Not so budget 3-link build

[fixit-p]

Dam even your stripper cages have wishbones... nice work

[Twisted Minis]

Working on some control arms today to ship tomorrow.

Every once in a while I get a good one.

[ShowSS12]

yo do some damn fine work.....its defiantly time for me to go back in the garage a start fabing something, hopefully this weekend. But in the mean time this thread has satisfied my need to create or watch other people do it. oh and by all mean please keep the pictures coming !!!!!!

[scotts62]

Twisted- nice work man!!!!

Where going to have to ask you to get out of the cage though...

[Twisted Minis]

I'm actually not sure who that is.

I'm working on some odd VW-Porsche swap stuff tomorrow. Rotating an aluminum intake, and I have to rotate the exhaust ports on one manifold. Should be interesting since they are welded on the inside of the tube about a 1/4" down, and the tubes are stainless and the flanges are cast steel or iron (have not tested yet). Going to be interesting. I started making a fixture for it today. I'm worried about the time adding up on it though. It sounds like a simple job, but there is a lot involved.

[Twisted Minis]

Got a minute in between projects and started my second spindle.

[SCOTI]

Brother.... That is nice stuff right there.

[Tony@AirRideTech]

nice fab work and nice attention to detail man!

[fixit-p]

Dammit A fly just flew in my mouth...I was wondering what was behind the spindle and all I can say is

[Twisted Minis]

The 71 Datsun came back in for a 5-speed swap. He bought a rebuilt short shaft 5-speed from a company that said it was a direct bolt in. So it went from an estimated 3-4 hour job, to about 30 hours. It was no where near bolt in. The bellhousing was too large to fit in the transmission tunnel, so it had to be cut out. I had to widen it about 2 inches at the bottom, and I had to raise it over 3 inches. The frame and the bellhousing had to be clearanced. The exhaust had to be rebuilt starting at the collector, because the stock exhaust did not clear the bell housing. The transmission mount was miles off, and the stock rubber pad would not even bolt to the transmission without modification, so a new one was made. And his stock drive line had a fixed 4-bolt flange, and the new one has a slip yoke, so it needed modifying as well. And I ended up having to make a new clutch push rod that was about an inch longer in order to engage the clutch.

Heres the tunnel and frame cut from the bottom, huge hole.


New transmission mount.





And heres the new transmission tunnel, still wet with seam sealer.

You can also see that I welded Jerome's shifter from the 4-speed onto the new 5-speed shifter.

[XXL]

Originally Posted by Twisted Minis

You can also see that I welded Jerome's shifter from the 4-speed onto the new 5-speed shifter.

Excellent shifter.

[texastrendz]

hey twisted, i gotta question for ya. i am going to start building a sand rail frame. i was wondering what size tubing and thickness you recommend. it is going to be all vw parts with a tube type chassis. i ask because you seem real focused on using round tubing, any help would be great. some other people recommended 1.50 with a thickness of .090. do think that is thick enough. once again thanks for any input.

[Twisted Minis]

I can't give you a definitive answer. Too many variables. Depends on what kind of material you use, the way the chassis is designed, the way control arms and trailing arms will be mounted, what kind of power and abuse it will be seeing, etc.


I forgot, here is a picture of the truck I did the swap on.

[project 67 sub]

god dang that thing is sick, my dad used to have one of those trucks, but deffinatly not like that one. did you do all the frame work on it to? if so it came out looking freakin awesome.

[Twisted Minis]

Ya I did a lot to that one. I narrowed a Toyota frame and clipped it, and ran Toyota drop spindles, brakes, and custom control arms. Narrowed a Toyota axle for the back, and it's got stock 80s SR5 wheels on it. It's a pretty different style than the normal minitruck, but everyone seems to like it.

[bmfpeterson]

Replace those bags with some dual rate coil-overs and you got a trophy truck!!!

I'm diggn the desert style, have you done some long travel in the past?

[scotts62]

Originally Posted by bmfpeterson

Replace those bags with some dual rate coil-overs and you got a trophy truck!!!

I'm diggn the desert style, have you done some long travel in the past?

[Twisted Minis]

I'm not sure exactly what you are taking about, because there is a lot of stuff in this thread now. But I have done a little bit of long travel stuff in the past. I wish I got the chance to do more, as that is really what I like.

[bmfpeterson]

Originally Posted by scotts62

haha I guess I should have noticed I was on the first page!!!! that rear 3 link is what I was talking about....

I had an s10 that we had gutted, and tube chassis, and cut the fire wall to bring the motor into the cab to make way for the front bulk....... I thank god everyday that project went bad on me. I would have dumped so much money into it.......I had a deal with racer off road to buy their cut plate front end off one of their race trucks. it was a sweet setup, 27" of usable travel, and the bulk tied in from the front to the back to meet up with trailing arms. all in plate ready to weld for $3500. then they went out of business!

But I would love to build another one after I finish my 71.

You do really clean work I would like to see you go all out on an off road truck....

[Twisted Minis]

I would too, but I fear the same thing. I could see myself dumping $50K into something like that. That's my issue with any project though. Everything I do snowballs and I always want the best parts and I end up sinking countless thousands into a $500 truck.

[ShowSS12]

Originally Posted by Twisted Minis

I would too, but I fear the same thing. I could see myself dumping $50K into something like that. That's my issue with any project though. Everything I do snowballs and I always want the best parts and I end up sinking countless thousands into a $500 truck.

Ummm I think this applies to all of us

[Twisted Minis]

I wish more people in my area thought that way though. 90% of the people that come into the shop want everything for nothing.

[scotts62]

Yeah that's about how it works... They just don't understand how much work goes into things sometimes.

[bmfpeterson]

We wouldn't be American if we didn't try to get a deal on everything! lol but I here you I manage a golf cart company and you wouldn't believe some of the older people that come in to buy a golf and get mad when they find out that a new EZGO is $7000.

One of my best friends builds CORR rhino chassis, they just got a cnc at his shop and he is talking about building some arms for his reg cab chevy.

[Twisted Minis]

I swapped out the stock trailing arm setup in a '67 VW Double Cab Bus, for a torsion tube and IRS control arm setup out of a 90's Porsche 944. He will also be using the 944 transaxle, and putting a 3.2L Porsche 6 cylinder true mid engine, under the rear passengers bench seat.

First shot is the stock torsion tube that needs to be removed. Second shot is the Porsche 944 torsion tube. Third shot is the stock tube removed. I cut as closely to the tube as possible, but not much was left.




Next the Porsche Torsion tube is hung inside some new filler plates that wrap all the way around the tube.







Some shots of the arms on and the tube fully welded.