Build Project : Back Burner

Landy_Andy

Landy_Andy

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 8, 2024
Member Number
7298
Messages
181
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BC Interior
After retiring early last year, decided it was time to build a real buggy... being an ex-pat & living up in the 'Great White North' the options for buying a kit are limited to say the least, or on a pensioners budget virtually non-existent.

So, after looking around & mostly lurking on here & other sites it was decided to build my own version of the JH/GB chassis that's now been discontinued.... please don't hate me for this.... I needed a basis that was proven & would give good driveability out the box...

So, after a good deal of time playing around with Bend Tech... we have a working design that'll give us something we can use on the local FSR's and haul to KOH, Moab & all the awesome places you guys get to wheel.

Have got the main chassis rails fabricated and am now starting to get the tube work prepared for building out the main cage. Drive line will probably be a LZ4, 4L60, doubler & NP241 as there cheap & reliable.

Thanks !

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Found a few pic's of the main frame rail construction on my phone, I used 3"x2"x3/16" wall tube over the original formed 1/8" wall to allow for more weld surface on the mitres and added 3/16' fishplates where possible. Cut a simple angle jig on my plasma table to help get all the mitres consistent as i don't have a fixture table, just a power floated concrete floor to work off.

Subframe is same as the original chassis, 1.5"x1.5"x.25" wall and I made up some captive nuts for the lower suspension mounting points. Was cheaper than getting them turned locally.

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Main frame assembly, keeping it all true was real fun !

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Axles will be home built 609's with 99-04 outers etc... nothing super trick just making stock F150 calipers fit up front & 3/4t chevy's in the rear. To keep the 'KISS' principles going 3rd's will be Yukon housings with deep gears, spool in the rear & a grizzly locker up front. Tires are probably going to be in the 38" - 40" range or whatever I can buy used locally.

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One of the real helps in the build was making my own CNC plasma table from the 'JD's Garage' plans, working outside in -20C temps isn't ideal but it keeps the smoke & dust down in the shop. I also have the V1 tube roller and am currently working on the V2 that I've mounted on top of my tube storage rack. Have figured out getting the Bend Tech tube wrapper profile into Fusion360 for cutting the copes when I start to build the main cage out, a real time saver & accurate on complex cuts too !

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You seem capable, dump the idea of the overrated 3/4T bow tie calipers and fab a bracket for superduty calipers. Why carry or repair mismatched parts?

It’s highly overlooked but it’s been discovered that matching calipers cure broken ****, strange chassis dynamics and the headache of master cylinder choice etc. Brake bias etc is for grocery getters.
 
Thanks for that, my plan was to use F150 calipers on the front with the F350 rear rotors (bore opened up to fit the UB's) I've already got, using on the rear would definitely keep things consistent. For a brakes I was thinking of the 'iBooster', my background is production engineering so wiring & electronics is second nature.
 
I was going to ask about the brake choice as well, what’s the goal that stock stuff won’t achieve?
 
Landy_Andy said:
Trying to save a few #'s where I can, looking for a 3500lb total weight...
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What’s the weight difference between front / rear stock f350 rotors?

I’m interested in following along how you like the brakes with the iBooster and f150 calipers. What master?
 
fl0w3n said:
What’s the weight difference between front / rear stock f350 rotors?

I’m interested in following along how you like the brakes with the iBooster and f150 calipers. What master?
Click to expand...
Haven't got that far yet... am thinking it'll be close to a stock F150 or maybe a bit larger diameter... need to compare the volumes of the F150 front to rear calipers still.
 
Made decent progress on the cage build, all the copes apart from one were cut using the plasma table and then bent up using my vertical bender. Really happy how the rear hoop turned out, only 0.9 degrees off horizontal... not bad for the first time :smokin:

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Getting the 'A' pillar copes clocked correctly using a POB bracket & digital angle indicator was critical, only to find it was 180 degrees off on the first tube.... what ??? After a bit of investigation I found I'd got the X-axis reversed on the plasma table for flat cutting. Will have to correct the stepper wiring later... :shaking:

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So, this is progress to date, next to create more cope g-code files & get the last of the lacing tubes prepared.
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Bit of an update, had the opportunity to pick up a reasonable Toyota 2.4L motor & transmission parts... so, that's what well be running with a low boost turbo.

Finalized the chassis design & got to work adding more tubes, really happy with how it's working out.

Picked up some PRP's for a smoking deal... I love saving $$$'s

Next to get the driveline fully installed now I have made a H?D transmission mount for the W59 gearbox, then build up the rear axle & get that mocked into place.

Then onto the turbo manifold, exhaust system & engine harness for the RusEFI ecu I'll be using with my own 70 pin connector daughter board.

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Slow progress at present, had to switch onto the lithium & solar upgrade on out NL 10-2 camper.

However, did get chance to redesign the ECM adapter board to use AmpSeal connectors, next to design a little 3D printed enclosure for it all.

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Used up the last of the DOM I had in making the doors, got some bear claw latches and made my own hinges to save some $ on buying heims... working out ok if a bit loose, maybe I'll have to drill them out & add some bushings at some point.

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Got to work making the turbo log manifold for a second time, some dumb ass welded the middle two t's backwards on the first one, I was so mad with myself :shaking:

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Back to RV works...
 
Keep nibbling away at those small detailed jobs, finished up the caliper mounting brackets for the front axle, kept them light weight but tried to make them nice & rigid.

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Also been dialing in the cut setting on my plasma table, is much improved on 1/4" plate now so decided to remake the door hinges as they had a bit too much play in them, also added some bronze top hat bushes for serviceability this time and I get more TIG practice too.

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Finally, started to work on the weld on beadlocks, first bolt ring was a bit too larger an OD, nothing a flap disc couldn't fix. Wil reduce the next a bit but a nice tight fit is ideal for more TIG practice.

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Borrowed a 8" steering ram and made the front axle mount, hopefully the tariff situation will get resolved soon so I can start ordering parts from the US again.... not paying 25% extra to the government for their incompetence !

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Finally, had my enclosure printed for the RusEFI ECM, worked out great and makes a nice robust & compact unit.

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Just picked up some late model F150 rear rotors to start the back axle so I can use the electric e-brake calipers.
 
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Landy_Andy said:
Borrowed a 8" steering ram and made the front axle mount, hopefully the tariff situation will get resolved soon so I can start ordering parts from the US again.... not paying 25% extra to the government for their incompetence !
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FWIW last few months I have not been charged any extra "tariffs", "autoparts" seem to be excluded at this point. this was picking up over the border in Washington and having stuff shipped Fedex.
 
mdogg said:
FWIW last few months I have not been charged any extra "tariffs", "autoparts" seem to be excluded at this point. this was picking up over the border in Washington and having stuff shipped Fedex.
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Yes there's no extra tarrif on autoparts even from rock auto. Standard tax/ duty applies.
 
Winchested said:
Yes there's no extra tarrif on autoparts even from rock auto. Standard tax/ duty applies.
Click to expand...

Interesting, a buddy got nailed with almost $100 on $220 of HUMVEE wheel centers a couple of weeks ago coming back over... maybe the CBSA guy was having a bad day :shaking:
 
Got the first bead lock welded out, going to cut the outer ring & do a tire test fit before I cut & build the rest... just to be safe ;-)

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Did some design on the rear F150 rotor conversion to fit the 99-04 UB's, cut an alignment jig so I could cut the 8 on 170 lug holes and open up the bore to match the UB's. Got one rotor cut & cleaned up only to find it won't fit over the UB's OD... darn, I double checked the dimensions on Rockauto before getting the rotors so I'm assuming these 'non-Ford' ones are made a bit different to get around copyright rules.

Thinking I'll just go back to plan 1 and use the the F250 rotors I already have and just make a transmission park brake down the road with an e-caliper. Need to find one for a thin rotor as the used Tesla ones are way to much $, maybe from a small Japanese car or SUV... will see what I find

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Landy_Andy said:
No shipping label, this was at the boarder in person with a CBSA guy.... 12% duty & 25% tariff on auto parts
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Guess that's what yea get for being honest.

Autoparts are covered under NAFTAs replacement program.

I've heard guys importing old auto's are getting effed over at the cdn border too.

Article of one guy buying a Challenger that was over $100k and couldn't afford the duty to bring it accross the border so it now sits in a storage locker.
 
Winchested said:
Guess that's what yea get for being honest.

Autoparts are covered under NAFTAs replacement program.

I've heard guys importing old auto's are getting effed over at the cdn border too.

Article of one guy buying a Challenger that was over $100k and couldn't afford the duty to bring it accross the border so it now sits in a storage locker.
Click to expand...
I think I figured it out... the parts were just laser cut steel hummer wheel centers, so it looks like the CBSA guy tariffed at the steel 25% as they didn't appear to be 'auto parts'... I guess it's a warning if your ordering just brackets etc from say Barnes, to make sure the delivery note clearly states 'auto parts'.
 
Back to building stuff...

Got the first wheel assembled, had to relocate the valve hole & do a bit of clearance for the tire chuck.

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Was a bit of a chore getting the first bead on by myself.... but all good in the end & it's still inflated so no leaks :flipoff2:

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Next to cut & build the other 3... did a quick tally of costs of materials used & it looks like the set of 4 will work out about $310, with plenty of 1/4" plate left over for parts down the road. I only paid $75 for the used tires so will be rolling for under $400... result !
 
Had a bit of time today so designed the rear caliper brackets. Cut the first out of 1/4" plate & found the caliper was a little too close to the rotor.

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Adjusted the offset dimension, increased the bearing pocket holes to 14mm to match the caliper & recut in 3/8" plate, perfect :rockon:

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Next to get some solid spacers turned up for both the front & rear caliper mounts, then there all done.

Now, just waiting on a steering column tube & U/J to arrive from GoatBuilt, then onto that little job.
 
Chipping away at the detail jobs...

Decided my Rusefi daughter board was a bit overkill for just a 2RZ 4 banger, so redesigned it to just use a single 35 pin AmpSeal connector & a M8 connector for the Canbus, next to get the new case 3D printed. This is more compact & suitable for this application but will support a V6 as well.

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Found a turbo in my price range that should be quick spool up and give us low to midrange power, switched out the stock 14psi waste gate actuator for a low boost 5psi replacement. None of the 'universal' mounting brackets worked so made my own. Had fun welding up the st/st down pipe, I have little experience of Tig on thin material so it was a challenge, at least the exhaust wrap will hide my embarrassing work :shaking:

Down pipe will be hard attached to the bell housing with the rest of the system on rubber mounts.

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Looking around for a small electric brake caliper that doesn't cost silly money to use as a transmission park brake... seem to be rather elusive...
 
Rest of the parts arrived for the 'uaEFI' & I got to work soldering it out. Powered up and... nothing.... after a bit of checking I realized I'd missed some via's between the top & bottom ground planes that connect the AmpSeal to the pin headers, nothing an overboard link can't fix :shaking:

Back to the PCB design & fixed my mistake, I also increased the width of the 12V tracks for extra current capacity as I'd made them a bit narrow.

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On to the bench PSU and we have life !

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Got to work with Tuner Studio & we see the battery voltage, that's all it'll be for now until I get the engine loom made up.

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Next little project will be a custom enclosure for the 'uaDash', it runs directly off the M8 CanBus connector I added to my board and uses a compact 5" screen that'll be ideal for the buggy. For a more standard car dash there is a 7" option but that requires a little more circuitry as it's only 5V supply and no direct CanBus input.

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Next to get the engine wiring started....
 
Ordered a 5" display & got down to designing a case for it in Fusion.

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The original layout of gauges had a few that I didn't need, so have made a start learning to code in LVGL & C++. Has been a long, long time since I wrote any form of code, I remember using 6502 assembler & BASIC :shaking:

This is as far as I've got at present but it's a start !

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