Well, you know things these days. Gotta cover all the bases...

 

Dang dude, that looks great. I was originally planning on getting a Miller 175, but now you got me savign for a 251...bastid! Great work there Shane, I am really excited to see ho it works with the SAS.

 

Ya Scott , my thoughts exactly, I check the Cyberweld website almost daily waiting for the right deal. I have been spoiled using the MM251 in my welding class , now I can't see using anything less . Looking great Shane , I hope to have time tomorrow to stop by. Daryl

 

hehehe A 175 can do all this without a problem, but if you were bustin' ass like I was the other day to get this done there's a good chance you would have already hit the duty cycle limit when my 251 was just getting warmed up. If you plan to use it a lot, you won't be disappointed with the bigger unit, but if you don't think you'll need it often then the 175 will more than suffice. I wanted the better duty cycle and ability to do 1/2" in a single pass. Who knows, someday I might just quit my dayjob and start building bumpers and whatnot.

On cyberweld.com, that's where I bought my stuff from. Good guys, best prices around.

Thanks for all the compliments guys, this is definitely the biggest project I've undertaken on the truck so far. Installing the crawler box seems like childs play now..

 

What kind of steel are you using? I know nothing about metallurgy, so how do you go about deciding what steel is strong enough for an application like this?

DarylD, check your PM.

 

I'm not a metallurgist either by any stretch of the imagination. I'm not using any special alloys or anything, just plain old plate and sheet steel. The stuff I'm using is more than strong enough though, you don't have to worry too much about that until you're pushing for the lightest weight you can possibly get. If anything breaks it'll be the frame...

 

Shane, I have been thinking about your approach to the SAS. I see a problem!!!! If your going to BOLT your bumper to the frame, you will want to think about that! When your finished with your SAS and are out wheeling hard and FLEX, the possibility of breaking the bolts is their and will, your suspension will suffer a major catastrophe(i think that is how you spell it). I am so impressed with the bumper configuration. I was wondering how to handle my ARB Bumper when I do my SAS. You have giving me inspritation. Actually, I was thinking about asking you if you would like to modify another ARB in due time!!!!!! I just dont want to see all your HARD WORK go to waste. You will need to WELD the bumper mounting to the frame to keep from shearing off the bolts and really be stuck! I just saw a possible safety issue and wanted to express my concern.

 

I have talked to quite a few people involved in fabrication and offroading over the last few years about that exact matter while thinking of how to approach this swap. Only a couple expressed the same concern. There will be twelve 12mm grade 8.8 or better and two 10mm grade 8.8 bolts attaching it to the frame. Six of the 12mm bolts will pass through sleeved holes, with the option for two more if needed. The two spring eye bolts are much weaker than the other 14 bolts combined, if anything were to break those would go first.

I expect the need to retorque the bolts frequently at first as things settle in, and I will be keeping a close eye on it for any problems that arise. I do appreciate your concern Markus, rest assured I'll be watching it very closely. If I do find a problem that can't be solved I'll be falling back to a traditional welded hanger and deal with the ARB's mounts later.

 

Wow, that's a lot of bolts and big ones too. I agree with that the size and how many you should not have any problems. When I wrote last night, I did not know how many and the size of the bolts. Its a really nice job.

So Shane, I am now wondering if you will be willing to modify other ARB bumpers. I like what I've seen. I still have lots of time before my takes place. I have to get the Dana 60's narrowed and geared, so it will be a while. But just asking for future reference!

 

Thanks, it's been a lot of work so far. I had originally thought I'd be able to finish it in just a couple days, but it ended up taking about 50 hours of labor. I'm not sure I want to go into the ARB modding business just yet, and I don't think very many people would be willing to pay for the amount of labor needed. Every frame is slightly different so the vehicle would have to be in the shop for the duration of the build to ensure good fitup, and with my fulltime dayjob that could end up taking weeks...

If it works out I'll be willing to at the very least sell measured drawings and step by step plans to help others through the work. I have considered taking the idea to ARB, but I'm doubtful they'll bite on it for the frame tolerances reason as well as it would push their production costs through the roof making the bumper very expensive. I'll probably run it by their Toyota tech at the local HQ anyways to see what he thinks, it may spark some ideas for them at least.

 

The webcam is up!!!

 

Coolness! Works great, sound and all! But, how the heck am I supposed to get anything done now???

 

so what are you doing to the axle?

 

Looks like he's clearancing the housing for a Toyota e-Locker 3rd. Just a guess.

That streaming webcam ROCKS!!! I'm curious what it takes to set something like that up?

 

thats my guess too.
this guy with his hands in his pockets doesnt look like much help

 

Looks like some cramped working quaters.... I'm glad I've got an extra long garage, so that wasn't too much of an issue for Rob and I

 

hows the view from the other angle

 

Looks kinda cold and lonely right now. I've had my share of days working on the truck like that. Someone take that boy a hot cup of coffee!

 

fj80 elocker, modifying the housing to fit it. We're cleaning off the old loose paint now so the new paint will stick and keep it from rusting. Once it's clean we'll push the truck the rest of the way in and start removing the IFS.

 

That's Mike, the owner of the garage.