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The Squirrel (Samurai Slow Build)

Working on the Squirrel some last night and my ADD/OCD kicked in. I noticed a problem with one of my rear link joints.

:mad:
johnny_joint_fail_1.jpg


It just flat :puke: the guts out. After I got it apart, here is what I found. They have only been on 10-12 trips.

johnny_joint_fail_2.jpg


My best guess is that the grease I put in neved made it to the ball :dunno: Anybody else had this happen?
 
Haven't had that problem, although when I received mine there was grease around the center ball. I made the mistake of thinking it was greased from the factory.
After the first ride a snap ring popped of the joint, when I completely disassembled it was dry as a bone. I greased them all with marine grease and havent had any issues in 2 years

I just checked all the joints and they are still like new function wise .
 
midnight_f150 said:
Rig looks great. What brand 37s are you thinking about?

I'd like to try the 37" Creepy Crawlers or Trepadors, but I just love the TSL-SX so I may go to the 38.5. I'll have to see what the 36s act like.
 
Hope Springs Hauler said:
Working on the Squirrel some last night and my ADD/OCD kicked in. I noticed a problem with one of my rear link joints.
It just flat :puke: the guts out. After I got it apart, here is what I found. They have only been on 10-12 trips.
My best guess is that the grease I put in neved made it to the ball :dunno: Anybody else had this happen?

Yup, we used that style joint on Gin & Juice when it was built and they didn't last two rides. Switched to standard rod ends and no more problems.
 
Progress!! loller.gif

ALL current wiring has been gutted and will be replaced with new.
ALL brake lines are gone and will be re-routed.

A bit of time with a plasma cutter and a flap wheel and itt'l be time to test fit the motor, trans, and case. A good bit of the firewall, trans tunnel and passenger floor is going to be re-constructed.

we03092014-1.jpg


we03092014-2.jpg
 
Need to make a decision about brakes. Should I keep the firebird M/C and booster, or switch to Wilwood manual brakes?

The braking capacity of the current setup is adequate, but the pedal setup sucks as the clutch is combined with the brake pedal assembly. With the wilwood, I would like the dual MC, but I am unsure about bore sizes (3/4 or 7/8).
I am running yota calipers on the front and GM 3/4ton calipers on the rear.

What are some opinions?
 
Well, the decision was made for me. The cooling tube wanted to be in the same place as the booster. Wilwood it is...

More pictures soon. (Typical 12 lbs of **** in a 5lb sack)
 
I have the exact drivetrain gathered up to drop in my truggy, just need the time and $$ to rebuild the trans and case. Doing anything to the trans and/or t-case? And are you doin the wiring yourself?
 
Been away working in NC.

I am using a Dana 300 with the LoMax gears and twin sticks. I will be using a RMVB on the 904 Trans. Jims Performance did the ECM and Wiring Mods. I hate wiring with a passion so having it labeled and ready to go is a plus.

So far the install has been more like a "samurai meets sawzall" accident :eek:

engine_front.jpg


engine_side.jpg


904trans.jpg


As you can see, the engine needs to be lower and about 6in further back. Passenger floorboard is being relocated to provide exhaust clearance.
 
How's the ride quality with those shocks? I just picked up a used set and was thinking of running them on the front of my zuke.
 
wildfinger said:
How's the ride quality with those shocks? I just picked up a used set and was thinking of running them on the front of my zuke.

Its amazingly good considering that these were the leaf spring valved shocks and I am now coil sprung. Just make sure that you limit strap them on total length. I pulled the seal out of one when I was running the woops in Attica and topped out the shock.
 

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