POLY PERFORMANCE After Hours Build: Project Snail Tracks

[Desertbound]

Well the little horns gusset is laser cut. As for all the plate work on this thing, almost everything is cut out using our ironworker if its a relatively small piece (I use the plasma for larger pieces), then it's grinded on a 20" disc sander, then sanded smooth on a belt sander.

Thanks for all the positive feedback everybody, it definitly helps in the motivation department. I haven't really had time to work on it this week after work, will hopefully be able to put in some hours on it this weekend.

-Rob

[zuki4x4chick]

Hey Rob, the truck is looking bad@ss. we are considering an internal cage also. (eventually) Gonna take some ideas there.

Keep it up dood, I'm really enjoying the build

p.s. Did you have to use ifs toyota stuff to increase the width? What size spacers there? (Just curious, our WMS was 61" stock )

[Desertbound]

Thanks. Likewise. I'm liking how your xl7 is turning out, i think your gonna beat me.

Ya I did use toyota IFS stuff. IFS box, rear axle, and 1.25" wheel spacers up front. Your basic cookie cutter toyota solid axle set-up. I'm not sure what the WMS is at now but i wouldnt be surprised if it was a little narrower now than it was stock.

Haven't had much time to work on it the past week. Been busy moving. Should be able to get back to it this weekend.

[Desertbound]

Didn't put as many hours in as I should have this weekend, but here's a few pics of what I got done.

Aside from pulling the lower links off and welding them up, as well as notching the hood for tube clearance, I also plated the A-pillars to the cab.



Built the rear floor tube


And got the top tubes in which connect to the rear hoop.


Ordered some new seats today, should have them by the middle of the week.

[Desertbound]

Finished plating one rocker in tonight, required a little bit of welding.





Got half of the other side done. Should be able to finish it up tomorrow night and maybe start mocking up my new seats . Hopefully they come in tomorrow.

Here's a shot of the hood cleaned up and clearanced.


And of course, a gratuitous weld shot for the night.


-Rob

[lenross1]

did you weld parts of the cage to the body?

[Desertbound]

Yup. The cage will be tied to the body in several places.

[lenross1]

Originally Posted by Desertbound

Yup. The cage will be tied to the body in several places.

Did you do this to make the whole structure (roll cage and body) more rigid? I would think that this would create vibes. please correct me if i am wrong.

I like the way the cage is subset in the fender well. Much easier getting in and out of seat. i would think it would be easier to just weld it all together vs try to close off that section in the fender under the cage?

[Desertbound]

It just makes the whole truck feel so much more solid. It eliminates the chassis and body shaking separately and reduces noise from tubes creaking and clunking against the body. All well built prerunners and race trucks are built like this.

I plan to weld the body directly to that tube and go over it with some silicone sealant to ensure no leaks into the cab.

[BCzuk]

One of my favorite builds right now. Its looking really good

[mannysouza]

Originally Posted by Desertbound

It just makes the whole truck feel so much more solid. It eliminates the chassis and body shaking separately and reduces noise from tubes creaking and clunking against the body. All well built prerunners and race trucks are built like this.

I plan to weld the body directly to that tube and go over it with some silicone sealant to ensure no leaks into the cab.

This is why I built my exo cage the same way.

[Desertbound]

Driver seat mounted. Used our new PolyPerformance Universal Seat slider kit. Check it:

http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/...r-p-24671.html

[Desertbound]

Well, got all 3 seats mounted today. I think i might redo the passenger front seat to get a little more leg room for the third seat. Other than that, pretty happy with how it's all laying out.



Rear seat mount tie in.






-Rob

[carslut]

that is a neat seat bracket system, do u guys happen to offer just the spring loaded locking pin setup on your web site? ive got a few things id like to use a pin like that with.

[Desertbound]

Ya, those pins are pretty handy. Call us up at the shop. (805) 783-2060 The sales guys should be able to help ya out.

[95geo]

Originally Posted by carslut

that is a neat seat bracket system, do u guys happen to offer just the spring loaded locking pin setup on your web site? ive got a few things id like to use a pin like that with.

www.mcmaster.com

91712A101 or similar..... browsing will show the others.

[Desertbound]

Not a whole to show for progress, but still been putting work into it. Re-mounted the passenger seat so there is more room for the rear seat. Threw in some handles and spent some time making gussets. Threw a few more tubes at it here and there, mainly spent most of sunday doing a lot of welding on the cage. Here's a few pics..









Motivation was lacking this past weekend. Going to Jeepers Jamboree this coming weekend so that will hopefully recharge the batteries a bit and remind me why the hell I'm spending so much of my time on this thing.

-Rob

[zukijames]

i get on just to see this things progress..

[Gravy]

good work so far. keep it up

[Desertbound]

Thanks for the compliments.

Wish I had some progress pics to show off but I haven't really had the chance to work on this thing much. Started mounting the radiator last weekend but it's not quite finished yet.

Sadly, I think this is going on the back burner for a few weeks as I'm undertaking yet another project.

Ima try to get you guys to steer away from the Zuks for a bit and check out updates on this thing instead:

/forum/desert-racing/907999-poly-performance-se-r-you-kidding-me-rally-sentra-build.html

I promise to get back on this thing once I get my first rally race under my belt at the end of the month.

-Rob

[zukiscoot]

Nice work. i was wondering how do you reach the backside of the roll cage to fully weld it or do you just weld what you can reach?

[Desertbound]

On this thing, I'm just welding as much as I can. I can get about 75% of the tube. This truck isn't gonna be a rocketship, and is relatively light so I'm not too worried about not having the tubes welded all the way around.

On my last truck, I built the cage and then dropped it all down through the floor to fully weld it. But that was a race truck, this thing is not.

[atrautman]

Nice build. I'm planning on doing a similar build to my already sas tracker. I just got the toyota axles and sami t-case. I was wondering what the spring rate is on the coil overs? I'm looking at using 14" around 175-225lb/ft springs for the build. But I really don't know if that's to stiff or too soft.

Originally Posted by Desertbound

Definitly planning on beefing up the t-case mount after hearing the feedback on it. The truck will also be carrying a spare t-case on it at all times. There will be mounts built into the cage in the cargo area for a spare t-case, third member and axles.


Felt good to get a full day of work in on this thing. Made some good progress and whipped out upper shock mounts and got the vehicle sitting on its own weight. After cycling the rear susp a bunch, ended up going back to the 10" c/o in the rear. About all i could get without fully ditching the frame which I just didn't want to do. Here's a couple pics.







And sitting at ride height on its own weight. Red dragons.


-Rob

[Desertbound]

I honestly couldn't tell ya. The springs on the truck were just ones I had lying around that I threw on to get the truck off jackstands.

When I get some time I could look into it a little more for ya and get you a ballpark spring rate that will prolly work for yours.

Or go ahead and call the shop and talk to one of the sales guys. They are pretty good at getting the right spring rates for customers.

[Desertbound]

Updates!!!!

Finally getting back into this thing after taking almost 2 months off to go rally racing. Knocked a good amount of tubes out today. Might put a few more hours in before I call it a day, but the interior tube work is getting close to finished.







-Rob