My 10 year old 1\4 elliptic Toyota (Re)Build.

[1\4elliptic toy]

Ahhh Where to start?…I have been driving the same Toyota that I built nearly 10 years ago. It has been slowly getting more and more beat up over the years and trails, I have made the necessary changes as they come (IE, removing body parts as they get damaged with a sawsall or similar device) In the last few years it had lost most of the panels and slowly progressed toward a tube chassis. I “was” in the market for a new buggy this year but the economy has just not left enough money to justify it. So what do you do? In my case you fix up what you have.

So I knew I was not going to compete again, I find that the best times are with friends just running trails and having a great time, So I decided that I wanted to (re)build this thing to be a self sufficient 4 seater trail rig., I also knew that although airshocks and coilovers are awesome, my suspension although old, has worked flawlessly for the entire time I have ran/built it and has never seen any sort of failure/issue. My plan is to keep the 1\4 elliptic rear/3link and the orbit eye front Alcans, If it works, don’t fix it right? Basically from the frame down gets new bushings, bolts, seals, etc and a fresh coat of paint. From the frame up everything is getting completely rebuilt, the tube work I started a couple years ago will finally get finished too. I knew I wanted to do the following things to the rig as a basic buildup:

1. Finish cage/chassis
2. Rebuild the hideous front clip and tube.
3. Add ARB to the front
4. OBA system that can run tools
5. Built in toolboxes for everything I might need on the trail. (fluids, parts, tools, recovery, weld etc)
6. Dual batteries (weld etc)
7 Main switch panel (12 volt guy.com)
8 New front seats
9. Redesign the rear seat area to make it more comfy in the back seats.
10. Dedicated cooler/BBQ grill area.
11. Rock lights, head lights, tail lights.
12. Digital music device, No deck.
13. HD video recording for recording trails.

This is a partial list of things I need/want.
So with that said, I thought it might be fun to show some pics of the rig over the years. Here is some pics of it first built and the slow progression over the following years ending with the way it looked going into the garage a couple weeks ago. I will be adding pictures from the rebuild here shortly.

 

[1\4elliptic toy]

Here are some pics of it getting striped down, seats gone, floor gone, skid plate gone, plumbing and electrical (body) gone.

 

[1\4elliptic toy]

Here is a couple shots of the first "round" of front clip ideas after the new body parts got here, The body parts are all toyota. At this point its all just taped together sitting there and to be quite honest I dont really care for how it looks. I need to figure out where the tube work goes to support the entire front including shocks, radiator, MAF, and the PS res. Hopefully that will break it up enough.

 

[1\4elliptic toy]

So I know I needed to add some tube under the fenders to keep the engine and critical areas safe, I was unsure about how/where, to run the tube to make it "look" right. I decided I would split the fender and put the tube "in" the fender like a slider, MAYBE the fender wont get destroyed as fast

Here it is all marked, cut, bent and tacked

 

[1\4elliptic toy]

Here is both sides done and the hood fitted roughly. I have never really been a huge fan of stingers, although I think this turned out pretty good, The stinger is still lower than the original hood line.

 

[1\4elliptic toy]

So with the front "done" It was time to start on an entire new floor made from 16 gauge, Here is the progression on that. Notice the "foot pockets" for the back seat.

 

[I Lean]

That tube-in-fender looks pretty cool! Do you have a tube roller?

 

[1\4elliptic toy]

New seats, seat mounts and the start of one of the built in toolboxes, as well as the finished and sprayed floor.

 

[Coreshot]

That's gonna be cool Tracy!

 

[1\4elliptic toy]

Here is the old fuel cell, It was laying flat when I got it, I need it to stand up now, so I cut cleaned and rewelded it to work vertical instead, here is a shot of it mounted with the tanks for OBA mocked up with the compressor. The last shots show the compressor mounted with the cooler mocked up as well as the front port for air.

 

[1\4elliptic toy]

Ok so dual batteries...Seeing as how they are heavy and large I needed a good safe spot for them but needed it low to the frame, I am very limited on the space "under" the hood. After looking over things carefully I figured if I removed my original shock hoops and hung the shocks from the front tube "fenders" I could fit both batteries on the frame as long as I made them side load instead of top load, So I welded up some simple battery trays that allow them to slide in from the side instead of from the top. The system is simple but very effective.

 

[1\4elliptic toy]

Ok so I had decided that the front end needed to be a little lower, The radiator is so close to the motor it cant be moved back and its moved down as low as possible, so I had to take the filler off the top of the radiator and installed a inline filler neck instead so the hood would close. Notice how tight everything is in there?

 

[1\4elliptic toy]

Ok so here is how it looked before I closed the garage door yesterday, The front is finally done (needs paint). Hood pins, (that I already hate) trick tabs, grill, valance, radiator, MAF, PS res, ARB soelnoid, batteries, plumbing done.

 

[1\4elliptic toy]

I Plan to have it "drivable" in about a week, I have boxes full of new toys to be installed still...

 

[1\4elliptic toy]

That tube-in-fender looks pretty cool! Do you have a tube roller?

I think it turned out awesome, I dont have a roller, just alot of small bends in my hydro bender.

 

[1\4elliptic toy]

That's gonna be cool Tracy!

Im excited to finally have it "Done" LOL

 

[Cruiser]

looking good... cant wait to roll it when your not looking!

 

[Coreshot]

looking good... cant wait to roll it when your not looking!

I was gonna say- Keep Olly the hell away from it!!

 

[Cruiser]

I was gonna say- Keep Olly the hell away from it!!

Shut your mouth old man or i'll break your hip!

 

[Coreshot]

Shut your mouth old man or i'll break your hip!

You know where I live...and I know your weak spot, courtesy of JamesK!