Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I have just found and bought an 86 LWB NT tub and chassis. The plan is to repaint the tub and fit everything off my 89 SWB WT on to it.
I want to keep my WT diffs but move the spring mounts to NT spacing so they bolt to the springs. I know that increasing a vehicles track width in Qld isn't on but if I refit WT flares and front clip I doubt anyone will ever notice.
How far apart are the spring perches?
Does anyone have an old NT diff housing laying around they could measure or donate/sell me?
Is the DRAG LINK from the steering box to the Track rod the same length between NT & WT ?

Hang the springs and measure between them.

At the front it is the same width as the chassis. At the rear it is a little wider.

Drag link is longer on a WT.

You will need an NT front diff as you need the ubolt guide on the top of the diff housing, u bolts and spring pad. clearances get very tight up against the diff centre.

If it was me I would use the opportunity to move the bumpstops under the chassis and go RUF as you will pick up heaps of travel. IT's easy to do with a bare chassis.

Steve.

Gwagensteve wrote:Hang the springs and measure between them.

At the front it is the same width as the chassis. At the rear it is a little wider.

Drag link is longer on a WT.

You will need an NT front diff as you need the ubolt guide on the top of the diff housing, u bolts and spring pad. clearances get very tight up against the diff centre.

If it was me I would use the opportunity to move the bumpstops under the chassis and go RUF as you will pick up heaps of travel. IT's easy to do with a bare chassis.

Steve.

Thanks Steve but I want something a little more accurate than measuring between hanging springs..
Damn drag link I have bent WT one, maybe I can get it shortened.
Already looking for a NT housing
RUF is out because: 1, I already have two inch lift springs.
2, I just finished the winch bar and don't want to modify it.
3, RUF reduces front ramp angle.
Jas.

want33s wrote:Thanks Steve but I want something a little more accurate than measuring between hanging springs..
Damn drag link I have bent WT one, maybe I can get it shortened.
Already looking for a NT housing
RUF is out because: 1, I already have two inch lift springs.
2, I just finished the winch bar and don't want to modify it.
3, RUF reduces front ramp angle.
Jas.

Well pardon me - that's how I do it, answer shouldn't be any different than NT pad spacing.
You need a WT draglink, not a NT. It's not a good idea to shorten a sierra drag link, they are forged.
The advantages of RUF more than outweight the small loss of approach angle (which is less than 40mm) to pick up more than 100mm of travel, better balance and better ride.

I would never tlka about a chassis up build without RUF. the $300 worth of springs is nothing comapre to the outcome - they are soooo much better.

Personally, I think you have the rare opportunity to start from scratch with a bare chassis. now the the opportunity to get everything dialled in as a)you already have a running car so you are not off the road B) can talk to an engineer and get it legal B) you have a chassis you can work on without having to dodge a motor, or cab, or work lying on your back.

Having built a 100% ground up car, I would say it is the only way to go - there are so many little compromises you don't have to make.

IMHO LWB's are now rare and desirable enough to warrant the time to get them spot on.

Hey, it's your car, build it however you want, but that's just my 2C

Steve.

No offence meant or intended Steve
I have 2" raised springs, worn bushes(not new anyway), twisted shackles and I know the castor is already half a degree out from left to right. I don't want to rely on measuring between springs that can move side to side almost their own width.
As you say, I need the NT housing for the bracket so I'll measure that.

I'll do the rear diff first while I think about RUF but I'm having trouble extracting funds from the treasurer. RUF means $300 for springs plus how much more for steel, qualified welding, engineers reports etc. ?? I need to find out the details so I'll PM Flyinwall and ask about his RUF. It still sounds like a lot of work.

but the benefits are definetly worth it. The difference it makes in performance and comfort is quite amazing for how little you move things around.

Measure the centre line of the chassis and the distance between each rail.
As he said the springs mount in the middle under each rail.

Use factory springs to begin with, you can always bolt in another set down the track.

The actual steel is only a few $ worth really your only adding a few inches not rebuilding an entire chassis.

how illegal is ruff ? i know most of us have legaly modified the chasis with BL ?

vicelore wrote:how illegal is ruff ? i know most of us have legaly modified the chasis with BL ?

depends on how you do it, but there is some chassis welding, so it is of to mr engineer if you want it to be legal.

Even ruf with brackets bolted to the chassis will need a cert as the brackets have to be assessed and overall safety considered due to the wheelbase change/height increase/welded brackets.

There is no problem with engineering it if your fab skills are up to scratch and you follow the engineers instructions, consulting with him before you get the car built.

A BL is not a chassis modification (you didn't weld it on did you???) and by itself is not subject to an engineers report, but the finished height of the car is.

A couple of cars here in vic have been engineered with RUF/OME/2"BL and another is being built with RUF/OME/No BL

All these cars though have/will be built to a high standard over a long period.

Steve.

Was going to start putting WT diffs in my ute last weekend but, needed gas for the mig.

Just a quick question..... i noticed on the front diffs the spring perches have about a 15mm gap between the axle tube, whereas the rear perches are sitting flush against the axle tube, do i need to retain that front gap?

Im guessing i would, because the perch gets closer to the diff center???

want33s wrote:I have just found and bought an 86 LWB NT tub and chassis. The plan is to repaint the tub and fit everything off my 89 SWB WT on to it.
I want to keep my WT diffs but move the spring mounts to NT spacing so they bolt to the springs. I know that increasing a vehicles track width in Qld isn't on but if I refit WT flares and front clip I doubt anyone will ever notice.
How far apart are the spring perches?

Im going the opposite way and using a NT as a Daily removing the bits off the WT and putting them onto the NT.. so it will be a NT body on WT diffs...

dunno if these are any help but WT vs NT front and rear...

WT front:
WT rear:

NT front:

NT rear is the same as the NT front.. directly centered off the chassis rails.
Pic CAN be added... just not onhand atm.

Should be pretty easy to work out exactly where the mounts differ and to what extent...

Just walked 3 metres from my PC to my '85 LWB NT parked on the shop lift where it gets new wheel bearings right now and measured rear 86.5cm, front 63.5cm wide from spring bolt to spring bolt in the middle of the springs.