[toughnut]

G'day guys,
Here is the plan for my new project. I don't have everything in place just yet and this will be a work in progress as all projects are. So here is the basic outline so far.

I already have a Mav shorty but I really miss my GU ute that I had previously. The main thing that I didn't really like with the GU was the long wheel base. So here is my thought.

Extend my shorty chassis to around 104 inch wheel base. (Originally 94 inches)
Place a GU ute cab on the chassis with a 50mm body lift.
Braced and laminated GU diffs with upgraded brakes, lockers, CV's and hubs.
LS1 engine conversion.
3in suspension lift with triangulated rear
Coil over or air suspension (undecided)
kevlar panels
tubed tray area
mid mount winches
Custom bar work
Roll cage
Sport seats/harnesses etc.
On board air
37's

Should look and go pretty well. Happy for input on the car as I go. My choices won't be the same as what other people would choose but that is what makes them my choice. I'll keep people updated as the build progresses.

I'm not one to be secretive about work that I do to my car so I'll be happy to do write ups on specific things as I go along.

Cheers

 

[BeNos]

Well hurry up its not gonna build itself.
Na looking forward to the build as I wanna do something similar. SPecially mid wheel base. So will follow with interest

 

[GASSED GU]

Mate this sound's like it's gong to be alot of fun.Will also be watching

 

[guitarist]

are you going to go a tube front end?

 

[toughnut]

This will be a regular road going car so I'll be making it comfortable and also trying to minimise the engineering while still getting most of what I want in the truck. So I'm not sure yet if I'll tube the front end. On that note I'm not sure if I'll be allowed to go coil overs either. I still have a lot of planning to do with an engineer. I already know that I can leagally do most of what I want. It'll be interesting to see about insurance for it.

I found out that the GU cab is about 1950mm from the front hub to the bottom rear corner of the cab and the wheel base on a shorty is only 2400mm which means there is only 350mm between the back of the cab and the centre of the rear hub. This is what has dictated how far I extend the chassis. I'll be extending the chassis by 240mm. This will make the chassis 104 inches long and will give me enough room for a 37 inch tyre to fit comfortably and still have about 80mm between the tyre and the cab.

 

[toughnut]

Well hurry up its not gonna build itself.
Na looking forward to the build as I wanna do something similar. SPecially mid wheel base. So will follow with interest

It'd be pretty cool to see a mid wheel base with an extended shorty body on it. That'd definately look different. You'd get heaps of people having a second take at it.

I'm trying to hurry up but I work over here in China month on month off.

I'll also be sourcing a few things from over here in China while I'm here so I'll let you guys know what I get and how it goes. I've spoken to the guys that build the lockers over here and I've had a look at them. They won't say that they make them for ARB but they are such a close copy that I wouldn't be surprised that they are one and the same item. I can also get LED light bars at heavily discounted prices here. There are minimum orders on some of these things so I'll let you guys know if I am buying a few extras to see if you guys would like to get in on the action. Not trying to make any money just sharing the love. haha

 

[sim79]

Sounds great, can't wait to see the pics once its ready.

 

[shreko]

Sounds great, can't wait to see the pics once its ready.

x2 sounds like a great idea, will be watching closely.

 

[patrol28]

Sounds like it's gonna be one awesome rig, get to it!

 

[toughnut]

I've been weighing up some Rock Monster wheels against some Walker Evans. Has anyone had anything to do with Rock Monster wheels? They look like an ok concept.

Rock Monster Wheels - Products

Here's the manual for them.

http://www.rockmonsterwheels.com/docs/Rock%20Monster%20Manual.pdf

 

[toughnut]

I'm also having a look at this hydraulic winch for the truck. It looks the goods. Just waiting on a final price from the supplier.

RED TERRIER

 

[J N R]

Let us know how much you can get it for! would be interested in this.

 

[Punderhead]

:worthles:


I love the Idea!!!
Will be watching this one FOR SURE!!!

 

[sim79]

I've been weighing up some Rock Monster wheels against some Walker Evans. Has anyone had anything to do with Rock Monster wheels? They look like an ok concept.

Rock Monster Wheels - Products

Here's the manual for them.

http://www.rockmonsterwheels.com/docs/Rock%20Monster%20Manual.pdf

This is only Australian store that I know of that sells them.
ROCKMONSTER DOUBLE BEADLOCK WHEELS - AUSTRALIA

 

[toughnut]

Yeah. That is where I got the link from. I've been chatting to the guys on and off at proformance for a couple of years now since I had my last race truck. He's put a massive amount of work and design into that race truck of his. Some pretty trick parts on it like his on hand designed and built diffs and transfer case.

 

[toughnut]

:worthles:


I love the Idea!!!
Will be watching this one FOR SURE!!!

:rofl:

 

[toughnut]

One of the biggest planning desisions for me is whether to extend the chassis or to extend the trailing arms and move the shock/spring mounts.

I'm thinking that if I go with a different suspension setup such as coil overs I may just extend the linkages. This will obviously have an affect on the angle of the triangulated upper arms though so I may need to move the chassis mount for those back a little. Then how will this affect the lower mounts and the way the diff moves in its upward travel in relation to the tail shaft angle and anti squat characteristics.

With all that in mind it may be easier just to cut the chassis in front of the suspension mounts and extend it. But then I'll need to change all the hard lines for fuel and brakes etc. I'd have to do this anyway because I'm planning on running a custom fuel cell and the brake lines would still need extending because of the new wheel base.

It looks like it would be better to extend the chassis. If I do this then I would have to be careful where I choose to cut it and try to tie it in with my roll over protection. I'm planning on a body lift so I should have room underneath to brace the chassis beneath the cab and with the tube rear tray and all the frame work for mid mounted winches etc it should be plenty strong enough.......... I hope.

 

[KillaMav]

A few years ago I saw what I believed to be a SWB GU style side ute. From what I could make it out must have been a SWB GQ chassis maybe mid wheel but it was hard to tell, GU ute body and a 2 door navara D22 tray. It had no boxes either in between the cab and tray. I always wanted to do this but it involves wreaking a perfectly good in my case SWB.

There are a few mid wheel base GQ's running around now and I believe they have gone either way of extending from making the middle chassis section longer and also longer control arms.

When this build goes ahead I will be watching very closely.

 

[toughnut]

I just got an email back from the UK about the RED winches.

Thanks again for your enquiry.

I would need to know which engine your truck is fitted with before getting too specific with recommendations, but basically you would have 2 options with regard to the drive system for the winch.

1. Engine Driven pump and dog clutch system.
If you have a look at this link Engine-Driven High-Flow Hydraulic Drive Systems you can see our engine driven system with a full-size 26cc hyd pump driven from the crankshaft with a toothed belt. This will give you a very good flow rate so that you have a powerful and fast winch. The dog clutch is easy to simply engage and disengage when needed. Currently we have these for 200 & 300 Tdi engines.

2. The gearbox PTO driven system will give you the same performance as option 1, but you are getting the drive from the back of the Rover LT230 transfer gearbox. This system is not so good for drive-assisting, but you don’t often need to with a hydraulic winch. See this link. Gearbox-Driven Hydraulic PTO Drive System

The total cost for the drive system would be around the £2500 mark. The winch will be anything from £1200 - £1700 including a winch rope and fairlead. We are currently working on a air-freespool option for the RED winches. With a good pump system you will be able to achieve line speeds of around 100’/min. But of course, speed and line pull are proportional.

I hope that this will provide some food for thought. Please get back to me for any other information you need. Although the drive systems are very much centred around Land Rover engines, they have been adapted by other customers to work with other makes.

Regards

Peter
FIRST FOUR

 

[toughnut]

So the idea is to buy this winch with a 150cc motor fitted and then fit a 50cc pump to my engine with a dog clutch on it so I can switch it on and off. With a 50cc pump I can mess with the size of the gearing so that it doesn't over rev. They are usually rated to around 2500rpm. They fit up to a 36cc pump to their piddly little defenders so I should be able to run a 50cc pump without too much trouble. About a 45lt tank and some control solenoids and pressure relief vavles and hey presto! Awesome winching power!