Uberoo

All the diagrams and set up pictures in the shop that I work at( the4x4store.com) say to have the shackles perpendicular to the leaf springs,actually perpendicular to a line running between the eyes of the leaf.They are normally set up that way for optimal travel and handling characteristics, but what do I know,I just work there.Have run running 38" tires on toyota axles though. Although I love your shop,My garage is the same way with tools,parts,etc all over everywhere.I would like my shop to be one of those "clean enough to operate" shops but it never really works like that.

All of those leaf spring shackles are just HORRIBLE,what ever flex the leafs may have had is now gone.Secondly, you have it geared WAY TO LOW.Some momentum is needed even rockcrawling.I witnessed a toyota with the same gear setup as yours try to climb a boulder.It eventually did it, but it took a long time and needed lots of throttle (with the tires barely even moving).Right after it was finished being a trail tampon a more or less stock toyota on 33" tires climbed up it like it was nothing.

So I have 2 of the 4 frame caps fabricated and welded in place,the third one is mocked up in cardboard but i'm not really feeling like fabrication at the moment.After looking at open engine bay I keep thinking about How I want to mount the engine in there.With the T case going in and the engine sitting up high I was thinking of making a pedestal type mount that will mount to the crossmember and to the engine.Seeing as I lack any sort of equipment to measure angles precisely, anyone happen to know the exact angles of the EA mount and the EJ mount?I have a couple ideas swirling around in my head,but one thing is for sure is I want to make the mounts the same so that the motor mounts stop shearing...

looking on youtube Ive seen some v8 trikes doing wheelies,the problem is with a v8 is that the engine has to sit so far rearward of the tires that even if they wanted it to flip the engine will hit the ground long before the trike will tip.Which makes the engine an effective abit expensive wheelie bar.Most of them are rocking some sort of steel bash bar which limit the angle even more.Heck, even yours would have hit the engine/exhaust on the ground long before it would tip,the only reason it got up so high in the first place was because the back tires were on those ramps.In the interest of safety your government made a rule that typically physics wont allow to happen in the first place.Unless someone makes a trike with the engine sitting vertically over the transmission,which is vertical over the tires,a trike will not flip over without some serious help. I could see a "lean" test where the bike is angled over sideways to see how far it would lean before tipping being valid but not the tilt test.

So what is the point of the "tilt test?

Yea I'm looking at some of the stuff on amazon, 4 6" leds for $40 or something silly like that..

I was looking for various led lights to replace the lights on my old honda trail 90 because 6V lights are kinda dim,and now I am thinking of LED offroad lights for my brat.On my old silver 84 wagon I had 4 55w halogen lights on its roof, and I could see fine on the trail.Those lights never made it onto my hatch before it died so they are just sitting in my garage.I recently got to see first hand how bright some of those LED light bars are, and it was a real eye opener.Talk about surface of the sun!Most of the lights did a fantasic job of turning night into day,but they were so bright and overpowered that having them on in a group trail ride would be a big NO NO.Then I found some "underpowered" 15w led work lights.They are not much brighter than a standard 100w bulb but offer serious power reduction.The 4 55W lights draw a combined 220W or 18.33A,on the other hand 4 15W leds draw only 60W or 5A-exactly the same as one of the other lights.At 5A a relay is not needed,and much thinner and cheaper wiring can be used,and that unused 13A can go towards powering other devices... So, has anyone used the led worklights or led light bars on their offroad critter?I dont need light powerful enough to drive 200 mph at night,I just need an area of daylight 50-100ft in front of me at 10 mph..

class 3100 might be fair.You have long travel but only about as much as a stock TTB suspension. "Class 3100 Stock SUV is for mostly stock SUV’s. Rules are quite restrictive as to modifications. Essentially these vehicles are “stock”, if you can call full roll cages and long travel suspension stock."

trail/and expedition.You will not be competive in desert racing because your mods would put you in the same class as 900 hp trophy trucks and buggies.

Maybe it was just the camera, but in some areas it looked like you were hauling some serious A55.In some of those sections I wouldn't even drive my dirtbike that fast let alone my wheeler.The toyota guy needs to AIR DOWN because those tires are not conforming to the ground at all.

If things on my brat start falling into place they way I think they will it might be up and running in Augest.When I clearanced the rear fenders I paved the road for mounting the rear diff,fuel tank, and various braces to happen.Its a similar story up front, now I know where the suspension pivots need to go, but first have to make the tube front end.Hell I might even temp fate and start working on stuff tonight-at least until the cops get called...

How the hell does your car weigh 3400 lbs? thats close to 1000 lbs heavier than stock.There is nothing on that car that would need to be built out of steel thick enough to weigh that much.Bumpers stronger than the car would weigh less than 100 lbs for both of them.Bigger tires and a lift will add more but not 1000 extra pounds.My ea81 hatch with an ej22,5 speed DR, nissan transfercase, and 31x10.50's weighed 2500 lbs.An Ea82 wagon is like 2700 lbs and has 89 hp.

Gave me some ideas for my build.

thats total BS.Failing because of a different hose when everything else is still the same.If the car passes the emissions part who cares whats under the hood.

If you cry about every knick,ding, or scratch on your suspension your in for a long sad life.That sorta stuff happens.In a few hours I will be installing new bilsten shocks in my truck and within a month I fully expect them to be scratched to hell and covered in grease and filth.If on the other hand they fail in that month I would be livid. Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

And to think I got my 78 brat for free.And the parts one was $100.

I would go with an ej18 and its transmission rather than a '22 because with FWD only you would never be able to put the power down effectively until 45+.That or convert to 4/awd.Its kinda cool and kinda sucky when you can't use full power because your tires will just sit there and spin even when your moving.

anyone?Going once,going twice...

No, at the beginning your front wheels were straight,at the end they were cambered in-indicating lowered ride height.So something broke,bent, or slipped making the ride height lower.Its really apparent eight seconds onto the video after the jumps. One of my suspension experiments failed like that.I was trying to make long travel struts,and the bracket that bolts the strut to the knuckle broke the welds,so every bump made the strut sit lower in the knuckle.By the end of the day the driver side wheel had so much negative camber that the tire rubbed on the strut.There is a picture of it loaded on the trailer and it almost looks like a ball joint failed or something.

So what broke? Your camber got increasingly worse with every jump.

"Yellow = Ig. Switched wire...should be tied into the EA, B/W wire at either the coil or the alt." Oh, so whats where it supposed to go.Ive always just jumpered the diode, because otherwise I don't have power at the ignition coil.Its good to know that there is a proper method to do it.

Damn steel is heavy .I cut the front clip off and its single layer construction weighed 34 lbs.Just the front bumper as it currently sits is 15.25 lbs.Maybe I should learn how to make fiberglass or CF fenders and hood..

The 4 chassis rails are the two lower box structures where the crossmember bolts to, and the other two are up top and run from the strut towers back into the firewall.

It really shouldn't matter but it might be easier to do the rear trailing arm brackets as your doing the rear struts.Then once your done with the bracketss/struts do the sway bar mounts,then set it on the ground.Tighten the bolts for the trailing arms when its at ride height.

So I managed to start on the front bumper.Its 2x2x.120.It should be very strong especially after I tie it into the 4 chassis rails.The bar is cut so it follows the hood,and also so the ends of the bumper are just slightly higher than the middle.Now to make some plates to wrap around and box the ends of the exposed chassis rails.Speaking of those anyone have any ideas on how to make it removable should the need arise?