T100 SAS Project

[541mudder]

nice. are you planning on going to gear drive dual cases or just stick with the stock case?

and the more pics the better! i need more motivation to get on mine

At some point I want to go gear driven dual case but for now my budget only allows for the SAS.

As you can see in this forum I try to post as many pictures as I possibly can. I have not started the SAS, since I am still gathering material/parts.

Now, my high-steer arms, u-bolts and u-bolt plates arrived last week. I got the high-steer here: http://www.fourwheelsupply.net/collections/steering-components/products/dana-60-high-steer-arms-hd-thick
I got my u-bolts and u-bolt plates here: http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/

As far as I can tell the parts are worth every penny. Here are the pics... sorry about quality they were taken with my phone.

In the background you can see I am rebuilding my brother's T100's rear end.

[ryantowry_81]

 

sexy!

[541mudder]

Well I think its time I show everyone what I have been doing. But, before I do so let me give you some background... I am a senior in college finishing up my bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Therefore, I am working on a senior project with a group of friends. For our senior Project we are designing and building (to scale) the warthog from halo. I believe that at some point we will be creating a website or a blog of some kind to share our progress on this project. I will keep you guys posted on our progress and if/when we create a blog/website I will post the link.

We started with a 1984 Chevy suburban with 1 ton axles on 38" military tires. Once we had the donor rig tore the hole thing apart and trailered the rolling chassis to the school. The first step was to designed the role cage in SolidWorks. Then we did a mock-up out of 2x4's. Then we made the role cage out of 2" x 3" x .120" steel tubing. On the weekends when we couldn't work on fabrication we completely rebuilt a 350 and swapped the motors. Here are some pictures of our progress... Enjoy

[541mudder]

This term we have modeled all of the 1 x 1 square tubing "skeletal frame", and fabricated the floorboard, firewall, and bed. We finished welding up the radiator mounts and got half of the steering column mounted up. We also added braces in the bed. Here are some more pictures of our progress... Hopefully in order. The most recent photos should be at the bottom.

[541mudder]

Well here is an update of the Warthog. We got it running the other day. timing is a little off still but until we are ready to drive it it will remain a little off. Proud to say that there were no knocks, bangs, squeaks or funny noises of any kind. This confirmed we did a good job rebuilding the motor. We got the gas and break pedals figured out and mounted. We had to do a little modifications to both to get them to fit and work right. To get the gas pedal to work we simply bent it into shape. The brake pedal was a little trickier. To get it to work we first cut the pedal off the arm, then clamped a piece of metal to the arm and compressed the breaks to determine how long and what angle we needed. Once this was done we then cut the section of the arm off and then welded two pieces of strip steel to either side. We also finished the steering column mounts and the braces for the fenders. A battery platform was built and installed and the radiator was installed and all hoses were connected. We also build and installed a gas tank cage. This cage is mounted in the same position as the original tank and will hold just under 17.5 gallons. As can be seen in the photos, we built an mounted the bottom part of our windshield mount. This last weekend we picked up our seats, seat covers and harness.

The next steps are to build the gas tank, hood frame, dash panel frame, seat mounts, center console, figure out the rest of the wiring, install floorboards, seats, firewall and design the rest of the cosmetic stuff; doors, bed fenders.

Here are some pictures of our endeavors. Enjoy!

[541mudder]

Here are some more pictures.

[541mudder]

Time for another update. The seat rails came in so we were able to install the seats. While we were waiting for the seat rails we fabricated the center console frame, dash frame, hood frame, gas tank, got the 4-wheel drive shifting linkage finished, the transmission shift linkage mostly finished and got some wiring done. Don't worry the wiring is not in its final place; it is just sitting their for the time being. we also did a preliminary test of the tank by filling it with water... No leaks yet!!! The next steps are to finish welding the hood (just tacked for now), install firewall, floor boards and dash panel,  finish transmission shifting linkage brackets, finish the brake pedal and then start on the cosmetic frame work. Before we do more cosmetic stuff I believe we will focus on getting it drive-able. Here are some pictures of our progress.

Sorry about picture quality. Took the photos with my phone...

[rayota]

the senior project looks sick!! but what happened with the T oneHundo

[rayota]

oh and you should do 4 wheel steering doesn't it have 4ws in halo?

[541mudder]

oh and you should do 4 wheel steering doesn't it have 4ws in halo?

I am still working on logistics for the T100. I still need to make the front hangers since a kit won't work. However, before I make the mounts I would like to do a mock up which requires that I swap the rear, cut the front and so on and so forth. Before I can do any of that I need to figure out how to do it and where to do it at. unfortunately I don't have access to a lift so I need to figure out another way... most likely jack-stands. I also need to get my hands on a welder. Hopefully I will be able to start in a month or so once this term ends.

the senior project looks sick!! but what happened with the T oneHundo

We would love to do four wheel steering, and it will have four wheel steering at some point, but for now it will only steer in the front due to cost.

[rayota]

its a sick project keep up the good work

[rayota]

yeah all my work is done on jackstands, and i usually borrow my boss's welder when he doesn't have it loaned out to one of his drag racing buddies

[541mudder]

Thanks, the project is going great. Our plan is to have it done in about three - four months from now. I will continue to update everyone on the progress of both the Warthog and the T100.

I am going to try to borrow my Dad's welder and a couple other tools. I have a couple design ideas for how to do the front hangers. The hardest part will be the shackle hanger since my frame tapers down in the front. I guess I'll cross that road when I get there. I also need to determine how much I want/need to move the front axle forward. My initial guess is I need to move it 2-4 inches forward (closer to the 2" mark I think).

[rayota]

keep us updated and post some pics when you get time

[sagebrushsniper]

nice build I miss my t100

[541mudder]

Well its been a long time since I have done an update on my T100. I started painting the u-bolts, plates and highsteer arms this evening. Unfortunately daylight and moisture ended the progress today but I hope to finish painting them tomorrow. The picture is of them drying. I also brought my tires over from my parents house, I hope to get them mounted and balanced Friday if I have the time. I have modeled up my front spring hangers in SolidWorks. I plan to use both 0.25" and 0.375" A514 (T1) plate to fabricate the hangers. If all goes as I hope I should start tearing into my truck in a few weeks (assuming my dad lets me borrow the welder). I will keep you guys updated on the progress as I go.

[541mudder]

Now for another update on the Warthog. We have been super buy lately working on our senior project and we have accomplished a lot. I will start by listing the things we have completed since my last post. We have completed installing the firewall, floorboard, and dash panel. We also got about 2/3 of the center console covered in sheet metal and we finished the shifting linkages. We also completed the wiring required to make a vehicle run including gauges. After getting this done we rolled her outside and fired her up, at first she sputtered and almost died but I rotated the distributed cap and adjusted the idol until she purred like a kitten. We ran her for about half an hour until she got hot (no fans yet), then shut her off. After a brief break we took her for a test drive (I think there were 6 of us on it with only 2 seats). Off course campus security didn't approve and we were pulled over, scolded and 4 of us were forced to walk back. After that we got the rest of the sheet metal for the dash cut and bent; we also drilled a hole to mount it until we decide what exactly we want to do with it. We are thinking about putting a stereo deck in it and maybe a small cubby in it as well. Next we started fabricating the harness mounts and doors. As of today we have 3 of the 5 mounts completed for the passenger side, most of the drivers side door fabricated and welded, and about half of the passengers side door fabricated and tacked together.

On another note we have started an Instagram account called "Projectwarthog" this will contain more photos of our progress in real time so give our page a follow. We will have a website soon too. Enjoy

[541mudder]

Here are some more pics.

[4xChinook4]

2 sweet builds on 1 thread!  Haha watching this 1 (2)

[541mudder]

2 sweet builds on 1 thread!  Haha watching this 1 (2)

Thanks for the compliment. The T100 will be a long ongoing project but the Warthog will be complete in 3 months.

[541mudder]

Well a quick update. Unfortunately I don't have any new pics for you guys. However, I have finished painting the high-steer kit, u-bolts, and u-bolt plates. I also had my tires mounted and balanced and I  have lug nuts on order; should be here by the end of the week. My dad also let me borrow his welder so hopefully by this weekend I will be tearing into the truck. While I am waiting for lug nuts I will get in touch with some of my buddies who are excellent fabricators to see if they can give me some advice. I will also need to buy 3/8" strip steel to make shackles which I will need to do this week so I can start working on my tuck this weekend.

Before I build my front hangers I will be doing a mock-up in order to verify the correct mounting location of the front axle. After the mock-up I will take measurements, modify the solid model and then fabricate the mounts. The front part of the front hanger will be relatively easy to make; however, the rear part of the front hanger will be more difficult because of the frame tapper and I foresee the need to cut into the frame a little bit in order to line up the shackle hanger with the spring hanger. Hopefully all goes well.

[541mudder]

IT HAS BEGUN... I have started my SAS. I was able to pick up my lug nuts yesterday along with some wheels for the angle grinder. So last night I started to tear my truck apart starting with the rear end. As of now I have completely removed my rear axle and the new axle is sitting under the truck. Unfortunately I was unable to finish the rear end like I wanted to because the locating bolt for the leaf springs was to long. So to rectify the situation I removed the thick washer/spacer that was under the head. Unfortunately, when the spring was assembled the bolt was cross threaded which is what ended last nights work. However, I was able to clean up the thread with a 3/8-24 external tap this morning. The bolts as good as new now. After school today I will continue to work on installing my rear end and if time allows start tearing apart my front end as well. I took some before shots to compare to the final results. Enjoy!

[541mudder]

When I was attempting to install the rear end I came to realize that the spring perch mounts were too narrow on the Dana 60 by about 3" or so. I attempted to get new perches last week but was able to do so... however, I was able to get my hands on some this morning from a local 4x4 shop. Another issue I had was the bushings in the new springs had a different ID than the stock bushings. To fix this problem I attempted to machine down the studs/custom bolts used by Toyota. Unfortunately, the custom bolts were case hardened to 50 Rockwell C (as hard as the tool steel used on lathes). So to fix the problem I put the custom bolt in a lathe, drilled through holes and cut off the shank. Next I got Grade 8 bolts to replace the studs. The first picture is of what the custom bolt originally looked like. The following pictures are of the final results.

Hopefully I will have the rear end mostly done and the front end cleaned up this weekend.

[541mudder]

Warthog Update: Its been a while since I last updated you guys on this build. Since my last update we have added a lot of sheet metal and tube frame. To start with we have completed the tubed frames of both doors, rear fenders, rear quarter panels and 90% of the rear tailgate clip. We will finish the tubed frame of the rear clip today. We have also put sheet metal on both doors, both ribbed triangular gusset pieces, bed and we have put sheet on about half of the driver side rear fender and quarter panel. We should have the drivers side rear quarter panel and fender completed by the end of the week along with some of the passenger side done as well.

Follow our project on Instagram "projectwarthog".   

[kneedownnate]

Just out of curiousity, is that tape on the wiring for the solenoids?  And if so, why tape instead of heat shrink?  I've done a lot of wiring like that on a rental fleet over the years, and have always preferred the little extra effort and cost of heat shrink instead of tape.  A reason I prefer it, aside from looking cleaner and offering a better seal, is I absolutely hated removing the old, sticky tape as it started to recede or if you needed to do any work on it.  Just my thoughts...

[541mudder]

Just out of curiosity, is that tape on the wiring for the solenoids?  And if so, why tape instead of heat shrink?  I've done a lot of wiring like that on a rental fleet over the years, and have always preferred the little extra effort and cost of heat shrink instead of tape.  A reason I prefer it, aside from looking cleaner and offering a better seal, is I absolutely hated removing the old, sticky tape as it started to recede or if you needed to do any work on it.  Just my thoughts...

Heat shrink was considered but my friend who is funding the entire project was perfectly content with the electrical tape since we had it on hand. If it was up to me I would have shrink wrapped it too.

[541mudder]

T100 Update: I got a lot done this weekend. I installed the rear end which included, removing stock perch mounts on the rear axle (had to move the mounts out from stock position about 2" total "estimate") and tacking the new perches in place. I need to extend my shackles by a couple inches to get better ride height and allow for more flex. I also got the front end up and disassembled. If time allows I will remove the torsion bars and start cutting brackets off tomorrow.

My original thoughts were to put the shackles on the rear end of the front springs but to prevent the tires from hitting the body during articulation and to allow for an overall lower ride height I am thinking of putting the shackles on the front of the front springs.

In the pictures the hood is sitting at about 6' in the air.

[541mudder]

More Pictures

[4xChinook4]

Good show!

[541mudder]

T100 Update: I managed to get some work done on the T100 this weekend. I made bushings and cut sections of DOM to use for the bushing/hanger bracket for my front shackles. I made the bushing out of UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight) polyethylene by tuning the bushings on lathe out of piece of solid bar. I was able to hold pretty good tolerances (±0.0001) as can bee seen in the picture with the calipers. I also removed the torsion bars and upper a-arms of the IFS. After removing the torsion bars I cut off all of the IFS bracketry and cleaned up the frame. Next step is to make the rear mounts and do a mock up so that I can take measurements and then model up my permanent hangers. If all goes well I will do the mock-up this week and have the permanent hangers made.