I liked this before, It going to be super rad now !! 
Extended cab 45 SWB from a 40 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter afraptor22
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afraptor22
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- #142
Thanks! Just wish it won't take me a year to finish.I liked this before, It going to be super rad now !!
2KCruiser
Everything 2KRacing, practically live here
Glad I didn't end up buying it, lol. This is getting exciting.
Mike Shull
Let’s go…
Talk about one heck of a thread bump. This thing is going to be sweet!!!
afraptor22
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- #145
Working on where the tank will live and how to mount the rear sill since I don't have a stock rear frame to work off of. Tank needs to come down 1" so it doesn't hit the sill, so I'll have to scoop the frame where the fill neck is. Tight but everything should fit with pushing the tank back to leave space for the axle to move and panhard bar if I need it.
Ran the numbers in the 4-link calculator and seems like it will work with the combination brackets I have. With my measurements I can adjust the anti-squat from about 90-110% with the position of the frame side upper links. It looks like it will be triangulated enough to not require a panhard bar but I plan to leave the springs centered and enough space to add one if needed. Wheelbase is at 122" right now and that puts the rear tire a little further back in the wheel well than stock. With the upper spring mount where it is I have 10.75" of spring height at roughly where I want ride height to be. I have a set of JK Rubicon front springs that should end up there so I'll mock it up with them and probably figure out some combination of OME lift springs for a Jeep LJ for the final ride.
afraptor22
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- #146
Rear frame is pretty much done. I'm going to add an inside the frame panhard bracket on the passenger side just in case I end up needing it. It's sitting very low in the rear because the jack pivot point is letting the coilovers jack up the front. Waiting for my FJ Cruiser springs to show up and I can set it on it's own feet again.
Time to switch the welder to .025 wire and start on the rear body.
The best part of this iteration of Frank is that my 8-yo son decided he wanted to learn how to weld. He really got into it and even did some of the brace welds for the tire carrier crossmember.
Time to switch the welder to .025 wire and start on the rear body.
The best part of this iteration of Frank is that my 8-yo son decided he wanted to learn how to weld. He really got into it and even did some of the brace welds for the tire carrier crossmember.
afraptor22
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- #147
2 steps forward, one step back. The tub I bought to cut in half ended up being worse than I thought. Lots of rust repair has really slowed me down. Today I made some progress and got the rear corners replaced, the driver side wheel well replaced and the corner channels.
Now that I have the bed sides in a reasonable place I can weld them to the rear channel, pull it to paint and finally weld the body back into one piece…..easy.
Now that I have the bed sides in a reasonable place I can weld them to the rear channel, pull it to paint and finally weld the body back into one piece…..easy.
Mike Shull
Let’s go…
This looks like 5 steps forward to me.
afraptor22
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- #149
Got a bunch done the last two days.
I finalized the forward/back location for the quarter panels and got them welded to the sill....so dimensions are set now!
I wasn't super happy about the 2" angle bracket that I used to make a front rail. It looked like it was going to be all wrong to seal to the floor skin and the quarter panels.
Then I was looking at the metal I cut off the junk tub I bought and thought...maybe I can reuse this. Now I have a nice sill shape and its not terrible to seal to the door structure on the back side.
More metal repurposed...
I was updating the doors to the later style...so I needed new B-Pillar posts.
I capped the top of the B-pillar and now I have a relatively straight and level line across the B to C pillar and all the way out to the back of the quarter panel. I cut out and re-did the hinge plate for the rear doors. It always bugged me that my rear door gaps were terrible and it was crooked across the top. It's straight now but will have to see how much play is in the hinges.
I also clamped the tailgate panel on to see how that was going to look. I plan on adding some hinges to the bottom so it functions as a tailgate.
I finalized the forward/back location for the quarter panels and got them welded to the sill....so dimensions are set now!
I wasn't super happy about the 2" angle bracket that I used to make a front rail. It looked like it was going to be all wrong to seal to the floor skin and the quarter panels.
Then I was looking at the metal I cut off the junk tub I bought and thought...maybe I can reuse this. Now I have a nice sill shape and its not terrible to seal to the door structure on the back side.
More metal repurposed...
I was updating the doors to the later style...so I needed new B-Pillar posts.
I capped the top of the B-pillar and now I have a relatively straight and level line across the B to C pillar and all the way out to the back of the quarter panel. I cut out and re-did the hinge plate for the rear doors. It always bugged me that my rear door gaps were terrible and it was crooked across the top. It's straight now but will have to see how much play is in the hinges.
I also clamped the tailgate panel on to see how that was going to look. I plan on adding some hinges to the bottom so it functions as a tailgate.
Mike Shull
Let’s go…
This is sweet. Can you show a picture from further back?
afraptor22
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- #151
Mike Shull
Let’s go…
This is looking great! You have really disassembled it. I know how that goes.
Are you planning to make soft top uppers for your doors?
afraptor22
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- #153
Maybe, I have 3/8" rod I was going to use for that purpose but the top edge of the Aqualu door is heavily rounded so there's not a great way to attach an upper structure to it. I have 3/16" sheets of aluminum I was planning on cutting to make full hard rear doors with a slide down plexi window. The kids biggest gripe has always been the windows didn't go down in the back!
Ya, it's pretty torn down, and more to go. I want to get the rear body mostly done, the underside painted and then joined to the front body. Then, the engine and transmission are coming out for an L86/10L80 swap. The rear 4-link is done but I want to cut out the front coil towers and raise them to lower the front suspension. Then paint....lots of paint.
afraptor22
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- #154
Pulled the bed off, hopefully for the last time. Welded in some support channels under the floor, hit it with some primer and then seam sealer. I’ll spray the center section with Steel It and put it back on for final welding.
Also finished welding on the panhard mount, the EVAP canister and the electric parking brake box.
Tomorrow is Easter so might not get much done. Next is to finish assembling the fuel tank and system and fix the rear brake lines. Then the tub can go back on.
Also finished welding on the panhard mount, the EVAP canister and the electric parking brake box.
Tomorrow is Easter so might not get much done. Next is to finish assembling the fuel tank and system and fix the rear brake lines. Then the tub can go back on.
afraptor22
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- #155
Shifting ends and working on the front. I wanted to raise the front coil towers so I could go back to the harder spring combo but also lower the front end. I also didn't like where I put the bump cans and I wanted to move the steering gearbox back to improve the geometry. So everything had to come off....
Thinking the steering gearbox will go back about 2" and swapping to a Sky Offroad pitman arm.
I also have to move the panhard bracket to an inside mount to make space.
Real estate gets eaten up fast with the towers and cans! I'm hoping to get them tac'd in place today to see where everything will fit.
Thinking the steering gearbox will go back about 2" and swapping to a Sky Offroad pitman arm.
I also have to move the panhard bracket to an inside mount to make space.
Real estate gets eaten up fast with the towers and cans! I'm hoping to get them tac'd in place today to see where everything will fit.
afraptor22
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- #156
I set the motor and transmission in to get an idea where the new mounts would live. I wanted to raise it up some from the previous LS and it ended up I had to!
Using the stock L86 AC compressor with an adapter manifold angles the ports right at the frame. This ended up being one of the tight spots but raising it helped.
The power steering pump and the steering gearbox are also very close. A 90 off the pressure side will clear and I'll have to bend the tube for the return side a little but it should fit.
It puts the engine very close to the Hydro Booster, but the only interference right now is the fuel inlet tube for the high pressure pump. Its hard line then a flex line so I think I can bend it up a little to fit the adapter.
Here's where the new towers will live. I need to drop them 2-3" for the height I won't need for uptravel I don't have. The axle will only go up so far before the pumpkin hits the panhard bracket. The Ford Dana 60 differential is pushed too far to the outside to be ideal for a narrow frame like the FJ40.
Motor mounts are tac'd in. Transmission mounts landed in the same place as the 6L90 and I just need to raise it at the mount to get the driveline angle I want.
Using the stock L86 AC compressor with an adapter manifold angles the ports right at the frame. This ended up being one of the tight spots but raising it helped.
The power steering pump and the steering gearbox are also very close. A 90 off the pressure side will clear and I'll have to bend the tube for the return side a little but it should fit.
It puts the engine very close to the Hydro Booster, but the only interference right now is the fuel inlet tube for the high pressure pump. Its hard line then a flex line so I think I can bend it up a little to fit the adapter.
Here's where the new towers will live. I need to drop them 2-3" for the height I won't need for uptravel I don't have. The axle will only go up so far before the pumpkin hits the panhard bracket. The Ford Dana 60 differential is pushed too far to the outside to be ideal for a narrow frame like the FJ40.
Motor mounts are tac'd in. Transmission mounts landed in the same place as the 6L90 and I just need to raise it at the mount to get the driveline angle I want.
Mike Shull
Let’s go…
I really like your sway bar and steering box setup. Nice work on this!
afraptor22
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- #158
Thanks!
Its hard to tell from the pics and you may have already checked it ? But make sure you turn the wheels lock to lock and check for clearance . The tie rod gets closer at full lock and i know on mine it was very close to the panhard frame mount bolt .
afraptor22
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- #160
Good point, I'll check that. Looking at where the diff comes close to the frame on full bump I had planned to move the panhard mount forward an inch so the diff won't contact it. It's an inside the frame mount so I doubt the tie rod will hit but it's easy to check, thanks!
