My first stuck in the re-incarnation of my 76 Chevy Short bed.

http://www.alaskaoffroad.com/images/Purches/76stuck_3.jpg

For those that were following the buildup:
The 4 link worked really well. I used bushing on both ends of the control arms, they flexed way better than I thought they would, and are holding up to everything I have thrown at them with the Doubler, 45" tires, and 425 Caddy. Im thinking about building another 4 link for the front now, since the rear works better than expected.

Tires look kinda balled up. Time for more go-power! :D

TEX

Time for more go-power!

no doubt! the 79 425 only made 180 hp stock, and this one has a cracked head and the advance is all gummed up. But it got the beast out of the shop 'till my 513 is done. :D

Sorry guys, I couldnt find any big rocks to crawl on this weekend, so I posted this pic for the few mudders that lurk here.;)

Originally posted by bgreen
Im thinking about building another 4 link for the front now, since the rear works better than expected.

Are you going coils or coilovers for the front when you do it?

I want to do coilovers REALLY BAD, but I dont think I can justify the expense. I am considering mounting the shock inside a ford aerostar coil for a makeshift coilover. Or I could buy the coils for coilovers and mount the shock inside them. What do you guys think about that? Has anyone seen that first hand? Any thing I need to watch out for? It wont be a problem to make all the mounts, I just hate to go through all that work and have it not work.

If I purchased single rate, single spring, no remote res. shocks It might be a bit cheaper, but still no where near as cheap as junkyard coils and Procomp ES1000's.


Brook

what about using struts instead of shocks?

Originally posted by bgreen
I want to do coilovers REALLY BAD, but I dont think I can justify the expense. I am considering mounting the shock inside a ford aerostar coil for a makeshift coilover. Or I could buy the coils for coilovers and mount the shock inside them. What do you guys think about that? Has anyone seen that first hand? Any thing I need to watch out for? It wont be a problem to make all the mounts, I just hate to go through all that work and have it not work.

If I purchased single rate, single spring, no remote res. shocks It might be a bit cheaper, but still no where near as cheap as junkyard coils and Procomp ES1000's.


Brook

Art Morrison and S&W Racecars use a set up simular to this on their low end street/drag suspensions. I don't know if it would work on on 4WD application.

Originally posted by Jeepasaurus
what about using struts instead of shocks?

Thats a good idea, but I dont think that I would be able to find any with enough travel. The longest procomps I could find are only 13" of travel, and I dont think that is enough.


Brook

I saw a post somewhere that Rancho is coming out w/some long travel rs5000's. Not as cheap as the Procomps, I'm sure. I agree with you that coilovers would be the best choice.

What springs are you using in the rear currently?

That may be your first but it sure as hell won't be your last. That's why I hate mud. Rocks are a different kind of stuck its kinda fun when it happens. Mud just sucks to be stuck in:mad: To each his own though:beer:

Originally posted by rodzzilla
What springs are you using in the rear currently?

'00 XJ Coils. Stock Length.


That may be your first but it sure as hell won't be your last. That's why I hate mud. Rocks are a different kind of stuck its kinda fun when it happens. Mud just sucks to be stuck in To each his own though

I am really alot more interested in rock crawlin than I am muddin, but there is alot more mud here so the choice is easy. Id rather be muddin than sitting at home posing as a rockcrawler on the web.

The best crawlin we have is deep washouts with medium sized rocks and large tree stumps in them.

I have been stuck in both mud and rocks, and neither is that cool IMO. :p But, I've always said that if you're not getting stuck, you're not having fun!

Its hard to find any rocks within 150 miles from where I live unless you go to the Beach. Last year I was Crawlin' around on a pretty good rock garden when the tide started coming in. Next thing I knew, the rocks were all being covered in water, and getting very slipery :eek: Then, :nuke: I lost a rear u-joint. :eek: Im thinking to myself "good one, you just broke a joint, have 0 zero spares, and the Fawkin tide is coming in.":rolleyes: What a dumb ass! I ended up leaving the truck there, and hitching a ride back home to get my spares and tools. When I got back the tide had come up only to the hubs and was already down enough that I could slide under the truck and change the joint.

That's hilarious you didn't find any crab in the rig did you? I just now looked at your location Alaska WTF. Hey take a look at the pic again it looks like the dog wants a towstrap he thinks he can pull you out. Nice setup you got how is it wheeling in Alaska wide open you can wheel about anywhere or is the land all "protected".

No Crab, but maybe a clam or two :p

For the most part, no governmental organizations care where you wheel as long as its not a National Park, "Critical Habitat" or a Salmon Stream. They do not care about heading out over the tundra in most areas that dont actually have real Tundra. Real Tundra will basically never heal, but the rest of the stuff grows over in a few years even if it gets tore up pretty bad. Most of the trails here are so grown over that you can't tell they are trails when looking at photographs.

There are MILLIONS of acres here that never get used, and are totally open to public use. Places that you could wheel for Days on end without ever seeing another human. Weeks or months probably.


Brook

Chit Chat but... I see more of this kind of tracks when I go wheelin' than I do bogger tracks. Thats a size 14 Boot print.

Dude, it's the same thing here as in Alaska. I have to wait for the river to dry up before I can even get a sniff of rocks... within 60 miles are the biggest sand dunes in Canada, but it's a semi-protected park. You can only go in the spring while the frost is coming out of the ground and there's no vegetation forming on the dunes. Sand's fun, but hard on parts. Nothing's like a good old mud bashing though...

Truck's looking good mang!

here's mine. Broke both the front shock eyes jumping that day, exerted too much torque on the front driveshaft and broke a 1350 u-joint (so I took the whole unit out) broke a 14 bolt axle shaft two weeks before and here it sits after the car wash...

http://www.bogginfreaks.com/phpreaders/albums/MR4WD/abm.jpg

Edit: I've been following your build up. I think coils are in my future too!

here's my buddy's rear coiled jimmy
http://www.whiteknight.ca/f_rear_quarter.JPG

Originally posted by bgreen


Thats a good idea, but I dont think that I would be able to find any with enough travel. The longest procomps I could find are only 13" of travel, and I dont think that is enough.


Brook

What about rancho 9012's with the Aerostar coils, or have some built to the spring rate you want? I'm not sure, but I think the have 15" or more. I have the spec's at home, and they are available on www.gorancho.com

For the record, I would go coil, have them made to the spring rate I need, most likely progressive with that big a$$ block your going to have in there.


j

Originally posted by ciocc77


What about rancho 9012's with the Aerostar coils, or have some built to the spring rate you want? I'm not sure, but I think the have 15" or more. I have the spec's at home, and they are available on www.gorancho.com

For the record, I would go coil, have them made to the spring rate I need, most likely progressive with that big a$$ block your going to have in there.


j

Ya, Im considering using the ford Aerostar coils. I think they might work good in my application, cause with all the weight it will compress the coil enough that I will have way more droop than compression. That is what I want any way. The tires already fully stuff into the cab so when I fab a 4 link I can move the axle a bit forward and having more droop than compression will help keep the tires out of the cab. For shocks I think I will get another set of the cheapo comps and use two on each side mounted about 1/4 the way up the lower links.

You guys ever heard of the Alaska Perm. Fund Dividend? That is how I will buy 4 new Coilovers if I decide I want to go that route. :D

Brook

Brook,
Do you have any shots of your interior? Wondering how your shifter set up looks.

ah! You apparently haven't been surfing my website enough. :D Check out My T-case Page (http://www.alaskaoffroad.com/tech_2.htm)

here is the pic you are looking for.

http://www.alaskaoffroad.com/images/Tech/Tcase/toomanyshifters.jpg

The shifters are kind of ugly right now, but they are comfortable to use so Im going to leave them for the rest of the season. This winter I will be re-doing them along with all the linkages to make them more eye friendly. I will also be beefing up the twinstick bracket. Will post new pics when its all done.


Brook

Originally posted by bgreen
ah! You apparently haven't been surfing my website enough. :D

Yes, I have. Thought you said at one point you were going to redo something. My Bad:D . I like your filler neck for the tank. Did you make the rest of the tank? Or, are you using a aftermarket cell?

How much higher does the 203 range box come up through the floor since it is reversed?

Originally posted by rodzzilla
Yes, I have. Thought you said at one point you were going to redo something. My Bad . I like your filler neck for the tank. Did you make the rest of the tank? Or, are you using a aftermarket cell?How much higher does the 203 range box come up through the floor since it is reversed?

Ya, sorry about that. I am going to redo the shifters when I get a chance. Since they work ok now, Im not going to redo them till everthing else I want to do is done.

The fuel cell also got put on the back burner since I found a way to install the side sadle tanks between the frame rails. One more project for this winter. Im trying to make a 50 gal cell from a 4x8 sheet of 3/16 5052. Damn wrenchin' has been getting in the way of the good Wheelin' so for the rest of the summer Im only going to fix what gets broken.

The 203 comes way up from stock location. I have a 3" Bodylift on that truck it barely clears as it is. Without the lift I would have been fabin' a new tunnel for sure. Some one was just telling me that they are turning theirs 90* to get the clearance below and above.



Brook :usa: