Build #WORWGN II - 80 build 2nd time around.

[AutoCraft Aus]

This thread is to document a build we did many years ago for a customer that came up for sale, so like Mr Remingtons owner, "we liked it so much we bought the vehicle".

Of course we couldnt leave it alone, so have been assembling some parts to get the outdated build up to scratch, for some good hard use here at home.

Stage 1 - get it ready to become 80 No 21 for me, from its original set up.

So this truck being a 97 40th Ann model 4.5 petrol auto had alot of things added like the ARB gear, Warn winch, dual batteries, to begin, and as the owner got more wheeling in, he got us to add lockers, 4.56 gears, suspension in a 50mm lift, and the engine got a Garret turbo, intercooler, Xede tuning device and 3" exhaust.

It also had injected LPG added for cheaper running, snorkel, a valve body upgrade to protect the auto, our torque converter upgrade, so had some good stuff as a base for something I can limiter and bumpstop bash, without ruining a new truck [another build for another section of the forum].

Will update the thread as we make some changes, modify some parts, and set it up and use it.

 

[Pat80]

What happened to the white TD worwgn?

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

TDs even with gturbo, tune, intercooler and exhaust are no turbo 4.5 petrol, so it had to go...... a customer now has it as the family 4wd wagon, so it was bye bye WORWGN I.

Hello #WORWGN II.

 

[Pat80]

Fair enough, looking forward to the build, ill be joining the petrol clan soon too

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

So as a test bed for lots of stuff with this truck we started throwing some parts at it to set a baseline from the what we know, so we can test and measure from there.

So one of the first things to get this truck driving right is to get some neg camber, and caster right, so it will turn in and not abuse the tyre edges.

Dialing in the required camber, and rest to caster out of the offset bearings.

And of course the " Washer Mod" for 2 deg caster on top of the 2 deg bushes.

And we bolted in some 12" bypass shocks we had kicking around, so we could load and weight the truck while testing some new coil designs we are working on at the moment.

And as well as the bypasses and slinkies, we put a new 06 on 105 steering box with the fat sector shaft, and a new pitman arm to suit, and some sway bar spacers so Mr Tailshaft doesnt get introduced to Mr Swaybar.

While we had the hot glue gun out for steel joining, we moved the front axle forward, for bigger boots to go on, also.

Fully welding the 90 deg bend in the panhard rod mount is also something you have to do if your going to play hard with your 80, as it cracks here, and tears the whole mount off the chassis.

Some new boots, and rims to put them on was in order as well.

And we had to make do with a hideous customer take off bar for an impromptu sand dune trip, while we wait for some Slee Offroad gear to arrive, but the 17" Method Double Standards and some 35" MTRs look ok.

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

While we are waiting for the Slee Offroad bars to turn up, added some 35w low HID set ups, with Hella outers and Kenworth parabolic reflector inners with 55w HID set ups, and some LED dash lights and redarc gauges.

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

Donor car pick up, a 96 GXL, with 2wd conversion in the transfer case, so swapped out the viscous in #worwgn for the 2wd conversion unit, while changing the torque converter to one of our newer beefed up higher stall units at the same time.

Swap all done, new ecu added [sequential] but broke the rear sprag clutch in the auto after dyno tuning it, and road testing, so back on the hoist

 

[junior80]

new ecu because this one has a turbo?

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

Using it as a piggy back, with hand controller for readouts and changing maps for different fuels on the fly.

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

Some new spring rates for the bypass valves, for some tuning loaded, with tyres pumped up.

New injectors and retune next week now the auto has been redone, after losing 4th gear while testing the new torque converter!

 

[dogfishlake]

Very cool build. Your 80 has so much stuff that's way more innovative compared to what we have here, I had to read your thread 10 times already. Probably will 10 more. Keep it up, it's a great rig!

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

Thanks.

Auto lost 1st gear while we were test driving it with the new torque converter, and more power and torque....

Have now beefed up 1st with more clutches, as well as the other gears, modded valve body to help with changes, and added a lock up torque converter switch, so I can lock up any gear flick of the switch. With our 442s we have to modify the valve body to be able to get 1st to lock up.

Fine tuned the kickdown adjustment as well.

Got some new siemens injectors and had the tops modified to suit the 11mm, went for 646 cc as the best option, with the tuning control we now have with the ecu as piggy back.

Will get some more updates and pics this week.

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

So the tune all done, nearly 400hp, oodles of torque, auto holding up nicely, and the high stall converter doing its thing with the 4.56 gears, 35s etc.

Goes ok at 7400lb with a 2000lb camper trailer in tow.

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

Also modified the @sleeoffroad Short bus bar to fit the Warn Highmount with 9hp bow motor before the last trip to the sand dunes, and put some cut outs in the wings to fit some rigid industries light bars for out the side view.

Sand dune driving trip last weekend, testing the tune, 8 psi in the tyres, and some winching from trying to drive on 5 feet of sea weed for about 200 feet, which didnt work..... The seaweed may have been wet and composted enough underneath climbing out windows and losing flares and mudflaps may have happened

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

So now the auto is done, and the head gasket fixed, then the head cracked and has now been replaced a week later, we have been getting afew miles away on the 80, recently opening a new dealer 400 miles away, so was up early hit the road, got there by 11 am, did the installs, speaking to their VIP customers, test rides around the block, and then 400 miles home again.

Only in a #turbofz

Also installed the microtech dash unit, 14 pages of data, shift lights, canbus plug in, warning buzzers and comes up in red if outside perameters, way better than tonnes of gauges.

And some LED light bars in the Slee Short Bus wings

 

[junior80]

is this new dealer in sydney somewhere?

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

Griffith.

Working on Syd.