I too interested in the steering upgrade. The key to rock crawling an ifs is go really slow. Gears and lockers.

 

I'll be rocking your kit for awhile yet. Getting the kit was a couple days hanging out in Centralia and drinking beer with Tim Lund. Besides the huge difference your kit made meeting that dude made it well worth it. Plus the McMenamins chain is super awesome. Its a hotel/pub chain in historic buildings in Washington and Oregon.

I got the beefier idler through 4Crawler. It could use a brace but may go the TC route.

If I where to stay IFS we would need to figure a way to improve steering. I love how low and stable it keeps me. What we need to figure out is how to keep the tires pointing the same direction. Under extreme stress on the escalator on the Moab Hells revenge one wheel was straight and the other was toed in hard. Effectively I no longer had full control. On super steep sections going uphill when the front end is unloaded the tires toe in but I didnt find it an issue too much if it was flat. Straddling a wedge causes problems when its steep so a good winch is key.

I would have pictures but I was too busy˟ sh***ing my pants and when the two front tires where in the air with the rear passengeer quarter keeping me from rolling the missus ran away with the camera. I felt like I was in a recliner. My legs where shaking from the stress of holding the brake. It was awesome.

What I mostly learnt is there is no build that is a fit any and all situations. When and if I do an SAS there will be loads of times ill miss IFS LT.


Another issue I am facing is getting a good alignment. Can I just tell them to set it like its a T-100?

I gotta tell you Nate, I beat the piss out of your kit and it really shines. Money well spent. Now I just need to find a T100 rear and get fender flares so the police don't have a fit.

I too like my yellow skid plate. Off road vehicles should have garish and loud colours.

Edit//

And dents.

 

Still don't understand how one wheel is pointed differently. Some thing must be bending/flexing and returning back to normalish.

Just have it aligned as a 4runner. Set toe to specs and matching. Now tell them you want as much positive caster as possible and tell them that it doesn't have to be in specs. Just max the caster out to positive. Camber I would set within specs and matching each other.

 

As in seront tread ans thé other looking at sidewall. It happened on the escalator on hells revenge when the front is unloaded and straddling the crevasse.

Its not always an issue.

In understood all other than positive caster. What does that mean?

Thanks, I'll be taking it in in the next day or so. Im home now and know a guy who does good work.

 

This particular part had me rolling! I burst out laughing because I've been in scary situations like that where I felt I would flip. But after I got through it I thought it was awesome.


This is true. I didn't role with IFS too long but I did miss the smoothness of the ride. Especially at faster speed. SAS is a bit rougher. But I don't mind it at all. I think id just need to replace my seats to make it more comfortable. Thats all. I would never go back to IFS if given a choice between the two. So much more I can do now then before before. Only thing i still want is a bigger set of tires.

Anyway. Hoping you and your wife have a great holiday week. Stay warm man. Btw thanks again for the early birthday/Christmas present. I'm loving his stereo and speakers.

 

Thnka buddy.

There are ways of making an SAS more comfortable like coils. I'll take my time doing research to know exactly what I want. This thread has been very ADHD. As usual I've been all over the shop with ideas. At least I've tried a few things.

Next thing is to get it as close to road legal here in BC as possible. Once I've got some funds coming in I'll be getting fibreglass fenders and FINALLY getting to the rookie restore part of this thread. Front for sure but I don't know if I will patch or get fibreglass rears done too.

I've been to a great wrecker and they will allow me to cut some panels off so if I can get my welder running it might be a good time to try.

Part of getting it road legal is looks. If it's not a rusty piece of crap and you've tried to cover as much tire as possible inspectors and police will let it slide. So getting the 3" front flares, less backspacing, rear fender flares and rust clean up should get me a pass.

First though is road trip repairs. I take it in on the 30th to get a new pitman arm, maybe idler arm, tie rod ends and possible wheel bearings. There is play in the front end but it is in some alignment which the guy did for a case of beer. I'm taking it back for the repair work so he didn't charge all his hours he's already put in finding the play in my steering.

He's the best alignment guy I've ever been to. He did my first one when I had the balljoint spacers put in. Best alignment I ever had so I always go back when I'm in the area like now.


Christmas was awesome. I flew my sister out from Ontario and picked up my cousin from Vancouver Island./ First time all the family has been together like that in a VERY long time. I think last one was in 2000 with just my family and 1985 to be with our Aunt, Uncle and cousins.

Even though I have a nasty cold it was an awesome Christmas. I just don't have a hangover today like I expected.

 

Glad your trip went well man, sucks your sick but at least you got to see the whole family for the holidays.

What area of BC did u end up moving to, you probably mentioned it but it seems to have slipped my mind. Excited to see pictures of the trip! The fibreglass fenders should help big time with your inspection, they are very finicky with rust... no jagged edges or it wont pass unless you know a guy that does inspections at least. To bad your not in this area I know a few guys that will give you a complete list of what they look for what will make you fail and are generally pretty forgiving on the inspection as it is small town mentality here, everyone does each other favours here and there. Also I could help ya get it good to go for inspection and look at the new LT system. Really curious about that setup I have been looking into it feverishly for about a year now.

 

I'm in Surrey at the moment. We are looking at Mission area or Vancouver Island. It depends on where the missus finds work. I prefer the Mission area closer to the bush and quiet.

Tomorrow I take Red into the shop for road trip wheeling repairs.

New pitman arm, outer tie rod ends and wheel bearings. I may be getting the Total Chaos idler arm as well. I think the one I've got in now is worn out already. It's only a year and a half old but hard wheeling and big tires breaks ˟˟˟˟.


I really hope that Nate who does the Blazeland LT releases his new upper control arm. I'd love to get rid of the extension bracket I have now. Sometimes on those long trip you forget to retorqe stuff so that would be one less worry.

So far with out of province plates the RCMP have left me alone for the tires sticking out so much.

With the holidays just about over and my sister heading back to Ontario I can finally get my photos uploaded. I have 5 SD cards to go through. Massive files too from the DSLR camera. Over 100 gig of data.


It's going to take some time but happily my new gaming PC has USB3 so it might go faster than I expect.

I also did some solo wheeling up by Stave Lake and was really happy to find some tough obstacles on old roads. Enough to make me back down a tight trail due to being a single rig.

Did not want to break with the sun going down and no one knowing exactly which trails I took.


____________


____

 

YES!!! I can't wait - been stoked for this for months now haha Your adventures are so epic!

Hey question for ya, with all the wheeling and especially Moab, how is your clutch holding up? Have you ever upgraded or replaced it?

Pretty sure I need a new one, pretty much every time I do any really technical wheeling it heats up and then starts slipping like crazy and I have to let it cool off before I can climb anything... annoying to say the least. Ever had any trouble with yours?

 

I agree. I look forward to the pix you guys take. Your trips always look fun.

 

No so far so good. Only thing I've burnt is brakes in the California hills. I nearly set them on fire and had to throw water on them.

I wasn't even braking hard.... I plan on getting new rims to both pull my tires back in some and be able to fit bigger rotors and calipers.

I learnt a lot about what works and what doesn't on this trip. Hard wheeling the the ability to get out unbroken while carrying weight is going to be a future focus.

In the meantime though, I need a new tire as one is chewed up badly from the front end wandering then just enjoy what I have now and some rust clean up and road inspection stuff.

Oh and some jerk stole my jerry can last night at the pub..... Surprised it lasted so long. It was in my old neighborhood too so I should not have been surprised. It was full of premium too.

I'm not too mad though. I was a dick when I was a kid so it's some well deserved karma.



EDIT//


Oh and some other fun news is that we will be needing a second vehicle for the missus to get to and from work.

My buddy told her about Samurais. She's keen to get one so she can get to work and enjoy the trails in her own rig.

Maybe she'll end up having one of these. She already understands the need for low gears and lockers so it will be interesting to see what she asks for.

The tough part will be finding a stock one. I already learnt my lesson about dealing with other people mods.

 

I swapped to the T-100 spindle assembly on the 86 Fordota. Picked up the whole unit for almost nothing from a guy on craig's list who did a SAS. The rotors are thicker and the calipers adjust accordingly. I am still using the original Master cylinder and noticed a much softer pedal feel. I've heard its a good idea to convert to the T-100 master.... but for me I didn't. Maybe T-100 Master is a larger bore and stoke or something. As for the way I did it, it does seem to have better braking and it still fits a 15" rim.

If your looking for a different rim tire combination to work with Blazeland I recommend a 15 or 16 x 8 w/ 4" backspace for 33x12.5 or 35x12.5 size tires. It keeps track width more manageable. If your running a drop bracket kit and spindle spacer you can get away with a 4.25 backspace maximum; or the outer tie rod end hits the tire. If your not running a DB and spindle spacer I've been able to fit a 33x12.5 on a 15x7 with +/-4.5 backspace like the factory SR-5 alloy rim offers.

 

I have factory backspacing I think now with a 15x10" rim. I think my next will be some sort of beadlock and a 17" size. It would be nice to not spend more money again if I go to a larger tire. It looks that I have an inch and a bit of clearance to the outer tie rod ends so I'm hoping I can pull them in a half inch or so.

I'm sure I could find a T-100 master and brake booster at the wrecker. Is the caliper the same size as the V6 4Runner?

I want a pair of your new upper control arms. I'll be waiting to place an order when you do.

 

Its possible the T-100 assembly is the same as V-6 stuff? When I did the swap my caliper had malfunctioned and I had the T-100 stuff sitting on the scrap pile. I just bolted the whole spindle assembly in place and didn't research it much.

A 17" rim will let you upgrade to some massive components!

It may be a while for the Mega Travel and I don't think it will be an pieces and parts upgrade to the standard long arm kit. It will be a stand alone design.

 

I still continue to eyeball these ones.


http://www.intercotire.com/BIRDDOG.php


They have had good reviews in magazines.

_

 

I think RBX is running those Birddogs on his 4runner, pretty sweet wheels!

 

Loving your build up Red, going to do same on my '95 Extra-Cab one day.
For now have ordered a set of SAW 25mm torsions and some 1.5" BJ spacers
from Krypton in Alberta :
http://www.krfabs.com/product_detail.php?productID=11
I will do a sway bar delete and run the bars no preload,
have some 4:88 thirds lined up ( open for now, True-Trac in the works )
Regards,
Hugh

 

Red have you gotten any flak from our friendly Canadian officers yet ?
I was spotted by the SQ ( sureté québec ) officers the other day.
They did a 180 in a shopping center parking lot one snowy night on their way to
replenish their Tim Horton's and high beamed my truck for a moment
before I got brave enough to start rolling.
They followed me back to the main road and then
sped off for adventure. I'm on a 3" BL and cranked / lifted
2" on 31's all terrains for winter. Running some 1.5" Jungle Flares
so my tires are flush.

When I had the '86 on 33 x 12.5 with 2.5" BL they pulled
me for an inspection. I had no mud flaps nor flares at the time.
I seemed like a big ordeal for them and was totally not prepared.

 

This is good stuff, keep it rollin

 

I've been pulled over a few times, last time was just before I moved to B.C. They said nothing about my lift, asked a few questions about my headlights and that was that. Build is looking good as always, Red.