Builds 77 FJ40 Build, It begins...and may take a while
- Thread starter franklin40
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- Thread starter
- #102
yes it is 4x4 labs. so easy to work with and not too expensive considering what it would cost for just the metal.
superbuikguy thanks for the suggestion. as far as the bumper construction is concerned i have a good plan similar to what you suggest. its the mounting of the bumper i am considering. do i go straight to the cross member or take it out and go to the frame with an integrated one to make up for removing the stock cross member.
superbuikguy thanks for the suggestion. as far as the bumper construction is concerned i have a good plan similar to what you suggest. its the mounting of the bumper i am considering. do i go straight to the cross member or take it out and go to the frame with an integrated one to make up for removing the stock cross member.
You can't have a solid enough frame. On my '40, I'm going to do like I do with C3 Corvettes - weld the frame up solid and add at least 2 cross members. thus, I'd weld the bar across the back and triangulate it. It also gives you a good anchor for tow points.
- Thread starter
- #104
http://www.nocarnofun.com/tug-of-war-of-the-century-caterpillar-d8-vs-20-toyotas/
Here's why I'm building one of these.
Here's why I'm building one of these.
To some extent yes you can. There's a lot of flexing going on with a riveted frame. Weld it all up and you're just waiting for stress fractures and frame cracks, even with crossmembers. Of course it depends on if you're thrashing it or not. I do like certain parts to be rigid.
Frames are for holding, suspensions are for suspending. You're wrong because of metal fatigue. The material frames are made of does not lend itself to flexing - it does flex to some extent, but eventually it will flex and break. If your frame is doing the suspensions' work; you need to fix your suspension. Manufacturers allow frame flex because it won't fail, under normal use, during the product's life expectancy. In short, they could make it stronger but they don't because it'd weigh too much and cost too much. Hydroforming has helped in this avenue as you get the better strength without weight gain or extra material - but in our world, stop the frame flexing otherwise you will throw your land cruiser away. Heck, just this week I looked at vehicle that looks, runs, and shifts perfectly, but the handling is mushy and loud because the frame has flexed and cracked at the cab. There is no saving the vehicle because, even if you plate the cracks, it will crack again behind the repair - it 's a shame because it would go another 200,000 miles if it weren't for the frame issue... of course, the frame could be swapped, but it's a 200,000 mile truck and frame swaps on a 2002 pickup are not cheap... at least, I'm not cheap.. easy, yes, anyone with money can make me work... but not cheap.
All valid points. But to build a suspension with that much flex would require a lot more skill than most people, including me, have or are interested in. People could go on and on. I didn't mean to hijack franklin40s thread
Back to the sweet build!
I'm suggesting take the low-hanging fruit. GM provided racing advice to C3 Corvette owners that provided a 40% improvement in frame stiffness... want to guess what that advice was? finish the frame-seam welds. Once you add a roll cage that ties to the frame, you're at NASCAR level strength. I do race cars, and agree with you that you need to engineer to max strength, but you will get 90% of what's available by welding the frame and tying the cage to the frame.
As for the suspension work, if it was easy, everyone would do it
- with that said, you can get a pretty solid knowledge set by simply watching what others are doing both online and IRL
As for the suspension work, if it was easy, everyone would do it
- with that said, you can get a pretty solid knowledge set by simply watching what others are doing both online and IRL
I just ran across this on another forum, it's painful to watch, but watch the flexing of the frame - if he'd had a more solid frame, he'd have gotten bite on the bank.
I bet on the inside of that truck, it felt like it was tearing itself apart... not enough frame, too much tire... glug glug glug
I bet on the inside of that truck, it felt like it was tearing itself apart... not enough frame, too much tire... glug glug glug
- Thread starter
- #110
man collecting parts can be tedious!! I ordered this steering box back in October and just got it a couple weeks ago after phone call after phone call. it's a nice box but that took way too long. now I can finish welding up my steering plates properly. it's the one advertised by summit racing. direct from agr was cheaper but I think I ended up paying more because of their shipping charges. who knows. at least I have it now.
I'm also in the process of ordering axles ( I need a centered diff). I'm going with a diamond axle full float rear and a standard front. hopefully I'll get them in my shop sometime this spring. lastly still waiting on my adapter kit. 4x4labs is building it but he's been so busy with only a few orders placed for them they e been low priority. I've been waiting since July but he's currently building them so hopefully again this spring.
I'm one year I to the build and already a year behind where I want to be. so much for custom parts I can't get in Canada. once the drive line is together the rest should be easier and faster to source (I hope).
I'm also in the process of ordering axles ( I need a centered diff). I'm going with a diamond axle full float rear and a standard front. hopefully I'll get them in my shop sometime this spring. lastly still waiting on my adapter kit. 4x4labs is building it but he's been so busy with only a few orders placed for them they e been low priority. I've been waiting since July but he's currently building them so hopefully again this spring.
I'm one year I to the build and already a year behind where I want to be. so much for custom parts I can't get in Canada. once the drive line is together the rest should be easier and faster to source (I hope).
- Thread starter
- #111
what should I do with my steering shafts and u-joints in terms of coating. should I get a good quality paint or powder coat them. I know that I probably can't powder coat the U joints but I could paint them once they're in place? suggestions?
they are bare metal right now. it's the kit from 4x4 labs
they are bare metal right now. it's the kit from 4x4 labs
I would not powder coat. I would paint with por15 or just regular spray paint.
I would paint and/or buy stainless. I have some joints that rusted pretty badly from just humidity, worse, the double d shaft rusted to the point that they became unremovable from the joints... which kind of defeated my purpose of making a collapsible shaft.
- Thread starter
- #114
cool. ill use paint and grease moveable joints regularly. i'm looking forward to progressing on this project again. its been a little discouraging waiting for parts to come. maybe soon. maybe….
I know this story well, the car in my avatar has been waiting for the machine shop since 2012... I'll have completed two, large projects in the time it took for them to bore, sleeve, install a girdle, and balance the bottom end... sigh, oh well, gives me time to finish my '40.
the reason I'm waiting, this is the 2nd block - the first block was destroyed by Jim Green's Performance center in Monroe, Washington... they weren't afraid to charge for their crap work, though. I return the favor by advertising for them.
the reason I'm waiting, this is the 2nd block - the first block was destroyed by Jim Green's Performance center in Monroe, Washington... they weren't afraid to charge for their crap work, though. I return the favor by advertising for them.
- Thread starter
- #116
well my axles have officially be ordered. I'm getting a set of diamond axles as I need the centered rear pumpkin and I want the housings to match hence the front as well. I have no ebrake on my transfercase anymore so needed to find a way to include that in the brakes themselves. diamond had a brake from a supra that had a cable pull for an e brake but they can't source these anymore. I don't want parts I can't find. they have however developed a new rear brake bracket system that uses an 80 series rear disc brake with the drum style e brake. all these parts are easier to find I understand. they havent released it officially yet but are going to include it with my axle. and I get a rear full float this way too which though not totally necessary is still cool!! I'm awaiting some pictures of how it all goes together and the final price quote (the original quote seemed more than reasonable really) and then it'll be 4-6 weeks before I get them. I'm getting there little by little!!
the good thing is that I really only have a couple custom parts left to get and then the rest will be fairly standard things that I won't have to search too hard for.
I was laughing with a friend that I have so many custom things coming together right now that this will either be an awsome and fairly unique truck or it'll be a very expensive failure!!
I've been researching it for about 5 years though so I'm pretty confident I can make it work!
the good thing is that I really only have a couple custom parts left to get and then the rest will be fairly standard things that I won't have to search too hard for.
I was laughing with a friend that I have so many custom things coming together right now that this will either be an awsome and fairly unique truck or it'll be a very expensive failure!!
I've been researching it for about 5 years though so I'm pretty confident I can make it work!
It's a hobby, not a job - no such thing as failure in a hobby.
- Thread starter
- #118
I finally got my power steering plates finished up. the box sits a little further back than the 4x4 labs pictures show. I had to grind out more of my cross member than I would have liked to get it to fit. the plates sit where they are supposed to based on the frame contour so I don't know if there is some variation in the design of the plates or some minor differences in frames of different years etc. I hope it doesn't cause any problems. still looks solid to me but I may add some more metal to the top of the rail. welding around the small tubes is also a pain when you're still a novice. it's hard to keep moving steadily around a tight curve like that. it is my first part that has officially gone on the frame so that's feels good
here is the mock up
a little tight so more grinding needed
setting the bottom bolt tubes in place
the final bottom side welds
the box doesn't touch anything but the clearances are a little tight. I'm going to do a little more grinding in those places and then probably weld a little more metal in the smaller of the top frame notches where there is a big hole. it could be strengthened a little with more metal.
here is the mock up
a little tight so more grinding needed
setting the bottom bolt tubes in place
the final bottom side welds
the box doesn't touch anything but the clearances are a little tight. I'm going to do a little more grinding in those places and then probably weld a little more metal in the smaller of the top frame notches where there is a big hole. it could be strengthened a little with more metal.
- Thread starter
- #120
not sure at this point. i'm thinking of reinforcing it with the design of the bumper but it'll sort of depend of fitment of a fuel tank as whether i can add some cross members or not. what are your thoughts on it 64rotorhead?
