Outer Limits 4x4 Board

wow kent.... looks fully twisted! i'm so jealous... now get ur ass down here bro and we'll test that beast out! i'll be ur navi and take picies....

as for the tires squeelin... bet that was a good feelin... more so considering 33's! i couldnt even squeel my 30's mud kings! only time i could do that was when it was on wet pavement.

so kent, give us a rough picture here, how much have u invested? i'm bracing for the shock here.

any idea how much torque you'll put out when ur in double low?

David: My homemade O2 sensor flange was free

rOd: Thanks for the comment. I guess that if you are going to keep it to modify you might as well be able to drive over a Charade.

PV: Not quite fully twisted as I have to fix some things. An estimate to the investment is $15,000.00 over seven years and that includes the cost of the truck. That's why I didn't feel too bad as the Jeep went about 10" past me on the ramp.

I still want to get out this summer and would like to come down to see you.

Here's a front shot of the Jeep and the two of us from the front...just can't resist from posting pictures

post more!!!

so will u be able to flex a little farther once you fix the brake lines and what not?

PV: Yes, flex a little more. I got the rear shock s relocated and the limit strap installed. Got the sliders trimmed, fenders and flairs. I cut and moved the brake line brackets. Got the alternator charging and took it for another spin around the buildings. It did squeal the tyres at idle going around the corner so I wasn't hallucinating. More ramp testing. Probably not any better articulation than Besty's. Getting closer.

ramp

PV: I have no idea how much torque there is in double low...quite a bit I would imagine. I originally paid $5000.00 for the truck seven years ago so ~ $10,000.00 into it since then.

dude that looks SWEEEET!!! i'm jealous!....... any idea when you'll be able to come down for a visit? i need to get the ball rolling on gettin my rocky fixed up so shes road worthy again so we can both go out for a spin and see whats up. any idea when u will be able to start drivin it as ur daily driver? what else is left to do? keep us posted and keep up the awesome work!

I am going to try to get an emissions test on Wed. I wired the alternator light up as an engine check light. I don't think that I have to have one anyway. I am not going to tell them I did an engine swap. The 3RZ-fe should run a lot cleaner than the old 1.6L. I'll see how it goes.

I was invited to go to Moab over Memorial day weekend but I'll probably still be re-tightening bolts, trying to get carpet in, passenger seat...generally cleaning up. Hopefully this summer PV. I'll keep you posted.

I would like to dedicate this buildup to Mike Hennessy who took me under his wing with great patience. He has been a great friend over the past seven years and I owe it all to him. He is the best friend I have NEVER met.

Some more

Thanks Mike!!!!!

Toyhatsu wrote:I would like to dedicate this buildup to Mike Hennessy who took me under his wing with great patience. He has been a great friend over the past seven years and I owe it all to him. He is the best friend I have NEVER met.

Can you feel the love?

rOd wrote:Can you feel the love?

yeah but none for u....

Congratulations Kent! That is one hell of a trruck you´ve built, specially considering that you were totally unqualified for the job when you started. My hat is off to you. That crossmember you´ve got, a work of art surely but the welds don´t look too impressive to me.
I wonder if you know anything about four wheeling in Iceland? The trucks built there are among the best anywhere. It´s a test market for many new products like the 38,5 BFG radials for example. Iceland is also the birthplace of Formula Off-Road; the worlds top obstacle course competition.
You can check out some of the rigs on www.4x4offroads.com. It´s in english so you can read all about the trucks. You can also see the flex test they use there: one tire on an oil barrel, the other three on the ground. You pass that test, you flex.
Keep up that excellent work but beware of overengineering. I always try to keep in mind the advice of Granville L. King in one of his articles in the 80´s: Build by the KISS-method:
Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Best engineering advice I´ve ever had!

I didn't build some of the truck and I am still totally unqualified as to automotive mechanics. I follow the Simply Stupid method of engineering as I don't know any other way.

Well it passed emissions on Thurs. I have been driving it since then and it ....sit's so high Eveything seems to be OK so far.

how does she feel on the road kent? handling? body roll? cornering? feedback on the engine? how are the driveshafts responding? how bout power/torque? can you easily climb hills and pass cars now?

congrats on the emissions test! you said you were goin out for the weekend.... come on.. pics and tell us what happened!

SimplyPV wrote:how does she feel on the road kent? handling? body roll? cornering? feedback on the engine? how are the driveshafts responding? how bout power/torque? can you easily climb hills and pass cars now?

congrats on the emissions test! you said you were goin out for the weekend.... come on.. pics and tell us what happened!

I have gone from driving a Mercedes for 9 months to the truck. There is some more vibration due to the solid engine and cross member mounts with poly bushings though I don't notice it much after the few days driving it. The power certainly goes to the rear wheels as the front end starts to lift taking off in first.

The handling is very good considering that I don't have any springs in the front. With the Fox Airshox I can adjust the spring rate, ride height and spring curve progression at any time. They are 12" travel shocks and the suspension uses it all. The rear shocks dampen better not having them at such an acute angle. The Land Rover radius arms are designed so that squat and anti-squat seem to cancel each other. i.e. the front has very little brake dive and very little lift during acceleration.

I seem to have about the same body roll that I had with the spring under which wasn't much. I haven't driven it too hard yet as I am still getting used to it. I can always add a sway bar with quick disconnects or adjust the Fox shocks if I decide that I don't like the handling. The fast cornering that I have done it seems to respond well.

The engine runs like a clock with very good throttle response. Very smooth and quiet. It has the same HP as the Toyota 3.0L six cylinder and slightly less torque. The tach isn't working and probably won't. I think that the pulses and frequency will be off...I'll have to get an aftermarket tach. I was told by the previous owner that the "sweet spot" is between 3500 and 4500 rpms. Very similar to the Feroza engine. The increase in HP is very noticeable.

The W56 transmission has a lower gear ratio than the Daihatsu. I have 5.71:1 R&P's so the overall gearing is too low at this time. 35-36" tyres would help but I will probably go back to 5.29:1's or even down to 4.88's.

The custom CV drive shafts are the equivalent to 3/4 ton truck shafts with no vibration.

I was invited to go to Moab this weekend and didn't go. I just got the thing going so I will be re-torqueing bolts, changing gear oil, checking brake lines etc. for a while yet. All of the drive train (except the axles) and front suspension is different so I will have to re-learn how to drive it. Then I will take it on some easy trails first and work my way up from there. I have been told that it will do extreme trails and it probably will though I am not really interested. I want to go back to all of the trails that I broke stuff on and retry them. They are moderate and some difficult. Mostly I just want to get to the high mountain lakes to fish and camp...and not worry about breaking stuff. Just enjoy the trail, the camping and fishing.

G'day Kent , You Rig has come a long way , Well done it looks wicked . Mike H deserves a huge pat on the back , He's inspired and helped alot of us out , Onya Mike

Thanks Andy. Mike and I had talked about the different ways to swap in axles, engines and different suspensions. He even had Hilux solid axles in his garage when he sold the Feroza. Never got to it due to starting a family.

I found out that my salvage yard tranny is on its way out. It popped out of first gear which didn't really bother me. I could hold it in gear and once I got going it would stay there. Because of the diff. gearing 1st gear is only good for 5-10 mph max. Talking with Marlin of Marlin Crawler, it needs to be rebuilt. I just spent $2000.00 on body work for my Dad's Mercedes...a jeep backed into it at the garage. The guy wasn't going to pay for it so I had to. There isn't any more money for a transmission. I'll have to baby the tranny till I can get the money saved. I really would like to wheel it but it's my daily driver. I don't have a spare tranny like I did with the Daihatsu stuff.