I have been working on the truck for the last few weeks but have avoided posting too much because I wanted to have something concrete to show that it is out of the "dreaming" stage. The specs are as follows:

Frame built from 2x5" and 2x3" box tube
1989 3.9L/ZF auto
1986 LT230 1.66 high range
1997 Discovery axles
Jeep YJ leaf springs in the back sprung over
Havent decided if it will be SOA front or if I will try to build a link setup to fit

I designed the frame to maximize ground clearance under the center of the truck. The drivetrain is mounted as high as possible in the body with the hood still able to close. The entire drivetrain is mounted so that a flat skidplate can spread across the framerails. The bottom of the frame is only 5" lower than the bottom edge of the door, and when the 3" tall rockslider is factored in the bottom of the frame will only be 2" lower than the bottom of the slider. These were the main driving goals in the design of the rest of the truck.

Here are some photos as of this morning, 3/20. The rear crossmember is welded in, and the frame is mocked up from the firewall back. I am waiting on some more parts to continue fabricating the body tub mounts.

In the photos you see, the motor is positioned about 6" forward of where it will sit when mounted.

Anyways here are the pics:

http://photos-603.facebook.com/n15/242/63/117000087/n117000087_30003603_83.jpg

NOS 110 firewall modified to fit the aft motor location:
http://photos-609.facebook.com/n15/242/63/117000087/n117000087_30003609_2359.jpg

remember the motor will be 6" further back:
http://photos-608.facebook.com/n15/242/63/117000087/n117000087_30003608_1937.jpg

you can see how the framerails are notched to fit into each other:
http://photos-613.facebook.com/n15/242/63/117000087/n117000087_30003613_3752.jpg

the firewall mounts:
http://photos-606.facebook.com/n15/242/63/117000087/n117000087_30003606_1087.jpg

the rear crossmember and back of body tub:
http://photos-611.facebook.com/n15/242/63/117000087/n117000087_30003611_3089.jpg

rear crossmember:
http://photos-612.facebook.com/n15/242/63/117000087/n117000087_30003612_3422.jpg

the shop help :D
http://photos-616.facebook.com/n15/242/63/117000087/n117000087_30003616_4670.jpg

Unfortunately I go to school Mon-Thurs in Vermont and am only able to work on it on the weekends. And of course then I have to split up my time between the Rover and the shop help :D

Next weekend I will be working on putting the rear suspension together including refurbishing the leaf springs and building all the mounts. Look for further updates and photos in a week.

my first suggestion is to avoid the YJ springs. They didn't last long on the jeep I had before they were S shaped.
Seems I've heard positive feedback about using 109 rear springs?

Will pushing all the weight up high like that make it tippy?

Damn it you're not ghey after all, lost 20$

Yes pushing the weight up will make it tippy

My vote is for de-arched 3 dr rear springs

No my truck isn't finished

Back under the rock

Forget the truck, more pics of shop help!

(all that work and you're gonna put leaves under it? Leaves are for hippies!)

The helper (Katie) is actually quite useful and gets mad at me when I don't spend enough time on the truck. Sadly she drives a Jeep but at least its a 4wd! As far as coils vs. leafs goes, I have spent hours playing around with the different link suspension calculators available here and cannot come up with anything that would work well given the high frame height. I do not want to sacrifice ground clearance. The only way I have found to make the links work is by mounting the lower links to the top of the axle tube and the uppers even higher above that.

Will pushing all the weight up high like that make it tippy?

Obviously, mounting the engine /trans will raise the COG a little, but not as much as raising the complete vehicle to gain similar ground clearance.

Looking good.I wish we were allowed to build our own frames over here but the authorities knocked that one on the head about 3 years ago.
Surely long links anchored above the bottom of the frame rails would maintain instant centre and the ground clearance you want?
Bill.

Forget the truck, more pics of shop help!

I agree
:grinpimp:

Surely long links anchored above the bottom of the frame rails would maintain instant centre and the ground clearance you want?
Bill.

Without mounting the lower links to the top of the axle tube, even a 45" long lower link consistently gives me a roll axis in the 7-10deg positive range. I have a few more ideas that I will try, though.

Dude, that is actually looking pretty sweet! I like the idea of building your own frame. Hopefully it doesn't cause too many design problems.

but the authorities knocked that one on the head about 3 years ago.
Bill.

Your authorities suck!! Australia seems like a cool enough country, but too much government. I think you guys need a Civil War to help move things along.:flipoff2:

edit: BTW, Adam cool truck. What wall thickness is the frame?

the 2x5 sections are 3/16", the 2x3 sections are 1/8"

I think you guys need a Civil War to help move things along.:flipoff2:


I'm afraid they saw what a revolution and civil war got us:D

I'm afraid they saw what a revolution and civil war got us:D

Paul dips toe in poison waters....

I need to ask a favor of someone with a coil sprung truck. Can you please go measure for me the distance from axle centerline up to the pivot point of the A-frame ball joint? I dont have any rover parts with me at school so I'm clueless on this.

the 2x5 sections are 3/16", the 2x3 sections are 1/8"

Which will you use for the front clip?
Have an estimate on your frame weight?
Why the U shape under the bulkhead foot?
Did you think about putting the bulkhead outrigger in front of the bulkhead ala Defender?

Based on the weight of the raw stock I ended up over 700#. But I used 3x5x3/16 for the entire thing.
My new design is all 1/8 and I think I should be able to knock off 300#.

Pete

I need to ask a favor of someone with a coil sprung truck. Can you please go measure for me the distance from axle centerline up to the pivot point of the A-frame ball joint? I dont have any rover parts with me at school so I'm clueless on this.

I could, but it wouldn't be the number you were after. But, this was going to be my comment. Could you use the standard Rover A-arm design and get the antisquat numbers to work okay with the higher frame?

I need to ask a favor of someone with a coil sprung truck. Can you please go measure for me the distance from axle centerline up to the pivot point of the A-frame ball joint? I dont have any rover parts with me at school so I'm clueless on this.

center of ball joint to axle center line is about 7"

The front clip will probably be the 2x5" because I will obviously have a winch (Warn 9.5ti) mounted up there and dont want to worry about tweaking the frame on hard pulls. I don't have a good final estimate for weight yet, that is something I will be figuring out this coming weekend when I am back home.

I used the U-shape under the foot of the bulkhead because I have seen on one or two occasions somebody hitting that part of the firewall just right on a rock and knocking ir out of alignment. It also provided a convenient way to mount it because I have some 3x4" 3/16" wall on the shelf (2 5/8" inside width) and the bulkhead drops into it perfectly.

I mounted the outrigger behind the firewall for two main reasons. 1) it provides for more tire clearance, and 2) the A-hoop of the eventual cage will be much easier to tie into that outrigger mounted there rather than if it were in front of the firewall.

thanks for the measurement roverhybrids that helps a lot.

[QUOTE=lwg]Your authorities suck!! Australia seems like a cool enough country, but too much government. I think you guys need a Civil War to help move things along.:flipoff2:

Most Aussies are too comfortable with their lot to raise a fuss. Our present government has been in power for 10 years, and in that time they have been regularly exposed as criminally self serving liars and cheats, but come election time (every 3 years or so) the population keeps voting them back in.
The latest scandal is that they were caught paying 300 million dollars in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein during the Oil For Food Sanctions period, so that Iraq would buy Australian Wheat instead of US wheat.So your guys in Iraq may be getting slain by weapons funded by our government. There has been a bit of fuss in the media but most of us would have forgot about it in a month or so.
Bill.

Leaves are for hippies!


Coils are for poofs:rainbow:


:flipoff2:

Forget the truck, more pics of shop help!

(all that work and you're gonna put leaves under it? Leaves are for hippies!)

X2

The latest scandal is that they were caught paying 300 million dollars in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein during the Oil For Food Sanctions period, so that Iraq would buy Australian Wheat instead of US wheat.So your guys in Iraq may be getting slain by weapons funded by our government.
Bill.

Man! Imagine if the media over in the US started running this story. We'd starting treating you guys like the French.

I used the U-shape under the foot of the bulkhead because I have seen on one or two occasions somebody hitting that part of the firewall just right on a rock and knocking ir out of alignment.

That was actually one of my favorite parts. I think it's a great idea.

EDIT: My wife has that same hat. :D

I used the U-shape under the foot of the bulkhead because I have seen on one or two occasions somebody hitting that part of the firewall just right on a rock and knocking ir out of alignment. It also provided a convenient way to mount it because I have some 3x4" 3/16" wall on the shelf (2 5/8" inside width) and the bulkhead drops into it perfectly.


Understood. How do you envision attaching the sliders?

Speaking of the bulkhead, what is that from? Defender? I thought they had operational vents?

Pete

Speaking of the bulkhead, what is that from? Defender? I thought they had operational vents?

No vents on an NAS 110 - er, at least on a US 110, dunno about the Cannuks.

The sliders will be butt-welded to the ends of the bulkhead outriggers as well as to the U-piece.

Slade- it's a great hat!

Hey Adam,

thats the shit man...good to see it goin' on. I have a totaled D-90 frame if you need any mounts etc. I was hanging on to it for a hybrid build....right now every time I put a diesel in I wind up with another V8 and another frame and it's gettin' crowded. So if you need anything.... you must almost drive by on the way back from VT.

Matt Browne
Overland Engineering

Thanks Matt I very well may need a few small things as the project rolls on. I might have to swing by the shop sometime just to see whats going on.

Looking good.

I thought you were going to school down south? Carolina/Virginia or something.
Where in Vermont?
I know Devinchi(unissamog on pirate) is parting out his rrc if you need suspension bits, and he's right off of i-91.

You should come on a VT Jeep association ride, they love to have non-jeeps join up.

I was going to school in North Carolina but I spent some time there over the summer and it wasn't my thing. I am currently going to school in Bennington, so in a way its *barely* Vermont.

I've got all day tomorrow to work on this thing so expect a few updates.

Looking good Adam, will be interested to see how it works out.

I wish we were allowed to build our own frames over here but the authorities knocked that one on the head about 3 years ago.

It is still possible Bill, you just need to make it look like a factory one and stamp the number from an old rusty chassis into it.

I knew somepne who did exactly that, and he made a beautiful chassis - the only problem is he made it from 6mm steel!!! :eek:

I was looking forward to the direction of this build. Has the shop help been fired?

I think he's been busy with his new toy. Traded his subie for something with a 4 letter name, rhymes with sheep pubicon.

I think he's been busy with his new toy. Traded his subie for something with a 4 letter name, rhymes with sheep pubicon.

Wow, did SeaRover start a trend or something? Series guys moving towards pubicons?