Finally posting it

 

Also big thanks to Code454 for all his help. A extra set of hands really speeds up the work and its nice to bounce idea arounds :beer:

 

I am doing the build at my work so I need to keep the truck able to move in and out so I started with tackling the back first. Once the back is ready to go I will start the front

I had to make room for the rear coilovers so I decided it would be easier to start with a fresh rear frame. I used some 2x4x1/8 wall for the new frame rails. I also used 1/8 plate for the reinforcing

Cut and angled the new pieces to match the curve of the stock frame

I added some DOM sleeves for the bumper

Welded on

Top and bottom plates

Also plated the outside and inside. I dont think it will ever break apart

 

The stock frame had this thin gauge reinforcing in the rear arch so spent a couple hours cutting that off

And plated the old frame

I also plated the bottom from the new section to past the tcase mounts

 

So last year we went down the Hammers and the body took a bit of a beating especially the passenger quarter panel

So after much debate about how we were going to do the rear wheels we decided to start fresh....

Bye bye lwb body lol

 

This after hammering it out to lol

http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd337/slicknic604/damage3.jpg

 

rear 4 link with some brackets from Ballistic Fab and a Polyperformance truss. The cross member is 2x4x1/4 wall tube.

I added some more reinforcing to the Poly truss

 

Looks real nice

 

Im using Ruffstuff heims for the uppers and Currie JJ's for the bottom links. The upper links will be 1 5/8" DOM and the lowers will be 2" alumium

Ill post up some more pics later

 

Bye bye lwb body lol

[/QUOTE]

sweet I just picked up another lwb tub and was thinking of getting rid of that rear overhang too

 

Took the opportunity to build the new exhaust while I had lots easy access. Im going to try a smaller stockish muffler due to packaging and trying to keep the sound low http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WLK-17702/ I also bought some universal U bends, a universal flex pipe and stainless exhaust clamps. $160 and a couple hours and i had some new custom exhaust

 

BigCountyCustoms hooked me up with a great deal on some 37" Procomp stickies

and UGET IT from Method Motorsports (P4x4 vendor) was the hookup for some new PRP seats. I was extremely happy with my dealings with both companies :beer: Since I am changing the rear wheel wells I was able to order a 40" wide rear bench. PRP also made a rear booster cushion for my 4 year old which the harness loops through

 

Pics with the seats?? what is the price?

 

I used some 10 gauge satin-coated steel to start on the new body panels. I welded the new panels to the 3/16 that was already there for the rockers to start joining it all together.

Starting cutting the wheel wells and rolled some material for the corners

and once they were set I added some 3/8s solid to the wheel well edge to smooth it out

Getting there

 

New tailgate so it matched the body better. The Samurai tailgate just didnt look right. I reused the old hinges and made it fold down

Mini truckin style lol

 

Next up was getting the coilovers mounted. The coilovers are Radflo 14"

I started with some 2"x1/8 plate and added a bunch of dimples

I formed a box with the 4 pieces and tied it into the cage and down to the frame. More 1/8 was used to reinforce it all

 

Price shipped to Kamloops :flipoff2:


Looks unreal Nic, you got your metal fab skilz DOWN :smokin:

 

Thanks

you lost the mini truck tail gate! LOL

Pics went back in time :laughing:

I have been uploading pics from my iphone from the last couple months so some of the timeline is a little off. That also explains the great quality of the pics :flipoff2:




My old super gas tank wasnt going to fit any more so I bent up some 1/8 aluminum and my friend was nice enough to tig it for me. The tank is 24"x18"x6" high which gets me just over 11 gallons. I had to crop off one corner to clear the exhaust

move the Walbros and other guts from the old tank

Took advantage of the powdercoating at work

Here is the gas tank skid plate which is also 1/8 aluminum

 

you lost the mini truck tail gate! LOL

 

I wanted the zuk to be somewhat weather proof so Cody and I started planning out the rear sheet metal a few weeks ago. Most of the stuff in this build was cut with a 4.5" angle grinder and cutting discs

Making templates

I used 14 gauge satin coat for all these pieces

I didnt take any pics but I used some 1'x1" thin wall square tube for a frame under the floor and some heavier 1"x1" for the rear seat frame

Welded up and ground smooth

In this pic you can see the latches we used to close the tailgate. Just some simple stainless steel spring loaded pins that I modded to get the handles outside of the aluminum skin.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SLFZWC

 

Its a bit of a tight fit but I was able to get my airbumps mounted. I used some of the Polyperformance bump cans with radflo 2.0 bumps set for 3"

 

Last weekend I was able to finish up the sheet metal and get it all in primer. I also spent a couple hours underneath with a tube of seam sealer so hopefully I wont have any rust for a while.

You can see the added bar to the shock tower for the rear harnesses

Cody spent a couple hours smoothing out some of the weld seams

Then the other day I gator guarded the interior and wheel wells

Powdercoated the rear diff and tailgate

 

Since my gas tank is stuffed right under the floor it was going to be a pain to have a fuel door on the body without losing space in the rear cargo area. I found this cool gas fill from a boat place online which looked like it would work.

It connects right into the top of the gas tank with a short 2" hose.

 

nice work!! can't believe you cut up a LWB body though :flipoff2:

 

I know I know but it was just too smashed up to really fix it right. Plus the drivers side had alot of mud in it from its previous life. If I could afford to have 2 I would of started over with a swb but you have work with what you have.

As it sits now I am at 104" wb and after the front is done it should be about 107" so its now a longer lwb Samurai

 

Nice work :beer:

Looks like maybe the hard top can go back on? That's pretty cool

D

 

I added a couple inches to the overall body length so no more hard top but someone local is going to be building me a sweet safari style soft top in the next month or so.

The hardtops are fairly rare so I will hopefully find another lwb owner that can use it since its in pretty decent shape

 

Nice job!!!

 

Also the cage in the rear is now tied into the frame just not showin in any pics yet. Nic will post some more in sure it's taken a while bit well worth it. At least now the wheelwells look proper instead of having to stretch them it would have looked dumb. Can't wait to get the front done.