Project 1Ton "build thread" Many Pic's!

[GonOvr]

Well i guess it being Friday night and i might have to work in the morning i might as well start a build thread for my current ridiculous project.

First off i'm a overboard type guy. Usually things work out for the better sometimes not so much. I know this type of build isnt for everyone. That's ok though, i didn't build it for you i built it for me. I like building things that flashy, fast, and capable. I also find the most expensive to build things, so if you have to ask how much then probably it's way too much.

This build will be for anyone that is looking to do any of the modifications that i have done to further help them in their decision making. Plus it will give a better idea of what all is involved.

Lets begin!

Basic 1992 4runner SR5 w/everything except leather and sunroof. Very well maintained and very clean inside. It had a 3.0l/auto combo, my headgasket wasnt blown but i had a bent exhaust valve on no.4 cyl, it was leaking fuel from under the intake and it couldnt hold power steering fluid to save it's life.

Now comes the body lift (3") yes i know and i hate them but its the only way to keep your heater and clear the chevy distributor on the firewall.

Next was the powerplant removal. Typical engine removal except i pulled the engine, transmission, and t-case out as a whole. My yota friends robbed what i didnt need everything else went to the scrap yard.

Just a thought... when you have the engine out it would be a great time to clean the engine bay up. I couldn't believe how clean it was afterword!

With IFS

Deleting IFS

IFS Gone

Next i smoothed the frame rails with a grinder and many hours. This is very time consuming!

Boxed the motor mounts in with 1/8" plate steel and 1/8" strap steel on top

I used SKY manufacturing for most of the conversion suspension wise. They are local in my home state and great guy's to work with!
The front hanger actually bolts into the factory cross member so you can set it flush, 1" forward or 2" forward. I set mine flush since my springs have centering pins 2" forward. Bolting it to the cross member takes the guess work out of making sure its aligned.

Only picture I have of the shackle mount. It's a typical sleeve through frame mount but Sky uses boomerang shackles.(side note if you use these the long portion mounts to the frame. I had to flip mine later, the picture is the wrong way!)

Next Post I will start cutting out the Rear!

 

[hondaracer11]

keep us posted!! sick build!!!:guitar3:

 

[GonOvr]

OK, had some dinner now moving onward.
Since the front was setup for springs i moved to the rear.
With a lot more torching, grinding, i removed the rear by cutting the trailing arms, pan hard bar and shock shafts.

Then I finished off the brackets and smoothed the frame out which brings us to zero running gear.

Moving back to the front end, i start hanging springs. If you do a SAS weld your shock hoops/towers in until you have the vehicle weight on the springs. This could put your shocks at an angle binding the bushings.
I chose Alcan springs because they really know springs. Mine are 8" custom packs with centering pins 2" forward. They are very soft!

Springs are hung, now time to work on the front axle!
My front is a Dana 60 chevy pass. drop axle. Im not running full width springs, instead i made my 60 fit my 4runner. I narrowed my axle tubes 2.75" on the passenger side and 5.75" on the drivers side so i can use the factory cast in perch and my axle is 61"WMS which is 1-2" wider than a toyota axle. I also rotated the outer C's 8* to get my pinion angle up without messing with my steering geometry.

I also had my inner shafts cut down to match. Dutchman axles took care of this.

I went with an Eaton E-locker w/4.88 yukon gears. They had pretty good reviews and i didnt want to run an air system since i retained my A/C, so ARB was a No-Go for me.

Riddler Diff Covers! Are ridiculously awesome alone.

All finished with assembly and under the runner.

Next up... Powertrain but that will have till tomorrow.

 

[T?@\7]

And then I said

GODD@MN!

nice all around setup, unlimited funds looks like good clean fun! Keep us posted brother!:beer:

 

[4runner_kid]

Look's sick.

 

[Casper421]

Hmm...whats that pretty orange thing hanging from the engine crane in the background?

Amazing job so far! Looks b!tchin!! :thumb3: love the transformation, keep up the good work and keep us posted!

 

[GonOvr]

Hmm...whats that pretty orange thing hanging from the engine crane in the background?

Amazing job so far! Looks b!tchin!! :thumb3: love the transformation, keep up the good work and keep us posted!

Ask and you shall receive!

 

[T?@\7]

so what race team are you affiliated with?!?

 

[GonOvr]

Good Morning Korea... Actually thats a lie it's never a good morning here.
Moving forward to powertrain!
Might as well start with the engine. I decided a good ol 383 was in order for this build. I wanted goobs of low end torque with plenty of High End HP
Block:3970010 High nickel casting, most sought cast iron 350 block. This one happens to be out of a '69 Camaro (sorry Camaro guys) 4-bolt main.
Full forged, Full roller
Lunati rowdy idle bump stick (cam)
Cloyes adjustable timing gears, chain, and cover
Canfield monster valve aluminum heads (ported & Polished).
Weiand single plane high rise manifold (ported & Polished)
Proform Race 850 Carb
Sanderson Headers (Port Matched)
MSD Ignition (6AL)
March Serpentine Conversion

For powertrain conversion i went with Advance Adapters. I only used bolt in motor mount adapters for the engine.
I did have to "massage" the firewall very little. I had to dimple the hump right by where the A/C lines go into the firewall to give the passenger side valve cover some room. I also used Big Block motor mounts to get the engine alittle lower in the engine bay.

Now for the Transmission
This was a 2wd Th400 that I converted to a 4wd trans (replaced tailshaft and removed tail cone).
It has a full manual reverse valve body, all the moving parts are billet and kevlar, TCI torque converter, deep aluminum pan.

installed, this is about where the transmission will sit complete, as you can see there is plenty room all around... again thanks to the body lift. When doing a conversion like this make sure your transmission pan is level with the ground. alittle angle is ok but dont get crazy.

Next up is the T-Case
I chose an Atlas II because they are Bad-A$$ and are Me proof.
This one gets a Two-Speed 4.3 Case with upgraded shafts and 1350 1-Ton Yokes.

I used advance adapters Th400 to Atlas adapter since it is their T-case.
I had to clock the T-case down 25* to get it to fit. Even with the body lift there isnt much room for this hunk of billet.
I used a toyota 4cyl cross member and modified (more metal and welding) it to accept my new mount bushing.
You probably seeing tires on, well i didnt have any other pictures but dont worry i'm coming back to that.

Coming up next Tires, Wheels, and Rear Axle.

 

[4runner_kid]

Why did you decide to cut the axle's down so far?

 

[GonOvr]

so what race team are you affiliated with?!?

U.S.Army Racing... Its a Government Sanctioned Organization. :50cal:

 

[GonOvr]

Why did you decide to cut the axle's down so far?

I set it up to be legal in most states. I like saying I have a Toyota width 1Ton. I'm not a fan of having full width axles under a mini truck. If I wanted a strictly crawler rig I'll build a buggy with mog axles (which will happen). I wanted something i could cruise around, play in most wheeling environments, not worry about breaking and not have to worry about getting harassed by the police.

 

[4runner_kid]

I set it up to be legal in most states. I like saying I have a Toyota width 1Ton. I'm not a fan of having full width axles under a mini truck. If I wanted a strictly crawler rig I'll build a buggy with mog axles (which will happen). I wanted something i could cruise around, play in most wheeling environments, not worry about breaking and not have to worry about getting harassed by the police.

Sound's good. Keep posting picture's. :cheers:

 

[GonOvr]

OK now that i had breakfast.
Tires!
40x14.50R18 BFG Mud-Terrain KM2

Make believe test fit... i think they will clear just fine. That's me and i'm 6ft. flat to give you an idea.

Wheels are Ion Forged Thunder's 18x10 -25mm offset

If you look you will see the shackles are now flipped the right way.

Front wheels are on and back on the ground.

Time for a rear axle break down.
I chose a dana70U rear axle mainly because i have a really good friend in colorado that gave me one. It also has a smooth bottom for sliding off rocks and such.
This axle was actually a utility van dually axle out of a late 70's van.
I narrowed this axle 1" passenger side and 3.5" on the driver's side for another 61"WMS. 4.88:1 Yukon gears and a detriot locker.

Since the rear will be used the most i put 35 spine yukon chromoly axles in.

Since it wont be a dually anymore i did a disc brake conversion out back using 3/4ton chevy front calipers, caliper brackets from great lakes offroad, '76 ford dana 60 front rotors, machined the hubs 1mm to accept the rotors and pounded shorter studs in. End product, a disc brake single wheel dana 70U.
Another Riddler diff cover!

Next up Rear axle and spring mock up!

 

[4runner_kid]

This remind's me of my old truck. Dana 60 front and a Dana 70U rear on 40's.

 

[GonOvr]

Ok we went from this

To this

Rear axle mockup was not as easy as the front axle since the front axle spring hanger bolted in, it took the guess work out of alignment.
The rear axle has to be aligned.
First thing we got the axle under the truck.
Since i dont have a 2-post lift we used a bobcat and an engine hoist to pick up the rear.
DONT TRY THIS! HYDRAULICS FAIL!

To get the rear axle aligned we hung a washer with fishing line on each side in the center of the wheel well opening.
Line up the washer to the axle tube and your centered in the wheel well.
If you look close my friend steve is pointing directly at the fishing line.

Spring hanger and shackle hanger are tacked in. Dont weld up up on the first try, more than likely you will get it wrong like i did. Its alot easier to break tack welds than grind full ones.
Now that vehicle weight is on the springs you can see the shackle angle. In my case i had too much shackle angle and i had to break off my shackle mounts and move them back 3/4" .

Being satisfied with that. We put the wheels on the back and put it on the ground. I have 8" springs all around. As you can see you have to lift the rear higher than the front. In my case i had a 4" rake to the rear.

Since i already paid 1k in springs i had to lift the rear end up. Toyota 4" blocks go in. Once i got the pinion pointed at the T-case i burned everything in.

Now we are here.

From this

To this

Next up Fuel, Exhaust, Shocks.

 

[Casper421]

:wow: Amazing transformation!! Keep it up!! :cheers:

 

[GonOvr]

:wow: Amazing transformation!! Keep it up!! :cheers:

Thanks man! Stay tuned... there's alot more to come.

 

[4runner_kid]

Are you going to end up welding the front spring hanger on or you just leaving it bolted?

 

[cometobanks]

Oh gawd, brace yourself for people hating on your use of lift blocks... I made the same mistake (shackle angle) when I did my rears. Your not alone. Im excited to see your drive shaft and steering solutions. cool rig,color me jealous!