Builds Marvin - '76 FJ40 (1 Viewer)

[Fast Eddy]

My rear end will drop 8". The front of that bar needs to drop straight down about 4" for it not to bind in this situation. With that fixed front end it will only allow the rear to drop about half the distance and then it will hold the rear up. You would not be able to remove the bolts. I call that bound up.

That's not to say it won't work on the trail, but it will put stress on the bar and it's mounts and may eventually lead to it breaking.

That design makes the classic mistake that putting the front pivot at the spring pivot solves all the problems. The flaw is that the spring is flexing and the bar is not. Here's a quick picture showing the spring flexed (bottom) and not flexed (top). The perches and spring plates remain relatively flat on downtravel. Don't take my word for it. Try it.

 

[yOHda]

as your spring travels, the slip in the upper bars allow it to compress and extend as needed. the axle only travels down and forward or up and back, and there is enough slip to account for that. as the axle articulates, the twist in the upper bars allow the axle to have free movement. i dont see a point in the travel where it would bind.

im not at all knocking your design, just trying to understand everyones approach. ill be fumbling through my own build in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Fast Eddy]

as your spring travels, the slip in the upper bars allow it to compress and extend as needed. the axle only travels down and forward or up and back, and there is enough slip to account for that.

The axle drops straight down. Since the bar is fixed horizontally to the axle the front attachment point of the trac bar also needs to be able to go straight down. No amount of horizontal slip changes the need for vertical travel.

That bar will bind. If you don't believe me, attach it, jack up the rear of the rig from the center and when the wheels come off the ground try to take it apart.

Second experiment: Take out the front link and replace it with a welding rod, not attached at the front. Jack it up from the rear-center again and watch what happens to the tip of the welding rod.

 

[yOHda]

i will have to experiment when im in the shop this weekend. mine will be on my daily driver so i definitely dont want any binding.

i was planning on building something similar to this. i will definitely take into account what you said before i start building.

 

[Fast Eddy]

The rear pivots not being parallel is pretty strange. Mine will swing side-to-side pretty far when the front is not connected, due to the flex in the rubber, maybe 6-8" at the front. I would guess that one is pretty stiff once bolted in place.

i will have to experiment when im in the shop this weekend. mine will be on my daily driver so i definitely dont want any binding.

i will definitely take into account what you said before i start building.

Cool. I don't have any need to be right. It was 100% wrong when I built it. Now that I understand the geometry involved a bit more I'm just trying to spread the word.

 

[Fast Eddy]

PS Cooler and Carb Fan

PS Cooler, $30 from Kragen:

Carb Cooling Fan is from an fj55. I bought it without knowing it was wrong. With this bracket it's like it was made for a '40. I haven't run it enough to know if the circuit is still good. The plug matches and it's plugged in.

 

[Fast Eddy]

Working...



Nick is working on his Eagle Scout project and we had to put brackets for 6x6 posts into 1'x30" holes. There was no water on-site, so we bought pre-mix and towed this thing across a field. We were able to pour straight into the holes this way. Three of us knocked it out in about 3 hours.

The receiver is from Mark's Off Road.

 

[Fast Eddy]

Passed CA smog this am.

 

[KonTiki]

I like the PS cooler- I could use one. Any leaks when using the hose clamps for the PS lines?
I have a saginaw pump for my hydraulic winch and had to use hose clamps on the return line. Mine leaks a little.

 

[matchan420]

I love your 40...i would take somd mcguires ultimate compound to it. You wil be happy with the shine it brings.

 

[chicago]

The axle drops straight down. Since the bar is fixed horizontally to the axle the front attachment point of the trac bar also needs to be able to go straight down. No amount of horizontal slip changes the need for vertical travel.

That bar will bind. If you don't believe me, attach it, jack up the rear of the rig from the center and when the wheels come off the ground try to take it apart.

Second experiment: Take out the front link and replace it with a welding rod, not attached at the front. Jack it up from the rear-center again and watch what happens to the tip of the welding rod.

I'm curious to see how that wrap bar holds up in the next few years.
I don't like that much length hangin out in front of the triangulation. I think that'll be the weakness.

 

[Fast Eddy]

I like the PS cooler- I could use one. Any leaks when using the hose clamps for the PS lines?

No leaks. It's an fj60 pump.

I love your 40...i would take somd mcguires ultimate compound to it. You wil be happy with the shine it brings.

I waxed it when I got it. You can take a look at my 'before' thread. It shines up fairly well, but I'm worried more about the rust at the back, then painting the repair and the front fenders, then lining the floor. After that I may start thinking about some wax.

I'm curious to see how that wrap bar holds up in the next few years.
I don't like that much length hangin out in front of the triangulation. I think that'll be the weakness.

I agree. In an argument with Georg on another thread I took to calling the current setup a prototype. There is a whole other tube inside that part of that tube. It's probably 3/8" thick total and the inner tube extends past the joint. My design is not going to have the kind of bad forces from being bound up that everyone else' bar has. We shall see.

 

[Fast Eddy]

Hardcore Bondo... but the metal's not all bad. I think I'm going to try to pull out the crease with a stud welder and a slide hammer. It doesn't really need to be great.

 

[Fast Eddy]

and rust...



and evidence of the old repair...

 

[batcon]

So...you going to go to all the car shows with your rig when you get done, fieldskin?

 

[Fast Eddy]

So...you going to go to all the car shows with your rig when you get done, fieldskin?

You're going all the way there, with a pretty rig like yours?

I just couldn't stand not know what was under there any more. It's going to get painted with rattle cans after all the plastic and rust is gone. I've got some nice Awl_teq Canadian steel ready to go back in those rusty holes.

 

[batcon]

How are you at doing a faux patina?

 

[Fast Eddy]

How are you at doing a faux patina?

My version of "restored" is what people call patina. Look at the "new" suspension parts at the top of the page.

 

[Fast Eddy]

More fun with old bondo

 

[Fast Eddy]

I'm thinking of have a pair of 3/16" x 4"-wide, flat, fender outlines cut on a water-jet cutter and attaching them somehow around the fender opening. I don't think it makes sense to weld them. Maybe paint separately and attach with some bolts? I kinda like these:

The shape is where it's cut on the inside, and the outside line. The middle line is where the current fender is. You can see that I'm moving the opening towards the back about 1-3/4", almost as far as the axle is moved back.



The shape is a tracing off my other '40, which is uncut.I cut about 3/4" from the front side after this picture.



12 weeks later

Flares coming together