S.S. Minnow Build Thread
- Thread starter Footofgod
- Start date
KidVermicious
New member
Nice job on the climb. Is your hand throttle not working out?
BucknutBob
New member
Just a video of me trying to break it after I built it.
Nice climb, Bill. Looks like a fun area to play. What was the hesitation for at the beginning, like you were jumping out of gear or something? Were you aired down for this trail? You and SV are going to have so much fun out there!
Footofgod
New member
I was aired down to 18 PSI. I couldn't see the rock in front of me. So I was trying to inch up to it. Also stopped to listen to the guy spotting me. You can't see him in the video.
I have another problem which will soon lead to another mod. I am vertically challenged. At the right angle, I can't even see over the dashboard. I'm going to do a hockey puck lift......On my drivers seat.
BucknutBob
New member
That makes two of us! You should see how hilarious it is for a 5'6" guy to climb into a rig where the doorsill is around my chest! Good thing I still have some flexibility left...and a strong right arm to yank me in once I start up.
Footofgod
New member
Did you lift your seat at all. I can only imagine it is worse for you in that beast. I'm 5'6" on a good day.
BucknutBob
New member
No, no seat lift here. I just try to keep a mental picture of what's just ahead, but I have to remember even further out, with my hood being so high off the ground. I line her up as well as I can, and the rest is seat-of-the-pants and steering wheel movement. When getting in, I jam my right foot into the door opening, give a little hop with the left, and yank hard on the steering wheel, all the while making sure I duck the head just before swinging in--I'm sure it's quite comical to watch! Whenever I get my sliders on, I plan to get a simple step I can bolt on for daily drives, then unbolt for trail runs...you know, one of those "round-to-it" tasks.
Footofgod
New member
Been planning for a while now to pull the carpet and bedline the floor. Todays mud bath gave me the perfect opportunity. Talk about surprise! I pulled the carpet to reveal pristine factory paint! Not a drop of rust on it.
Not bad for a 21 year old 4runner. So the plan now is to leave the carpet out and bedline the floor so that I can just spray it out after wheeling. Should get to that sometime in the next few days.
Not bad for a 21 year old 4runner. So the plan now is to leave the carpet out and bedline the floor so that I can just spray it out after wheeling. Should get to that sometime in the next few days.
Footofgod
New member
Well it is about time I got to work on this thing! Started installing my OME lift today! Got the rear done with a little help from SV Dude!
Ran in to a little snag off the bat! My rear wheels and/or e-brake was siezed with concrete mud from my last little outing. Managed to get it in the garage and pull the drums. Cleaned out all this junk.
On to the lift. Here's my last look atthe stock suspension.
My shop partner wasn't too helpful.
Installed the panhard drop bracket. Had to pull it off, because the instructions said to do it after the springs, but here it is anyway.
Pulled the old shocks and a last look at the old springs.
New springs, YAY!
Installed new OME shocks.
Done with the rear!
Now I just have to figure out how to get it out of my garage.
I think I actually gained about 4 inches. 2" of lift and 2" of improvement over the old saggy springs. Still need to pick up some parts for the front. Hopefully I will be able to do that tomorrow and get rolling this weekend.
Ran in to a little snag off the bat! My rear wheels and/or e-brake was siezed with concrete mud from my last little outing. Managed to get it in the garage and pull the drums. Cleaned out all this junk.
On to the lift. Here's my last look atthe stock suspension.
My shop partner wasn't too helpful.
Installed the panhard drop bracket. Had to pull it off, because the instructions said to do it after the springs, but here it is anyway.
Pulled the old shocks and a last look at the old springs.
New springs, YAY!
Installed new OME shocks.
Done with the rear!
Now I just have to figure out how to get it out of my garage.
I think I actually gained about 4 inches. 2" of lift and 2" of improvement over the old saggy springs. Still need to pick up some parts for the front. Hopefully I will be able to do that tomorrow and get rolling this weekend.
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I think if we take off your roof basket and deflate your tires, we can get it out. If not, we'll figure something out. I'm sure we can get a cargo strap and use it to compress each side of the axle up towards the frame. That will give you a few extra needed inches for clearance.
Footofgod
New member
Ok, I HATE MUD. I can't get it started SOOOOOOOOO, I cleaned the contacts on the starter AGAIN. I get it to turn but not start. Pull the MAF and air filter both are pretty much toast as far as I am concerned. There is mud everywhere. I'm going to pull one out of a junker tomorrow and clean it up for re-install. Cleaning my whole intake system. I may even pull the plenum and clean it too. I'm pulling the alternator and radiator for cleaning as well. This is disgusting!!!! I'm sure nothing got in to the engine, but I will be scrubbing everything.
KidVermicious
New member
FoG, your jackstands worry me, are you sure they're safe? They won't give you any warning if they reach their limit, they'll probably just explode...
Footofgod
New member
Hence the reason I called SVD to bring over REAL jackstands. Most of it was done with real jack stands as the blocks did start to explode under pressure.
combatmedic
Banned
I laughed way harder at this than I should have.
KidVermicious
New member
Good deal. Not to call you out, just checking... :hatsoff:
Footofgod
New member
By all means, call me out. Hopefully it will keep someone else from making the same stupid mistake I almost made.
helo-mech
Member
You and SV need to start a "Why to stay away from MUD" thread. That way all the carnage for that 30 minutes of fun can be documented in one place for others to see and share. Of course it is like any other fun thing that has serious ramifications, until you do it yourself..........
