Box Rocket
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- #501
Just wait till we're camping. I LOVE fishnet.Fishnet seat covers..... unusual
Builds Box Rocket 1995 FZJ80 Build (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Box Rocket
- Start date
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AutoCraft Aus
Araco Master
- Joined
- May 20, 2008
- Threads
- 15
- Messages
- 918
- Location
- Central Victoria, desert region.
- Website
- 4xoaus.com.au
That is the nicest Lev-O-Gage that I have ever seen
Seriously, this is one of my favorite cruisers in all of the interents. Great build and great usage!
Smitty
Ya, that Adam guy does great work. Always an inspiration !
When my Cruiser grows up, one day, I hope it looks vaguely like his !!!
Box Rocket
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- #504
Checking brake lines and other clearances after finally installing my Land Cruiser Phil swaybar disconnects. No issues that I could see. Front end is moving better. Front tire was 37" off the ground in these images.
Great data... 37" is really good in my book. Were the disconnect pins easy to install and remove? Also, do you get any rattle with them installed on the road? (with pin connections, I'm always fighting have the connection tight enough not to rattle and loose enough that I can actually remove/install them without a lot of effort)
Oh, also, did you happen to measure your shocks when you were flexed out? Are you using all of their available travel now?
Oh, also, did you happen to measure your shocks when you were flexed out? Are you using all of their available travel now?
I would also like to add a simple single can carried to my swing out. Just like Box did. If we can come up with an idea in the next week or two mybe we could build two.I DIG IT!!! I FRIGGIN DIG IT!!! Definitely one of my favorite build threads. Just one issue. Its your fault that I am spending more money that I originally budgeted. Oh look. Now I want a Jerry can basket on my tire swing out.I can't wait to meet you and your rig in person.
Sorry to hijack Box.
Did you "narrow" your radius arms at the front bushings, or is that completely stock radius arms with swaybar disconnect? Looks good. Slinkies are a good choice with that combo after watching that video posted last week of someone's front spring dropping out under the truck
So clean under there! 37" is most likely more then you need. Looks great.
Box Rocket
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- #509
The disconnects were very simple to install. LCP has made a simple product that works well. I haven't noticed any rattling at all. The pins go in easily too.
Sorry I didn't measure the shocks.
Did you "narrow" your radius arms at the front bushings, or is that completely stock radius arms with swaybar disconnect? Looks good. Slinkies are a good choice with that combo after watching that video posted last week of someone's front spring dropping out under the truck
Completely stock radius arms. I agree, the design of the slinky coils to keep the springs seated even when flex is maxed out is as it should be. Having springs fall out is not a good thing.
Took 2 days, but I finally finished reading through your thread. Aside from our LCs being painted the only color that matters, I originally became interested in your truck because of that roof rack. I bought my truck from a fella in SLC and he had an old Diamond Rack on it. Just sold that to my boss (40th SC'ed, rebuilt by slee) and am definitely going the Prinsu route. I'm sure I'll take a couple more cues from your work, too.
Just wanted to say good on ya for the inspiration to me and plenty of others, I'm sure.
Just wanted to say good on ya for the inspiration to me and plenty of others, I'm sure.
Checking brake lines and other clearances after finally installing my Land Cruiser Phil swaybar disconnects. No issues that I could see. Front end is moving better. Front tire was 37" off the ground in these images.
Looks like your exhaust is a little rusty. better junk it.
What brake lines did you go with?
Box Rocket
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- #513
Thanks for the kind words.Took 2 days, but I finally finished reading through your thread. Aside from our LCs being painted the only color that matters, I originally became interested in your truck because of that roof rack. I bought my truck from a fella in SLC and he had an old Diamond Rack on it. Just sold that to my boss (40th SC'ed, rebuilt by slee) and am definitely going the Prinsu route. I'm sure I'll take a couple more cues from your work, too.
Just wanted to say good on ya for the inspiration to me and plenty of others, I'm sure.
Box Rocket
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- #514
I had some braided steel ones made locally. But my front ones were recently replaced with some longer rubber ones (again made locally). The braided ones had been damaged. The Rubber ones will get replaced with braided again at some point but it's not a priority ATM.
I bought a 7pc set from Man-A-Fre hope they work with our lift.
Question on the MTR's since your climate is pretty similar to mine-- how did they do in packed snow or ice? I don't expect any MT to be great, but seems like the MTR's have the best tread pattern for doing decent in the snow. Currently eyeballing a used set on craigslist.
Sorry for the threadjack.
Box Rocket
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- #517
Truthfully they are not awesome. They are marginal at best on packed snow and ice. Having them siped helps a lot.
Unexpectedly the Baja Claws I've been running this year were better in those conditions.
I'm looking at the Cooper STT Pro because I've heard they do quite well on packed snow and ice (for a Mud tire).
Box Rocket
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- #518
Well I've got almost 1500 miles (more than half of that on dirt) with the new Stage 4 Icon shocks for the Slinky suspension. I'll be writing another article for TCT magazine on these as a followup to the article I wrote last year reviewing the Stage 1 kit. It's been nice to get a real world comparison on these.
The short summary is that while I've been really happy with the Stage 1's for the past year, the Stage 4's will not disappoint and are worth every bit of extra cost, especially if your truck is on the heavy side with big bumpers and lots of gear on it regularly.
We did almost 600 miles of offroad testing of the Slinky Kits through southern Utah and Arizona in the days leading up to Cruise Moab. Most trucks in the group had Slinky kits and few did not. There was obvious differences between the ones that had Slinky kits and those that didn't. The most noticeable difference was the non-slinky suspensions experienced pretty dramatic shock fade and dampening almost disappeared and those trucks became really bouncy. The Stage 4's have zero shock fade with the large bodies and remote reservoirs. For me, the CDC control was HUGE. Being able to stiffen up the suspension allowed me to drive the truck more aggressively with it fully loaded and a RTT on top than I would have ever been comfortable doing with a completely unloaded truck without a tent on the top. I'll post a report and pics from the trip later.
We were able to use the IH8MUD HQ shop to swap the shocks before the trip started. Made it much nicer than swapping them in a parking lot.
The short summary is that while I've been really happy with the Stage 1's for the past year, the Stage 4's will not disappoint and are worth every bit of extra cost, especially if your truck is on the heavy side with big bumpers and lots of gear on it regularly.
We did almost 600 miles of offroad testing of the Slinky Kits through southern Utah and Arizona in the days leading up to Cruise Moab. Most trucks in the group had Slinky kits and few did not. There was obvious differences between the ones that had Slinky kits and those that didn't. The most noticeable difference was the non-slinky suspensions experienced pretty dramatic shock fade and dampening almost disappeared and those trucks became really bouncy. The Stage 4's have zero shock fade with the large bodies and remote reservoirs. For me, the CDC control was HUGE. Being able to stiffen up the suspension allowed me to drive the truck more aggressively with it fully loaded and a RTT on top than I would have ever been comfortable doing with a completely unloaded truck without a tent on the top. I'll post a report and pics from the trip later.
We were able to use the IH8MUD HQ shop to swap the shocks before the trip started. Made it much nicer than swapping them in a parking lot.
Box Rocket
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- #520
Well, the Mickey Thompson Baja Claws I've been running for the past year needed to find a better home. Overall I really liked the Baja Claw. They were really good offroad and the only performance issue was that they would tend to "push" in hard corners while going fast in the dirt. Just a bit more understeer than the MTR's I had before them. If my truck had been an offroad only truck I may have stayed with them because they did great offroad in my experience.
On the road they weren't bad but got very noisy as they wore. Also, I had a stretch where my toe was out of alignment and it caused the tires to start cupping. The cupping and wear on the outer edges of the tires was what caused me to notice and check the alignment. Because of the cupping, the tires also started to ride pretty rough. You could feel every lug hit the pavement when you were going at slower city speeds. I think the noise and cupping could have been avoided with ensuring the alignment was correct and with regular rotation.
But, they're on to another life on my son's minitruck. They still have life in them and will work great for my son for a while.
Got myself a new set this morning. Some love 'em, some hate 'em, but I've had good feedback from friends that have them around here and how they perform in Utah terrain so I decided I'd give these a try. If I don' t like them, I'll probably be back to the MTR's permanently. But one thing is for sure, I'll give these a proper thrashing.
Cooper STT Pro. Stayed with the 315's.
On the road they weren't bad but got very noisy as they wore. Also, I had a stretch where my toe was out of alignment and it caused the tires to start cupping. The cupping and wear on the outer edges of the tires was what caused me to notice and check the alignment. Because of the cupping, the tires also started to ride pretty rough. You could feel every lug hit the pavement when you were going at slower city speeds. I think the noise and cupping could have been avoided with ensuring the alignment was correct and with regular rotation.
But, they're on to another life on my son's minitruck. They still have life in them and will work great for my son for a while.
Got myself a new set this morning. Some love 'em, some hate 'em, but I've had good feedback from friends that have them around here and how they perform in Utah terrain so I decided I'd give these a try. If I don' t like them, I'll probably be back to the MTR's permanently. But one thing is for sure, I'll give these a proper thrashing.
Cooper STT Pro. Stayed with the 315's.
