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BBtank45's Build Thread

bbtank45

Under Construction
Joined
Apr 12, 2012
Messages
354
Location
Cincinnat, OH
Long time listener, first time caller. Been a Hardline regular for several years now, but haven't posted much on my build till now. I have always been a lover of trail riding, doesnt matter what the vehicle is.....buggy, truck, quad, tractor or bobcat. Bear with me now....first time builder here.

Caught wind of a 1985 4runner (in 2011) for sale on a local diesel forum. It had been lightly wheeled before and had some basic parts to get me going; 5.29's, high steer, lockers and a half ass bob-job :rolf:. Took a weekend during college, grabbed dads truck and trailer and made the trek from Cincinnati to Columbus to get a better look. She appeared to be rough on the edges but had a solid frame .....so i purchased it for $1300 and all the spares parts came with the deal.




It wasnt really capable of beating when i got it home, so i dove in head first. Started by cutting off the hack bob-job....Fortunately, the previous owner still had the removed portion of the bed. At this point, my plan was to still be able to street drive to local property to wheel. That plan changed quickly, anyhow...


Welded her on, even smeared a little bondo on it too!


After wheeling a little bit locally for a few months, loaded her up and headed to Harlan for the first time. Still to this day, my favorite place to ride.

Group shot at the Evarts camp ground at the base of the zipline.

After going to Harlan and seeing what real wheeling was all about, decided i needed to step up my safety game. Started reading everything I could, and convinced myself i would give some cage work a go. Picked a JD^2 bender up off Craigslist, bought some painters tape, borrowed a friends 110v welder....and started laying out my exo cage. I wanted to be able to slide the removable top off.

Todd Puckett hooked me up on some 1.5" x .120 DOM, so i started bending. Hell of a nice guy right there.

I regret the time I spent to make this hokie looking, ineffective windshield bracing... ehh, im learning.

Ugly? Yes, but it should keep me safe in a flop.

Wheeled it for a few years, had plenty of fun.....then made the decision to start a rear 4 link. I didnt have a smart phone at the time, so the pictures are few and far between. Took a stab at fabricating a recentered FJ60 rear axle with mini truck outers. Ay this point i had grenaded two ring and pinions.....Both of which I think were incorrectly setup (by me). THE FJ60 9.5" gear set would be my solution....and ultimately was. Put the fj60 up front on the leaves. Reused my Longfields, added some six shooter knuckles, trunnion bearing eliminator, hydro assist, dual 2.28 cases and 38.5 boggers. I was starting to discover that the fabrication, was amost as much fun as the wheeling i was doing.




Made a run to Haspin...this is how she ended up. Cut the HF winch and mount off too.

Started noticing the rear cab section scraping rocks/trees during obstacles, so i chopped it off and slapped some cheapo wake speakers on her too. Headed back to Harlan for some more punishment.



Most of you will recognize that as the Waterfall at Harlan....that trip didnt end up quite so well. Nuked the motor (spun a main bearing) beating the piss out of the already worn out 22re. For the prior two years, i had been running 90w gear oil as motor oil in hopes to retain more oil than i burned. It worked well for a while...Got home and pulled the motor out. Circa Spring 2014. This is when i put the old turd under the knife...Yanked out the Toyota running gear and sold everything locally. It was going to take a lot of work to get back on the trail...looking like this.

A couple months after we got back from Harlan, my brother decided he wanted to part ways with his old yota....and stepped into the one ton world.

Hmm, should i take the one ton route too? Of course. Got ahold of a set of CUCV axles, LP 60 with 14B out of an 85 K30.



I have always had a strong liking for the np205's, cheap and generally plenty strong for most wheelers.

Made the mistake of dealing with Jacob @ Behemoth. He did make some nice products, just couldnt run a business. Jacob and i didnt get along....long story short, he drove from Leitchfield, KY to Cincinnati to hand deliver the rest of my parts. Eventually, the 205 came together. Its a shorty box with a 241 planetary (2.72:1). I replaced the front output shaft with a 32 spline front output (not shown in the pic below).

Still have a ton of work ahead of me..

Picked up this cheap little gem here on Hardline from a member locally. 2001 4.3 out of a blazer, 30k miles with a buggy harness and 2 to 1 exhaust. I hope she has enough ass to get me around the trails......till i build an LQ9. I planned to building everything from the transmission to the drive flanges to withstand 400hp, which is where i would like to be at some point down the road. The 4.3 will allow me to worry a little less about breakage too while i learn how to wheel this new setup....hopefully.

Found a junkyard th350 to go with. I knew i wanted to rebuild it and sent it over to friend of my dads who built trans years ago...
Th350 with the basics....TCI rebuild kit with alto red clutches, kevlar band, 1800 stall Hughes converter, hardened sprag, bronze bushings and thrust washers, TCI rev manual valve body with engine braking. Art Car shifter (Used on Hardline) and a derale cooler. Fragola lines with Redline high temp ATF.

Slid her in there :cougar:

Plated the frame and built a cross member for the 205. Oh yeah, i chopped the floor and rest of the body out.

Built in some rear storage...the lady friend likes to cook, so she asked to have a place to store some dry goods. Its the least i could since i was burying myself in the barn instead of spending time with her...

Bought these big non-sticky mofo's. Picked up the used allied on here for cheap. Not sure i would have bought the 47's again, but i have them now....they're getting used and abused.

Started rebuilding the front of the frame i chopped off and worked on the 4 link. Thank you to Patoyee on here for the help on the link #'s.


Gutted the rest of the yota interior and started to rebuild. Corbeaus, SpeedHut Gauges (Trans temp, Coolant Temp, Fuel PSI, Oil PSI, Voltage), Cole Hersee waterproof switches and ignition.

Started on the front tube work and winch mount. Running an XRC8 with Duraline.



Some engine cage work. When I take the motor out, i plan to remove it through the bottom of the chassis, but it is able to come out the top.

Added some gusseting...

Bought a sheet of steel and started cutting cardboard. I dont have a plasma cutter, but i do have 4 HF angle grinders....lots of cut off wheels.

Removable center panels so i can access the doubler and carrier bearings.



Started to get pretty burnt out on cutting, so I diverted back to prepping the axles....and installing the hard parts.
LP D60 - Yukon 35 spline chromo's with Superjoints, Solid knuckles, Reid Bronze KP Bushings, Sunfire Offroad Drive Flanges, 4WheelSupply Double Shear steering arms (keyed), TG 8" ram fed by a KRC pump, spool, SORD truss and differential cover, 4.56 gears.
14 Bolt - SORD truss and differential cover, GM Detroit, Lugnut 4x4 Disc Brake.

Starting to look like something i can wheel again...a little.


Threw up some plastic and broke out the paint gun.

Primer'd

Painted


Driveshafts. Combination of 1410 driveline parts from WOD, Heman Fab and Northern Drivetrain. Midship shafts are 3" x .25" wall and the driveshafts are 2.5" x .25" wall.

Rolled her outside for a last blast of motivation to wrap it up and get back on the trail. Time to start plumbing and wiring. This was in May, '16.







Fired it up on Sunday and had a pretty bad leak coming from one of the trans lines. Ordered the correct fitting and should have it today. Tonight, I should be moving it under its own power! :driving:

That's my build so far. Thanks to Hardline and all who have contributed throughout.

Hope to meet some of you at the Hardline ride in August.

Ben B.
 
Great build Ben, other than the body, axles, engine, tubing, running gear, suspension, paint, it looks just like you bought it. :smoke:
 
CHASMAN9 said:
Great build Ben, other than the body, axles, engine, tubing, running gear, suspension, paint, it looks just like you bought it. :smoke:

Thank you very much Gregg. For the most part, I'm pretty happy with how it is coming together. Its been way more a project than i bargained for....but its almost done, finally. thumb.gif
 
Re:

Awesome....I love watchin trails change over the years.

Used to drive up that hill in my daily driver Explorer on 33s....rear locker.

Now...the first ledge swallows up a 43. ;)
 
bbtank45 said:
Its been way more a project than i bargained for....but its almost done, finally. thumb.gif



They always are and always will be more than you bargain for and you will never say "It's done". I've tried and I just can't seem to say those words. Keep it up. thumb.gif
 
I appreciate the words of encouragement! Thank you.

Couple more rando's.....

I wheel with the CORE (Cincinnati Off Road Enthusiasts) from time to time. This is the helicpoter pad at Harlan....in Spring, 2014. Im sure there several of you with similar pictures in the same spot. Beautiful view out over Harlan up there.


Lower Rock Garden


School bus? or Little Mule? @ Windrock. Only been to Windrock once and ready to go back.


Local wheeling spot, Haspin.
 
Nothing earth shattering to update on my build but i have made some improvements. Starting to finally enjoy it.....wasnt very happy with it when i first "finished" it. A lot has been maintenance and working build bugs out.

1) Did some shock revalving with Scott @ Sunfire and added bumps to the front.

2018-08-03_10-44-19 by Ben Burwinkel, on Flickr

2) Swapped out my 6 turn orbital for a trail gear orbital.

3) Trimmed front and rear tubing to allow for better tire clearance. Adjusted my dual rate stops.
20180508_195743 by Ben Burwinkel, on Flickr

4) Had a lean issue i was fighting....losing what little power i have on the top end. Converted the truck from SCPI to MPFI (best money ive ever spent on this turd). Also relocated an O2 to better position in the Astro Van header.

20180722_123912 by Ben Burwinkel, on Flickr
20180716_141515 by Ben Burwinkel, on Flickr

5) Ditched the old aluminum sump style fuel cell for a JAZ and Walbro (4 position draw) tank. I was running out of fuel at parks like Harlan and Windrock.....and losing fuel on off camber climbs (most notably, the exit out of Lions Den).

20180610_174344 by Ben Burwinkel, on Flickr
2018-08-03_10-43-41 by Ben Burwinkel, on Flickr

6) Was stripping rear hub studs, converted to studs. Problem solved so far.

2018-07-19_09-25-34 by Ben Burwinkel, on Flickr

7) Cut the 47" LTB's which helped a lot....theyre far from a great tire, but they have their advantages and the cutting improved them.
Snapchat-383131561 by Ben Burwinkel, on Flickr

8) Added a CB. It still sucks and doesnt work right....need to fix.

20180521_204834 by Ben Burwinkel, on Flickr
 
Damn you changed up alot, I don't believe I've ever seen any one put studs on a FF hub. Did the bolts strip from maintenance or was this a wheeling damage repair ?
 
P said:
Damn you changed up alot, I don't believe I've ever seen any one put studs on a FF hub. Did the bolts strip from maintenance or was this a wheeling damage repair ?

I actually noticed the threads were pulling on certain bolts when i was building the axle....i wheeled it anyway. Eventually I was down to only 3 of the 8 bolts actually holding torque. I took a new 14 bolt hub and put studs in it to fix. Got the idea from a thread on here...

http://www.hardlinecrawlers.com/forums/index.php?topic=58152.0
 

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