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Nathan's Long Travel Build

Discussion in '1st Gen. Builds (1995-2004)' started by Conman117, Apr 29, 2012.

  1. Apr 29, 2012 at 2:48 PM
    #1
    Conman117

    Conman117 [OP] AWESOME MEMBER

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2012
    Member:
    #74659
    Messages:
    1,496
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Nathan
    BC, Canada
    Vehicle:
    98 Brap-coma
    Blue LED dash lights
    Hey guys, thanks for visiting.

    Updated Aug 24, 2014

    1F0726C6-7E87-4B40-84BC-8A41719DDA5A-752_99622c012aa668dea65a22af7c23d3e2b3c7f319.jpg

    842E772F-D8B2-4574-BE69-C2E1BDE7EC43-752_2e0e324edf17e31c723c066a7fd670d07a3f76b2.jpg

    All of the design and metalwork I did myself. Thanks to the people that told me how to do it right.

    Specs:
    1998 Tacoma Ext Cab
    3.4L V6
    4x4
    5-Speed Manual Transmission

    Mods:
    Suspension:
    Front:
    Total Chaos LT kit
    Tundra axles
    King PR series 2.5x8" remote res coilovers

    Rear:
    Tundra Axle
    Engage 50T leaf packs
    King PR series 2.5x18" smoothies

    Glass:
    Glassworks 7" rear / 6.5" front

    Wheels: Procomp 16x8
    Tires: 285/75/16 Hankook Dynapro MT's

    Metalwork:
    Full 1.75" DOM cab cage
    1.75" DOM bedcage tied into cab cage
    Front tube bumper
    Rear tube bumper/tire carrier
    Boxed rear frame
    Plated rear frame on the outside
    Both rear crossmembers replaced with square tube
    Coil bucket gussets
    Cam tab gussets
    Spindle gussets

    Other:
    Magnaflow muffler
    Deckplate mod
    Fuelsafe 22 gal Fuel cell
    Full JL Audio sound system: 360W 4-channel amp, speakers, 500W mono amp, 2 10" subs
    Sound deadened cab

    History:
    Here's where it started. I bought it in Dec 2010. Here's a pic, stock as you can get, except the plasti-derped grill and bumpers.
    [​IMG]

    Then, like any good boy, I put in a revtek spacer lift.
    [​IMG]

    And built myself a rear plate bumper in the summer of 2011.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    And I drove that around until I joined TW and saw some LT trucks on here.
    May 2012 I made an order to Baja North Motorsports for some goodies.
    [​IMG]

    And started tearing things down.
    Right down to the frame.
    [​IMG]

    Lots of rust in the rear C-channel.
    [​IMG]

    So I sandblasted it and started welding. Gussets, crossmembers and then some gussets.
    [​IMG]
    Cam tab gussets.
    [​IMG]
    Rear outside plate.
    [​IMG]
    Coilbucket gussets.
    [​IMG]
    Boxed rear frame and crossmembers.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Painted the frame.
    [​IMG]

    Assembling suspension.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    My fuel tank was rusted to a flaky blob around the plates, and attempts to clean it resulted in chunks coming off.
    [​IMG]

    So I decided a new stock tank was too expensive for just a stock tank, and used tanks in my area would have the same issues as mine.
    So I ordered a 22 gal. Fuelsafe cell.
    [​IMG]

    Meanwhile, things progressed on the truck. Got the engine and cab back on.
    [​IMG]
    How much the wheel sticks out over stock.
    [​IMG]

    Somewhere in here I did a projector retrofit.
    [​IMG]

    My Giant shackles were hitting the leafs in a weird place.
    [​IMG]
    So I built new beef ones.
    [​IMG]

    Then I chopped up my bed and started fitting a bedcage.
    [​IMG]

    Front and rear bumpers were next.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Attached the fiberglass and that's how it was until May.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Took a trip down to SoCal at the end of April 2013.
    Got my rear hydro bumps installed and got a 50T leaf pack.

    A3EA479D-29AE-4A11-91CF-9D6667EFE16B-642_2d29337a17cbb4bf3eda764179e2d8a3537185fe.jpg

    EF1B91D9-0151-4359-9B9D-C71BF79EB660-670_2cd949ec7872315f728a7db0bfe281a4affcf693.jpg

    A2EE1192-BE4D-41C9-B18A-4A4F898609AC-318_672b6fe32e69b2ec97df7d8a3779f3227937a064.jpg

    DSC_0836_zpscd68998d_ba9f2408e0ca609302c2f15a7c9545f6a10af0a0.jpg

    AD6CDFEC-454F-4BE0-9F1B-D6248B11B9DE-318_41fd7be2c3b86ed7d8c0c0f0585d1454d96cb26d.jpg

    E21955CA-20E6-4ADD-B769-744462CABE20-318_e76c112ec4252540f07a2f2ff6764c574a9751f2.jpg

    vlcsnap-2013-05-15-20h31m08s174_zps20dca_b9f61e1bb6ef9a498af4614cc777ab52c44f981d.jpg

    Fall of 2013 I pulled it off the road again to start more building.

    Stripped out the cab for caging

    BCE876B4-1A24-4574-B432-3C1E9D805AF8-777_ffa07f0fd508b9a3d4ae866c9645f4b067d03af1.jpg

    34F393A4-2F26-4A26-ACE2-BDC283774862-111_706adfba412d6225d2eacb18c78296d424659d8d.jpg

    Bought some tube, bought a bender and started fitting

    A612CEAC-E315-40B7-A65A-154297B58EBE-963_c00567e2ec3f02204c9a7a5f9d8bccda11d29c9c.jpg

    DF7227D7-83D5-4299-AFE9-C628D5FF1EF6-208_e513884183cc7a23fdaa8ef74e8f3137f31fe8eb.jpg

    D6A35DAB-CDE3-4810-9600-E789D6D6002C-208_1380f8506312d8de8ed785b8001e9719b8d8c5bd.jpg

    B099771E-36A5-4377-935A-D8DB0EC7CB5B-821_b71c5ff1c88e6863d2473bf911a6cb5ea3ac877b.jpg

    95AB9FFA-7B4B-4967-8C99-9DBE9657FA17-102_5917426fe369885436a6d453928dbdd1faf3e332.jpg

    92730F01-10AB-4BA0-AF7D-1A08A65D9964-288_fa3fdf64d2d3389a1eca6c82e0ad6b2f978b5153.jpg

    DSC_0990_zpsda67c58a_64d34e3b91ab48d3603a4a44f6a36e6eff2e50af.jpg

    9B515A09-7788-4C62-B4F7-6E0F5195760F-631_88a1466fb3067881740abb650256088b9b2b97e4.jpg

    2DCE53CF-C7A8-4515-BD7E-0D9647CA514E-443_2f9b2b3e1955d7310afe954443c29d18230341e2.jpg

    1B053455-E47B-4AFB-92A3-AD6774D78C34-915_78437c5463ca55d8781f9bf25b1ef4fb4960622a.jpg

    ABC21BFF-75AE-42F1-9E92-B68374444F4E-915_b0f76dd5bf14fcea84aeb126b66587c8b9e0e114.jpg

    Put sound deadening in the ceiling, in the doors, on the floor, in the side panels, basically everywhere.

    5227E33A-E6F8-487E-A28D-87620D880630-278_398466404c388e85fa83f632a41e70fe38fe87f9.jpg

    43E832F2-6C0E-460C-9FF3-F8CC632F9EC3-278_d9ed541db249a8cb56a334a0249e0fdbc826eb7c.jpg

    0D468873-4602-4EE2-871B-C7D1497D943F-278_6a2bc8982a8ee0007e9aed430d60bce7eb9a6022.jpg

    Got the carpet back in, sound system, and most of the interior pieces back in.

    7D6229F4-AD98-4025-B6E9-EB68DF8CA6C1-278_3b56d898c319189c4d499cf49cce46911192cc21.jpg

    3CCC6B4D-A39E-4CEA-B240-D076127E1101-278_ef9b736d4e76fac01ce5403c2da4f8ad24154be3.jpg

    C0350F20-3556-4841-B038-57BF7EE95E6E-278_708aa5eeb82b133bb6800af4920bb6dc18d9cb1f.jpg

    27B2AD99-8DB6-4B9C-A2B7-759D59B3DB22-278_dc48b937f5293e3f14066efcce8fb673f6ccd51e.jpg

    C771DAAF-65B2-4CBB-AD52-93158600EC46-882_1d25783c004c22b7a3e5a1ca664a93a55843f41a.jpg

    C893F552-D941-4A0F-BFC1-08BB67E60840-882_7ebda4a7cf5724bb63754db2eb5876d2a58ab10c.jpg

    And rebuilt the bedcage

    E20E6160-C537-4995-90A3-8E8134778010-253_b80b2448b10d76417d175dc60449a1e6f120c5be.jpg
     
    Last edited: Aug 24, 2014
    Radarninja and Dalandser like this.
  2. Jun 18, 2012 at 6:28 PM
    #2
    Conman117

    Conman117 [OP] AWESOME MEMBER

    Joined:
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    Nathan
    BC, Canada
    Vehicle:
    98 Brap-coma
    Blue LED dash lights
    Update time.
    I pulled everything off my frame and am starting from there because there are some rusty parts, so I figured I may as well go through and replace/refinish everything that is rusty.
    [​IMG]

    I have the TC coil bucket gussets, cam tab gussets and am making rear frame gussets. I want to weld on everything I need before I re-coat my frame so that I don't have to grind off my new finish.
    If anyone thinks of anything I should be welding onto my frame let me know. Maybe limit strap tabs?
     
    DriftingPanda18 likes this.
  3. Jun 18, 2012 at 7:37 PM
    #3
    97yota4wd

    97yota4wd Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    Eric
    Mesa, AZ
    Vehicle:
    alot of metal, small engine, decent travel.
    caged, camburg long travel, 50t leafpack (soon to be installed) light rack over cab, 5pt harnesses etc
    i wouldnt worry about limit strap tabs just yet because you dont know if its going to interfere with anything else suspension wise once everything is back on there.
     
    DriftingPanda18 likes this.
  4. Jun 18, 2012 at 7:39 PM
    #4
    precoma

    precoma Well-Known Member

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    Corey
    Lake Arrowhead, CA
    Vehicle:
    2009 4x4 trd sport
    Total Chaos 3.5 Long travel, Defined SUA
    subbed for a epic build :popcorn:
     
  5. Jun 18, 2012 at 7:40 PM
    #5
    austinramsay

    austinramsay Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    Austin
    Yuma, Arizona
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    Get some pics up man! Looks like itll be good! :cool:
     
  6. Jun 18, 2012 at 8:57 PM
    #6
    Conman117

    Conman117 [OP] AWESOME MEMBER

    Joined:
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    Nathan
    BC, Canada
    Vehicle:
    98 Brap-coma
    Blue LED dash lights
    Aight. I'll hold off for now. Thanks.

    Heres some pics of the rust.
    Its mostly in the rear C channel. The frame is still solid but I stuck my finger through these parts.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    So I have some work to do:D

    Just to add some color, heres my LED swap.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Jun 26, 2012 at 8:02 PM
    #7
    Conman117

    Conman117 [OP] AWESOME MEMBER

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    Nathan
    BC, Canada
    Vehicle:
    98 Brap-coma
    Blue LED dash lights
    Hey guys, got a question.
    I'm going to be putting on a new bumper when I put my truck back together, and my frame looks different from the other trucks with the style of bumper I want.
    Should I just cut the ends off my frame to match?
    Here's mine.

    [​IMG]

    And here are others with the type of bumper I want.

    Looks like the cross member is kept in this one.

    (jberry813)
    [​IMG]

    And this one is cut off right back to the stock bumper mounts.

    (Cr250jumper)
    [​IMG]

    Can I just chop the end of my frame off and cap it?
     
  8. Jun 26, 2012 at 8:51 PM
    #8
    02TACOMA4WD

    02TACOMA4WD Well-Known Member

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  9. Jun 27, 2012 at 8:53 AM
    #9
    97yota4wd

    97yota4wd Well-Known Member

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    Eric
    Mesa, AZ
    Vehicle:
    alot of metal, small engine, decent travel.
    caged, camburg long travel, 50t leafpack (soon to be installed) light rack over cab, 5pt harnesses etc
    for the bumper id wait till everything is on the truck as well, cause you wont know how it needs to be/ where to be cut at untill everything is on the truck. id work on cleaning up all the rust, boxing your whole frame, and coating it so it doesnt rust worse.
     
  10. Jun 30, 2012 at 3:49 PM
    #10
    Conman117

    Conman117 [OP] AWESOME MEMBER

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    Nathan
    BC, Canada
    Vehicle:
    98 Brap-coma
    Blue LED dash lights
    The rear of the frame all cleaned out.

    [​IMG]

    Hopefully I'll be sandblasting it tomorrow if the weather holds.

    I noticed when guys were boxing their frames that they just boxed over the existing brackets. Should I bother putting mine back in if I'm boxing the rear? I already have some replacements cut, so it wouldn't be that hard to weld them in before I box it.
    Here's one.

    [​IMG]

    Is it worth installing the new brackets?
     
  11. Jul 3, 2012 at 12:12 PM
    #11
    Conman117

    Conman117 [OP] AWESOME MEMBER

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    Nathan
    BC, Canada
    Vehicle:
    98 Brap-coma
    Blue LED dash lights
    So my frame is sandblasted. Now I just have to weld everything on, but I need help with spring mount placement. After reading, the magic number seems to be 52.5" but I don't know where to put the mounts on my frame because I have nothing to reference off of. Can someone help me with the measurements on the frame?
     
  12. Jul 3, 2012 at 1:08 PM
    #12
    whitetoblack

    whitetoblack ******

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    Tyler
    SoCal
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    Johnny Branch Fabrication, King, Deaver, Glassworks, Toyo Tire, Alpine, work in progress...
    Hey man nice job i like where this is going haha. Since your are upgrading to a tundra axle anyway as well as wanting to run wanting to run 18s have you thought about just going with giants 64" kit instead and mounting it outside the frame rails? I have two friends running them on their rangers and they work really well just havent seen one in person on a taco yet.
     
  13. Jul 3, 2012 at 9:40 PM
    #13
    Conman117

    Conman117 [OP] AWESOME MEMBER

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    Nathan
    BC, Canada
    Vehicle:
    98 Brap-coma
    Blue LED dash lights
    Never thought of that, a little late now... :D

    [​IMG]

    got a very nice shipment yesterday^
     
  14. Jul 4, 2012 at 12:31 AM
    #14
    whitetoblack

    whitetoblack ******

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    Nice congrats man!
     
  15. Jul 4, 2012 at 12:33 AM
    #15
    amaes

    amaes Cuz Stock Sucks

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    Phoenix, AZ
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    Jealous you have it down to the frame. That makes everything 100x easier. :popcorn:
     
  16. Jul 6, 2012 at 7:04 PM
    #16
    Conman117

    Conman117 [OP] AWESOME MEMBER

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    Nathan
    BC, Canada
    Vehicle:
    98 Brap-coma
    Blue LED dash lights
    So I finally made some decent progress on my frame.
    I only have cellphone pics, but I'll take some decent ones later when the frame comes home.

    boxed

    [​IMG]

    rear gussets

    [​IMG]

    cam tabs

    [​IMG]

    coil bucket gussets

    [​IMG]

    also sandblasted frame is really nice^

    and leaf mounts (big thanks to battlescars and cr1250jumper for all the advice and helpful pics)

    [​IMG]

    So I just need to put some new cross members in the rear and I can paint and put things back together.
     
  17. Jul 7, 2012 at 10:32 AM
    #17
    rcfreak201

    rcfreak201 Well-Known Member

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  18. Jul 7, 2012 at 10:41 AM
    #18
    tacokid09

    tacokid09 it's about the off-road miles

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    Brian aka B-Lang
    San Luis Obispo, CA
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    holy subbed
     
  19. Jul 7, 2012 at 11:40 AM
    #19
    Conman117

    Conman117 [OP] AWESOME MEMBER

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    First Name:
    Nathan
    BC, Canada
    Vehicle:
    98 Brap-coma
    Blue LED dash lights
    Out with the old, in with the new.

    [​IMG]

    :D
     
  20. Jul 7, 2012 at 11:46 AM
    #20
    tuckdaddy

    tuckdaddy Well-Known Member

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