Tomsoffroad

Done. Now to spin it around and do the front 🤙

Have a good weekend people

Making progress.
Bumpstop mounts, sway bar mounts and finish the panhard mount left on the list of jobs to complete.
And then spin it around and do the front 👌

The current challenge.
Fj40 Landcruiser - 1HDFTE - Patrol 5 speed - patrol diffs.
Evidently this power train does not fit into a swb land cruiser..... not even close. Rear driveshaft would be about 40mm long if it did.
So what to do...... make the swb a mwb 👌
Usually this would be a simple job if the chassis rails were parallel, which they're not. They are a filthy big wedge.
Fabricated custom chassis rails for the 300mm chassis extension. These are then butt welded to the chassis with angle cuts to maximize weld area. They will have chassis plates added next.
The chassis rails now attach to the rear most x member slightly wider than before.
Should all work out well 👌

Ill post more about the patrol diff install later on

Some slight mods to this 80 series rear bar i build way back in 2014. Added a rear winch. Square holes are to suit Stedi flush mount lood lights.

Should've taken some before pics 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Been doing a little more on the 60 the last couple of weeks.
The front end has a bit of shape now. Still more tube to add but the owner is going to sort that out.
Water to air intercooler mounted. Mount for a RED Winches hornet 2 with a standard width drum have been created.
Hydro steer reservoir and filter mounts.

Loving watching the old 60 come together. I know there's not much 60 left but .......... 🤙🤙

Here some fun to be had. Get your entries in

Methven Mud Trials – 4x4events.co.nz Methven Mud Trials 1st September (Father’s Day, sorry mum) Taking over from the famous “Sheffield Mud Plug” this event is based around a Nissan Safari on 35″ tyres No Dogs or Alochol Truck Manufactures Body and Chassis Up to 940mm Diameter tire size (no tractor grips) No Hydraulic Steering N...

12" beadlocks to suit a Honda quad rim.
Hit me up if you want a kit set to add these to your quad.

If you want beadlocks for other brands I'd need a rim to get measurements from.

Made some good progress on the Commer over the last couple of weeks.
It's nice to work to the chassis table. Quite often parts are made starting with a cardboard template which allows a basic way to add X and Y coordinates into the cad software. Usually I'm dealing with abstract shapes. The chassis table is 100% square and level so everthing on it is designed straight into cad. No templates.
Im rambling. Simple things. Im easily entertained 😅

First time I've stripped a diff this chunky.
Izuzu Elf is small in the truck world, monstrous mine lol.

A diff this size is required because we intend to run duals. The rules say the axle must be substantially heavier.
The overall offset is within the rules but the combined tyre width will be close to 600mm each side.
Lots of traction and power is hard on diffs

Covering all the holes on the housing takes a little time but saves a whole heap of cleaning up afterwards.
Insulation tape is to protect the threads and bearing surfaces on the full floating hub spindles.

The new project.
Meet the Commer.

Imagine....
Low
Yank tank style dually's
Turbo barra
Patina.
Scratch built.

It's good to bust out the chassis
jig and start from nothing. Chasing millimeters 👌
Low instead of tall feels weird though

I forgot to post pics of the 80s front 🤦‍♂️
Flipped radius arms from Kinselas Kustoms
Front diff protection, coil tower bracing and steering box bracing from Rampt Customs

What a weapon of an 80 👌

Spent a few hours installing this long arm set up in the rear of the 80 series. Nice kit from Rampt Customs 👌👌

Wotking on the front atm. Flip arms etc

Jeep progress

This has to be the tightest over the diff section of a 3" exhaust I've ever done.
There's roughly 20mm clearance all round at full bump.
I didn't have faith in traditional exhaust mounts being rigid enough to stop metal to metal contact. So i made some. Polyurethane is fun to machine 😂
There will be a flexible bellow in the exhaust system upstream to mitigate engine vibration.

Taking a break from the Jeep for a few days while I add some sweet Australian parts to an 80 series.
I also have another cool project about to start which is something quite different from the usual. It only has one diff 👌
More on both soon.

Last couple of pic are from the St James. Kings birthday was spent with amazing people, stunning scenery and stupid easy camping with the Blacktail camper trailer 🤙

Jeep stuff again this week.
Finished up the rear upper link x member.
Rear bump stop mounts done.
Flex's nicely for a future daily driver.
Fabricated a new rear x member.

Coming together 👌

Have a great weekend people 🤙

Jeep stuff

Learning about Jeeps these days.
This one's pretty cool.

Feels like a productive week has been had.
Been working on the wagoneer. Bmw m57 motor, 6 spd and patrol transfer case is all bolted in 🤙
Next weeks plan is to get the rear structural x member fabricated. That will incorporate the upper rear suspension links.

Pulled the Jeep Wagoneer out from under covers for another round.
Last time I posted about this it had a 429 big block ford. The new plan is a M57 BMW 3000cc 6cyl turbo diesel. Look these things up. They have found their way into many 4wds over Europe ways. They seem to go pretty well.
Behind the motor is a BMW GS6 6 speed gearbox, transfer case adaptor is from Poland bolting to the trusty old gq patrol transfer case.
Currently building engine mounts. Custom from block to chassis. Factory engine side mounts are a massive hydraulic units and i need to get a top control arm in that space 👌

Had a buggy in with an LS engine. Would'nt keep the fan belt on. Not the first LS ive known to spit belts.
This, like others, runs a custom bracket to mount the alternator. Tensioners are not set up as GM intended, more horse power, things slightly out of alignment etc etc. They also get thrown into water, sticks and mud. Ive wondered if the water doesn't hydraulic the belt off the back side water pump pulley 🤔
Within the 1900mm long serpentine fan belt system is two back side idler pulleys.
So one water pump pulley and two idler pulleys which run on the smooth side of the fan belt with nothing to stop them sliding off said pulleys.
Also one of the idler pulleys is on a tensioner which can not react quite as fast as the belt tension does to a big stab of the jandle.
A split second of the belt being slack while the tensioner catches up😬

So.... I machined two idlers with a lip on both sides and added an outer lip to the water pump pulley. Also played with alignment a little.

All seemed perfect when it left the shop. Fingers crossed 🤞🤞

Hydro steer set up on this gq patrol front diff.
Destined to go under the 60 🤟

Does anyone down Dunedin ways know this guy? If so could you please ask him to get hold of me.

Front and rear bar combo for this very tidy early Bighorn.
Customer asked for something simple and period appropriate for this much loved truck.

Doing a bit of work on Greta at the moment.
Good to get the hydro booster/brake pedal set up finished.
Steering valve for the hydraulic steering is mounted too.

I've always admired the creativity that goes into rat rods. Some are impressive.
What I struggle with is sometime a weld - for example - gets laid down which I'm not happy with. It happens. Usually I'd dig the weld out and have another go. Greta though.... walk away..... it's character 😂🤷‍♂️

A 1kz engine swap into an old LN106 Hilux is another great upgrade. The difference can be night and day.
With most engine swaps, new engine mounts need to be fabricated. These to - like steering mods - need to be done correctly. Although the mount i chopped out would have probably done the trick in an off road only truck they didnt get past the certifier.
I took the opportunity to lift the motor 30 odd mm to gain some steering clearance.

Have a great weekend people 👍

This weeks work is some remedial/cert work.

This old hilux has had a few basic mods done before it came to us. It had failed cert for workmanship not being up to a "tradesman" standard.

Amongst the mods that this truck has had is cross over, high steer.
This is a great mod for these old hilux's. They drive better, articulate better and are less prone to "S" shaped leaves.
However this mod, being a critical function must be done right.
After removing the previous steering box mount and cleaning up the chassis rail I installed one of our IFS steering box mounts. Crush tubes are an absolute must to stop the chassis from collapsing when the bolts are tightened.
I also took the opportunity to reposition the steering box to gain some clearance.

Next job is to redo the engine mounts. More on that later

Rear disks with in cab bias, hilux diff and holes in a mint, hard to find bonnet. Busy week so far 😂
This little Datsun must be a heap of fun at the track

Had the old 60 series..... well buggy with 60 series doors in for some more stuff. Closed in the last piece of the cab. Rear winch mount, power steer pump brackets.
The owner has been chipping away on it as well and is definitely getting the job done.
It's getting close now

Weekend time 🤟

Such a cool truck this 105 Cruiser.
Had the privilege of building a bonnet exit snorkle and airbox last week.
Allow airbox and stainless steer snorkle. Powder coated black.

Cheers to the Trundles Automotive Limited team for the filter and dust bag. Legends 🤟

The new year has begun. Ill be honest, last week wasn't the most productive, still had the holidays calling me 😂

Anyways, still got some stuff done.

The 105 Cruiser was back in for some further mods/cert jobs.
The front bar we built a couple of years ago had headlight bars added. This bar is designed to fit a Redwinch Hornet.
A driveshaft loop has been added.
A rear mounted winch/box hitch was also fabricated.

Next on the list is a pair of sliders on this GU Patrol. Best piece of protection you can add to your truck.

2024....... rock on 🤟🤟