those AVMs were junk, i broke a ton of those too.

are those TIG welds on the gusseted spindles?


it makes me want to start over and build a desert truck.. but then i'll miss rock crawling. bah. i need to win the lottery.
'

Nice work man, I'm diggin that cage, still! hah I cant decide if i want an interior cage or an exo cage... hows the head room in there? and room all together? I'm scared i wont fit too well anymore haha

 

is that the trip you didn't break anything on? Or have you not run the 35s real hard yet? Those lights are freakin amazing!

 

And most recently (as I have been teasing with my Avatar for some time) I finally added a rear sway bar.

The bar its self is a custom made Sway-A-Way sway bar that is 1" thick and solid.

The sway bar arms were designed by a friend of mine and were sent out to be laser cut. I then TIG welded them together.

The links between the arms are 1 1/4" x .120 4130 Chromoly with 3/4" FK JMX Heims.

And lastly the bar pivots on custom machined Delrin bushings and is mounted out of the elements in a 2" x .120 steel tube.

The truck handles AMAZING with it!

 

Yea, they are. I wish there was another option but there just isn't, besides converting to live axle, which I really don't want to do.

Yes.

Yea, it's a fun truck. And like you I need to win the lottery too because I would love to have a twin, a truck like yours for rock crawling.

[/quote]Nice work man, I'm diggin that cage, still! hah I cant decide if i want an interior cage or an exo cage... hows the head room in there? and room all together? I'm scared i wont fit too well anymore haha[/QUOTE]

Head room is good. I can sit in the truck with a helmet on and not hit any tubes. Leg room is tight, but I like sitting close to the wheel off road so I'm cool with it, though it bugs some passengers. I'm 5' 11" BTW.

Storage space is at a premium, but then again it always is in Rangers. I can fit enough camping supplies, personal gear, tools, and spare parts for about four days in the desert in and on the truck. So it's not toooo bad.

Yes and no. I didn't break anything on that trip, but it was the first one out with the tires and they were rubbing on the fenders and bumper real bad in front and spare tire mounts in the rear. So the other part of what I was doing in my Avatar was clearancing the front and completely redoing the way the spare tires and bedsides mount in the rear. I didn't have any tire related failures though, but I did have fueling issues. Which I was also working on. I remounted my fuel pump underneath the cell and moved the filter to the side of it. I also replaced the one piece of rubber hose in the system with braided steel so now it's all braided stainless. Seems to be working.

I took it to Pismo this past weekend (got home yesterday) and ran it hard with the new tires and brought it home running and in one piece. I would still like to run it some more (which I have planned) with the 35's before I call it good, but so far it's looking like they will work.

I know aren't they! You should have seen it this past weekend with all five working, that photo was only two.

 

The interior (as well as the rest) looks great. What's the fastest you've had the truck going off road?

 

I see it in the avatar now. lol

Great work as always.

 

truck is badass as always. Looks mean with those 35's on it now.

 

Under what conditions? I bet I could make you crap yourself at 45 on some of the trails out here.

That said, on a whooped out road, probably about 70. It's capable of a lot faster speeds, but I don't have the engine for it. Yet.

I've had it up to it's limiter off road, if you count graded roads or lake beds... lol

 

i would love to have a twin for my own truck, except a pre runner version

my *dream* is to have a rock crawler, pre runner and tow rig, with a big enough trailer for both. Then i'll head west, rock crawl, then baja it up, then crawl.. and keep goin till neither truck can go anymore, or i run out of money then head home

I'm right around 5'11" to 6' maybe I'll do an interior cage.. Then i'll have to be wearing a helmet trying to rock crawl in a full bodied truck with no spotters on easier stuff which really doesnt seem like it would work.. I've hit my head on the door jam and crap on occasions and don't really wanna hit a piece of tube lol

ha i feel ya there.. When i go out, i normally put up my tent and put my non expensive stuff in there.. then leave the cooler strapped into the bed, and leave the spare axles shafts on the floor of my back seat and toss the tool bags on top of them.. gets real tight real quick.

I want a nice set of lights but i'm already blocking off a ton of air flow to my radiator

 

Seems as if you've covered all the basics. I'd love to see that suspension at work throughout those speeds.

 

I'm down

lemme get a helmet and plane ticket ha

 

Do it. Just let me know when!

 

that is one sick truck. whats next?

 

Jason I freaking love your truck... Everything about it.

Those Sway Bars are sweet arent they? I need something like that for the rear, I have a currie in the front. Amazing how they help the truck in handling yet still perform well and dont limit your suspension much.

Are those 2.5" socks? You probably dont experience much fade. LOL, you have a ton of $$ in shocks alone. I love my SAWs.

Also glad to see some more pics of your cage, now it will give me some ideas when Mine gets back after the 5.4L.

Looks good and thanks for sharing!


btw where are my 42" MTRs? I thought they would be on my door steps soon. ha! Anyone have some 42s around your magazine stuff that you could get some pics?

 

Good question. I think I'm pretty happy with it how it is. Now it's time to drive it and hope it doesn't break.

Actually I'm about a size 12 sock, 2.5 is a little small.

Yea, all six shocks are 2.5. Wish they were 3.0...

Hmm... I think they are on the Fun Buggy right now. I'll tell Fred to just drop them off at your place after UA since we'll be in the neighborhood, sorta.

I've got pictures, I'll send some your way when I get to work in the morning. Fred ran a set of 42" MTR's in TTC a couple weeks ago, they worked really well.

 

mmm project fun buggy.. i love that rig.


is your whole cage TIG'd?

 

No, the cage is 90% MIG. I don't have the patience to TIG the whole thing.. haha

 

ah, well the few joints in the pics i can see look like TIG welds.

I got decent with both at wyotech, now im back touching up at at the community college and TIG is kicking my ***.

 

ha, good one, yeah my typing sucks.

Shoot in that case ill just drive down. When is that anyway? Seems like its coming up? I should come down there and watch.

 

Two weeks. And you'd have to come up, we'll be running north of you. I'll post more, probably at 4WOR.com though, as it gets closer.

 

North? I thought it was at the Badlands?

 

Nope, not making it to the Badlands.

 

what kinda gas did you use? argon? would flux core hold up well is i used it? i got a friend that has a miller and i might use it. has the welds held up till now?

 

New Update: Something is missing.



Since it's out I sprayed on 2 cans of spray on bed liner junk. Came out nice.

 

Looks much better!