Frankenstein Build: Stock -> 37's on IFS -> SAS

Mitch makes the greasable bolts we sell for our alignment kits. I'll definitely reach out and see what he's running but the beams will be a bit different than a solid axle.

 

This is the exact kit I'm looking at!

 

It is great to see that it's back and it's so close!!! It's not the same thing but I had my daily down for 8.5 weeks getting highsteer dual casses and a leaf swap. finally drove the day I went back to school. it will feel so nice to have it done! yours will be the same but better. Also, how do you like running/ starting/ working at a shop? I'm in engineering school and then welding school, and I have the same kind of plan. that 1uz is going to be killer.

 

Thanks!
I like it! I'm in a similar boat going to engineering school as well. I will say running the shop can be a bit overwhelming at times especially since I still have a full time job but I love what we do and I wouldn't change it.

 

Not much progress on the Taco as it's been pretty cold at the new house. Not as cold as some of you guys are used to but growing up where 50deg was considered freezing, 25deg is killer. Good news is I got to test out the new-to-me snow blower I've been fixing up and it worked great with only a few issues! We got ~4-6" of snow a few weeks ago which was a perfect test run for the old girl.


My biggest issue by far was the rear wheels slipping causing me to get stuck multiple times. This tractor has an open rear diff and with the snow blower attachment installed the rear wheels have maybe 20lbs of weight which isn't quite enough to dig into the snow, even with snow chains installed. I learned they used to sell weights for the rear wheels but seeing as how this tractor is from the 90's, finding a set is nearly impossible. That said I decided to design my own that use ordinary work out weights. My grandpa had some rusty ones laying around which were perfect! Also pictured on the top left are new snow blower skids I designed, the old ones were too warn down:








My plan for the open diff was to crack the gearbox open and weld it up (this will never be used as a lawn mower again, only a snow blower so I don't care if it tears up the grass when turning). To my surprise when I cracked it open I was met with a planetary gear set:


After some brain power I realized I could just flip the gears around to lock it up. This is great cause it's fully reversible if for whatever reason I decide to mow a lawn (did I mention I HATE gardening, damn allergies):


I took it for a test drive down the street and with the weights, locked diff, and extra power from a new carburetor I think I'm ready to tackle even more snow! This was also a great project to test out my welding station in the new garage.

I've also been working/designing a +2" LT kit for my 4Runner. I was finally able to get most of it tacked together and so far I'm very happy with it:

 

So this is the second home made LT kit I have seen, are people getting these built via send cut send?

 

You could, I’m guessing he and his partner TKO have good laser shops they do business with - Solo outsources their laser and TKO works with them but send cut send is good for one off things for a diy’er without a good shop around.

 

@Dalandser pretty much nailed it.This particular one came from our friends at Nguyen Works, they let us use their laser for 1 off parts like this. It's where I get all the parts I design which won't be mass produced. Any production parts we make go to Laser Nut who is pretty much the go-to if you're in SoCal, like us. S C S is cool but their prices are a bit over the top imo.

 

Alright, enough procrastinating! The weather was warmer and I finished the few projects I needed to get done before I brought the Taco into the garage.

For starters, I got the new Jeep lifted. I went with a full short arm kit from Rubicon Express with some 33's. I hate to say I actually like the look! I still need to regear it and add a rear locker but I'll be doing that at the shop:


I've been slowly getting the 1UZ all dialed in. Got a new water pump and timing belt going on while continuing to clean everything:


It looks to me like the previous owner took a crow bar to the water pump... I smoothed it out as best as I could and added some gasket maker to the seal. It should be totally fine. I'm just waiting for my cam shaft seals to show up so I can wrap it up:


I also just got word our super chargers are back from the machine shop! Here is my buddies 1UZ with the supercharger:


Once the Jeep was out of the garage I moved the Taco in and went town stripping it down. I'm going to start in the back and work my way forward. I figured it would be much easier to clean and paint the frame without the bed in the way. The RTT and bed rack were surprisingly hard to remove due to the weight and height. I needed to enlist the help of my wife to get those off but it was smooth sailing after that. The outboard shock kit was a bit of a pain to maneuver around but nothing unexpected. I was able to pick the bed up from the front and just tilt it like a dump truck (don't worry, the tailgate was already scratched and dented).



After it was off I loaded it up on the trailer and moved it outside.


Once the bed was out of the way I got to work removing EVERYTHING! Axles, leaf springs, cross members, exhaust, drive shaft, wiring, brake lines, etc.




I'm installing our frame box kit and decided to address the years and years of rust and neglect on the frame while I'm in there. I have a few parts that need to be ground off like the OEM shock mounts which are much easier to get to now. I'm glad I did this because I also find some pretty big cracks that need to be repaired:


Since this thing sat outside for a few years all my unpainted parts are rusty. Thankfully it's all just surface rust and comes off easily with a wire brush:


Tonight I'll be working on getting the transmission and T-case out and continuing with frame cleaning. The plan is to get the rear suspension all dialed in then move to the front suspension. I'll be pulling the 5VZ soon to start getting everything mocked up for the 1UZ. Still have lots of work ahead but I'm happy to be working on this thing again!

The worst part is it's snowing tonight and for the next few days so progress may be delayed depending on how warm I'm feeling.

 

Hell yeah loving this.

 

I started cleaning the frame last night. All the new parts I installed were very easy to clean with a wire wheel and DA sander:


The OG Toyota parts, on the other hand, were another story:






None of the rust damage is structural but it is starting to pit and after a few hours working with it I barely made a dent. That said I have a new plan, I'm going to take the frame out and get it sand blasted then paint it with Steel It. That will stop the rust in its tracks and touch ups or new additions will be very easy to paint in the future as I can match it perfectly with a spray can.

After about 3 hours I gave up with the rust removal and went back to pulling parts off. Got the transmission and T case out in about 15 mins and called it a night:



Today I'm going to start working on getting the 5VZ plucked out. I'm going to try to tack in the 1UZ motor mounts and new transmission cross member before I pull the frame. Than I can pop off the cab, pull out the frame, sand blast it, and weld it all in without anything in my way.

 

Going to green sticker or registered out of state with the 1uz?

 

I have some family in AZ who would love a crawler

 

Progress continues with the removal of the 5VZ! I made it really easy for myself by just cutting out the front clip as I will be re-tubing everything anyway. If anyone wants it I'll be selling it for $1k which includes the clutch, rear sump oil pan, basically new timing belt, throttle body, and a few other goodies:



I'm not sure why I never thought about this before but adding a pneumatic jack to the engine hoist was the best idea I ever had:


I then went through and removed all the aftermarket wiring and cleaned up the engine bay as best as I could to make as much room as possible in there. Since I have everything out I am going to take the opportunity to remake my shock tubes and engine mounts. I'm not super happy with how either of them came out and I'd love to move the shocks to the C of the axle instead of above the lower link mount. Since I'm now building the truck around the suspension instead of the suspension around the truck I have a bit more space to set everything where I want it. If possible I'd like the axle to come up ~1" to help with suspension geometry and keep the truck a bit lower to the ground:


Since everything was out of the way I decided it was the perfect time for a "test fit" of the 1UZ in the truck:



I'll definitely need a rear sump oil pan but it looks like I'll be able to get the axle 1" higher without cutting a hole in my hood for the super charger!

Speaking of the super charger, I finally had time to pick it up! The machine shop did a great job machining the bottom lip down to help it fit on the adapter plate. I'm toying with the idea of re-coating the rotors, what do you super charger enthusiasts think?



While I was collecting parts I also grabbed my conversion bell housing and clutch parts. My buddy is now going with an XAT kit to save space so I didn't need to wait for these parts to ship since he already had them:


Next steps are to remove all the steering components and start making new shock tubes and engine mounts.

 

Lots of progress over the last couple weeks!

For starters I cut everything off the front. I wasn't really a fan of the old shock hoops and I want to 1. move the shock to the C of the axle which is both more forward and taller than where I currently have it mounted and 2. lower the front ~1". I'm leaving the panhard mount as I am pretty happy where that is sitting and I don't really think there is a need to redo the whole 3-link. I'll also be cutting the front of the frame right after the panhard mount to lower the steering box ~1" for the new pitman arm I have. I also removed all the brake lines and fuel lines so I could remake them properly and with AN fittings.



Then I moved on to getting the frame pulled! I need to remove it for sand blasting and removing it will make it easier to cut off some parts like the transmission mount.



Removing it wasn't too bad except for the fact all my screw jacks are in my shop. I had to sketchily lower it with the floor jack and some pieces of wood. I can't understate the relief when the frame made it on the the floor! All my parts (including the cab) are on rollers so I can rearrange them around the garage with minimal effort.

Next steps are finishing the frame cleaning and getting it ready for the sand blaster. I'll keep working on the 1UZ in the meantime and start designing some new shock towers.

Also went for a little trip last weekend with the wife since our schedules finally lined up and the weather was nice

 

Welp, it's safe to say this summer has not gone to plan. Goal was to get the frame sand blasted and painted and start getting her back together before Fall but I ran into some major road blocks.

For starters our land lord at the shop decided they didn't want us in the building any more due to it being too "messy and a fire hazard". Our shop was a bit crowded due to it being so small but we were always clean and safe. We tried working it out with the landlord but ultimately we had to move. What makes it worse is this was our shop neighbor:


Talk about a fire hazard...

We spent about a month looking for a new place with no luck until friend of ours mentioned his father owned a building and had a place opening up not too far from our old location. We realized it would be dumb to pass up on that opportunity. We were going to move into a 3400sq/ft unit but the current tenants decided to stay so we ended up moving into a HUGE 5500sq/ft unit! Going from 1400sq/ft to 5500sq/ft was a huge jump:


Moving took about a month and my business partner went full time at our shop to help make up the rent difference with more truck builds. We had been talking about it for a while and with the bigger shop it seemed like a good opportunity. We'll see how things are going in a year or so when I hope to make the switch myself. He's still getting everything organized but being able to have more than 2 customers at a time is a huge improvement. We have some plans on adding lifts, an alignment machine, a plasma table, and some other tooling which just wasn't possible in the old place. I'm most excited to have all our shop and product inventory under the same roof. No more shipping from my buddies living room. More to come!




And now then the big issue; in the middle of all this I broke my kneecap! Oh man, I don't wish this upon my worst enemy. I was on a trip with family and decided to join my younger cousin at a skate park. Long story short I was on a borrowed board and he convinced me to try dropping in (which I haven't done in almost a decade) and, well, I dropped in right on my kneecap.








I have a theory I had some stress fracturing and muscle fatigue that caused it to break so bad. I've been living on the couch for over a month with my leg stuck completely straight. I broke it June 22nd and had to wait 3 weeks for the swelling to go down before I could get surgery. I'm slowly recovering and feeling much more like myself but it's going to be a while before I can get back under a vehicle. I have a follow up on Monday where I'm hoping to have the stitches pulled and a PT plan started, wish me luck!

The good news is I had a last minute invite to hike Mt. Whitney and I was able to do that 1 week before blowing up me knee. Whitney was amazing and something I hope to do again someday. I went with some great people and got to experience glissading which is now in my top 5 hiking moments ever!








As far as the Taco goes, I was able to get my SC put together. That's about it. Once I'm able to walk frame sand blasting is #1 on my list! If I can at least get the frame painted and in the garage before snow I can start reassembling everything.

 

what a roller coaster ride. Congratulation on you new place, and best of luck with the business. "every dark cloud has a silver lining" 5500sq/ft of silver lining. nice

 

So much space we don't even know what to do with it all haha! Not pictured are the 4 offices, reception, and "break" room in the back. It's definitely more space than we needed but we should at least be able to grow for a long while before we need to expand again.

 

I know your just joking about not knowing what to do with the space.. but My former boss, this is going back over 20 years now, squeezed into the shop a drive on rack just for oil changes, engine, trans, t case and diffs. It was one of the best things to happen to that shop. You'd be surprised even the guys that do their own work hate that "mess" when its time.
its Sunday so we remember to accept the Lord's blessings. best of luck..