My re- SAS 05 DCAB build

Tease.

 

just for you pumpkin



so this weekend we made a little progress. not as much as any one would like. but parts are starting to go on next weekend. all three link mounting point on the frame are now located. the passenger side bracket is permanently welded on the driver is just tacked…bottle ran out go figure.
the steel has arrived so we can start re plating the frame. a complete 4' x 8' sheet of 1/8" cold rolled and two full sticks of 1.75 x .120 DOM showed up. Ballistic Fab FINALLY got off their ass shipped my order after me nagging them on a daily basis bumping several items off the order. I will never do business with them again. this is the third order for this build from ballistic they have screwed up. first was the steering arms that were drilled wrong and they charged me a re-stocking fee because I sent the complete order back. second was the two D60 shave kits I ordered…they got that right and here on time but they only shipped one of them. then there was this order where they help the order for one heim joint…one that I could get any where including my local hardware store. I called them at least 4 times and was told every time it will be here tomorrow and we'll get it out to you. them came the calls where the service rep recognized my voice, or my order and started lying to me. lying about their personal name, lying about when it would get in, lying about when it shipped…long story short I finally got shipping notification last thursday. they shipped it regular ground because there is a 1 ft piece of off size DOM in the order…OFF the soap box

so most people don't realize how much effort goes into building a rig like this. I will say this. THANK GOD THE FRONT IS DONE BEING CLEANED! I hate my grinder so much right now. it has been at least two solid weekends of grinding. given I am pretty sure it is easier to start from scratch, instead of cutting and cleaning off other peoples crap. We discovered that the original "builder" could not weld and his mentality is "if you can't weld right put an ass ton of weld on it". It has taken a lot of grinding time

the plasma part is fun but then comes the clean up phase. the big grinder, the small grinder, the high speed air sander the finally the die grinder
it renders results like this. both frame rails now look like this and are ready for plating. the plan is to MIG in a new 1/8" plate and fully blend it and sang in into what is left of the OEM frame. then we will put and over plate or fish plate to "stiffen" the frame over that. the Fish plate will be TIG welded so the aesthetics are top notch. we are working out a few details in the process right now because we are planing to french the air bump cans into the frame and we are trying to plan for that. we have put this much effort into fixing the frame and getting it this clean. don't want to pile on metal and have to hack up and awesome job to get bump cans in.

 

Yeah ballistic has been known to mess up alot of orders / quality parts that come out aren't top notch... Jon - (45acp) had 6 different sets of arms from them before he gave up and just ordered blank ones.

inb4 Mark makes his comment about how great ballistic is yet they fucked up his front d 60 shave kit

 

they seem to struggle in all areas. I have had production issues, pulling/packing/shipping issues, and completely atrocious (not to mention unethical) customer service issues. needles to say as I continue to build rigs I will be sending most if not all my business to Ruffstuff and Chassis Unlimited. they have been awesome. Another vendor I HIGHLY recommend is East Coast Gear Supply. those guys work stupid hard for your business and keep doing it so you keep coming. they are awesome

 

I agree it's easier to start from scratch, now your trying to fix someone's fuck up to get it in sonewhat stock form then modify. Do you regret the buy and wish you just bought a stick tacoma?

 

hmmm lookin good man

 

I hate ballistic as much as the next guy, but for some things they are the only one who makes them so you don't have a choice. I prefer ruffstuff, chassis unlimited, and ECGS rocks too

 

What spring rate are you using?

 

170/300
that is subject to change

 

so the weekend is almost done and I am recovering from my marathon building session. both David and I were off Friday, Saturday, Sunday so we pulled a long day Friday, and a 24 hour day yesterday…yes I just drug my ass out of bed.
Since every thing and I do mean everything is out that is coming out (minus the rear suspension and axel) we have started to add parts that are hard mounted and dictate how other parts get put in. for one it loos like I am not going to be using my brand new JBA long tube headers so look for them in the for sale section. right now it looks like they will kit the upper link on full compression but we will see. what I did get done was mount the Master cylinder…small victory but it took a little Souther ingenuity…I was using Mark's MC adapter and the T100 1 ton master cylinder…exactly the same set up he is running on hitch is my truck is a manual and the clutch is fed off the same reservoir as the brakes no big deal. I used a 1/2" NPT 3/8 plastic plumbing fitting ($.90) and a small syringe of the high dollar ($11.00) 3M epoxy. drill a hole in the reservoir and ream it out and clearance the baffles inside. be careful not to make the hole too large or you will need to get a new reservoir and try again. epoxy the fitting in and let it set up. make sure before you go glueing fittings in to remove all shavings from drilling and fitting…looks something like this



when you use an adapter like Marks you will need to modify the master cylinder. the mounting surface should look like this
you will also need to extend the push rod in the booster. Mark came through again and had to tutor me to help me get the push rod out.
steps are.
1) have a buddy push and hold the brake down.
2)using vices grips grab the aluminum part that the push rod is threaded into and back the push rod out. I actually had to use a battery impact to get the push rod out. be extremely careful when doing this step. the aluminum push rod base is only held in by three small tabs. if you bend a tab and that piece comes out you are pretty much screwed
3) thread in new longer home made push rod so it extenders slightly from edge of Master Cylinder and you are ready to install the MC and adapter

your push rod adapter is M6-10 thread. and it needs to be about 2" long when the acorn nut is installed. I found that a 2.5" bolt was completely threaded and about $2.00 versus the $25.00 they wanted for a piece of metric stainless threaded rod. I also used locktite on the acorn nut. push rod should look like this when done

 

So last ween when we stopped working the frame was filleted open and ground down smooth. with all the plate work going on this thing we decided we needed anew tool to do it right. it finial got here and I can't tell you how happy I am with this little gizmo. It is called a "Multi tool" but is basically a disc sander/belt sander that attaches to your bench grinder. I ordered it from trick-tool.com with several extra 24 grit, 40 grit, 80 grit, belts and disc. this allows for much much faster clean up and and more precise fitment of pieces of plate that are plasmaed out. at $200 I feel that this is most defiantly a MUST have tool for any one who fabricates or weld anything.


So now we have pt a plate on the frame. welding it up with the MIG and sanded it smooth taking care to only remove and shape the weld not and of the frame or the new plate. we started with angle grinders and flap disc and move up in grip count to finally finish with a air DA sander and 100 grit sand paper.

 

we also have the axel located and the lower links mocked up. we will have to get creative with the upper link and the pan hard to achieve some of the build goals of this project…I tend to be slightly aggressive and some times slightly impulsive and David it more methodical…so we balance each other out. When I try to crack the whip and drive on he tends to mellow me out and help me find some patience so when we hit san un planned obstacle we tend to stop that part of the build and just sit on it and stew. more than once it has led to a great outcome instead of wasted material and time from redoing shit. the upper link and pan hard are two such unforeseen obstacle.

we also got the steering box mount in and finish welded. we built the inner and outer plates out of 1/4" plate, the tubes a 1" .250 wall. we board the frame holes to 1"00 and fit with die grinder and files. The top plate is 1/8" plate made using cardboard template, cut, sanded to shape and bent. then finial fit sanding. Then she was welled up these welds well not be sanded

 

Damn you got alot done can't wait until the finished product

 

Awesome progress! This thing will be on the road before you know it

 

How are your burns today?

 

No burns I was taking pictures

 

.

 

Looks good.

So I take it you are using a IFS steering box?

 

What about the welder with no sleeves? What kind of numbers you lookin to achieve on the front?

 

correct with a flat pitman arm from SKY-MFG and the exact steering joints and shaft Mark used. they came from Summit
here are some up date photos.
fish plates going on



fish plates on



shocks being mocked up and the "style" piece at the the rear of the fish plate on the wheel well. steering box and spacer are in now



steering shaft is in