....the shocks arrived today.....4 weeks of waiting....and they're the wrong type...I got actual shocks...rather than the coilovers I specifically said I needed...SO, yet another delay >.<

 

Turns out it was the Fab shop that messed up the order, they guy goofed up and ordered standard shocks instead of the correct coilovers. So he made damn good and sure to order the right ones today, AND even took care of the extra costs! According to him, the new (correct) coil-over shocks should get here within a week. We'll finish bolting and welding on the truck this weekend, and have spring rate figured out and order coil springs next week for sure! ....that and we really need to finish cause my dad wants his garage back....lol

 

Booo, stupid fab shop. Good thing they actually like me and won't mess up my stuff. I just gotta weld up the muffler on my '83 and probably replace a leaking O'Reilly's brake caliper, and I could be down for a wheeling trip. Apparently fire season is over already, cause I haven't been to a fire on the helicopter yet!
Anyway, keep it up and we'll have to see if power or suspension is better for keeping speed in the desert when you're done.

 

Yeah, I'm interested in finding that out myself too actually, lol. And fire season over?? The valley was filled with smoke today from a fire up around Kennedy meadows!

On a side note, I'd really like to get the chevy 63's stuffed under the yota before I get shipped off to boot as well. VERY interested in finding out for myself how those feel offroad

 

Dang, you might be GONE by the time I can come up and visit! lol

Sorry bout the hang ups... but yeah, there's ALWAYS something to work, on, aint it the truth? lol

Have a great weekend, homie!

 

Alright folks, It an't done but the list if indeed shorter. Heres a bunch of pics to go with it all:
To start with: Random "garage" poser pic to help remind everyone whats goin on, lol


After finally rebuilding the hubs and putting them all back together, new ring seals for the "free" and Locked" selector included, I managed to get my buddy over to finish the welding.

According to the website, the F.O.A coilovers we ordered max out at 24.25", so we welded in the droop stops right at 23" because the max droop we could even get was 24"


I'm also going to have to extend my bumpstops with a spacer or something because the coilovers bottom out at 16.25" and the bumpstops stop travel at 15" >.< BUT my total suspension travel will be from 16.5" to 23" So it'll be between 6 and 7 inches at the shocks, at the wheels it'll be more I believe. Not as much as I thought I'd get, but still waaaay more than stock!

Speaking of welding buddy. Here he is!

...welding in sandles...which I don't recommend anyone ever do. Even if he did do perfect welds and didn't burn himself once....

anyway, MOVING ON: After the droop stops were welded, and painted to prevent rust, I tackled the brakes. Which went more painless than I thought, but were still frustrating. Mostly because Total Chaos failed to address the issue that the steel brake lines were small enough to fit through the mounting holes on the fram and hub assembly, rendering the retention clips useless. So we had to fab up some custom spacers to squeeze in between the line and the whole so the clip would do its job. If the spacers fly out...I'm thinking bailing wire will work instead, lol.

Heres pics:
Droop stops welded on:




Annnd, here she is at FULL droop:


Right side COMPLETE!


Left side COMPLETE!


Last but not least (for now) What it might look like with wheels on:




As it sits right now, all thats left to be finished, is to bleed the brakes, cycle the power steering system, bolt on the coilovers once they're set-up, bolt on tires, and finally an alignment.

 

diggin the tubed fenders...

 

Hands down my favorite 4runner ever. Nice work man.

 

Lol i had to double take this... but do the stock bump stops even work with LT?

 

DAYUMMMMMMMMMMM! sick, plain and simple! lol. That's not you in the sandles? lol.

 

lol, nope, thats the wedling buddy, I know how to weld...but thats all I know, is what to do, I know nothing of technique and such, my buddy however, used to own a diesel rig repair shop, he knows QUITE well how to lay down some GOOD welds, so I have him do everything. For free none the less cause he likes the kudos he gets when I tell everyone HE did the metal work on my truck. Not to mention he wants to see my rig done just as much as I do, lol.

If I used a different coilover, maybe, but for the coilovers I'll be using, they'd bottom out before it hits the bumpstops, so I'll have to extend the stock stops about a half inch to make them work so the shocks won't bottom out and cause damage.

Thanks man! Still got a lot more to do it still too! Next on the list is chevy 63" leaf springs and an auto locker

 

Whatever, get it done! By the way, I'm on that fire that's been smoking you out lately, but it isn't really by Kennedy Meadows. It's way up near Sequoia King's park. You're safe.

 

damn man were at the exact same spot! all i gotta do is brakes, shocks, and alignment! but wow your 4runner is looking SICK!

 

whats the deal?

 

Holy..... Great, now JonnyBoy has me jonesing heavy for the Sierras(I would say Sequoias, Peppermint, etc., heading toward the pass.... But I'm assuming with that kinda drama going on up there.... Upper Kern is out for a bit? ). Seriously though...... be safe, man!

Moze, ..... WHERE DA HECK, MON? LOL.

 

Yeah, we're working out of the Peppermint work station. Pretty cool compared to the Owens valley or Indian Wells valley climate. It's a heck of a drive up here, though. The crew in our helicopter took 30 minutes to get here, the trucks took almost 7 hours! The fire's winding down a lil as far as I can tell Chef, you may be able to get up here before too long.

Moze! Get Busy!

 

Wow, I would LOVE to get up there before all the heat's gone/granting my schedule as well.

Again, stay safe... and yeah,MOZE...., .... BOOT CAMP SHMOOT CAMP,....OOOOOOOOOOHRAH! GET'R'DONE! hahaha. Jk, but can't wait for the first "Look mom, I'm FLYINGGGGG" video! lol.

 

STILL no shocks guys, everything on the truck is 100% DONE but the Company F.O.A has totally impeded my progress. According to the guy at the fab shop, he called the Owner and was told he thought the order had been handled, but apparently hasn't been. so we find out tomorrow what the deal is. Can't say how mad I am about the whole situtation but the fact that my buddies have gone on multiple 4wheeling trips and my yota is now being used as storage...yeah, ya'll would understand how I feel not having been able to drive my rig in over two months. >.<!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm tryin guys, ya'll will be the first to know when its done for sure!

But for the record, I'm never recommending F.O.A offroad shocks to anyone, my experience with their customer service has been absolutely HORRIBLE!

 

You know I'm joking, right? TAKE YOUR TIME! lol. I know it's drivin ya nuts.... that knob of a machinist last time cost me a WHOLE SUMMER!!!!!

Anywhooooooo, can't wait for the "FLYING HIGH" PICS! LOL. Maybe some video too? lol.

 

I know chef, lol, I know. Had I spent the extra cash, I probably would have had coilovers by now. But the fact that its out of my hands, kinda drives me nuts. lol.