The "trophy husband" pro mod buggy build

[Herzog]

Whew, I was so busy being a conspiracy guy in another thread I was hoping I didn't miss major updates here.

Which ratio did you end up getting? I keep opening their site and pricing out their 4 speed for the taco but good lord that's a chunk of change.

 

[Coco]

Getting a harness done is the only way to go. Truly makes it a plug and play set up.

 

[N-Smooth]

Whew, I was so busy being a conspiracy guy in another thread I was hoping I didn't miss major updates here.

Which ratio did you end up getting? I keep opening their site and pricing out their 4 speed for the taco but good lord that's a chunk of change.

4.3 is what I ended up with. I thought about 5.0 for a while but didn’t want to be too low for the big climbs in WERock. Gotta have that wheel speed!
I don’t see the allure of the 4 speed Atlas. I understand the idea behind it but at the end of the day it’s $$$$ and HUGE lol

Getting a harness done is the only way to go. Truly makes it a plug and play set up.

that’s the idea but you never really know. Ask Ryan about that haha

 

[UNSTUCK]

I don’t see the allure of the 4 speed Atlas. I understand the idea behind it but at the end of the day it’s $$$$ and HUGE lol

I installed one once. They are nice, but huge and a bit of a pain to install. I was a big fan of the Stak 3 speed.....or at least the idea of it. I thought it had a ton of potential. Installed two of them and never heard of any issues with them, but know most did have issues. I'd love to have 2:1 and 4:1.

 

[Pile of parts]

I don’t see the allure of the 4 speed Atlas. I understand the idea behind it but at the end of the day it’s $$$$ and HUGE lol

With everybody having switched to automatics, I don't really understand the advantage either. However, for those that still understand what all three pedals are for.... The 2.7 behind my T-18 with 6.32 first gear would get me through 95% of anything I did. However, as rocks got bigger and I got into more technical trails, I wanted an even lower option without giving up the 2.7 that proved to be perfect in most situations. After blowing up one Dana 300, I wasn't going back. The easier/cheaper solution would have been go to an auto trans and low range of choice. Once I was spending Atlas money, it wasn't that much more for the 4 speed. (Buy once - cry once as it has been said on here many times) I went with the 2.72 & 3.8 and love it behind the manual. I think you'll love the 4.3 and you'll definitely love the Atlas. Yes, the 4 speed is HUGE! I sure do love the combinations and options of gears I have. No, I never run it in the 10.34:1 - 351.5:1 crawl ratio is just a little too slow.

@Herzog I might know where there is a new 4 speed atlas here, local, that a guy was going to put in a Tacoma but changed his mind. Not sure of ratios, yokes or flanges but I could point you in a direction if interested.

Your build is looking great! Sorry for the sidetrack - please continue.

 

[Herzog]

@Herzog I might know where there is a new 4 speed atlas here, local, that a guy was going to put in a Tacoma but changed his mind. Not sure of ratios, yokes or flanges but I could point you in a direction if interested.

I'll DM you!

 

[Coco]

that’s the idea but you never really know. Ask Ryan about that haha

....touche, very true.

 

[N-Smooth]

I’ve managed to make a little progress here and there. I pulled the oil pan to change the pick-up because of a recommendation. That’s a benefit of having other people use the same motor, they find things like this. Anyways, Jesse Haines used this motor in his buggy and found it was losing oil pressure on steep climbs. This pick-up is shorter so it’s closer to the back of the pan. Win. I also wanted to change the gasket and do a new rear main too.



I did find this little mystery piece when I pulled the pan and that’s NOT exciting. The jury is out on what it is but the most common idea lately is that it’s a piece from the timing chain tensioner. Some people say leave it be but others say do a timing job on it just to be safe. I’m honestly not sure what I’m going to do.

The mystery piece made me decide to pull the valve covers and re-seal them. It seems like a good idea to do all of the easy gaskets since I’m not going to want to pull the motor ever again. Everything looks good in there so that’s cool.

I was ready to put in some hours this last weekend but my bro decided he’s selling his trailer since they’re moving and don’t want to store it. Well, the wife likes his trailer so we decided to sell ours and buy his. That all sounded great until I realized how much stuff we had in our trailer that has to be in the garage for the time being. Yikes. We should be done with the whole deal tomorrow and I’ll get my garage back.

 

[1969honda]

Do the timing while you've got it out, nothing worse than going on a ride with a new rig and it gives you issues right out of the gate.

At minimum you can at least pull the covers and replace the tensioner if it's missing pieces.

 

[N-Smooth]

 

[mbryson]

{fireworks} Ohhhhhhh, ahhhhhhh...{/fireworks}

 

[Greg]

View attachment 128872

Good call, its a lot of money up front, but you'll feel better about not breaking it at the worst possible time, putting in the effort and money to repair it, etc.

 

[N-Smooth]

Good call, its a lot of money up front, but you'll feel better about not breaking it at the worst possible time, putting in the effort and money to repair it, etc.

Yup. When I came to the realization that I had to do driver side drop I decided I didn’t want to flip the 300 and deal with cable shifters etc so it was the right call. Plus my homies at Torqmasters hooked me up with a great deal just because they’re awesome.
Plus I’ve always wanted an Atlas so I’m SUPER happy about it. I’m still just a kid in a candy store, collecting these parts and doing something I’ve always dreamed about.

 

[RockChucker]

Yup. When I came to the realization that I had to do driver side drop I decided I didn’t want to flip the 300 and deal with cable shifters etc so it was the right call. Plus my homies at Torqmasters hooked me up with a great deal just because they’re awesome.
Plus I’ve always wanted an Atlas so I’m SUPER happy about it. I’m still just a kid in a candy store, collecting these parts and doing something I’ve always dreamed about.

I remember having the same feelings when my t-case arrived.

 

[I Lean]

I remember having the same feelings when my t-case arrived.

This feeling?

 

[N-Smooth]

I remember having the same feelings when my t-case arrived.

It’s cheesy and people will roll their eyes but I’ve dreamed of having an Atlas for years.

My wife was like “that thing cost more $ than your Jeep” when I tried to explain/show her all the awesomeness.

This feeling?

That’s the one!

 

[Pile of parts]

Seems like only yesterday.... They grow up so fast! (July 2015)

 

[N-Smooth]

I moved the chassis back to the other side and cleaned out the garage some. I’m excited to make some progress on this thing sometime soon.

Oh and I got a hood! You can see it leaning against the wall. It’s a lexan (polycarbonate) TJ hood from Trent Fab. I decided on lexan because I hate how fiberglass will just break every time it takes an impact. I’ve been impressed with the lexan hoods I’ve seen in the wild.

 

[Johnny Quest]

Oh and I got a hood! You can see it leaning against the wall. It’s a lexan (polycarbonate) TJ hood from Trent Fab. I decided on lexan because I hate how fiberglass will just break every time it takes an impact. I’ve been impressed with the lexan hoods I’ve seen in the wild.

im disappointed that this wont have an XJ hood/grill. How can you live with calling yourself "XJ Nate" but wheeling a buggy with a TJ hood? #shame

 

[N-Smooth]

im disappointed that this wont have an XJ hood/grill. How can you live with calling yourself "XJ Nate" but wheeling a buggy with a TJ hood? #shame

Honestly I wish there was an easy answer for using an XJ frontend but there's just not. Yes, I could narrow a hood and grille but then it would get smashed at the first comp and I would have to start over.