Not going to bash anything until I see better pics, but please make sure you have someone qualified to verify your work before you take that on the road.
Just reminding me of a buddy of mine who tried to use the access covers of a rockwell axle to weld suspension tabs on. Needless to say i made him change it.
My concern mostly lies in what looks like your A-arm mount at this point. But its a bit hard to tell what's going on in there. Over all quality of the fab work is something you will have to live with, but if thats your A-arm mount, you wont have to live with it for very long.
Hard as hell to tell what's going on there. What's the specific clearance issue. I assume if its the shock body to caliper clearance, you would have already started changing the shock mounts. If its the inability to install your lower bolt, just weld on a nut to the back side and get a shorter bolt.
Buck, I think the gay ass shock mount is the least of his worries. But I guess the fact that he is hacking is better than being gay with a bone stock disco. Still not sure where this build is going to end up.
I "modded" the d2 rear shock mount and welded it to the fj80 axle shock mount after i trimmed it. has a nut welded on it. bolt goes in at ride height no problem.... took it out and stuck it back for a pic.
ya the shock body hits the caliper when it is slid all the way in (ie low brake pads and worn rotor...) too close... not sure how i will redo it at the moment...
My immediate concern is the joint for the A-arm.
By using it in this (horizontal) orientation you gain the side to side strength.
The problem: If the suspension has more movement than the joint misalignment angle allows, the joint would be the limiting factor in your articulation.
Even with the big Ball Fab joint, full droop will then create a very loud and ugly "BANG", followed by your new axles quickly rotating clockwise.
Actually it would probably just rotate and loosen the jam nut or bend the A-arm. Still bad things
Anyway, just make sure the articulation is limited before the joint angle is exceeded.
Yeah, this will be one of those evolution builds. Changes will be made on a daily basis untill it works. Thats the difference between a seasoned fabricator/designer and a newbie. With a fabricator/designer you get it pretty damn close to right the first time.
Hopefully it doesn't end up being a pile of scrap like so may builds of this sort.
As nice as that setup is I am sure, its not that "impressive". I was using 12" shocks on the front of my D-90 with a modded radius arm setup. And I used every inch of it. We also use 14" 2.5" airshocks on an Early bronco with basically stock radius arms. The EB uses most of that shock.
Wasn't intending to impress. The point was that I've never, ever, seen a stock-ish Land Rover with anywhere near that much flex. The OP is using coils, not airshocks. Big difference.
Most LRs will use up their spring travel far sooner than their shock travel.
Didn't doubt the trucks ability or the drivers ability. Actually I rather like the idea.
Anyways, just so no one thinks I am full of shit, here is a really old thread regarding our old EB. I have successfully achieved the same results with rover radius arm setups in several forms. 12" is not very much when your running basically vertical shocks.
No problem, I didn't take it that way. I have yet to see you TOOl it up that way.
Anyways, I am well aware that kyle is not using Air shocks. I am also well aware of what a rover radius arm setup can do. I have spent far to many hrs experimenting with them. Ohh, and LR springs will stretch pretty well. My 90 was using retained coils up front and out back with a modded Radius arm setup and used every bit of my 9012 Ranchos.
got the caster set (cut and turn. pain in the butt...pipe cutter wouldnt fit... so had to carefully use a grinder cutoff wheel... ) 4* caster with the pinion at 16*.
got one front shock, spring seat done, it got to dark to snap a pic so ill grab one tomorrow.
got it driving. Need to get the ABS sensor harness made, rear drive shaft isnt hooked up (flange issue) and i need to adjust the front a little more forward and get the pinion angle right, then do some trimming. also need to get the steering damper hooked up.
drives good, leans a little in the corners, but rides nice and smooth. swaybars might be in the future.
for some reason it sits a ton higher than before... more than just the tires...
brakes work a ton better, even with the D2 MC and booster.
Exhaust is jankafied at the moment though.
Ideas on how to retain the front springs? (with the shock in the middle....)
You wont believe me when I tell you, but two high quality hardware store hose clamps is all you need to retain the front springs. Just replace them every year or so if you wheel it hard. I ran these on my D-90 out of desperation, and never changed it. They work great.
wow, never thought of that. ill look for some next time im out at hd or someplace.
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