Builds new to ih8mud buggy (1 Viewer)

[muddyblzr]

well im new here and this forum seems to fit the buggy best
bought it from a guy here in texas
all toyota drivetrain
22r on propane
5spd
dual cases with 23 spline 4.7 rear case
fj 80 front
fj80 semi float rear
toy rears up front
4 link rear with air shocks
42" iroks on omf beadlocks
cage is all 1.75x.120 DOM

im new to the fj80 axle's im not sure what mine are out of. also been looking around to see if it's necessary to convert to full float or not.

since i got it the steering res. leaked like a siv and the brakes barely worked, also the exhaust made it damn hot and the floor was pretty hack.
first thing was to cut a driveshaft tunnel since it contacted the link crossmember

didn't like the floor so i re-did it with lighter .75 16 gauge box tube and thin expanded metal

also fixed the brakes by putting in the right brake pedal assembly

making a new steering reservior since the other one got ate by the lathe.
also put in new front springs that lowered it 2" and rebuilt the air shocks
right now it sit's at 5'11 and 20" at the belly with 42"
also put in proper seat belt tabs

and put a new driver seat in and got rid of the super super skinny kirkey that was in the passenger side
also made some new mounts that are alot better than the old ones

sorry for the super long first post but that's my buggy in a nut shell
hope to see yall wheelin!
austin

 

[woody]

not sure what ya call it, but I like it!

good intro post!

 

[boots4]

Guess you really wanted that "open air" feeling. Nice buggy and welcome.

 

[muddyblzr]

haha im trying to keep it as light as possible. it came with a heavier gauge curled expanded metal floor and i liked to be able to see everything. i can sit in the driver seat and see the fronts of each tire and axles.
this time around i went with flat and a thinner gauge.
maybe next time around i'll do an aluminum floor with a good sub-frame, the expanded metal footwells will probably go and i'll put in some polycarbonate so i can see out of them and they will block some of the stuff the tire's will throw

o yeah it's an 81 pickup frame and a fj40 radiator

 

[Tapage]

Niceeeee .. true buggy ..

just wondering on this ..

toy rears up front ?

 

[muddyblzr]

toyota rear springs as my front suspension.
flex awesome and stretch the wheelbase 2" and very easy to source and build a custom pack

 

[TachedOutOffRoad]

I almost bought that rig I remember the guy started off at like $15,000 than got down to $8,000 in two months

That drivetrain combo it great and should work well in the uber-light buggy

 

[Tapage]

toyota rear springs as my front suspension.
flex awesome and stretch the wheelbase 2" and very easy to source and build a custom pack

Thanks .. gotcha !

 

[muddyblzr]

I almost bought that rig I remember the guy started off at like $15,000 than got down to $8,000 in two months

That drivetrain combo it great and should work well in the uber-light buggy

yup it works really well. i put the 4.7 case in it to give me a couple more options. it does great and now it sits super low
5'11 at the top of the cage and something like 20" of belly and now that i tuned the airshocks it should be even more stable

 

[muddyblzr]

well got the lower shock tabs on tonight and tomorrow gonna whip out a new reservior. now i can flex it out all the way and measure for shocks and bumpstops
i have a choice between a set of 12" or 15" rancho 9000's not sure what i wana do yet
the 15"s i can squeeze about 3 3/4" up travel out of and the 12" i can make it right at 5"
gotta get my offset plates and then i can flex it out and measure for bumpstops and all of that.
this is really all i got left and im ready to roll

 

[wngrog]

That buggy flat out works. Good mods and a good purchase.

 

[muddyblzr]

yup it did great when i got it. just had a few bugs to iron out and it will be even better now.
i'm really wana get it out and see how the new suspension works

well got the reservior made today at work but didn't get time to tig it up. gonna wait till i go back to have one of my buddies tig it up for me. but all the hard stuff is done just gonna weld it up and paint it.
finally got my offset plates from sky
finally staritng to see the light at the end of the tunnel

 

[kling-on]

SWEET cool to see ya on Mud

 

[muddyblzr]

had to put the filler neck in teh freezer and the tank in the oven for awhile get them on and it was tight! got some tacks on everything just gotta cut out the sides and paint it and it's all done
should i paint the inside? or will it matter?
i sand blasted everything so i might wash it in the parts washer and clean it up some before we seal it shut

 

[muddyblzr]

got the offset plates in but now have to machine out the center pin hole so the u bolts will line up. gonna try to run to work tomorrow and do it during lunch break or somethin.
it appears i will have plenty of clearance between axle and oil pan. something like 7" at the tie rod and 6" at the ram fittings. i won't have more than 5" so im good. the offset plates also seemed to fix my driveshaft problem also.
all i gotta do now is weld up the res. mill those plates and bleed the brakes and i'm ready for a test drive

 

[muddyblzr]

shocks mounted

gonna mill out my u bolt plates tomorrow at work and finish the reservior and i should be able to drive it this weekend. just gotta check fluids and bleed the brakes

 

[muddyblzr]

well got the holes milled out but gotta go back tomorrow to finish the res its just about done. also have to go some moremachine work on the u bolt plates as they still don't fit. u bolt holes are too small.
should be rolling by saturday i hope
1 step forward 2 steps back

 

[incogrhino]

Whats up with the slot in the plate?

 

[FLYINGLOW]

Whats up with the slot in the plate?

He moved the position of the axle in releation to the centering pin in the spring so the position also changes on the plate. You don't have to slot it, you could just drill a new hole. Look at the third pic in post 15.

Nice buggy man, looks like fun.

 

[muddyblzr]

yup i could of just drilled a hole. in fact that would of been a "stronger way" but i dindt measure before i went to work and deceided the slot would be a better idea and it works fine, doesnt bow the plate or anything.
well got the res done today thanks to dale and got the u bolt plates machined. flexed it out in the garage and it seemed to do alright. still waiting on paint to dry then i can plumb the res.
should be moving around tomorrow!

and took it for a drive to test the steering and it works great. also was able to drive it enouigh to cure the exhaust. and it handles way better than before.
might go to the 4wp show and shine saturday but first shakedown is sunday at cline ranch