71 NORRA Off Road Racer Build

[zbm100]

my opinion looks badass

[Prerun71]

Thanks ZBM100 ,
I'm not sure but I think there are a few of my neighbors that are questioning my sanity!! A few weeks ago I had a truck, now I make a lot of noise in the garage and just have a pile of "parts"

[Prerun71]

Firewall removed now just a little trimming will need to be done on the floor panels to allow for the width of the bellhousing and exhaust now I have a ton of holes to be plug welded from all the firewall spot weld locations . I left the entire length of the floor panel at this time should give me enough room we'll see. The motor may sit a little higher than this too I wont be certain until I get the Frame back under it

[zbm100]

My neighbors think the same of me one day I had this about a week later parted.

[Prerun71]

Ok frame is back from the Body shop all straightened up. I guess it was not only pushed to the right but had some diamond to it as well. They took great care of me and got it all squared up and for a fantastic deal really happy with the outcome. next step is to get the cab sitting back of the frame and get some solid body mounts built and installed. Sat the rear bedsides next to the cab to see what it would look like using the stock bedsides pushed out about 4 inches per side and hung on the rear cage. The bed is sitting several inches low but I can get a idea of how it will look and I like it. The 37" tires will tuck up into the fenders at full compression.

[SHANE 73Z]

Very cool build!

Im glad you are toying with the a-arms versus I beams. Not because I dont know that the beams are go-to and pretty well scienced out.......because they belong under Fords!

I would love to build a prerunner myself, but it doesnt make sense to build a 2wd in the snow belt. Mine will probably come as a later model 4wd, due to the Long Travel kits available.

Gonna love watchin this one.

Shane

[Prerun71]

Not much new recently , I ordered a 2" tubing Die set for the bender I'm using because all the major sanctioning body's require 2.0 x .120 wall tubing for the main cage on any vehicle over 4,000 lbs. And I want it to be Legit so 2" it is. that's 500$ vaporized, hope to start the interior cage in the next week or so.

[Prerun71]

Oh and thanks SHANE 73Z hopefully ill have so fun stuff goin on soon

[FOSTER21]

Any updates?

[Prerun71]

Stay tuned , The Build has taken a back seat the last few months but I'm back rolling on it now Cab Cage and 4 link are in the mix so I should have some pics to post in the next couple weeks. planning on heading down to the Leduc auction on Mar 1st for more parts as well.

[Mustard72]

I am in!!!!

[Prerun71]

could use a little help ? can anyone give me the height of the front and rear cab mounts when installed? compressed height . are they the same ? Would have sworn that I recorded this measurement during disassembly but that note is nowhere to be found. any help is appreciated.

[Prerun71]

I have been working long hours and not spending enough time on the C-Runner but I do have a couple pics to show. The trailing arms for the rear suspension are at the Fab shop being welded up. I went with a set of 55" Ruff Stuff arms I've read great things about them and I like the way they look. I also decided to completely remove the stock floor pan and I will build a sheet metal floor pan after the cage is installed for a more custom fit. this also will allow me to tack the cage together , remove the body and weld the entire cage then reinstall the body over the top of the cage and mount it. The body is tacked into place and supported, then I removed the floor. Next I removed all the existing body mounts and cleaned the frame up. The next few days will be spent welding the 3/16" steel plate frame supports/landing plates to the outside of the frame rails and then I can start cutting and bending this stack of tubing on the side of the house and get some progress done. I also have the piggy bank fattening up for a Rear axle housing (thanks to all those extra hours)

[Prerun71]

So due to recent circumstances the decision on what type front suspension to build was made a lot easier! The trouble with building a center mounted A-arm style truck is there is a lot of engineering that goes into getting the correct angles so the thing wont handle like a golfcart going 100mph on bumpy terrain with no steering wheel. The majority of those angles are built into the spindle and upright, like kingpin inclination and SAI . Well pre-engineered spindles are very expensive they can easily run 50% of the cost of a entire I beam setup. I got a smoking deal on a brand new set of ProAm chromoly spindle uprights, so good I couldn't pass them up and the decision has thus been made for me, call it divine intervention I don't know but the C-Runner will be centermount for certain. I couldn't be more excited!! These are awesome pieces. Full chromoly , TIG welded , and best of all new. These are the very same spindle uprights that can be found on a large number of the unlimited trucks racing today. This means the rear axle housing is now once again my next big planned purchase. (unless another deal like this comes along)

[Prerun71]

A little more progress on Sunday, got rid of about 6' of unneeded frame!. The stock trailing arm crossmember will come out as soon as I get some cage in there to support the frame rails .Checked with my buddy at the fab shop and my trailing arms are still unassembled I suppose I cant complain too much he does have a business to run while he's not helpin me out. I did find a decent picture of them on the Manufacturers web site though so I posted what they look like too. This thing is gaining a little momentum .

[mx289]

Those are some stout parts !
Very nice.

Keep up the good work.

[Prerun71]

Little update. I'm driving to Los Angeles on Saturday morning to meet with a designer for the front bulkhead , suspension and steering. Ill drop off my spindle uprights and he will design a completely custom 1-Off front end for me. Its an expensive venture but I want the suspension/steering to be 100% correct no compromises. The awesome part is I will own the design once its complete. Cant wait, hope to have a few CAD drawings to post up soon!

[Willys47]

I want to follow along with this one if you dont mind.

[aggie91]

I am going to follow along. Would like to build something along these lines some day...

[Prerun71]

This Project has officially been named "Darwin" It has been evolving faster than I can keep up. So the front bulkhead design has been coming along great I couldn't be happier with my decision to go with a pro on this. I will attach a couple of the working drawings that he has sent me, they are not complete but you can get the idea. The front suspension will cycle 22.5 inches of travel cleanly (no binding) with a track width (total at widest point not C/L) of 88" the steering will be handled by a HOWE 3" power Rack and Pinion unit. It will run 37x13.5-17 tires on 17x8.5 wheels. all 4 corners will don 2.5" coilovers and 3" bypass shocks with the ability to go up to 3.5 / 4.o units. The front design should be complete and ready for approval to go to laser cut by next week. A new center frame section is also being designed out of 2x4" steel tubing so the rear suspension will have optimal geometry and will work specifically with the front suspension for overall balance . This thing is getting out of control!!!

[jus2qwk]

Looks sweet so far!

[72k5zl1]

cool build. check out jd fabrication. there in san diego area. great guys and amazing work!

[Prerun71]

Got a few more parts ordered today . CAD designer needs them to finish up Steering geometry and rear link mounting points both on the chassis and the housing. cant wait to get this stuff home. Few weeks from now I should have a massive jigsaw puzzle to start assembling (welding)

[1Bad 37]

SUBBED! This is gonna be badass!

[SierraMtns]

VERY cool. I'm in for this build.