One thing I paid a lot of attention to when I first did the IFS build was getting the front wheels correctly placed in the front arches. Nothing ruins a build more than messing that up in my opinion.
And I think I nailed it. So, going to...
Finally got my loom out. Boy what a mess. When I first built the rig, I paid alot of attention to keeping the loom neat and tidy. But I guess 2 years worth of adding, taking out some stuff, adding more, changing this and splicing that makes for a...
Time to start work.
The plan is basically as follows:
1. Strip 45
2. Transfer tub to 80 series chassis
Fab new body mounts
3. Transfer engine/trans to 80 chassis
Mount h150 to the 1uz
Fab custom bell housing
Fab new engine...
Carrying on the story.
Backtracking a couple of months. A friend contacted me and after seeing my 45 build, he asks me to do his build for him, a BJ40 body on an 80 chassis with a 1HDT.
At the time I didn't have much work on so was only too...
Hwzt all. This will be a build thread, but like most, it's starts with a story....
Around 2022, I got my hands on a Lexus LS400. I loved that car, that absurdly heavy, beautifully comfortable, quietly powerful and deeply impractical, rust...
Many many years ago, my dad and I had an opportunity to tour the ICON shop. They knew upfront that there was no way that we were going to be customers but they were still really cool and spent quite a bit of time with us showing us various rigs...
That brings us to the last major change. I was not thrilled with the first iteration of the front bumper. I had a bunch of 4" tubing left over from that steam install so I decided to see how a new round tube bumper would look. Little CAD mockup...
Back on the rear axle:
I wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be an issue with the chopped section so I added some additional beef.
Small top truss.
Rear span truss, tied into the new diff cover.
Dumped the Gov-Loc and swapped it for a...
One thing for sure to check when getting a new axle is the lug spacing. Turns out Chevy/GMC went to a 8x180 spacing in 2011. This means that the axle flanges are different too from older model trucks. There isn't much information on this so I...
Of course as soon as I get the axle I had another piping job come in. This time a big stainless steel manifold for a client.
So the rack needed an upgrade for working. Loaded up with stainless piping all 2" schedule 40.
I figured the best way to...
I have known the rear axle has had some serious deflection in the past but it was free.
I have kept an eye out for any potential new axles and was thrilled to find a nice clean 14bolt with 3.73 gears in it.
$243 and an hour pulling it and it was...
Since driving around for a while, I wanted to get some paint on the truck to protect the metal. It was starting to flake off the top and the hood was all speckled.
Had a local guy trade work for tools and stuff. Not a show-quality job, but then...
My wife and I celebrated our 10 yr anniversary yesterday... she gave me an awesome gift! She's been working on it for a while. It totally shocked me how accurate and nice it was! Just have to find a nice place to hang it now.
Viscous clutch on a plastic fan. I also have a 1uz v8, so, to be fair, that's a lot quieter than an F, especially lower down in the Rev range. Although my old 2F was buttery smooth at idle too
Do you have a fan clutch or direct drive? Metal or plastic? When I swapped the metal fan on my F engine to a direct drive plastic one, there’s tons of fan noise. Just another source for you to look at.
It's how she's sitting now. Winter is just about here, and that means the dry season is upon us. So for now, it's tube doors and bikini top.
But I'm planning a major overhaul on the drive train and suspension later this winter, so it would be a...
My seals, although aftermarket hacks, are actually really good. Which leaves, as you say, the shear weight of the wind. A bug deflector is a good idea, maybe get some of that wall of air up and over the cab.
Ive seen some of the aussies like to...
If you take the top and doors off, the wind noise against the bib and windshield is much less noticeable. Folding down the windshield will also drastically reduce the aerodynamic noise.