link, 12" air shock, sway bar, radiator, steering ram, winch, fan, and lights all under the hood. The wheel location would match the fenders the same as it did with leaf spring too. This would have all worked, and would have made for a nice sleeper but the weight of this rig was already over 4000 lbs. before the cage and now I have been presented with a safety issue that just wasn't ok with me.

The distance between my head and cab seam was less than 3" after removing the back of the cab and getting the seats in a more leg friendly position. A split skull without a helmet or spinal injury if I put one on.   .....toss the cab Idea.


I can trim a bunch of fat instead! No more sheet metal, keeping the hood though. Narrowed the tube work significantly at only 49" wide. Its a little skinnier than a Sami. Already had the sub chassis started so now we're keeping that part of the frame.  My axles should be satisfied with this call.

In the first couple photos: a perfect cab wasted!



This will work with a custom intake.
As you can see here the space between the valve cover and body is tight. With the factory intake manifold bolted to the motor in this location, there was about .25" above the throttle body's vacuum tubes before contact.


1.75" HREW....I did say budget 

[HogCanyonHopper]

 

[Tankard]

Almost forgot. Here it is before too many new ideas.





And the new axles for this rig. Can you spot the recycled high steer parts?



Hand formed 3/16" ms. I like to swing the hammer every now and again.

[toyotanner]

i want to do a walk thru so bad but i keep reminding myself i live in oregon

[HogCanyonHopper]

 

[toyyota]

Over the top...I Like it a lot. Don't stop now.

[locked 4x4]

Looks like fun.  Looking forward to watching the progress.

[dropzone]

Looking forward to see thE progress..
Gotta love Cedar Tree trail..

[86bobbedtoy]

subscribed!

[OldGold3VZE]

Wow, cool.  Keep it up.

[*** YELLER ***]

[SloCrawler]

  watching this one

[83 Crawler]

i want to do a walk thru so bad but i keep reminding myself i live in oregon

im pretty sure this dude is in oregon you can do it just  make a canvas back or something

[toyotanner]

im pretty sure this dude is in oregon you can do it just  make a canvas back or something

what gave it away the oregon plate or TSF in the pics

making a canvas back just doesnt sound easy to me

[Tankard]

Rain gear and goggles is as easy as it gets.

This rig might get closed in with canvas in the future but for starters I will use 2 Samurai soft tops sewn together and clear side panels. I saved the plastic windshield lip from my last Sami.

I will go over the suspension and sub-chassis next!

Bonus photos, welding the front housing 

[OldGold3VZE]

So is this the rig in your avatar pic?

[83 Crawler]

what gave it away the oregon plate or TSF in the pics

making a canvas back just doesnt sound easy to me

no but you could tie it into your exo some how,

[Tankard]

So is this the rig in your avatar pic?

Yes sir it sure is.

Try to think of it as a Quentin Tarantino truck build. You get to see the near end of the project first, then the story from the beginning.

I haven't had the opportunity to finish this rig yet. There are still a ton of things needing to be done before the finish.

[83 Crawler]

[Tankard]

Gaining additional forward facing visibility is high on the list of goals in mind for this build. As well as keeping the wiring and plumbing to a minimum. I focused my attention on the firewall area and under the hood, moving everything elsewhere. The new ability to see trail obstacles will be well worth the efforts.

The entire electrical system will accommodate the driver side of the sub-chassis. The battery weight is now low directly under my seat. An ammo can is inexpensive, weather tight, and there's plenty of room to store the ECU and breakers inside. The lid will be part of the floor surface maintaining access to the breakers.

2.25" heat wrapped exhaust and two piece drive line will be shacking up under the passengers feet. More visibility to be gained here too with expanded metal floors.

A few mock up shots.

[HogCanyonHopper]

 
Looking saweeeet!!!. I have a 1980 pick-up with a 3rz swap. It has certain well made conversion parts on it
I'm keeping my eye on your build for future inspiration.  
I like that color on the rear axle 

[CrazyYota]

I like the build, but it looks like you killed a sweet first gen. 

[Tankard]

A satchel 4 link has been chosen for the rear suspension for a number of reasons. To name a few; low roll center, ample clearance under the car between the tires, allows for a lower mounted rear seat and fuel cell while still getting 8" of up travel from ride height. I was able to use the rear links again without any changes to their length. Just gave them a new arrangement.

The belly will be hanging at 16.5" from the ground at ride height. I was originaly shooting for 106" wheel base and having the front and rear d-lines the same length. And ended up with 107.5" for better rear u-joint life.

From ride height, between the diff flange and rear t-case output flange, the drive line measures 25.25".

[toyotanner]

hmmmm... budget builds usually dont involve 3rz's, links, air shocks, coilovers.... just saying lol

sweet build though so far... kinda seems it might look like a van when its done

[86bobbedtoy]

a flopp!n bad ass wheelin van!!!

[Tankard]

 

Just imagine a sidekick with a toyota hood.

hmmmm... budget builds usually dont involve 3rz's, links, air shocks, coilovers.... just saying lol

A 2RZ is a little more budget, and all parts are used before me. The deals were sweet. Its still a budget build.

[Tankard]

The tube work consists of mostly 1.75" HREW with some 1.5" HREW. DOM prices here were significantly higher than HREW at the time so I opted to keep it budget. If I had went with the DOM, there would have been a little less tube work required for this slow speed machine.













The radiator is tight going in.




There is only a couple items needing to be mounted in front of the radiator. A small T-max winch, the light bar and
the sway bar w/20" arms were mounted as high to the hood with out sacrificing strength too much.

[83 Crawler]

Looks really sick man!

[toyotanner]

roof seems high

[83 Crawler]

it does look kinda tall