Project perseverance - start to finish

[Sean]

I use the Omni Calculators all the time. Good stuff.

 

[abrogate]

I use the Omni Calculators all the time. Good stuff.

You may be aware of WolframAlpha already, but if you are not it is worth checking out.

 

[chaplinfj60]

Thanks guys! I am proud of how they turned out. Sometimes things come together just right.



There is mechanical advantage to having a fulcrum, but I did not gain that with the bellcrank. The front and the rear shift rails have the same travel for getting into each position. I wanted the shift levers to have the same throw, so I made the bellcranks with equal length arms for a 1:1 movement. Even though the front and rear cranks have different length arms, they have the same mechanical advantage of 1. The shift lever length compared to the distance of the first ball stud from the shifter pivot is where there is mechanical advantage. I don't have the numbers in front of me though.

The real benefit of doing it the way I did is taking advantage of the space I had available for the shifters and the location of shift rails. I wanted to be able to pull the lever backward to push the shift rail forward.

I like using the site Omni Calculator for stuff like this. Their Fulcrum Calculator is simple to fool with and you can punch in your numbers to quickly see the mechanical advantage of your system. I could have made the shifting even easier by having different length arms. Part of why the cases shift so easily in the video is that there is no load on the gears, so nothing is in a bind. They can sometimes be stubborn when the shift collars are not lined up as well.

Hopefully that makes some sense, because I am honestly having a hard time putting it into words.

makes good since. i have the exact same issue with seat on tcase . so you gave me a path forward to figure this shit out. thanks again....

 

[chaplinfj60]

slee?

 

[abrogate]

Back to the buggy. The firewall was another daunting task on the list. I have seen some super simple and well thought out firewalls over the years and I guess I took no notes... I wanted essentially a dog house where I could still see out of the driver and passenger footwells, but also had nearly full coverage of the motor and exhaust. I started with some poster board and made a multi piece system that could be removed from the vehicle easily. OK, kinda easily...

The firewall ended up being four pieces. The two smaller pieces could be removed from the larger ones so you can access the spark plugs easily. I welded a flange on the bottom edge of the larger pieces so that they would bolt to the floor pans nutserts. All that sticks through the back is the ECM wiring and the MAF/filter.

 

[pennsylvaniaboy]

Bummppp

 

[abrogate]

I dusted the buggy off this Sunday. I miss getting out in the woods. Aside from slowly baking in the humidity, I had great time. Maybe I will resume this build thread.... for now here are some crappy videos..

 

[94toytruck]

Yeah man, glad to see you knocked the dust off!

 

[Firstram]

Your body panels are slick but the roof lines are sweet

 

[abrogate]

Sorry I disappeared for a bit. I think I left off with the firewall system. After that nonsense was sorted out, I worked on the center console. I wanted 2 cup holders that had drains and would fit a large beverage with a koozie, USB chargers, triple shifter cover and maybe a place for some speakers. Here is what I came up with:


He is scary!!!

 

[abrogate]

I had this Maxxima brake/reverse combo LED laying around from my old rig and wanted to keep it relatively protected. The dilemma was that it is a surface mount light, not a grommet mount. I didn't want it to protrude from the sheet metal, so I frenched it in the rear panel. In hindsight, I would have made the french 1/2" less deep.

The plugs do encroach in the very limited storage area, but I have not had issues with this. I got some 90 degree plugs and wire loomed everything tight later.

With most of the aluminum work out of the way, I was able to focus on the roof panels. The tubing and panel layout for the roof is designed this way because I have always hated being strapped in your harness and needing to lean forward to look at/up the obstacle/hill you are approaching. This layout allows me to sit back comfortably with the shoulder harness on and have the visibility I like and giving me overhead protection from the sun and some degree of protection in a roll over. Yeah, it is kinda like a yarmulke, but whatever :) I like it.

 

[abrogate]

A few more of the roof after finishing the tabs.

The mostly finished firewall wraps the engine 75% and front half is easily removed for pulling plugs. Bellow you can also see the cowl mounting tabs. Remove six bolts and the hood and cowl lift off completely.

 

[abrogate]

The Bent Fabrication skid plate and subframe I built this buggy around covered the transmission and transfer case entirely, giving me a flat belly. The skid plate is removeable, if you have been eating your Wheaties... The Kevko pan was sorta exposed though, so I wanted some reassurance and built this mini skid that ties into my motor mounts. In hindsight, I would not build it this way as the drop down structure is on the engine side of the bushings and the skid plate it ties into is on the chassis side of the bushings. However, I have had it this way for several years and not had an issue. Maybe it will present itself in the worst ways, but I have put it behind me... for now.

The front lip of the skid was just UGLY and I trimmed it later, I promise.

Proof below

I trimmed the rear of the skid and made a bump out for the 205.

The engine skid has come in handy. I have scraped it several times, but not because it hangs too low, just bad driving. The Kevko pan is just sheet metal, so I sleep much better with this in place.

 

[abrogate]

I wanted an adjustable, removable oh-shit bar for my passengers. I had an extra steering wheel disconnect so I utilized it and came up with this lil guy:

I also wanted a simple adjustable foot rest. It works okay, you can flip it one way for most kids, flip it the other for most adults. No one has complained yet and I always see the passengers use it.

 

[abrogate]

The punch list of pre-paint fab stuff can seem endless.

Rock lights and fire extinguisher

Barrier between cargo and fuel cell

License plate holder

Recovery points

Overhead light

Joe's Racing mirror

Dual Bussmann RTMR fuse blocks, one for the powertrain, one for accessories. The Anderson plug is for trickle charging the Optima and jump ing if needed. I have a set of cable that are set up for this.

Master kill

 

[abrogate]

My last real task before tear down weld/weld out was the side panels. The skins are 0.040" so I was able to tank roll three sides and do an offset at the bottom for rigidity. I kinda wish I had a mouse hole for your foot to step into, maybe someday. I haven't hurt myself yet getting in and out, but some passengers have complained.

My favorite picture of the build, my Masterpiece in Metal.

 

[abrogate]

I was finally at the point of tearing it down completely to weld the hard to get spots. Then it was what felt like an eternity of scotch-brite HJ to clean the rust from the tubing.

 

[abrogate]

I was working for Proffitt's Resurrection Land Cruisers at the time and we could use the shop equipment after hours and on weekends with permission. I have never been much for painting stuff and as a welder that was always someone else's job. My co-worker Alex helped me figure out how to work the booth and we primed and painted it over a weekend. I used Majic I.H. White 8-0951 for tractors. It turned out way better than I expected and has been really durable.

 

[abrogate]

The paint prep continued with the black parts.

I took the opportunity to paint the 203/205 and clean up my TH400

Randy helped me start assemlbing as soon as the paint cured. I really like that I can drop the engine and trans out the bottom with a lift.

We hung the 203/205 next

I think at this point I went into a beer/taco induced coma. Obviously I had a lot ahead of me still, but the light just kept getting brighter at the end of the tunnel.

 

[abrogate]

The next day was a solo assembly marathon until my parts pile was significantly reduced.

 

[abrogate]

I had not installed the coilovers yet because I needed to lengthen the reservoir hose. These are old ass shocks that I bought used and broken. So far, they have worked great.

While the buggy was on the lift, I took the opportunity to replace the TH400 shift arm seal

I slapped the seats in next and added coolant. Since the buggy was wired and plumbed prior to tear down, almost everything was just reassembly, fluids and bleeding.

It was a driver. I had to take it in and out of the shop as I wrapped stuff up. Its interesting to see how small the buggy actually is next to 80 series and regular FJ40's.

 

[abrogate]

Winch rope and hood

Testing lights out at night

 

[abrogate]

After it left the shop, I did the checklist items at my house.

 

[abrogate]

Before I went wheeling, I needed to shorten my 4" bumps stops. I don't recall off the top of my head what length they ended up being, maybe 3" travel? Super simple process and it eliminated the slapping sound of the air bumps hitting too early.

I also made a triple shifter plate. I had some 1/4" 6061 scrap that worked out perfectly.

 

[abrogate]

I lived a few minutes from the Uncompahgre National Forest and BLM land surrounding the Black Cayon and cruising the access roads was my first shakedown. I knew things worked well as I had tested everything prior to teardown. It was a great first trip out. Solo, just admiring the yaers of hard work behind me now. It was awesome.

Joy riding had me excited to hit some trails. 21 Road in GJ was the first stop.

I found the limit of my decade old eBay D60 35 spline outers. The first large obstacle that I clawed at eventually snapped the driver front axle, inner and outer were trashed.

Anyone ever use the D60 axle seals that used to be made by MAD4WD? I had installed these long ago and they worked great. I guess MAD is no longer around. Its kinda amusing to see how many antiquated parts still hold up. Looking at those Longfield drive slugs....

 

[94toytruck]

I had those Mad4wd seals i my old rig. My buggy has Seals-it seals that are basically the same.

 

[abrogate]

I had those Mad4wd seals i my old rig. My buggy has Seals-it seals that are basically the same.

I’ll have to check those out. These really helped with crud in the tubes. Now that I’m back in the MidWaste I need them again due to mud.