Hi All,
Just doing some thinking out loud and after a little input regarding it....
The plan for the new zook is slowly developing in my mind and one issue that keeps popping up is how to fit a bigger tire on a zook without lifting it too much.
The current plan is something like a 36 or a 38 inch swamper on a sierra chasis with OME rear springs all round - but the aim is to do it without a body lift and without a SPOA.
Some ideas that have been suggested to me are:
1. Use an LJ80 Body as the fire wall is further back and the front grill is skinnier so that the head lights will be out of the way, then mount it on the chasis futher back then normal and cut and extend the body over the rear wheel arches to fit them in too.
2. Use tubing to replace the front grill and move the head lights forward and inward to make enough room for the tires.
3. Cut some gaping holes and replace the current w/t flares with the rubber sheeting / super wide flares etc...
What i'm also considering is the possiblility of moving the firewall backwards - i gather this should be okay but don't really know about the issues with pedals and dash area....
So what i'm after is some information about moving / cutting the firewall out, what issues will i come accross trying to do this, and how do i get around them?
And, what do i do about head lights - can i just move them where-ever and expect it to work?
any info would be much appreciated.
thanks all,
Greg
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bigger tires on a zook
For starters decide what vehicle you are going to use. going to a 36 or 38 tyre is going to mean some pretty serious mods so it wont make too much of a difference which vehicle you start with.
Regardless of what vehicle you use my suggestion would be to cut the back off it and tube it out, or at least remove the body and put a tray on there. For the front i'd be removing the guards and tubing them as well. The front axle will have to come forward quite a bit. Extend the chassis rails at the front and move the leaf springs forward or go to a coil setup. You should be able to achieve 90 degrees+ approach & departure then.
The pics shows you an example of what i mean about tubing the front guards. Hopefully Sam will chime in coz he's done a few buggy type rigs.
Regardless of what vehicle you use my suggestion would be to cut the back off it and tube it out, or at least remove the body and put a tray on there. For the front i'd be removing the guards and tubing them as well. The front axle will have to come forward quite a bit. Extend the chassis rails at the front and move the leaf springs forward or go to a coil setup. You should be able to achieve 90 degrees+ approach & departure then.
The pics shows you an example of what i mean about tubing the front guards. Hopefully Sam will chime in coz he's done a few buggy type rigs.
sorry Damo but from that angle the tube zook looks like it is wearing a pair of Dame Edna's glasses...
overkill wrote:It would be possible to fit the 38 but it will have to be a n all tube body.Why do you not want to spring over?? My body is actually lower on the chassis than a standard one and39.5s will fit. What diffs and driveline are you planning to run.
I'm not sure about what diffs and driveline to run as yet - it will probably depend on how one of the guys in the zook club goes with his 36's on widetrack sierra axels. might lean towards something like a spidertrax sidewinder in the future.
thinking against the spring over because i want to keep the body and very low on the chasis. so i think i'd prefer to cut the body more rather than raise it over the top of the tires.
For best bang for your buck value i'd suggest hilux axles
I'm interested to hear how that guy goes with 36s on zook axles. What sort of terrain does he wheel? Is he a leadfoot?
Spidertrax? yeah nice, but... CHA-CHING!!!! Sam at Overkill is doing funky things with custom axles, u might wanna talk to him
Cutting is good
I'm interested to hear how that guy goes with 36s on zook axles. What sort of terrain does he wheel? Is he a leadfoot?
Spidertrax? yeah nice, but... CHA-CHING!!!! Sam at Overkill is doing funky things with custom axles, u might wanna talk to him
Cutting is good
I guess Grimbo would describe the terrain we drive a little better than me but it is mostly mud and dirt - lots of hill climbs but they are rutted hills or mostly clay and mud - not too much in area of rocks down here for us to play on - as per the photo's he posted last week.
I wouldn't describe the fellow with the 36's as a lead foot - he's got twin x-fer's and spends most of his time driving very slowly.
i've been looking at the thread with Sam's axels - still waiting to see the dollar amount attached to it.
The idea with the 38's is almost just a keeping up with the Jones' kind of investigation - currently i'm running 34's and not running into too much difficulty on the trail - but since someone else has raised the bar - it's worth a look to see about going bigger still - sort of a friendly competition going on in the zook club at the moment
I wouldn't describe the fellow with the 36's as a lead foot - he's got twin x-fer's and spends most of his time driving very slowly.
i've been looking at the thread with Sam's axels - still waiting to see the dollar amount attached to it.
The idea with the 38's is almost just a keeping up with the Jones' kind of investigation - currently i'm running 34's and not running into too much difficulty on the trail - but since someone else has raised the bar - it's worth a look to see about going bigger still - sort of a friendly competition going on in the zook club at the moment
Yeah lots of mud (if it rains again :wink: ) ruts and climbs. So not high traction surfaces which allow the wheels to slip/spin abit.
I must admit if you go this way I'll have to go 39.5 only fair. At the moment the ruts etc around vic have been left by cruisers/patrols on 35s so us Zooks on 32-34s have had no problems with clearance. But know 37-38s are appearing and getting themselves stuck :wink: and churning things up we need to step up a bit.
The LJ idea is the current race between greg and i and I have found a farm on the way to Swan Hill that had a couple of Lj wrecks in it so maybe I'm in front.
I must admit if you go this way I'll have to go 39.5 only fair. At the moment the ruts etc around vic have been left by cruisers/patrols on 35s so us Zooks on 32-34s have had no problems with clearance. But know 37-38s are appearing and getting themselves stuck :wink: and churning things up we need to step up a bit.
The LJ idea is the current race between greg and i and I have found a farm on the way to Swan Hill that had a couple of Lj wrecks in it
so maybe I'm in front.Ransom note = demand + collage
Depending on your part's pile, I've got 2 options for you to consider:
1. Use a zook `donor body' on another chassis (my perverse preferences are either a 90" landrover, range rover,or maybe a swb hilux eg 84 soft top body, 84 chassis) as there are alot of `political/rego' benifits.
2. keep the zook chassis, wider axles req'd, tube the body.
Both are classed as `rebodied vehicles' (ie no different to the rodder guys putting 1928 bodies on a early 2wd hilux chassis).
Personally, if you want tyres that big, I'd go option 1. If they were 35" or less, than I'd tube the zook chassis.
Cheers,
Drewfus
1. Use a zook `donor body' on another chassis (my perverse preferences are either a 90" landrover, range rover,or maybe a swb hilux eg 84 soft top body, 84 chassis) as there are alot of `political/rego' benifits.
2. keep the zook chassis, wider axles req'd, tube the body.
Both are classed as `rebodied vehicles' (ie no different to the rodder guys putting 1928 bodies on a early 2wd hilux chassis).
Personally, if you want tyres that big, I'd go option 1. If they were 35" or less, than I'd tube the zook chassis.
Cheers,
Drewfus
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