Lada trails truck revisited

[ladeda]

Free from gee moters! I dont believe you.
How ya sus that out?

[De-Ranged]

Yep Free
Chris was easy to deal with, real nice bloke....
Two things first he is getting the advertising, that is what sponsorship is about
that means his name and details on my truck and it in a national comp, a lada in competition it will get attention
Second the bits I want are stuff that next to nobody wants so there is minimal loss to them

I get idiots asking for free work all the time with this stupid idea if I build them a truck it will magically benefit my business
I put it to them, prove to me the benefits vs the costs haven't had anyone try yet

Just remember sponsorship is advertising.... and like anything you have to sell it to people

[Dr_PC]

Yep Free
Chris was easy to deal with, real nice bloke....
Two things first he is getting the advertising, that is what sponsorship is about
that means his name and details on my truck and it in a national comp, a lada in competition it will get attention
Second the bits I want are stuff that next to nobody wants so there is minimal loss to them

I get idiots asking for free work all the time with this stupid idea if I build them a truck it will magically benefit my business
I put it to them, prove to me the benefits vs the costs haven't had anyone try yet

Just remember sponsorship is advertising.... and like anything you have to sell it to people

After 30+ years of motorsport and getting sponsorship I will tell you now that it is VERY HARD to prove a relationship between what you receive and what your sponsor gets in return. Yes I am and have been on both sides of the fence.

[De-Ranged]

I have to admit the "prove it....." line is just a way of getting rid of the free loaders... it is also why I do very little boy racer stuff (through the shop) 4wd'ers tend to be older, sadly tighter in the pocket but they are serious about getting work done

The only one who can work out if sponsorship is viable is the buisiness owner.... I used to ask how people came to use my business...
Interestingly sponsorship was one of the best bang for buck... but it boiled down to the persons personality more than the results now how do you write that one up and try n sell it

Ladeda I hit Chris up about the box's.... the one out of the parts truck is $150 +gst or he does a rebuilt unit for $350 +gst.....

Right a wee update
grabbed all the bits I wanted

As you can see I nothing that anyone else would want well not many... couldn't resist the mud flaps I know they will get ripped off but they looked so lada-ish I got to fit them

Curiosity got the better of me so I decided to see how much of a vertual lift it really was....


Got the guard lips expanded to fit round done it so I can fold up some straight sections to join the bits

Doing my best to keep the lada look

Found some serious rust in one of the sills..... considering replacing the sills with some large RHS but can't find anything in the rules... my guess would be its alright as I'm making the panel heavier has anyone done it in E or F class

Cheers Reece

[De-Ranged]

Finished the passenger side guards, killed my arms forming the end of the front inner guard since this is part of the structure of the front end I did it out of 1.5mm sheet so it was alot of work

A couple of hours later this is the result....

It could have done with a run though an english wheel to smooth it out but.... I haven't finished machining the die wheels for mine yet one day


Backs all done I would have liked to use lighter panel steel (1 or 1.2mm) for these but being a cheap bugger I've used what I had in fact I turned the flat section of the inner guard into a patchwork so could use up all the small off cuts from the last sheet

Thats one of my 35"s ..... a lada on 35"s

Going to go in today and cut the cancer section out of the sills and put some 75mm x 75mm box section in there

The latest rules have this slight change..... got me thinking

Cooling System (Any form of modification can be made to the cooling system as long
as the radiator remains securely mounted anywhere under the confines of the bonnet)

Might be time to make a louver press

[rokhound]

As usual Reece, very cool. Why don't you make cam dropper system on an a geared down elctric motor for your hammer? Doing that manually must be a major arse.....
Oh anyone reading this, don't get all excited about me saying a lada is cool, because it is not . Reece's work is what is cool, very very cool

[Dr_PC]

Page 18 of the 2012 rules" If the Rule Book does NOT say YOU CAN do it, then you CAN NOT" Capitalization is from the rule book and it is also bold.

Page 27 Section P
(a)E Class Maximum tyre size for Super production vehicles will be 33" x 14.5 " or metric equivalent as per manufacturers specifications or as marked on tyre wall
(b) any form of modification to rims is permitted

Page 28 Section U Rims

(a) Track of wheel may be altered.
(b) Wheel spacers may be used

[tomsoffroad]

Very cool Reece Have you tried a sand bag? May be quicker/easier than using your arbor press?
Sounds like ol' Roky boy wants one!!

[Big]

As usual Reece, very cool. Why don't you make cam dropper system on an a geared down elctric motor for your hammer? Doing that manually must be a major arse.....
Oh anyone reading this, don't get all excited about me saying a lada is cool, because it is not . Reece's work is what is cool, very very cool

LOL .. I have to admit he rather talented.. Loving the build..

[De-Ranged]

Page 18 of the 2012 rules" If the Rule Book does NOT say YOU CAN do it, then you CAN NOT" Capitalization is from the rule book and it is also bold.

Page 27 Section P
(a)E Class Maximum tyre size for Super production vehicles will be 33" x 14.5 " or metric equivalent as per manufacturers specifications or as marked on tyre wall
(b) any form of modification to rims is permitted

Cheers Dr Pc, I love how the first rule is that capitals one
Don't stress the 35"s they are there to give me a bit extra clearance, I'll be running a set of 33x12.5 Savero's.... I do have a concern that twist and movement in the body (remember no ladder chassis) this could move things so the extra clearance is there to allow for this and any mud etc on the wheels, this also gives me the option of playing with different tires and rim width
My rear guard is a bit bigger than needed to fit but this was done to match the shape of the front using the original guard edges & has made the whole guard heavier than standard so fits within the rules for the body .... the rules arn't the best set out or well defined.... do you think I'm in for trouble with the guard chop

Tom and Rok, the arb press is a trick I picked up off a hotrod site in US there is a sand bag that I'm pushing into under the panel its not just about dinting the panel its also about how hard, where and size and shape of the sand bag I have thought about an air ram and foot switch but I get enough force that on light gauge stuff I can split the sheet so the feel with the arm is good... the really cool thing is this is way faster than any other technque I've tried

Thank you for the comments

PS hey rok if your mates can wear lycra you can come out of the closet and get a lada

[De-Ranged]

Got one of the sills done last night

Set the box section in so it was at the same height as the original body seam the rusty bit is the factory jack point

I've left the inside fold of the sills as this was still fine a coat of surface rust but nothing serious the inside rib was gone for a good portion there was no strength left in the sill, this will make it alot stronger and given that its a uni body made it safe
Welded it all in and then transitioned it into the guard lips

[Dr_PC]

the rules arn't the best set out or well defined.... do you think I'm in for trouble with the guard chop

Correct on rule definition, my understanding and interpretation for E & F page 26 Section L sub section (i) is that you can do the guard chop but you must have an inner guard made from some material of your choice.
Cheers
Dan

[Nivapulledout]

ohhhh I like the work around you did with the sills, have not seen that done like that. I was going to do something different but I like the look of that. how do you think a High lift will work on a sill like that though????

I am needing mine to work with a high lift.

otherwise looking wicked keep it up

[De-Ranged]

Should be no problems using a hi-lift the tounge on the jack is about 100mm deep and the box is only 75x75mm

[De-Ranged]

Got a chance to do some more on the toy
Was looking at the engine panelling and noticed I could have done things in a better order .... there isn't alot of room in the foot wells now and welding the skin on for the engine cover isn't the easiest access wise.... and since the drivers inner guard hasn't been welded in yet I thought I'd take advantage of the access
This is 0.5mm galv sheet that has been pre-painted.... an old sign that was dropped off, got sick of stepping over it so figured I'd use it.... this is where I need an ass kicking icon welding galv sheet is bad enough but when its almost half as thick as the mig wire.... not the pretty'ist welds I've ever done every now an then turns into a game of chase the hole but its light

There will be a little bit more thats welded on around the steering column the rest will be folded to form a cover/covers that will come off for access to the motor

[SupraLux]

...but its light...

Given the amount of steel you've put into this, is that really a consideration?

Pretty awesome work there tho... loving this build. A friend of my Dads has one of these in near-stock super-tidy condition that he drives around in... I think he'd be horrified by what you've done to this one... so I better show him

Keep up the good work

[De-Ranged]

Shows how often I update... sorry I missed your post SL
Trust me it is light with motor box and near everything in, I can still lift the front of the truck off the jack stand (well when my backs not buggered )

Well I've done some more on it since I can't contract out for any work I've got some time so got a wee bit done over the weekend

Started off by finishing up a few wee bits of pannel... little holes where things didn't line up etc just fiddly little bits I'd been putting off, passenger side is now sorted, well apart from drilling the bung's so I can cavity seal things but I'll do that when I underseal
Next up decided to mount the steering box...
It has to go on the remaining section of chassis fold, mocked it up to find that when I'd fab'd the inner guard and new chassis section I'd put one of the horizontal ribs in line with where the top mount bolt for the box wants to be, the chassis fold isn't deep enough either way so I had to build it up
After a bit of steering at I decided to weld a bit of 20mm rod into whats there and then build up a 5mm box around it to support the steering box, since its only welded to sheet metal I wanted it to have as much strength as I can give it

here's the original sheetmetal chassis fold, I've axed a slot in it to sit the 20mm rod


I cut it with the gas axe so it would leave a rough edge and I burned it in hot so I welded the second layer of sheet under as well


Next up was to add the folded 5mm to box it in to the right size


Finished off the end, and mounted the box up


I'll drill the other 2 mounts later when I've confirmed the clearance of the pitman arm to tie rod, as the tie rod on full bump moves up past the pitman

Had a mate over talking shop, he was feeling a bit guilty about stopping me working so offered to help so I put him on arb press pushing the compound curve into the drivers inner guard, Cheers

Now I have to get the axle back under and flex up for clearance hmmm might have to call in some help back problems suck hey clive bout time you came down the shed

Cheers Reece

[De-Ranged]

I'm working on it

Spent a bit of time on the russian yesterday steering box is now fully mounted up to the axle...

Been getting a bit of stick lately from mates that I'm building it to heavy I've noticed none of them are willing to try and lift there toys.... I can grab the front bumper and lift this off the jack stands with it pivoting on the back axle... thats with a motor and box in there

But taking there wisdom on board I decided to save weight in the steering box mounts
Now the two remaining mounts were just getting crush tubes welded into the chassis with M12 bolts going right through ..... I figured I'd save the weight of a couple of M12 nuts and 150mm of 12mm bolt
So I machined the crush tubes from solid bar with a threaded section so I can can use short bolts then drilled out the back of them and caped them

This way I still have the inside and outside skins of the chassis structure tied in for strength and save some weight
The bottom mount was close enough to the bottom edge that I cut it in
This way the welds tie the whole sturcture together

Here it is with the new pitman arm in place and a set of heavy duty tie-rod and drag link made up


Lock to lock is a shade over 3 and half turns of the wheel
I'm not certain on this, might make up some shorter steering arms and a longer pitman just to play around with faster steering... don't know how good the power steering is going to be so figured I'd give it near full stroke on the box

If I'm allowed I'll head in this arvo and put the coilovers in and drop it down... just confirm my ride height before I remove the chassis coilover mounts
With mounting the radiators up ontop of the guards it means I"m going to have to remove a couple of bars that run from the coilover strut to the cage this lose of triangulation has ment I need to replace some of the strut bars with heavier pipe... since I'm replacing most of it I'll start fresh ....

Now to convice my lovely lass that I don't need to do things round home

[De-Ranged]

Got the front end sitting on the coilovers... discovered something interesting The coilovers I built to go into a 413 Zuk with a SR20 conversion... ones I used wheel scales to measure all the weights and calculated spring rates to match... well they sit 50mm taller in a lada.... that means my lada is alot lighter than a zuk with the same motor

Now for the down side.... you know all that math at school you sat through the stuff you couldn't see a practical reason we'd ever learn.... yea the same stuff I was up to half 2 this morning trying to get sorted so I can change the springs on the coilovers hopefully I'll sort it tonight Might have to get "inventive" with the coils.... got a couple of ideas to possibly sort things

[skid]

LOL

I am sure it was over 2 years ago that I had a request from a certain derenged engineer fulla to sit beside him in his Lada Trials truck that he assured me would be finished in time for the season

x 1000

[De-Ranged]

think you'll find it was a bit longer than 2yrs... that was back when I was thinking about entering it as an A class I pitty the poor soles who try that mechanically it would be an expensive option and a pain replacing front diffs

Since this is a build thread I'll post up some build stuff... all that math.... it has taken me dam near a week to sort out these equations
The one to calculate Primary spring rate
=IF(D9=0,(D6*((D7-1)/(D5-D8))),IF(D8=D9,(D6*((D7-1)/(D5-D8))),IF(D8>D9,(D6*((D7-1)/(D5-D8))),(((D6*(D7-1))-((D9-D8)*I9)))/(D5-D9))))
And the one to calculate dual spring rate
=IF(D9=0,D6/D8,IF(D8=D9,D6/D8,IF(D8>D9,((D6-((D8-D9)*I5))/D9),D6/D8)))
And the easy one the tender spring rate
=IF(D8=(D5/D7),"No spring",(I5*I9)/(I5-I9))

But now I have a calculator that will allow to calculate Primary spring rates, and Tender spring rates, given travel of the shock the wanted ride height and the ability to add in a secondary stage to just the primary spring

Now that I've got this and I know the springs on the coilovers are no good

Get this weigh'd the front "sprung" weight of the lada, with 6m of 32nom, tube for bracing, a winch and some extra weight for good luck it weigh'd

shy of 270kg's a bit lighter than a zuk

The calculator lets me set set my springs so I can have a soft rate at the bottom of my travel and harder rate at the top this leaves the question of where to set the change
Do I set it below ride height so I'm more stable in sidelings or do I set it up above ride height so its stiffer for hard landings
The further up the change is set the harder the the second setting will be

Any opinion's

[suzolla]

Hi reece,
Would be a bit easier to understand the math if we knew what each of the cells was.
Cheers
Tim

[De-Ranged]

Gidday Tim, there's a bit of programing behind the biggest one, it allows me to set different values
The basic calculation is
(Spring Rate1 x Spring Rate 2) / (Spring Rate 1 + Spring Rate 2) = Dual Rate

So working off this if you know your dual rate you need and you have a spring you think is good enough this will give you the rate for the second spring
(Spring Rate 1 x Dual Rate) / (Spring Rate 1 - Dual Rate) = Spring Rate 2

Your Dual Rate is the weight on that corner divided by the travel to ride height

As for the rest of it, being able to set max G's at full travel adjusting secondary lock out etc.... thats my baby its all up there if you can work it out
If you have some numbers you want run no problems, no problems PM me

[BIG T]

I cant believe it has been under build since 2008! Seing it regualy under build and going back over the photos has been great. Strangely im even less worried about my future roll with this truck(yes pun intended) just rember to up the spring rates for my side as the diet just isnt going to happen.

[De-Ranged]

Right I"m parting her out I have untill the 25th of Aug at that point all bits that haven't had a fair offer will be toss'd into scrap

[lilpigzuk]

You going to list it all out or do we have to go through the pages

[De-Ranged]

Just to make it easy for ya I started an add in the parts department

[De-Ranged]

She has been sold.... and I get to finish it

She isn't going to compete we are going to convert it to club truck trim so a bit more bracing, lockers, 35" miky T's and possibly a blower or turbo
He is even talking a windscreen

The only catch is I have to finish it before I can wind up my business, this is going to hurt.... my back that is..

[madlux]

Looking forward to the finished product, good luck..

[rotordogg]

She has been sold.... and I get to finish it

That is great news, hope your back holds out and we're looking forward to seeing the pictures!!