rocky on roids

[2roky]

figured i should start a build thread seeing as my project is finally starting to take shape.

the base for the project was a 1995 daihatsu rocky (f300)
the plan is/was to strip the chassis down and put hilux axles under it with either coils or coilovers on it and a toyota v6 and auto out of a surf. and as per any other serious build it will get a winch and and other bar work etc.

1st step was to strip it down to the chassis and cut all the ifs crap of.





it sat idle for the better part of 6months while i tried to figure out the suspension system

after playing around trying to devise a way to mount a set of landrover discovery radius arms i come to the conclusion it would be easier to build a 3link+panhard system.


link 900mm long

toyota surf trailing arm bushes

plate cut for mounts

chassis mount folded up

mounts tacked to chassis

i still have to build the chassis mount for the top link and the diff mounts. also i now need to decide whether or not to go coils or coil overs. if i go coil overs it will be a few months before i can afford them if i go coils i can do it sooner but will have to go through all the hassle of building mounts for them. not sure what would be better of the two choices.

[DA RAM]

good start
coilovers if you can wait ? easier to mount , work harder and take up less room ,
ive had a rocky on 33's good little trucks ,all the best with ya the build

[jervisad]

this is gonna be cool man good luck with the build

[2roky]

cheers guys yeh im leaning towards coilovers for the ease of fitting them and also the fact that they work better. its going to be a slowish build i think

[suzolla]

Nice work with the folded up mounts.
Just a thought with your bushes, the lurathan generally do not flex as well and the rubber ones, have you checked how much they will twist when the axle articulates. Plus it has been said that off road the rubber ones last longer as well. I guess time will tell.
Keep up the good work.
Cheers
Tim

[2roky]

cheers,
i discovered dont try and design mounts hung over. did the mounts to the diff the other morning and completely over looked the fact that the top of the diff is curved and not square...... that will learn me.
i havent checked articulation as of yet as im still to mount the diff up. that will be done next.
im using the nolathane brand bushes which i heard somewhere were meant to be softer and harder wearing than the rubber ones? i could be wrong and its not too late to change the plans yet either as to which bush i run thankfully

[niblik]

nolathane,in my dealings, is stiffer dude..

[Dirtydog]

nalathane is good in situations like sports cars etc, really makes a difference in normal cars too, but the nolathane bushes in my truck wore down reall fast, i had to replace control arm bushes after about 6 months.

[slide]

im using the nolathane brand bushes which i heard somewhere were meant to be softer and harder wearing than the rubber ones?

I would change that to harder, and faster wearing than rubber.

Excellent in sports cars where there's minimal angular movement of suspension arms, and you don't want the softness of rubber to change alignment under load.
But less than ideal in 4x4's...

[jervisad]

yeah i found this to that when i put the rubber ones in they have lasted ages and the ride was a tad smoother and in a sj the ride is pretty shocking