The Budget Beater buggy

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
have you seen these Greg, problem solved. Now the FJ 80 axle it the Sh*t And the 8" ring gear is reverse cut, which I am sure you already know. And is much stronger than a 8" ring gear in the front running on the coast side, It will hold up.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=997804

I have seen the FJ/FZJ highsteer arms & knuckles, they are killer and a great price for what you get. I just don't have the dough for it right now. I'm trying to use the steering parts as they are... if that doesn't work out, then I'll try a RHD arm and if THAT doesn't work... I'll have to see if I can scrape together the funds for the highsteer.

I think the HP FZJ 80 diff will hold up fine going forward... it's getting bound up and reversing that worries me. :eek:
 

Panos

12Volt Specialist
Location
Salt lake City
yeah, a good deal but still expensive. Have you tried Spector Offroad for a right hand arm? You can always do what I did with my axle and go full hydro. it was super simple and cheap.

But yeah you are right revers up a hill getting out of a tricky spot might prove to be a little too much for that diff. Although, I have faith that it will be just fine ;)
 

ClintE

i make stuff
Location
RS WY
Thanks Jeff, I wouldn't worry about my being hard to keep up with, I'll still have plenty of handicaps beyond my own driving... 4 cyl engine, manual transmission, etc. :eek:




Will do, matter of fact, I may be stopping by later today for some more custom plasma table requests.




Unfortunately the FJ60 steering box will eventually be sitting in that position, so there is no room there for the trackbar bracket outside of the frame. I know my trackbar isn't the longest and I may have some steering issues, but I'm happy with the length, angle and fit. For a buggy, I think it will work fine.

Since we're on the subject... I am going to eventually notch the frame on the passenger side, so I can run the track bar in the most level position at ride height and still have the maximum up-travel to full bump.


Ill be at the shop most of the day today if you want to stop by.
 

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
yeah, a good deal but still expensive. Have you tried Spector Offroad for a right hand arm? You can always do what I did with my axle and go full hydro. it was super simple and cheap.

But yeah you are right revers up a hill getting out of a tricky spot might prove to be a little too much for that diff. Although, I have faith that it will be just fine ;)

I need to call Specter and see if they have any in stock, using a RHD arm may be the best solution for me, while keeping it affordable.

I considered full hydro, but I want a steering box this time around. We will see if that's a wise decision or not when it's finally on the trail.

I'm sure you'll hear me mention any broken front axle parts... :D


Ill be at the shop most of the day today if you want to stop by.

I ended up taking a chop saw to the needed parts... not nearly as clean as plasma cut, but it was easy for me to do. Thanks for the offer Clint!
 

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
More progress from this weekend... I yanked the engine back out and started on the front crossmember, using 2" x 3" rectangular tubing. I pushed the frame and crossmember far enough forward that I will have room for the radiator and a winch, but I still have a vertical approach angle... :D No pics of the crossmember only, because I was on a roll and kept moving...

I borrowed a 1.75" die from Dunkin (aka Noahfecks on here... THANKS Dunkin!!) and started bending tube. I really like the look... it's not anything new, Bart had something similar on his Flatty-buggy and many others have build some kind of push bar. Looks pretty aggressive and way better than the old style stinger. Hopefully it will help protect the buggy from endo's and keep the radiator safe in a roll.

The shock hoops are spaced out so the upper shock mounts can sit inside of the tubework and be protected during a roll/flop. They're also spaced out to make room for a turbo & junk on the drivers side.... The bumper/push bar sits just a bit lower than the other horizontal bars on the A & B pillars. I thought about dropping it down for visibility, but opted to leave it close to the same level so it all looked similar.

I hacked off the old tubing that ran forward from the dash area of the A pillar up tp the old front 'fenders', bent up some new tube running up to the shock hoop and tacked it into place, after welding in a 1.5" sleeve to hold the 2 pieces together.

I also opted to tie the windshield spreader bars and the dash bar into the shock hoops, with some more 1.25". Hopefully all this triangulation & added support will secure the shock hoops and keep everything in place.

Eventually there will be a bar running between the front of the shock hoops, about 2/3 of the way up. It will be a radiator mount & support bar. All that should help spread out all the forces being put onto the shock hoops and strengthen the front clip.

Any how, enough talk... pics!

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mesha

By endurance we conquer
Location
A.F.
holy awesome. I love the straight on look for some reason. not usually my favorite angle but it works this time.

I have a bunch of 1.75" shock mount tabs sitting on the shelf if you need some.
 

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
holy awesome. I love the straight on look for some reason. not usually my favorite angle but it works this time.

I have a bunch of 1.75" shock mount tabs sitting on the shelf if you need some.

Thanks Davy! We will see how it comes together once all the engine & suspension go in. I should be good on tabs, I've ordered quite a few from Ruff Stuff. If I need any, I'll get with you. :cool:


Suweet. Looking great and the push bar brings back memories. Yes, I did see the reference. ; )

Thought you'd like that, I really loved the front end of your Flatty-buggy... obviously it stuck in my mind. :D
 

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Just a minor update, no big steps this time around, but a handful of changes in the plan... let's start with the changes.

After coming across a set of used FOA coilovers in the classifieds on here, I've decided to go ahead with coilovers on all 4 corners instead of the planned air shocks. FOA's are a tad more money than even the least expensive air shocks and I believe the upgrade will be very valuable. The fronts are 2.5, 16" travel remote reservoir CO's and the rear will be 2.0, 16" remote reservoir CO's as well. FOA had their shop burn down right after I placed my order for the rear set of CO's, so I'll be waiting a little while before I get the rears. Not a big deal, as I'm not in a rush and not having them isn't holding up my build.

After test fitting the FJ60 steering box and not liking how far forward and low the pitman arm sat, I decided I'd be better off with full hydro steering. This is going to cost more than I would have had into hydro assist, but with this vehicles planned use, a steering box would have just got in the way. I will probably end up ordering most of the parts from Trail Gear using their double ended ram and their TC pump, thru one of the great RME vendors. To make the full hydro work, I found a steering arm from a Right Hand Drive FZJ80. It was somewhat hard to find, had to locate it on the AU Ebay site and the seller was actually in England. The part only ran me $63, plus $63 in shipping!! The plan is to fabricate my own upper arms, use the RHD arm and tie the double ended ram into the steering arms which will be in strong double sheer mounting with arms on top and bottom, tieing into the knuckle. I'm still not 100% sure how the upper arms will come together, but I don't think they will be all that difficult.


I'm also changing my plans on the propane delivery, instead of running a draw thru setup with a loaded charge running thru a hot turbo, I will be running a blow thru setup, with an intercooler. The intercooler will add more air density and that is essentially free power and should be easy enough to add into the system. It's just a matter of changing the plans, running a 'boost reference' line and adding a little more tubing. I have a used Garrett T3 turbo and intercooler that came from another member on here. The turbo needs new bearings in a bad way, which is probably a good thing to do anyhow.

Lastly, I've decided to ditch the idea of running an AX-15 transmission and put an automatic in. I will be running the venerable AW4 transmission, using a 22RE/Automatic bellhousing from a Toyota A340 to bolt the AW4 to my 22R. The AW4 will of course bolt to a 23 spline NP231 Crawl Box with the planned Box 4 Rox adapter and the Dana 300 behind that. I believe that with the turbo charged 22R, I will have just enough power and enough gearing options to make the automatic work in this buggy. Of course the auto will make is easier to drive in the technical stuff, which is the main reason for the change. I think/hope this will be a good way to put an quality automatic behind the 22R engine and have dual t-cases without any crazy, expensive adapters (other than the Box 4 Rox).


And finally, I have done some fab work... I've been cleaning and tweaking my propane parts for my application and decided to start building my turbo header. First off, I have to say... I've never built one of these before! I used my MIG welder, when a TIG would have resulted in a much cleaner joint. Yes, I used PIPE! It's cheap, easy to work with and should do the job just fine. Initially I was going to build a Log style manifold, but for the bit of effort that was required, I thought that building a header with individual runners wouldn't be all that much more work and a would out perform the log manifold by far. Not that this is a high-performance build, running high boost, but I didn't want to create a manifold that wasn't the most efficient option. It looks pretty ghetto, but as long as it's sealed I'm happy. I bought all 90* fittings and should have mixed 45's and 90's... it would have been cleaner. I didn't want to wait on ordering 45's, so I just cut the 90's down on the chop saw. I would like to build another one eventually and have it TIG welded... my MIG worked, but it doesn't look near as clean as it could.

I need to get with I Lean to have some manifold flanges cut on his drawing machine... .... so I can finish building my Poo manifold. :rofl: Here's pics of the manifold coming together... it's not done, but not bad for a days work.

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ricsrx

Well-Known Member
Nice work, i have done several exhast manifold/headers and the ones i used pipe on were the easiest. I really like it, i might just have to turbo the hunter project
 

RockMonkey

Suddenly Enthusiastic
Fwiw I liked my old 32rh automatic transmission better than my current aw4. The 32rh is shorter, and shifted faster, especially into reverse. If you don't need a crank position sensor you could go with a tf999, which may be easier to find.

An auto transmission is absolutely the way to go though. Good call.
 

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Fwiw I liked my old 32rh automatic transmission better than my current aw4. The 32rh is shorter, and shifted faster, especially into reverse. If you don't need a crank position sensor you could go with a tf999, which may be easier to find.

An auto transmission is absolutely the way to go though. Good call.

I don't know that either of those transmissions would bolt to a 22R, where the AW4 will, since its a varation of the Toyota A340. I just had to find a bellhousing, flexplate and converter from a Automatic A340 that was behind a 22RE. That was easy enough, found the parts locally from another RME member!

Also, I wanted to use parts that are plentiful and inexpensive, just in case I break something. Finding a replacement 22r orAW4 should be easy enough.

I do plan to pick up one of the aftermarket AW4 shift controllers, which I'm hoping will provide full manual, instant shifts. We will see how it all turns out once its up and running.
 
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