HackD's ongoing 5-lug armored-slug build.

I switched project gears for the past 24 hours. I had received a 2nd Generation Tacoma Center Console Molle Board set from https://fenderbraces.com/products/2gen-tacoma-center-console-molle-board a few weeks back.

My OCD was seriously tweaking by poor laser cutting on two of the cutouts on each of console molle boards .. even though not visible unless you can see both at once, but it was enough to for me attempt to correct the poorly lasered sections on each panel with copious amounts of filing and recontouring to make sure that both looked about the same.



While i corrected that, I noticed that the Punisher logo teeth were small, relatively fragile, and potentially breakable .. especially if an errant foot inadvertently kicked it's teeth out. I decided to put a 1/16" aluminium backing sheet onto each of the Punisher logos.



Furthermore, as part of my interior update - i wanted red interior lighting accents - I found an Amazon sourced Flexible LED strip that would fit perfectly behind the molle board. Looks pretty good to me!

 

Iffn you're gonna back light that panel then maybe translucent plexi behind the skulls?

 

Before: section of 3/16" aluminium sheet



After: 4 switch plate/light panels fabricated for the sides of my ARB overhead center console. Obviously, painting them needs to be done yet. Most sophisticated tool used is a hacksaw blade in a handle and lots of files ... took about 1 day of movie watching, to fabricate the 4 needed. Red LED surface mount modules incoming to mount to these - basically i'm putting a red interior light setup in, in addition to the usual white courtesy lights... why? I have no idea... just seemed like a good project idea at the time.

 

We got our first snowfall last night, and thus my first chance at trying out the Detroit Tru-trac LSD in the rear end - amazing difference in traction on the rear end.



Also continuing on with the overhead console, in putting Arduino components together, to make up a "sound box" in order to input into the PA setup, is well under way. I didn't let the smoke out of the wiring!

Will only have a few non-emergency services, 'other' sound files as horn alternatives. Very much an experiment on the go. This will fit inside of the overhead console as a module.

 

5 red LED interior light pods final-fixed, and wired into the console. All individually switchable on or off, or by master switch.

 

Did better than that.. revisited it in the past week. Painted the back plate same interior grey, and drilled/filed out the eyes/nose holes clean on the back-plate. Made little individual LED brackets to illuminate them directly.

It'll work.

 

I got the Molle kick panels finished last week - neatened up the wiring, complete with miniature on/off switches, to independently turned off the lower kick panel lighting as desired. Will plug into electrical system with quick disconnects - likely ready to go into the truck in the next weekend or two.



Getting further ahead with the electronics tray package. This holds in the Master switch panel (4 toggle, 2 momentary) controlling overhead exterior light bar, red interior lighting accents, switches for PA and Amplifier. Also stuffed in here is the 200w mono-amp for the PA horn under the hood. Sitting on top is the adafruit arduino sound effects wiring box, for supplemental sound effects for over PA .. (meep-meep, etc). This is getting a bit.. complicated.



Added a combo stacked Temperature/Voltage display for the electronics bay. Voltage display is switchable to monitor state of 5v/12v DC.



This is starting to get a bit more coherent in terms of wiring here also.



Oh, and in the past week, accidently punched a parking bollard with my extended chin, center punching the plate with pretty good force. Nothing else moved.



A few other projects are coming up - the Labrak ARB inserts need corrosion remediation, and the LED turnsignals/running lights are failing badly. I've sourced similar sized from Aliexpress, but not exact same cheap turn signal / marker light combo. We'll see then they get here.

 

So many wires..looking good man

 

Been a while since i updated.

The overhead center console is still a work in progress.. keep getting distracted by other things, and sidetracked by other projects.

I found a source for Thermoform plastic sheets - I obtained a 3/16" 4x8' sheet and am using 1/2 of it to form a Prinsu rack 'tray', to further cut down on noise produced by turbulence. . Purely an experimental project. Essentially, it should make the whole rack, relatively aerodynamically clean. It's meant to be an easily removable cover that bolts to the rack, and will wrap around to the front airdam, preventing any significant noise producing airflow inside of the rack structure, against the roof.

I need to obtain a few more T-Slot nuts to properly fasten it down, reorient the existing tie-down points already on the rack, and do some heat forming on the plastic wrap around to the front airdam. The second photo is misleading .. it will sit flush against the cross-bar and recessed 1/8" inside of the side frames. Right now, i have several things mounted topside, that prevent it from sitting flush, until i further modify.

It should also reduce snow build-up/icing underneath the rack cross-members, in our winter season.

 

Did someone say T nuts?
these work with prinsu. Ordered 20 of them myself so if you don't get any by the time im back in province let me know and I can spot you a few
Also offered the buyer $1.00 per, and they went for it.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/8020-Inc-EQ...Spring-3668-/263037318909?hash=item3d3e3ef6fd

 

Got a bag full coming in by slow-boat from China. I'm in no hurry - ruined my first go at the cover on a test run on an empty road (thankfully) this AM, before the Square One meet-up... I apparently grossly miscalculated the holding power of a dozen temporary electrical zip-ties securing a relatively aerodynamic wing surface. Sucker broke loose and kited about 20 feet in the air, as soon as i got to 70 km/h.

Got another 1/2 sheet of plastic in the garage to work with .. gotta rethink this project a bit.

Thanks for the offer though

 

haha ya I can imagine as soon as air gets under it, it takes off like an umbrella.
I like the ARB

 

I think that it did exactly that, despite trying to seal up the front airdam area as much as possible (whole objective of this) ... as said, needs big rethink, LOL.

 

Version 2.0 bolted on for trials.

 

Looks good, super clean, was wondering if panels fitted between the bars and attached to the front/rear t-slots would work keeping the panel size smaller and leaving access to the top t-slots.

 

I'm good with the panel size - it also covers over my mid-roof wiring port and wiring loom. I had a bit of an intermittent drip over the winter - just a tiny bit of water gets into the loom, submerged in ice/snow.. so hopefully that eliminates direct exposure. The rest of the rack is free and clear for use. It wouldn't take more than a few minutes to remove this entirely - 4 bolts, and it's off.

This could be done in any form that is wished. You can go under/over, or strip the plastic into requisite 1" cross-section to cover over any t-slotted surface not needed/possibly causing whistling affect. All comes down to how close in curves or bends you can get with the material, and a propane torch I'd likely go with pop-riveting in light gauge aluminium 90deg channel stock onto the plastic, to go suspended tray, securing inside cross-bar T-Slot rails and leaving t-slot top rails exposed.

3/16" Thermoform plastic - comes in 4x8 foot sheets, so a bit expensive, but it leaves you a lot left over to play with, on other projects. Easy to work with - at least for me, i've worked with the material in thermoforming, before that sort of work went to China. Easy to cut and drill to shape - score and snap stuff.

 

Slapped on a couple of CBoy808 Bedsides this weekend, almost screwed up the right side beyond redemption, but patience and a razor mostly fixed it.

 

I like the prinsu design save for the flat front. I often end up modding my mods so my thought would be to curve the deflector to match the roof. This would require curved cuts along the top and bottom to have them look flat. I like how you've tucked the ends of the plastic next to the light bar. When do you use it and how effective is it? I can imagine the need for off road at night but not much for a pavement prowler. Dark alleys?

 

Aside from the sound issue i've been trying to abate, i was also inspired by the wrapped rack of the Nissan XTerra's of a few years back. It had a cleaner appearance, and it had to have a functional purpose in sound abatement over the front cab section.

I actually finished version 2.5 of the deflector today - since the last post, i had found it wasn't yet rigid enough - it kept warping under intense heat of sun, and slapping against the rear crossbar, despite being tied down at two rear points. I added significant additional aluminium edging onto the rear section over the second crossbar, as well as significant gasketing between deflector and crossbars .. now, NO whistling. Mission, finally successful.



After over a year, i still have yet to wire in the damn lightbar. I've just had so much going on, at once.. and so many things dependant on other things being in place first. In this case, it requires me to finish wiring up, and mounting in the overhead interior center console - it's about 8/10's done, but stalled for better than 4 months now. I also need to put in additional fuse-box, relays and wiring under-hood in prep for the lightbar and other electrics.

Truth be told, the lightbar is nothing more than a cosmetic 'i want one'. I already got enough lighting on the front end to fry a moth at 50 feet. It's more of a poseur truck appearance thing, than anything else. Probably will see little actual use, once wired in.

 

I've read MOST of this build thread, as you seem to be knowledgeable on the topic of regearing a 2nd gen, base, 2wd, 2.7L, MT. Which is what I have and I'm thinking about regearing! Actually I just want a truetrac, but Easton doesn't make one that works with our 3.31 gears, is that correct? So I believe my best bet (next closest ratio that works with truetrac) is to find a 3.58 third member.

So I know I want a 3.58 geared third member, and I know I want to avoid any E-locker equipped donor vehicles. But I don't really know what I need from the donor vehicle. JUST the third member (with open diff, carrier bearings, ring gear, pinion gear, driveshaft flange all installed in it)? Do I also need new axles or axle housing? Does it matter if the donor vehicle is 4x4 or prerunner (6 lug)?

If this is explained more clearly somewhere else on TW, forgive my inability to find it. Lots of people regear, but not often from 3.31 open.