PROJECT!!! Buggy Build

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Should be easy enough to do. I think there is room for full travel with just a peice of flat plate on the top. Doesn't get much easier than that.
 

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Updated the list, pics to follow

The to do list is getting shorter!!!

Plumb rear brakes
Plumb gas tank DONE!
Mount rear shocks
Make floor for the bed DONE!
Weld bed back together DONE!
Clearance front fenders for the tires
Paint STARTED
Install Hi-Steer
Install 4.7 gears STARTED
Re-route exhaust
Fix 2 leaking tires

I should just make it. :D

I'm also working a deal on a snazzy new trailer :D:smokin: DONE!!!:smokin::smokin::smokin:
 

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
So the bed is welded back together and I clearanced the fenders. Also welded in the gas filler door as the filler is now in the back of the bed with the tank.







Sliced the appropriate sections off what was left of the original floor, cut a hole for the tank and dropped it in.



A bit of bondo and primer. Final paint job will have to wait until after Spring Fever. You can also see the location of the gas filler in the last pic. I will be making a cover for the gas tank so the bed will be more usable.





 

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
A couple pics looking down the side of the truck. Dovetail is only 6" per side but you have to get quite a ways out from the truck before you see the side of the box.





Got the rear brakes plumed in. Bleeders are both seized. Might try a torch, might just replace the calipers.



Finished the front bumper and gave it a quick splash of paint then installed the winch.

 

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
So I managed to cross a few things off the list but found a couple more to add to it.

Still to do:
Rear shocks
4.7 gears (in progess)
Rear brakes (turn rotors & new calipers)
Adjust firewall for tire clearance (BFH!)
Exhaust
Tire leaks (two)
Tow hooks

Hi-steer may have to wait untill after the long weekend. How long should it take to install?
Right now the truck is still driveable with the current stock setup, I don't want to rip it apart and not have the time to get it back together.
 

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Are the leaks on the inside bead or in the welds? I have a can of rim sealer if you want to wait till I finish mounting the last two tomorow night. Seems to work well for both sides.

Box looks good!!! I am glad you removed the old stripe package. Bobby will be happy. The less of his old truck that shows the better.

:beer:

Leaks are from the welds. Suprised me that they leaked since I siliconed them when I mounted them. Used rim sealer/leak stop on the inside bead of all 4 and it worked real well.

Suprising what 10 min and a spray can of primer can do to change the look. If you ask me, I think it looks better with the grey stripe than before. The truck will be painted orange very soon but mechanical things are higher on the list.


I know I could have driven it the way I got it from him but I wanted to make it mine as much as I know he didn't want to see his around.
38's instead of 31s
Bobed and Dovetailed
New front bumper
Coiled & 4 Linked rear
Cut fenders
Even with only the primer over the stripes, There will be NO mistaking this as Bobby's old truck. :D:smokin::D
 

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Thanks Guys!!!
I just hope everything goes according to plan from here on in and it's ready for Spring Fever.

:beer:
 

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Transfer case is apart. Labeled everything as I went so hopefully it should be half way easy to put back together. Some of the insturctions leave a bit to be desired. Both TG and Marlin have a shift fork being removed in step #9 & 10 then saying to remove both of them in step #24 & 29/30

Going to press the bearing off tonight and get the gears swaped ready for rebuild.

 

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Thanks to John & his press, the t-case got rebuilt over the last week.

Spent about 15 hrs at the shop yesterday and things are looking good.
Forgot to take the camera though :banghead::banghead: so no pics :(

Installed the rear shocks
Re-installed t-case/driveshafts
Installed twin stick
Re-routed exhaust
Re-mounted 2 tires (hopefully no leaks this time)
Massaged the firewall for tire clearance (BFH)
Installed Hi-steer
Installed rear tow hook
Bled brakes

And......







IT RUNS!!!!!


Took it for a quick spin down the lane and thru the ditch. Rear suspension works really well, 24" plus of wheel travel, no obvious binding or rubbing anywhere. Front is a different story.

Front tires hit the springs when turned. I'll have to get some wheel spacers but for now I'll just adjust the steering stops to limit it. Tires also still hit the firewall, I'll have to try to find some more room for them, either move the axle a bit forward or cut out & move back some of the firewall or both.

The other problem is that the drag link hits the oil pan when the front right wheel compresses. Any one know if I can section the oil pan for clearance? Probalby extend the bump stop for now so I don't break anything but that is only a band-aid.

I also need to bleed the brakes some more and re-sleive the rear links otherwise the truck is ready for Spring Fever :smokin::D:smokin::D
 

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Made it back to the shop today to tweak a couple things and took some pics that I couldn't get on the weekend.





Still needs lots of minor things but other than re-bleed the brakes and sleive the links again, I'm good to go!!!!:D:glasses::smokin::smokin:
 
J

Joust

Guest
thats an awesome looking truck.
thats what I wanted instead of a 4runner. could not find one that wasn't a basket case.
good job.
 
M

Morley

Guest
It's a damn good feeling when you take it out for the 1st time after countless hours of work you put into a rig..
Looks great!

What kind of coils did you use in the rear?
 

Twinkie

Administrator
Staff member
Club Member
The other problem is that the drag link hits the oil pan when the front right wheel compresses. Any one know if I can section the oil pan for clearance? Probalby extend the bump stop for now so I don't break anything but that is only a band-aid.
Do you know if the 3.0 and 4 banger oil pans are the same? I doubt they are, but *if* they are I have an oil pan that has already been modified for this exact purpose!
 

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Thanks for the props guys!!


Do you know if the 3.0 and 4 banger oil pans are the same? I doubt they are, but *if* they are I have an oil pan that has already been modified for this exact purpose!

Not a clue but if your oil pan is a spare, I wouldn't mind the chance to compare.

It's a damn good feeling when you take it out for the 1st time after countless hours of work you put into a rig..
Looks great!

What kind of coils did you use in the rear?

I'm not exaxtly sure what coils they are, I've had them kicking around the shed for several years now. I'm afriad to admit but the only thing that comes to mind is that they are stock XJ fronts.

Good stuff Jon!!! Looks great and that rear end works well. My old 38's stuff nice into those wheel wells. I like what you did to the box.
How does the gearing feel? Are we still going to call you "Tigger"?

:beer:

Low Range feels fine with the 4.7s but I still would like to put in dual cases. Hi is WAY too steep, need to swap in some 5.29s. Thanks for the help on the install :beer:

You can't call me Tigger since you never painted the stripes on the old truck and I don't think Lynne will let you on this one. :flipoff:

thats an awesome looking truck.
thats what I wanted instead of a 4runner. could not find one that wasn't a basket case.
good job.

I got EXTREMELY lucky finding this one and greatful to the guy who took all the time and effort to look after it for the last 10 yrs or so, rebuilding it along the way with Southern parts. :D
 

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Brake Upgrades

So I finally got around to getting some more stuff done on the truck.

Reading thru both Pirate and Yotatech and input from Bill and Adrian, I have now upgraded the brakes and gotten rid of the stupid factory prop valve.

Having talked with Bill at Spring Fever about my issues, he suggested (off the top of his head no less) a '68 Vette MC. It has factory 4 wheel disks and power assist and a 1" bore (stock '85 Toy is 13/16") Ok, sounds good but parts for a '68 Vette can't be cheap I figure.

Pirate FAQ under Brake Master Cylinder:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=251887

This lists several different MCs that are bolt in replacement with larger bore sizes, not just the V6 truck or 4Runner. I checked with Benson Auto parts (club sponsor) and was looking at $140 or better for one. I first checked the 1Ton non ABS T-100 since it was the biggest at 1 1/16" and then found out that all of the Toy MCs are within a few bucks of $140. There had to be a cheaper way.

I find most of guys on Yotatech are hardcore Toy and would spend the extra $$ to stay all Toy. I don't mind staying all Toy but am not about to pay extra for it.

I found http://home.4x4wire.com/erik/4runner/brakes/ (ErikB from Pirate). Very useful. Anyone wanting to upgrade their brakes should read this.

Back on the phone to Benson. '76 Blazer MC -- $35 instock sounds like a plan to me. Just for fun, I ask the guy about a '68 Vette MC? -- $38 in the warehouse in Cornwall. Sounds like an even better deal to me since it had the 4 wheel disks. Should have just listened to Bill and had this done weeks ago.

Ordered it up, dug out some scrap steel and found my old adjustable prop valve in the barn. Time to get to work.
 
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Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
I started with the easy stuff, removing the old prop valve. The return line from the rear prop valve connected to the back of a T on the frame at the front right wheel well. The other 2 lines on this T went to the front right brake and the other came from the MC. I took the line from the MC and installed it directly into the flex line. The T was then removed.

Before


After


Went to the back to remove the prop valve. Traced the lines to be sure I kept the feed line not the return that went to the now removed T on the front frame. Undid the lines, had hoped to be able to use a metric union to connect them back together but no such luck, the one I had didn't fit. Cut the old flare & fitting off the feed line and re-flared with a new 3/16" fitting. Made a new line with metric on one end for the flex line and 3/16" on the other to connect to the feed line with a SAE union.

Before


After
 

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Under the hood now....

Undid the lines and MC, then remembered to take a before pic:


With the MC removed, I could now see the pushrod which was going to need extention, the Vette MC is quite a bit deeper to the seat than the Toy one.


Took the pushrod to OFS, got a 6mm bolt and union that mostlyfit with the threads on the pushrod.


Rounded the head of the bolt so it would seat better in the MC and with some careful measuring and some test fitting I got the new length figured out. Some locktite on the union, (especially since the original pushrod was a bit of a sloppy fit) and I was good to start making the adapter plate.


Installed the new adjustable prop valve for the rear brakes. Same idea as the Wildwood one but was cheaper when I bought it years ago. Made a quick mount for it from a piece of HD joist hanger I had kicking around.

 

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Made an adapter plate from a chunk of 1/2" steel. 4 outside holes are the Toy pattern on the brake booster. 2 countersunk holes are for flat head hex bolts for the Vette MC. Center hole was 1 1/2" hole saw for the body of the Vette MC.


Put it all together to make sure it was all going to fit then set up to bench bleed the new MC. I don't have a vice setup here yet so I had to improvise.


With the MC bench blead (what a pain in the a$$) I was ready to mount it for the final time. A bit of gasket maker on both sides of the adapter plate for good measure. There was a paper gasket between the old MC and booster so I figured I should seal the new setup.


Closeup of adapter plate in location. I still have to secure that lower bracket supporting the T for the front lines.


From the other side
 
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