Slodgetto's Green Dragon 4x4 Conversion Build

Yep...

This thing vibrated so bad I couldn't see out of my rear view mirror while going 55+ on the freeway...
I didn't count the sides but I dented it all the way around, so instead of being round there is is now a hexagon or octagon or something haha.

 

brady in da HAUS!!!

what up!



im so glad you got that super clean low mileage 2nd gen so you could go wheel the shit out of it and break it! Thats what its about!

 

Fuck yeah! As far as I can tell it is kind of hard to find a happy medium, either it is nice and you don't want to hurt it, or you absolutely don't give a shit about hurting it, but it is broke down all the time... Either way you are either babying both of them or throwing parts and money into them haha So why not have something nice

 

Nice work in those vids Silas!!

Anyone know if somebody out there has or can modify drive shafts with a beefier body so they don't get damaged so easily? Or is it bad to have a heavier drive shaft?

 

more power to turn it of course..

 

I imagine somebody can. I'll have to double check but I swear some of the guys I went wheeling with last weekend had some smaller diameter driveshafts. That would help a ton I think.

I doubt you can see this, but this guys DS is only about 2" in diameter

And this '94 Toyota pickup's DS is about the same diameter too, so I am sure it can be done.


Run a skinny 2 piece shaft like that and you would have plenty of clearance, I would think and that is probably way lighter than my DS too.

 

True... would that be an issue with crawling though? Would it create too much stress on the other parts? What are they made out of anyway? Mild steel?

 

I was just looking back at Silas's and I guess his is actually pretty skinny already and it looks like it is a two piece... I guess the only option would be a stronger one, that of an angle skid plate I guess. That would be hard to pull off though since you have to leave room for the DS to move up and down as the rear flexes and droops...

My DS is 6 or 7" in diameter and I think they dented up part is aluminum... I think there is a steel shaft inside of it though, not sure though.

 

hahahaha.... I only understand it partly as well. :\ It's actually not going to cost that much extra. I already had the materials for the rear bumper and skids and even an extra seal to fix that leak on the front diff. Time yes.... but I enjoy spending time.

And I think that I can actually get more out of a potential buyer if they see that it's not a half finished project that I simply lost interest in.... I think someone would be willing to pay more if they realize that it can be a a fun off-road and dd vehicle w/o having to put a bunch of work into it first.

Thanks, man! And yeah, the video is a bit decieving since it's taken from almost straight above. In previous attempts, I actually almost tipped over from trying to go too far driver. David (yotabeast505) with his beast on 41s went before me on the same obstacle and he had to do almost the same thing. He got up a lot easier, but He also had to punch the throttle to get the rear end over without rolling. Reason being is that the leadge further left is way to steep to climb, so we had to climb that boulder on the passenger side, to get the front end up. Once your up, you can't got too far driver since the rear pass tire will start to climb the boulder when the driver tire hasn't climbed the ledge. Hard to explain with out actually seeing it.......

Here's another angle on the same obstacle. Heep guy obviously didn't have enough clearance to go straight over the boulder, but you get the idea... haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gRkhx3-q70

lol dang! My DS actually does have a small dent.... But I think it's small enough so that I'm not getting any vibes...

 

And yeah guys, square tube DSs are some of the strongest there are! Only problem is balancing them. I bet someone could make a very strong round one and get it balanced... It would have to be much thicker and heavier than a similar box tube DS though.... I don't know haw the weight would affect it. Myabe just wear out the u-joints fatser??

 

yea they are pretty light weight. Very trick to make right and balance correctly. Im sure tho you could get something made. Doubt it would impact performance that bad and not at all on trails. I suppose if it was stupid heavy it could add strees to the CB..but i doubt that.

Yea My friend knows a guy that does drive shafts really really freaking good i guess. Ill have to get his info. I have seen some square ones tho on TTORA.

Ill definetly look more into when i add a crawl box..will need new DSs anyways ha

 

HOLY!

6''? thats huge. Ours are like 5 maybe i think..if that..not totally sure..

and yes ours our two piece haha..my rear half is a parts truck one..lol

Plus then i bet you could find some drive shafts that just bolt on too..

 

Would probably want to eliminate the stupid CB anyway!

 

Does the CB cause more problems than it's worth? I thought it was nice getting that extra clearance...

 

Yea i thought about a one piece drive shaflt..but looking at it..not worth it really. Mine right now is almost at an angle a once piece would be at..and its about 1-2'' lower then it used to be..1.5'' i think exactly..

i think its worth keeping to keep it tucked up in there.

 

You know.... I used to think that a one piece would be better for simplification and vibes but know that you guys mention it, I think you may be right. It IS nice to have that extra clearance. I never got around to installing a CB drop when I lifted the truck but I never get any vibes anyway...

 

Wow your build is insane, you can get lost in here pretty fast! I gotta give props to someone who's willing to hack up a nice truck like that...i bet your neighbors love it when you get the power tools out. Who need glasd fenders when you have a sawzall and grinder!

 

Thanks, man. yeah........... I make it a point not to run the loud tools past 9pm, but sill, I'm probably not their favorite neighbor! lol

 

More pics from Sat coutsy of Jim's dad (Ripcord):













BEAST

 

Lol that pic with cloudy running away from you cracks me up!