Delta Vehicle Systems goes to Overland (1 Viewer)

[Delta VS]

Howdy all.

Haven't been posting much because we've been SLAMMING trying to get our "Project 80" build finished up for Overland Expo West this weekend. We almost made the deadline but ended up trailering the rig to the event. We have had an excellent time so far and hope to meet more folks tomorrow (last day). Super big thanks to @LandCruiserPhil and @woody for stopping by and saying hi, it was great to chat with both of you and get some feedback on our build and our products.

For everybody else who can't make it to the show, we'll try to bring the show to you!

A little background:

We decided early in 2018 we would do a budget build of @swankstar's 91, mostly focusing on getting our product line filled out for the FJ80s, and also throw in a 4-cylinder Mercedes Sprinter diesel engine swap from a totaled Sprinter we had access to, and share an Overland Expo booth with Adventure Wagon (Sprinter build out kits). After sharing our plans with a client, they decided it would be a lot cooler to do a build for them. After a little digging on swapping the Benz motor, it turned out that was going to be a HUGE pain with zero support, so we moved on to trying out the new-ish Cummins 2.8L. Talking with a few of the companies that build adapter kits for that engine we found out nobody has mated one up to the stock FJ80 transmission. With 161 HP and 267 ft lb at the crank, it seemed like it might pair nicely with a 440. Just so happened that we had easy access to a 91 donor rig with only about 160k miles and in very clean shape. The build was on.

An incomplete product list of what this build includes:

Our products:
Delta Vehicle Systems (DVS from here on out) front winch bumper
DVS rear bumper with swing outs (modular attachments for the show are spare carrier on driver side and kitchenette on passenger side)
DVS caster correcting radius arms
DVS panhard LIFT bracket
DVS overhead storage
DVS center console
DVS tool pouch
DVS front 1" spring spacer with integrated bump can holder (for ICON bump cans)
DVS Cummins 2.8L - FJ80 conversion kit
DVS/Garrett Turbochargers Cummins 2.8L - FJ80 intercooler kit

Outside products:
ICON 3" lift kit (custom powerd coated springs with DVS brand color) with reservoir shocks (became ICON dealers because of this build)
Method Race Wheels Model 106 17" beadlocks
General X3 35x12.50x17
SOR carpet kit

General list of work done to rig:

Remove body
Complete teardown of chassis, powdercoat each component individually (included axles and suspension components)
Body stripped, sent to paint shop for custom DVS brand color
Entire box of Hushmat applied to inside of cab
9 rolls of Second Skin mass loaded vinyl applied to inside of cab (door panels, firewall, entire floor, wheel wells), this thing will be near silent when running!
Rebuild both axles
Rebuild brake system
100% new bushings throughout
Headliner swap with newer style 1-piece unit
New exterior trim pieces
New hood insulation
New gas struts all around

Lots of other little things that add up to a huge amount of time put into this rig. We are very happy with how the rig has turned out, and based on feedback at the show, pretty sure most folks who see it feel the same.

Here are some pics (will probably take a few posts):

This FJ thing is turning into a problem...the white one is the one about to be transformed

Jen diving into the teardown. She was pretty stoked to put EVERY extension in the shop to use at one time.

Doing a test fit of tires and wheels to make sure they at least MIGHT work.

Getting motor mounts figured out before tearing it completely apart.

Once motor mounts are figured out, we can disentangle the body/chassis system.

To be continued...

 

[Delta VS]

Chassis post extraction, waiting for body to leave the shop for paint so it has room to get torn down.

Chassis getting torn down.

Chassis fully torn down, old engine mounts removed, new engine mounts in place, fully cleaned and ready to head to powder coat shop.

Parts coming back from powder coat in stages, getting stuff turned around as quickly as possible so we can get working one some of the more involved jobs as soon as we can.

SO MANY PARTS...

saved

 

[Delta VS]

Chassis back from powdercoat. Used 2-stage coating, costs about 30% more, but is considerably more durable. Same process we use for all of our bumpers and parts that see any kind of abrasion.

1" spring spacers with integrated ICON bump stop holders

Test fitting of our rear bumper setup before it heads to powder coat.

The parts and pieces about to turn into an intercooler capable of handling 950HP. To much is almost enough.

Test fitting of front bumper before it heads to powder coat

 

[Delta VS]

Intercooler all welded up and ready to go

The bump can/spacer after powdercoat

Rear panhard lift bracket. We looked hard for one of these before diving into the project and came up dry. Man-a-Fre used to make some, but they were on the wrong side and hung down quite a bit, and are no longer available. This product is very easy to adjust for any lift height, just have to make sure your bump stops get dropped the same amount as the panhard is lifted.

Newest ICON dealer in Idaho, nice folks to deal with. Springs came black but to add a little "flair" to the build, we had them custom colored with DVS accent color.

The basic components of the adapter kit. Essentially it turns the back of the Cummins into the back of the 3FE.

 

[Delta VS]

Things starting to come together nicely

With the body back from paint, we felt pretty lucky to have neighbors with extra 2-post lifts we could borrow. Made mating the body/chassis a breeze.

Looking good man. Too bad there is only about 7 days to our scheduled "hit the road" date for Overland Expo and the whole shop got the stomach flu! Lost a lot of work days because of that little experience.

 

[Delta VS]

And we made it. Not too happy about hauling it down on a trailer, but that's the way it goes. Five more work days and we would've been adventuring on the way down, doing some good "breaking in" of the rig.

Fully finished rear bumper with spare tire carrier and kitchenette attachments. We like to keep our designs as modular as possible, so all the attachments/options simply bolt to the swing out arms. Once everything is finalized, we will be publishing the mount points. This will allow others to design their own attachments if they don't like ours.

This color was the best mistake ever. It was color checked via pictures on phones, and was supposed to be slightly less green, but we ended up liking it quite a bit. The spring color is a very nice accent as well. Good shot of the front bumper here too. First day of the show, Cummins stopped by our space and dropped off a very nice placard with full build details. They also have us listed on their "Cummins Walk", showing off all the rigs that have been converted with the 2.8 (about 6 here).

Nice shot of the front bumper. We went back and forth a bunch before deciding to remove the valance piece for bumper install. This allows the bumper to be very beefy and stout, while still allowing for high clearance. There will be options for bull bar across the middle as well.

Engine bay. We tried to keep it as clean as possible, integrating as many factory parts as we could. The stock airbox was retained, but we added some bling to the top of it. We are going to be finalizing a much more reproducible piece for the kit.

 

[Delta VS]

Another gratuitous engine bay shot for no reason

Next generation of our CSB (ceiling storage brackets). Decided to make it a full, once piece product. We will still offer the CSB so folks can easily make their own shelf system using whatever material they choose. The CSR (ceiling storage rack) option has a bulkhead in the front that closely follows the curvature of the headliner so it's a bit safer than just a kitchen shelf up there. It also offers plenty of attachment points for securing things above and below the shelf. Off to the left side of the photo, you can see the DVS tool pouch. There will soon be quick attachment points under the rear slider to secure the bottom of the pouch so it doesn't swing when you turn left or slam into the wall when you dodge chickens in the road.

DVS center console with adjustments from last time it was posted. Can't see it in this shot, but the angles on the lid are way shallower and there are now breaks on the sides of the front pocket so you have to try way harder to skin your knuckles when operating the e-brake or digging for lost Cheetos. Not seen in the previous post about this product is the stand-off plate you can just see the top of here. This allows for easy strapping/bolting of whatever you want to the inside. There will also be inserts that fit snuggly into those triangular cutouts with holes for mounting holsters, etc. Seen in this pic is a full width plate, there will also be half width plates available.

The paint job has not been finalized yet (no cut and polish yet, have to wait a month for everything to cure), but even so, this things is pretty shiny

The front bumper does have a winch hidden away in there, which allows a nice beer shelf to be built in. This rig being an FJ80, it has slightly narrower flares. The wings sit just inside of the outer edge of the flares, and should look good on either model. It looks pretty darn good without the flares as well (we had to try that out when the flares were off this rig). LED turn signal lights are included.

 

[Delta VS]

This one was kind of a "one off" deal for the show since we are across the walkway from Traeger. Wanted to get a extra attention from them, we'll see how that goes. BUT, since we've have a lot of interest in it at the show, we are thinking about producing a few of them. It bolts directly to the swing out and is super sleek and trim. This whole thing is certainly some next level glamping.

 

[Aloha Jen]

have to wait 4 seconds before posting again apparently

It’s been more then 4 seconds! What paint color did you go?

 

[petwhookie]

DAMN

 

[Delta VS]

It’s been more the 4 seconds! What paint color did you go?

Happy now??

 

[ontopofm]

drool

 

[Stuparman]

Very cool. That front bumper makes me think Hulkbuster.

I'm excited to see some 2.8 swap parts, it's a very tempting engine for my 93.

 

[scottryana]

Who's intercooler core did you use? I don't think I saw any pics of it mounted, did I? The only few pics I see from the front of the truck I still see the transcooler on the driver's side. If you are putting a big front mount in are you making the relocation setup for the front hood latch support? I could see that being a decent seller for guys doing turbo's and turbo diesels.

Intercooler all welded up and ready to go

View attachment 1704546


The bump can/spacer after powdercoat

View attachment 1704547


Rear panhard lift bracket. We looked hard for one of these before diving into the project and came up dry. Man-a-Fre used to make some, but they were on the wrong side and hung down quite a bit, and are no longer available. This product is very easy to adjust for any lift height, just have to make sure your bump stops get dropped the same amount as the panhard is lifted.

View attachment 1704548


Newest ICON dealer in Idaho, nice folks to deal with. Springs came black but to add a little "flair" to the build, we had them custom colored with DVS accent color.

View attachment 1704549


The basic components of the adapter kit. Essentially it turns the back of the Cummins into the back of the 3FE.

View attachment 1704550

 

[junior80]

dudes, nice work. more updates with how it drives please

 

[jjdeneen918]

Well, damn. That’s sexy!

 

[jjdeneen918]

Well, damn. That’s sexy!

 

[Sharky1528]

Love the bumpers ! Will the rear have an option for a hitch ?

 

[jjdeneen918]

Need more info on that intercooler.
Air/air air/water, pictures...
Off to your website.

 

[scottryana]

It has to be air/air there is no path for the water. Appears to be about a 22-24"x12"x3" core. Doesn't quite look like a Bell Core. Kind of looks like a Garrett Core which for air/air is probably the best in the business.

Need more info on that intercooler.
Air/air air/water, pictures...
Off to your website.