muddysub's JHF buggy

[ZooMad75]

Been following you all along on IG. Because I’m a fan of great fab work regardless of the subject. This thing is badass. Loads of little details to make it better and more serviceable.

Getting close. Should be cool to watch it slinky it’s way over a pile of rocks.


I vote retro yota graphics.

 

[stan1688]

False.

X2!

Loving the build. I follow along on IG, too, but like seeing it here.

 

[stump_puller]

Great update! Making good progress

 

[max 02]

Wicked!

Loving the Landcruiser hood and grill! For sure Toyota colours.
Ivan was my hero!

 

[muddysub]

A big summit racing box showed up the other day. Lots of engine parts, electrical and brake system parts, blah blah blah. Maybe this weekend I’ll get the engine put back together like I thought I was going to do in a day, three weeks ago.

I’m actually tempted to just paint the panels white. White with machined aluminum wheels would match my truck.

 

[muddysub]

Man, I hate working on engines! I'd rather have a 9" grinder hot wired and duct taped to my hands 8hrs a day than mess around with engines.

I've been working on this LQ4 for a few weeks now, swapping in a cam, timing gears, valve springs & seals and a bunch of stuff. It seems like every time I walk out there I find I'm missing something, some kind of gasket, bolt, special tool etc... It's always something. I bought new valve covers, coil brackets and coils... turns out the valve covers I bought are a redesign that lets you bolt the coils directly to the cover. That's cool, I can return the coil brackets, except now I need 16 M6 bolts to mount the coils. I also bought a cool Holley water pump that relocates the outlet, except it uses different length bolts than the OEM pump, so I need new bolts for that too. This wouldn't be such an issue if there were any decent hardware stores around here. I don't mean hardware stores like Ace or Tru-Value, we have that. I don't need shovels, bird feeders or wood glue, I need a good selection of metric socket head and flange head bolts.

I just hate working on engines, I'm not tooled up for it, they stink, they're messy... Ok I'm done.
/RANT

I haven't gotten much done lately, focusing on the engine work has put me in a shitty mood. So I'm going to shove it into the corner and go back to the fun stuff, cutting, welding, grinding and measuring.

 

[ktmoutfront]

Some times it is better to walk away for a bit.

 

[ZooMad75]

Sure would be nice if those cool new aftermarket parts included the hardware if they don’t use stock stuff.

Have you checked if there is a Fastenal nearby?

 

[JoshHefnerX]

I've lived here for almost 25 years and only maybe 3-4 years ago found a local treasure for hardware. Felt like I'd been blessed by the almighty.

 

[muddysub]

Sure would be nice if those cool new aftermarket parts included the hardware if they don’t use stock stuff.

Have you checked if there is a Fastenal nearby?

There is. They only sell bolts by the box.

I was frustrated on Sunday. Sorry for the rant.

Today is a happy day though. A couple boxes showed up from Branik Motorsports with my gigantic front axles in it. 4340 chromo shafts, 40spl, 1550 series Branik Legacy joints.

 

[max 02]

Frustration comes and goes… I just about threw all my tools in the trash today working on brakes for my Duramax. Put it back together the way it was and get to it on a day I got more time. Like Wade, said walk away.


Sick new parts! Going to be quite the buggy!

 

[ZooMad75]

There is. They only sell bolts by the box.

I was frustrated on Sunday. Sorry for the rant.

Today is a happy day though. A couple boxes showed up from Branik Motorsports with my gigantic front axles in it. 4340 chromo shafts, 40spl, 1550 series Branik Legacy joints.

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Holy hell those are huge!

Don't worry about the rant, we all get to that point at times. As far as your hardware problem goes I've found the local Farm store has 90% of the fasteners I need on my project and they are open 7 days a week. The bonus is they sell even grade 8 stuff by the pound and not by the bolt like the big box home improvement stores do. Given your upper midwest location, you probably have a Tractor Supply or Fleet Farm or similar not horribly far away. Metric stuff is there, but they may not have the ultra specific stuff for the engine. Worth a shot to check out though.

 

[muddysub]

Holy hell those are huge!

Don't worry about the rant, we all get to that point at times. As far as your hardware problem goes I've found the local Farm store has 90% of the fasteners I need on my project and they are open 7 days a week. The bonus is they sell even grade 8 stuff by the pound and not by the bolt like the big box home improvement stores do. Given your upper midwest location, you probably have a Tractor Supply or Fleet Farm or similar not horribly far away. Metric stuff is there, but they may not have the ultra specific stuff for the engine. Worth a shot to check out though.

I’ve never seen bolts sold by the pound, that’s pretty cool! Next time I’m at fleet farm I’ll have to see what they have.

 

[muddysub]

Today, after the MN4WDA 4x4 swap meet, I cleaned the garage and got my engine cleaned up and painted. I know I said I was done with the engine for a while but I got the hardware I needed and some paint. I can install everything I need to before the engine goes back in, so that’s happening this weekend. It might feel good to see it all dressed up before I set it aside.

 

[Fastereddie]

Today, after the MN4WDA 4x4 swap meet, I cleaned the garage and got my engine cleaned up and painted. I know I said I was done with the engine for a while but I got the hardware I needed and some paint. I can install everything I need to before the engine goes back in, so that’s happening this weekend. It might feel good to see it all dressed up before I set it aside.

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Looking damn good Scott!

 

[muddysub]

How about a buggy update? It's torn down to a bare chassis right now for welding, I pulled the shocks and unbolted the links from the chassis and rolled the axles out of the way. I'm working on welding everything I can reach as is, then I'll roll it over and get the rest. While I'm at it, I'm taking care of a few welds that I'm not proud of. I walked around the chassis with a paint marker high lighting areas that need help, might as well be honest with myself, right? I want to be proud of every aspect of this car when I'm done.

Before I tore it the rest of the way apart, I got the steering all sorted out. Not sure what the final angle is yet but its north of 45 degrees. I'm going to end up running the tie rods in single shear on top of the high steer arm with 3/4" hardware, all the angles work best there. To make it happen I had to move the lower links in almost an inch, shave down the steering stops and play with the tie rod and cylinder location. The tires barely touch the links at full lock, which will be fine. While I was on the front axle, I had to do something about the lower shock mounts. They just weren't me. So I whipped up a new set, they even match the uppers, speed holes and such. Oh yeah, I got the shock reservoirs mounted too, might have to move the fronts to change the angle of the hose. I'd rather cut metal than fiberglass. And yes, the cooler is an integral part of the design of the car.

We're working on buying a house right now, it comes with a 2 car garage and a small shop on 2.5 acres. I want this thing welded and painted by the time we move in June. Moving is going to set the build back a while so I'm hitting it hard before that happens. I'd kinda like to have all the drivetrain back in by then, we'll see how it goes. If anyone wants to swing by and help, that would be great.

 

[Fastereddie]

How about a buggy update? It's torn down to a bare chassis right now for welding, I pulled the shocks and unbolted the links from the chassis and rolled the axles out of the way. I'm working on welding everything I can reach as is, then I'll roll it over and get the rest. While I'm at it, I'm taking care of a few welds that I'm not proud of. I walked around the chassis with a paint marker high lighting areas that need help, might as well be honest with myself, right? I want to be proud of every aspect of this car when I'm done.

Before I tore it the rest of the way apart, I got the steering all sorted out. Not sure what the final angle is yet but its north of 45 degrees. I'm going to end up running the tie rods in single shear on top of the high steer arm with 3/4" hardware, all the angles work best there. To make it happen I had to move the lower links in almost an inch, shave down the steering stops and play with the tie rod and cylinder location. The tires barely touch the links at full lock, which will be fine. While I was on the front axle, I had to do something about the lower shock mounts. They just weren't me. So I whipped up a new set, they even match the uppers, speed holes and such. Oh yeah, I got the shock reservoirs mounted too, might have to move the fronts to change the angle of the hose. I'd rather cut metal than fiberglass. And yes, the cooler is an integral part of the design of the car.

We're working on buying a house right now, it comes with a 2 car garage and a small shop on 2.5 acres. I want this thing welded and painted by the time we move in June. Moving is going to set the build back a while so I'm hitting it hard before that happens. I'd kinda like to have all the drivetrain back in by then, we'll see how it goes. If anyone wants to swing by and help, that would be great.

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It’s official now!
Good luck on the house!

 

[max 02]

Very cool on all fronts!

 

[muddysub]

I got a little more welding done. It’s about time to box up the garage so this might be it for a while.

I swapped the rear lower link tabs for something heavier. I have 3/8” tabs on the front links, which are overkill for this car but they made the rear 3/16” tabs look pretty wimpy. Not to mention I welded the teardrop washers on over my head with the welder turned up too high and they ended up looking like shit. So I chopped them off and trimmed some leftover 3/8” tabs to take their places.
I welded in some triangulation for the front link tabs too, the sub frame is 1.5” .188 square tube, I had 1.5” .120 round tube so I used that. Given the location and load path the thinner tube shouldn’t make a difference.
After that as wrapped up I welded in a bunch of bungs for coolant through the chassis. Four -16AN bungs for coolant flow and six 1/8” npt bungs for breathers and drains.

As of right now, everything that needs to be welded to the chassis, is welded to the chassis. As I mentioned before, we bought a house and we’re moving soon. This week I’ll install the bump stops, shocks and links so it’ll roll on and off my trailer. I guess the rest of it will have to box up and move. I hoped to have it painted and have the drivetrain set before the move but that’s not happening.

 

[Fastereddie]

I got a little more welding done. It’s about time to box up the garage so this might be it for a while.

I swapped the rear lower link tabs for something heavier. I have 3/8” tabs on the front links, which are overkill for this car but they made the rear 3/16” tabs look pretty wimpy. Not to mention I welded the teardrop washers on over my head with the welder turned up too high and they ended up looking like shit. So I chopped them off and trimmed some leftover 3/8” tabs to take their places.
I welded in some triangulation for the front link tabs too, the sub frame is 1.5” .188 square tube, I had 1.5” .120 round tube so I used that. Given the location and load path the thinner tube shouldn’t make a difference.
After that as wrapped up I welded in a bunch of bungs for coolant through the chassis. Four -16AN bungs for coolant flow and six 1/8” npt bungs for breathers and drains.

As of right now, everything that needs to be welded to the chassis, is welded to the chassis. As I mentioned before, we bought a house and we’re moving soon. This week I’ll install the bump stops, shocks and links so it’ll roll on and off my trailer. I guess the rest of it will have to box up and move. I hoped to have it painted and have the drivetrain set before the move but that’s not happening.

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It’s all good, don’t rush it. Congratulations on the move.