Home-brew Taco...control arm project

[DRIVE Jon]

So I finally started tacking together the 3.5"-over lower arms for the Taco. The uppers are still a plate-glimmer in my eye. These arm were sort of a rehersal for building a full race-quality front suspension at a future time. This is a simple design proven by several popular kits. I did move the wheel position forward 1 inch....had to add something new! I was happy when I put it up to the mounts on the truck...and it looks like it will fit!

All designed in SolidWorks 2006. Besides a bumper or two...this is my first real design/build project.

Plate is 1/8" cold-rolled mild-steel sheet.

Urethane Bushings, steering extensions, Tundra Axles, spindle gussets are from Total Chaos: Thanks Nicole!!!(I think she sold them to me just so i would stop bugging her!)

Sheet cut on my friend Robbie's Plasma-Pattern-Tracer. Thanks Robbie! Lets amke those Toyota race spindles!!

Thanks to Jesse Katz for helping me out when I was stuck!!! Beers on me next time you are down in San Diego!

Ball-joint puck is turned from mild steel bar form Mc Master Carr.

Tapered Ball-joint reamer was custom made by x-cut www.xkut-reamers.com ~$50 send them any ball joint and they will amke a tapered reamer to match.

Jig is 3/8" base with 3/16" tabs. 3/4" all-thread. Ball-joint-puck post indexes for making both left and right arms.

Welding sequence is pretty important to be able to get into the tight spots.

Welder: MillerMatic 175, .030" wire

I'm looking for advice on welding technique. I want to avoid distortion. I know welding a little at a time is one way...but what about backstep welds, intermitentent welds, of sequence welds. My only real concern is the axial alignment of the bushing tubes getting out of wack. Let me know what you think!

[DRIVE Jon]

More pics from the first day!

[DRIVE Jon]

....and a few more pics.

[DRIVE Jon]

Sorry about all the thumbnails.....have not figured out how to put in larger pics.

Also...I was wondering if anyone has an opinion about starting welding from the oouter end of the arm and work toward the busing, or vice-versa?

[Dezertpilot]

Hey man Im no fabricator, just an internet one:D But I think you are off to a good start and it looks very nice. But one question: Why does the lower plate work extend past the sides? I figured you would have it meet up with the sides, but I dont know all that much so please explain to this dumba$$:)

[DRIVE Jon]

Hey man Im no fabricator, just an internet one:D But I think you are off to a good start and it looks very nice. But one question: Why does the lower plate work extend past the sides? I figured you would have it meet up with the sides, but I dont know all that much so please explain to this dumba$$:)

Thanks for the compliment. Far from a dumba$$ question! The "overlap" of the top and bottom plates is something I saw others doing...and ,as I was building the structure in CAD, it became clear why people do this. The overlap makes the plata a much-less precision part. If the joints were to meet up perfectly...all around, around a dozen parts would have to fit perfectly to have the joints meet in a way that would be passable for proper welding. So..its sort of cheating:D ...but really its just making the assemly/fit much more forgiving. it also helps with having lots of surface area to weld on...wich is good for a MIG welder like I have...and my skill level. 1/8 inch plate the 90 degree butt (outside corner) joints can be a little tough to weld consistantly..TIG...no problem. With the overlap, the weld becomes a simple fillet weld...nice to MIG. Only drawbacks I can think of is some may not like the appearance of the cahnnel it creates....and its a place tor dirt to collect. It also make it more difficult to weld in doublers on the front/rear plates of the arm. Hope that makes sense.

Jon

[Trayne]

Why didn't you make the bottom plate and side plates one piece, with a break in it, rather than two pieces welded together? Seems like it would be stronger, and you could save a lot of time in welding as well.

[sigmatero]

Way to go man, good to see something coming out of the computer and into metal. BTW, I like the overlap. It's tough for the non-professional welder to get really nice outside corner welds and fillets are so much easier.

[DRIVE Jon]

Why didn't you make the bottom plate and side plates one piece, with a break in it, rather than two pieces welded together? Seems like it would be stronger, and you could save a lot of time in welding as well.

I think a bent up bottom plate would be cool. Probably good if I were to go into production. Problem is I don't have a metal bender. From the little experience I have designing sheet/bent stuff, you have to hit those bends just right. For now the welds are best for me. Also...I have not seen many others doing many bends on control arms, other than "wraps" around uniball cups. I think the strength of the bend versus the welded joint is a debate waiting to happen. Bent-metal strength is very dependent on: bend radius, material thickness, ammount of "yielding" which occurs in the bend, etc... I don't know what the bend radius would have to be to bend 1/8 steel plate cold, and not screw it up too bad?

Way to go man, good to see something coming out of the computer and into metal. BTW, I like the overlap. It's tough for the non-professional welder to get really nice outside corner welds and fillets are so much easier.

Thanks man!!! I think i probably went through like 10 revisions on this thing...I got so sick of seeing it on the computer screen :D It felt really good to tack it up. Now my work is crazy, and we started V4DR so we are getting ready for the next race....probably be a couple weeks before I make some more progress, but I will try to sneak in some more welds! I am really happy with the fit-up. My buddies old rusty pattern tracer did a great job cuttng the parts. I would like to try water-jet for the next arms. Did you ever get that manometer set-up?

[sigmatero]

Yaa, got all my measurements and all the parts modeled as cartoons and now I'm detailing out the weldments. Lots of fun :)

I would like to try water-jet for the next arms. Did you ever get that manometer set-up?

[DRIVE Jon]

Sigmatero...you have to post a picture somewhere of the manometer setup! I have to see it to get it.

Jon

[sigmatero]

Sorry, no pic. Just go to HD and get about a 8' piece of clear tubing and fill it about 3/4 the way with water. Hold it up in a U shape with one end on a vertically held tape measure or yardstick. Move the other end up and down and you'll get a *very* exact measurement of height that's useful for reverse engineering waterline measurements of chassis components that are hard to get to by typical measurements.

And then just roll your truck on it's side and get buttline measurements :)

[DRIVE Jon]

Yeah...I have to make one. Then keep on in the truck so next time I go greasy-side vertical...I can fine tune those rough measurements:rolleyes:

Seriously...good idea. I have the picture now.

[DRIVE Jon]

Well, it has been a while since the last update. My brother and I put a cage in his F-150 over the summer. I'm back on the Taco and trying to get her up and running in the next 3 weeks...so SUmmer and I can have her at the Superstition 250. I plated the forward frame with CR .125 plate. Then bent up some shock hoop tubes. It's probably obvious that I cut away all the sheet-metal ahead of the firewall...making room for more up-travel and A Fiberwerx 1-piece 06 conversion Tacoma clip. I kept the sheetmetal around the radiator/ac condenser...as it holds that stuff fine...I then plated the sides so the radiator can be braced. The LCAs are done, 1st one took 6 months, 2nd one took about 6 hours. My wife said the LCA looked like DUMP made it!...actually she said it looked like it was made in a dump;) It will look great with a little rattle-can action. Nothing going on with the rear for now. I did put on FiberWerx 6" flare bedsides. Next year I will link it...after the Taco gets a new cage.

[DRIVE Jon]

I hope to get the UCAs done this weekend. The will be made from 1.25, 1/8"wall 4130. I can't wait to see if there is any additional up travel that I can take advantage of...with all the stock sheet-metal gone, and custom Shock/bump mounting. We will see. I will be using the stock uprights "spindles" with the TC gusset welded in. I have been working on rebuilding/revalving the shocks.

Only 23 days left...I think i can pull it off...Thanks to a little vacation time comming up. I'm such an addict for using my vacation time to work on the truck!

[DRIVE Jon]

This weekend I mounted up the the Driver-side LCA, and i cycles pretty nice. I need to remove a little plate material down near the bushing tubes...which is hitting the cross-member a little. I almost screwed-up big time on the driver-side LCA. The dimension I had for the bushing tube was a little off. It was a real tight fit. Back when I started this project..I tried to get all the dimensions without removing the LCA....DON'T DO THIS! Remove the LCA..so you can get a good clean measurement.

On the second LCA, I took DUMPs advice and only tacked in the bushing tubes while I welded the rest of the arm...as it does distort!. Now I can mount it back into the jig, make any small adjustments, and final-weld it...and I will change the dimensions a little bit so it fits better than the driver side. Live-n-learn!

I also took Bajafand's advice and did all the external weld "downhill" and the beads layed down nice and flat! Thanks for the tips guys.

I did get to the UCAs this weekend and finished the design...built up the jig...and tacked up the driver-side UCA. I'm using .120 wall 1.25" 4130 (chromoly) tubing....just like the big kids! Why are the arms made from multiple straight pieces...no bender die for 1.25...and after reading DUMPs latest show-n-tell, I am kinda liking the idea of using less bends when it makes since. I will likely have a gusset running around the uniball cup and attach to the tubes. There will also be gussets on the bushing tube joint. I will be cutting and capping the excess tube comming off the uniball cup. First 4130 i've used...just thought since it is farily small dia tubing..I would go with the best (pricy stuff). I usually use DOM on everything The spherical bushings are FK 1" stainless...bought from ORW...who is starting to have a nice little selection of fab items!

Getting closer..only 19 days till the Plaster City race! I also found a costume..the race is on Halloween weekend! Getting there..slowly but surely. Summer and I are so excited for the race and to get back out to the dez!

[DRIVE Jon]

Tonight I got the Shock tabs tacked in...shock mounted, and stuck the spindle in there. It cycles 13inches metal to metal...so much for 15. I could probably squeeze 1 more inch if I tweaked the upper uniball cup, and made the shock hoop a little higher...I think I will leave it as is....no time! The lower ball-joint has probably 2-3 more inches in up "bump" angle, but the shorter upper arms use up all the angularity first. If you stick a vertical uniball on the upper spindle, you could push it further....but you really just need longer arms. I figure 11-12 inches of useable travel is much more than the 7 or 8" I had before!

I will probably use the factory bump-stops "snubbers" in the front. My system seems to be biased toward more "up-travel than the Total Chaos, or Camburg Kit. It has to do with the angle the bal joint puck i mounted on the lower arm...I used less angle than they did. So mine does not droop as far, but does have more bump travel. So its gonna have a low stance, just have to watch out for the rocks!

It is clear that I will have to clearancce the firewall to clear anything larger than the 31s I have now...and the 31s might even hit the frewall...and this is with the wheel moved forward 1 inch. There is little 'nubb'n" coming off the lower ball joint/steering drag link, that I will has to grind off to allow full steering. Other than that It looks like it should do for now....until the next front suspension:D 16 days left!

[JESSE_at_TLT]

Looking good. Must be nice to see it coming back together.

[DRIVE Jon]

Thanks Jesse...couldn't have done it without your help and others. It has been a long time in the works, and it does feel good!. Sometimes I kick myself for not jumping into a 5" over..full uniball setup, but I think it would have been too much for a first project. Like I said before, watching you hack up the Red Taco sort of opened the door for me...made me start thinking.

I have to get on the CAD forum one of these days and check it out.

Any updates on your tacoma?

[hangten33]

Hey, that looks real good man!!:D :D Keep up the good work! I think you'll be a good fabricator as time rolls by. Good Luck on the project!:D :D

[DRIVE Jon]

Thanks Alex, I have learned so much from this. I laugh when I look back a year ago...how I was thinking this will be easy! Mine will be better tham Camburg or Total Chaos...I thought I was hot stuff....because I have done a little mechanical design work...and can drive SolidWorks..... ignorance is bliss. I have so much respect for fabricators now....Espically the bolt on fabricators...who have to deal with the general public, and OEM tolerance issues, etc... I don't know haw they make any money at this!

I think it would be fun work to do someday maybe. Long hours, underpaid, hard labor...And I still want to do it!

Its definetly fun for a hobby, but still gets stressful when you have a deadline. I know my wife is not so happy with all the hours in the garage! But the end of this project is near.

UPDATE: Final fit chack last night with driveshaft mounted, and spring on the shock....I decided to move the shock forward on the LCA about .5" for more drive-shaft clearance. Began final welding of the UCAs...still have to cut/weld UCA gussets.

GOAL for this wekend: finish welding on front suspension Driver side, build Pass UCA and finish that side as well. Weld spindle gussets, mount spindle and new brake lines . Should go pretty fast now...KOW:D

[DRIVE Jon]

OK...so I have pretty much given up on having the truck ready to take out to the MDR Superstition race this weekend. As usual, everything takes longer than you expect. i don't want to start rushing things at the end. I did start the truck up and drove it back in the garage under its own power (had to pull it out for our Halloween Party).

Here are pics.

[DRIVE Jon]

Well the project lingers on!!!! One full day was fabbing the tube-frame to brace the radiator, and hold the emissions box and fuse box. I also made several tabs to hold the vacuum valve and tabs to screw fuel-line clamps to. I am pretty happy with how the work went...although it was slow going. Sucks that some of this will have to come out when I build an integrated can and engine cage. I tried to think a little ahead to avoid as much double-work as possible. In the picture of driver-side showing the radiator side-plate and braces...you can also see the bracket I made to hold the vacuum resevoir. I bought a billet coolant over-flow tank, as the original plastic one was too difficult to make a mount for. I will be using the stock air box for now...because I have a nice Amsoil filter and prefilter for it. I will get a more race friendly air-box later.

The front clip was a challenge!!! to say the least. It made mounting fenders look easy. The mini-fenders are supposed to mount using the original bolt near the door hinges, and the bolts under the door jam..near the body seam. On the driver-side the fiber-glass tab for the bolt near the hinge worked and helped me get things lined-up. The fender did not meet-up with the bolts on the bottom...where the edge of the fiberglass just barely reached the bolts holes when the panel-lines were set correctly. On the Pass side, the molded tab coming off the mini-fender was pretty much non-existant. The little nub'n that was there was paper thin. I think the glass just got sprayed in too thin there. On the bottom, same case as the driver side. So I had nothing to work with to mount the thing.

I decided to build a tube frame to mount the fenders. I picked 3 good spots for tabs on the fenders...marked them, drilled, then bolted on the tabs. now I cut welded 1"x.062' wall seamed tube to weld to the tabs. Now I had a frame bloted inside the fender. Next was to mount the mini fender to the hood, so the orientation would be correct (make sure you set the angle of the hood first..with temp spacers). Now with the mini-fenders clamped to the hood, and door gap set, I welded tubes from the body to the fender frame. this worked out really nice, and the mini fenders are on there good. I wish the quality control on the fiberglass was better...not like this stuff is cheap. i know this is more of a race piece, and therefore considered somewhat disposable, but it would save a lot of time if the tabs that should be there...were there.

The one-piece clip is a pain to mount...compared to bolt on fenders, but I think it will be better in the long run. There will be less stuff in the way when modifying or repairing. It's really this only front end i found for a taco (clip or fender/hood setup), that really covers the tires with extended arms.

Other little things...Shocks are resealed/revalved with new 45 elbows off the top cap. I tried to pressurize, but the regulator only went to 120 psi. I will have to get a real N2 set-up!

Still need to build box for battery. Weld studs along frame to clamp battery cable, clean up wiring in engine compartment. Build frame to hold headlights (this one's gonna be fun!) and mount them. mount shocks. Fab grill-mount, fab skid-plate, fab bumper, etc...

[Dezertpilot]

What axles are you using again? And what are u doing to the CV boots inner/outer etc.?

[DRIVE Jon]

I am using the Tundra axles that you buy from Total Chaos. They come rebuilt, with a 930 boot on the inside CV, and I think a factory-like boot on the outside. I'll check the boot situation when I get home to be sure which is on which side.

The only mod they do to the axles (besides boots) is they trim aorund 1/4 to 1/2 inch off the CV housing flange...i believe on the inner CV. This keeps the axle from hitting the housing at high anles...and allows more angularity in the drive-shaft.

[DRIVE Jon]

The truck is roll'n !!!!

I got it slapped together in time for the MDR New Years Dash in Plaster City. I attached some pics that show progress between Thanksgiving and New Years. The glass all got mounted...you can see my fancy jig to hold the grill in place while welding the tubes between grill and frame. The 1-piece was a lot of work, but the payoff is that there is so much easy access when it is off. I also ran the new battery cable along frame to the back where the battery now lives. i used 2Ga wire which is more than enough. Some say use 1,0, or 00 wire....I think this is a waste. I know a guy who builds award winning Lancairs (Hi Perf Homebuilt airplane) with 550ci engines. He mounts battery in the extreme rear for balance...runs a long cable wire gauge he uses = 4GA. He has never had a problem.

It made the trailer-trip out to Plaster City. It handeled really well....the front can really soak up the bumps...now the rear(nearly stock) suspension is the limiting factor.....the juggle begins!.

It did have a nasty "clunk" during compression...driver's side. I thought the cab was hitting the shock hoop since thee was only about 1/8" clearance. I hammered some more clearance...but the clunk continued. I checked every bolt 5 times (except the ones I forgot)...nothing. I drove it around the camp a few more times. Other than the clunk, the truck was really fun...just need to turn the radio up;). I got busy with race stuff so I figured I would investigate when i got home.

When I got home, I found the Bolt/eccentric on the inner LCA pivot-rear, needed to be tightened up more. The fit is not great between that bushing/tube and the stock mounts. I tightened the heak out of it...deflecting the mount until it touched the inner bushing tube. Test drive (driving over island in middle of street) confirmed the clunk was gone.

This weekend, I pulled the shocks and adjusted the Dual-Rate lock-rings to engage the secondary rate sooner..shooting to hit the 800# rate about the last 20% of travel (~450# rate otherwise). I also put longer Limit-straps on and relocated the adjustable clevis higher. I painted all the bare metal around the suspension and then reassembled what I took apart. I need to start the frames for the real lights...I cheated be using the Hellas for quick lighting to get me around the Dash at night. The bumper and skid will happen in the next few weeks as well.

I learned a lot form this project...along with the information/advice in the shop here at RDC, I feel i have made the ranks of "garage fabricator" :D I was a good first project to get used to the techniques. Not having to build spindles amde the project much more realistic for a first timer. This took me about 4X as long as i thought it would....which is slightly off from the normal 3.14 multiplier.

This Summer i plan to redo the cage and do and full-race cage. Not long after that will be the rear suspension. Of course I am already thinking of the next-step for the front suspension!

Jon

[DRIVE Jon]

more pics

[DezertTV]

Sweet Build! I live the choice in front glass. Grab a cheap Ebay chrome grill and your set. The grill really helped out mine.

How did it work?

[Brian & Amy]

Jon,
Do your upper and lower control arms rotate about parallel axis(plural)? Looking at some of the pictures it looks like the might not. If they don't, is it a problem, or does it in some way add to handling? Just curious. My truck has I-beam front, but I'm always thinking about A-arms :)

Great work and nice CAD designs. SolidWorks is great!

[DRIVE Jon]

Sweet Build! I live the choice in front glass. Grab a cheap Ebay chrome grill and your set. The grill really helped out mine.

How did it work?

Hey Robert! I keep trying to get a grill, but people keep snyping me at the end of the auctions! I have never won an Ebay auction:mad: I will probably just buy the $100 knock-off "buy-it-now" grills....But for now, i am just gonna rattle can the fiberglass one. The suspension worked really well except for a loud clunk form the driver-side LCA. It is amazing the difference of going form 8" travel to 12" travel! It aint much, but it is a definite improvement!. It will hold me off until the cage and rear are done, then I will have to go all-out on the front. The clunk ended up being play in the rear DS LCA pocket. I torqued the bolt before the trip, but it needed to be tightened further to colapse the pocket to touch the inner bushing sleeve. I need a 1" ID 2.25-2.5 OD washer!!! Anyone know where to get that!

Jon,
Do your upper and lower control arms rotate about parallel axis(plural)? Looking at some of the pictures it looks like the might not. If they don't, is it a problem, or does it in some way add to handling? Just curious. My truck has I-beam front, but I'm always thinking about A-arms :)

Great work and nice CAD designs. SolidWorks is great!

Thanks Brian and/or Amy:D

They do not rotate on parallel axis. The upper arm pivot axis is raised in the front/lowered in the rear. It is called "caster-gain" This causes the steering to have more caster as the suspension compresses. So the self-centering affect of caster is increased when the front suspension is compressed...like while during hard breaking....and insures that the caster never goes negative as the suspension is compressed and the front of the vehicle is diving(I think negative is correct) From what I have heard...the resultant of this effect also causes the front supension to resist compression...reducing dive...and I don't fully understand why. It is not popular to engineer into off-road vehicles...although some do. I seems to be a helpful thing for everyday drivers on the road to help avoid loosing control under emergency braking conditions and such. I don't believe I would design in caster-gain if i were to start form scratch, but that is not an educated decision...just a lazy one:D It would be so cool to drive 2 identical trucks off road, one with caster-gain, and one without to see how much difference it makes.

Thanks for reading! We need to get a thread started on your truck! Love that thing.

I will post new pics this weekend. Front bumper/skid-frame is done. Throwing on simple rear bumper this weekend...and its ready for Ocotillo Wells on Superbowl weekend!

Jon

[Brian & Amy]

Thanks Brian and/or Amy:D

They do not rotate on parallel axis. The upper arm pivot axis is raised in the front/lowered in the rear. It is called "caster-gain" This causes the steering to have more caster as the suspension compresses. So the self-centering affect of caster is increased when the front suspension is compressed...like while during hard breaking....and insures that the caster never goes negative as the suspension is compressed and the front of the vehicle is diving(I think negative is correct) From what I have heard...the resultant of this effect also causes the front supension to resist compression...reducing dive...and I don't fully understand why. It is not popular to engineer into off-road vehicles...although some do. I seems to be a helpful thing for everyday drivers on the road to help avoid loosing control under emergency braking conditions and such. I don't believe I would design in caster-gain if i were to start form scratch, but that is not an educated decision...just a lazy one:D It would be so cool to drive 2 identical trucks off road, one with caster-gain, and one without to see how much difference it makes.

Thanks for reading! We need to get a thread started on your truck! Love that thing.

I will post new pics this weekend. Front bumper/skid-frame is done. Throwing on simple rear bumper this weekend...and its ready for Ocotillo Wells on Superbowl weekend!

Jon

Jon,
I just finished a preliminary search on explanations of "caster". It seems like it would be really easy to theorize and/or calculate yourself into hysteria (at least from my perspective). It makes me somewhat relieved to have I-beams:D

Your truck looks great!

I will start taking pictures of our truck and the building process.

Brian

[DRIVE Jon]

Yeah...the castor stuff gets complex. 6* at ride height seems to be a popular setting for the off road folk. Your beams have caster. If it uses ball-joints, I think there is a cam that can be adjusted +/- 3*. If it is kingpin, the only adjustment is in the radius arms...which is sometimes adjustable, sometimes not. I have heard that I-beam truck sometimes use slightly more than 6* of caster at ride-height. The castor changes in a radius-arm I-beam truck too, because beam is swinging thru and arc because of the radius arm.

The castor gain thing...It does sound like a good idea....but there is a problem of the castor decreasing when the suspension is at full-droop. I guess castor gain also can cause bump-steer problems.

I will have to make the call at some point to keep the castor gain or not.

Jon

[Brian & Amy]

Yeah...the castor stuff gets complex. 6* at ride height seems to be a popular setting for the off road folk. Your beams have caster. If it uses ball-joints, I think there is a cam that can be adjusted +/- 3*. If it is kingpin, the only adjustment is in the radius arms...which is sometimes adjustable, sometimes not. I have heard that I-beam truck sometimes use slightly more than 6* of caster at ride-height. The castor changes in a radius-arm I-beam truck too, because beam is swinging thru and arc because of the radius arm.

The castor gain thing...It does sound like a good idea....but there is a problem of the castor decreasing when the suspension is at full-droop. I guess castor gain also can cause bump-steer problems.

I will have to make the call at some point to keep the castor gain or not.

Jon

If caster-gain is something that you want to build into the front end, and negative caster is something you want to avoid (if I'm understanding this), then why wouldn't you place the A-arm pivot angles in a way that gives you zero-caster at full droop and increasing caster as the suspension compresses? Maybe with tons of wheel travel this would result in to much caster at full compression?

Anyway, back to your build!

[DRIVE Jon]

I will try to get the new pics up tonight.

As far as having no caster at full droop, the problem is in off-road stuff, you get airborne somethimes...and when you come back down to earth with the suspension fully-drooped....and oftern times with a "nose-low" position...the camber situation will be such that the wheels will have no stability, and will want to veer-off. This also can happen over whoops, and other situations. So that is why it is ruff to have 0 camber at full droop...in my humble understanding. There are probably more reasons too.

I should measure what the Tacoma is at full droop, but i don't know what datum to reference from (don't know where the flat spot is to put the angle finder...like Dana knuckles have).

Jon

[DRIVE Jon]

Here are pics of mounting the lights and whip'n up a bumper to reckon with.

THe lights i just suspended on a little jig made from saw-horses and a steel plate. I hung some tabs from the lights, and just tacked the lights to the jig when it looked in about the right spot. From there i could tweak the position by shimming sawhorse legs or moving around the plate. Then I started cutting tabs/tubes to reach the OEM mounting positions of the lights. It took way too much time, but I could do it a lot faster now. I wonder how big-dollar prerunner makers do this ?

The main bumper hoop was laid out in Bend-Tech Pro, then bent to the instruction that it spits out for ya. The hoop twisted in the bender(must get clamp-on angle finder) so i cut it in the middle, rewelded, and got the twist out. I want the bumper to be stout, so I like a twin tube setup. The 2 tubes together create a pretty solid structure, and the lower tube also attaches tot he skid frame. The skid frame is supported mid way down by connecting to the new tube ccrossmember. Then the skid frme comnnects to a lower skid crossmember that I created to prevent any damage to the front diff or main suspension crossmember. For not attaching to an engine cage...i think it is pretty strong...but will absorb energy nicely when tested. For the skid frame... I figured with as low as this stuff hangs...I will be using the skid-plate quite a bit...so I wanted the support frame to be beefy. I will put a piece of 1/4 aluminum on there when I find one. There will be an upper bar to the bumper to protect the 2 Hella 100FFs I will have up there. This weekend will be paint for the bumper and a simple rear bumper...more paint...and ready to go!

Pics of mounting the lights.........

[DRIVE Jon]

Pics of fab'n up the bumper. This is my 2nd front bumper. My brother-n laws was similiar.

It is different!!! I'll say that for it. I don't know if I like the look yet or not. Probably wont know till its back on its wheels....It is stout though! Good protection for the radiator....even if I stuff it real bad...the whole skid- frame would have to cave in like 4" before hitting the radaitor. The main hoop hoop attachment tube are DOM..everything else is welded-seam...all 1.75" X.120" wall.

If anyone will be out in Ocotillo Wells next weekend..let me know...I need to nerf soemone a few times and find out if it works:D

[DRIVE Jon]

It's finally all together! Driv'n it to work tomorrow as the 4X4 van is over at North County Ford depleating the bank account again!

Only headlight driving beams working now. the turn, and side-marker lamp use different connectors that the old Tacoma wire-harmess had. I don't know where to get the proper connectors for the headlights? Junk yard or Toyota i guess.

The truck sits low...small tires and the usual 4x4 low-lower control arms. It will certainly corner nice!...like an big rally car...or a CORR truck! Can't wait for the first big hit to the skid plate! I wish I would have set up the control arms for more ground clearance...but now i am fired up to figure oout a better setup for the front...but first the cage and rear suspension.

Taking it to "Coast Performance and Offroad" on the 101 in Ocenside tomorrow morning...to get the alignment done. Then off to the dez on Fri!!!!!

Thanks again for following along!

Jon

[Brian & Amy]

Great work Jon!

Looks like it's time for you to do some "roving" at the race. :D

[DRIVE Jon]

Thanks Brian.

Yeah I hope we can get the road crossing covered so Summer and i can try a new position! I do need to rig up a clevis in the back so i can put the tow-strap on something..and be able to pull stuck racers!.

Got the alignment done at Coast Off-Road Performance in Oceanside on the 101. They did a great job, and were able to start at 7:30 and it took an hour. They work with custom vehicles all the time. The alignment worked out, but the eccentrics are turned as far toward the center of the truck as thay can go...and the camber is about .5* off still. I think I can live with that! I must have made those upper control arms a little short. I have a couple more things to do before the weekend, but its looking like Mighety Whitey will be out rock'n Ocotillo Wells this weekend!

Hope I will catch some of you out there!

Jon

[Lance]

negative casters not gonna hurt anything its like ride a bike with forks that are bent out you can ride with no hands for ever without wobbling all over the place. the more negative caster you put into the front end is going to allow the truck to correct easier and head the wheels back straight again..at full droop if you have positive caster youre probably going to hit alot of bump steer as it goes back up into the cycle at bump. The last front end i designed was for a 97 f-150 and i had some camber change but through the 18 inch it got it only changed 2 degrees. i took the truck out and beat on it for a bit and there was no bumb steer what-so-ever. i also moved the lower uniball an inch forward to give it more caster. hope your truck runs as good as it looks but dont be afraid to go back to the drawing board if it doesnt drive the way you want it to

[DRIVE Jon]

Hey Lance,

The work you have done looks great!

Thanks for the info on the suspension alignment stuff. I did my best to not change the caster from what the Camburg UCAs provided. With the previous setup...the truck was very stable....and from my first test run on New Years...It felt very stable...not to mention the Caster gain as well. As far as the camber goes...i wouldn't know bad camber from my butt. I know it can't be way off, but as far as fine tuning goes...i don't know. I understand the advantage of the camber compensating for the chassis roll and suspension compression during turns...so it seems that an increase in camber as the suspension compresses is good....and this suspension will provide plenty of that.

I am looking forward to the drawing board again. These arms were just a warm-up. I plan to make the front suspension much more capable in the future...and probably loose the 4X4:eek: I don't know if I will make my own again...or buy something like the Camburg extreme travel race kit....and spend my time on the cage and rear. For now I will take a break from the fabbing, and start drawing something else up in CAD...probably the rear linked suspension in Solidworks and roll-cage with Bend-tech Pro. Bend Tech is just so handy for the tube stuff. i can't wait till they come out with their SolodWorks Add-in!

Jon

[Lance]

you have the right idea on camber, just make sure nothings done in excess. a little camber change is good and when cornering you do want the insde edges of the tires to bite and grab, and its definately easier to buy something thats already figured out especially by a good company like Camburg leaving youre headaches to start somewhere else. good luck on designing everything else for your truck and if you need any advice feel free to ask

[sicki]

I am currently doing the same project and all the design work on SW 07. I was wondering if i could get in touch with you to discuss some possible model exchanges

Joe

joseph@jet-designs.com

[sicki]

here is a pic of where im at with the lower arm and spindle build. Im designing the lower arm as a solid because its easy to manipulate in SW. then i will pull dimensions of the model and redesign using the sheetmetal features of solidworks and add all the internal gusseting etc.
The arms are currently 7" wider per side.

I am looking at also taking away some of the material on the frame that houses the stock bumpstop then gusseting it. this will allow more uptravel. Has anyone tried this or have any pros and cons to removing that large bumpstop area and then strengthening it. I see that the camburg and tc kits have a lot of ride height lift so as to avoid hitting this area at full compression but i wish to keep my CG low and maximize uptravel as well as down.

I would like to share files with anyone using SW out there and collaborate ideas

Thank

Joe Gesicki

joseph@jet-designs.com
www.jet-designs.com

I am also a Contract Designer if anyone has a need for 3D modeling

[DRIVE Jon]

Hey Joe,

I will help out any way I can. Looks like you are off to a great start....getting rid of the ball joints/4Wd will be much superior to my setup. I was considerig removing the bump stop strike area of the front crossmember. People have done it before...not a bad way to go. you can avoid having to do it if you put a litttle "crank" or bend in your lower control arm...but this will reduce ground clearance. Look at Camburgs new "Exterme Travel Taco Kit" I has 20" M2M without removing bump strike...and I don't think you could do much more bump-travel without longer upper arms/j-arms.

My Solidworks models are about 2 revs behind. They might help you with some of the dimensions, bit even that I need to update with some major changes...or they will do you more harm than good.

Next time around...i want to do a clean start with the front suspension. Cut off all stock crossmember stuff, and put i Sagnaw/swing-set steering, j-arm, and all that good stuff. Very similiar to the Barry Karkas Tacoma. That truck works great!

Jon

[sicki]

Jon

can we get in touch to exchange files and ideas

Joe

my email is above

[DRIVE Jon]

Sent you a PM Joe.

[Mike @ pit b]

Looks good. How much travel do you think? What year Taco?

As for were to start the weld, start were there is the least amount of material and then move to the are where there is more metal. That metal will be a place for the heat to travel to. Especially if you are MIG welding. With TIG you can at least control the heat.

[DRIVE Jon]

I have yet to measure the travel from strap to bump...but I will be removing the pass-side shock soon, and I will check it then. I bet it is 12"...just like the Total Chaos suspension with 4X4...since it is close to a copy of that system.

Thanks for the advice on where to start a weld. Make sense to work toward the middle of the part...so as the heat builds...there is more material to soak up the heat...especially with SMAW/MIG.

[JESSE_at_TLT]

For reference, the Total Chaos setup cycles almost exactly 13" metal-to-metal (with the rubber bumpstops removed).