Sam's Surf Build Up

[SamLogan]

I thought i would start a thread about my trucks build up. I have just dropped it off to Tom from Tom's offroad customs to do a 3 link SAS. For those who want to SAS their surfs talk to Tom. his prices are bloody reasonable and he has been awesome to deal with. My truck currently has a 2 inch suspension lift and a 2 inch body lift. Tom is going to raise it another inch so i can get some 35's under there nicely once i get it back. The 3-link setup is going to use johnny joints to try and get more flex up front. Here is a picture before i dropped it off tonight.



I did a bit of prep work before hand like sourcing the shocks and the springs as well as tidying up the axle, cutting the radius arm mounts off the axle and tidying up the chassis mounts for the panhard rod and the spring and shock towers.


All that's left to really sort out is the wide axle swap and free wheeling hubs. I think i have the wide axle swap sorted:

you mill 1.5mm off the outside of the mounting posts of the caliper and drill the thread out of the knuckle. You can then either tap the caliper or put a bolt straight through. You then just need to drill the new holes in the original prado rotor. Please correct me if i am wrong.

The next bit is the free wheeling hubs. I know due to spline counts you can't use the surf free wheeling hubs. is there any other way of doing it like using hilux ones?

When i get some photos of the progress i will update the thread.


Cheers
Sam

[Petemcc]

That is pretty much the way I did my hub swap but if I was to do it again I would just get the spacers. It would be so much easier. No milling or drilling involved.

Cheers,
Pete

[SamLogan]

yeah i can't justify in my mind the price of those spacers. I have access to equipment to drill the holes and mill the posts so i will just do that. was there anything else you had to do? Also do you know much about the free wheeling hubs?

Sam

[rokhound]

You need the FW hubs off a rigid axle Toy. Any of the toy axles that run birfields will do, Cruiser or lux.

[SamLogan]

sweet cheers for that. I will go on a hunt for some.

Sam

[hosehustler]

early cruiser ones have a different spline, you want 30 spline hubs came std on solid axle lux's and cruisers as Rok said.......best to get *aisin* ones they are the best

[KIWI_TERRANO]

get the ifs hub swap like I did off snr, there was cheaper ones on tm awhile ago to. they use the prado rotor and ifs hub to get matching wheel track. than some solid axle manual hubs.

that what i did on mine, should have brought my turck I dont think you would have rolled it like the new owner has.

[SamLogan]

thanks guys. I am going to have to have a look out for the hubs. Does anyone have any i can buy?

Sam

[hosehustler]

thanks guys. I am going to have to have a look out for the hubs. Does anyone have any i can buy?

Sam

Nope
but after a set of 30 splines myself, I have a set of Aisin 27spline IFS FWH's that i'll trade for some

[suzolla]

Hi,
I imagine that the 27 and 30 spline FWH bodies are the same, could be wrong but if I am right could use some Longfield hub gears or the spare std hub gears that someone will have when they fitted a Longfield Superset.

Or I have got some longs hub gears and drive flanges plus some 30 spline supersets, or some Dirty 30's if you want something a bit cheaper.

Chers
Tim

[SamLogan]

Well a bit of an update. I have got the truck back from Tom and i can tell you his workmanship is second to none. He really has done a great job. It has basically been given what seems to be a 6 inch suspension lift. It has caused a few problems with the back as i have had to go for lifted 80 series rear coils and 75mm bore 100 series raw nitro max shocks to get the right amount of travel in the back. The johnny joints used in the control arms are neat little things which has given so much bloody flex in the front its quite amazing. I jacked the front up at work today after modifying the rear panhard rod and we got 800mm between the bottom of the tyre and the ground with 2 other wheels still on and the back one on the side we lifted just about to come off the ground.

I still have a few other things to do to finish it off like probably extending the rear control arms, rear discs and ifs hub swap. We also need to mount the front swaybar as i am getting quite a bit of body roll at the moment. I also need to get some 35's. What are your guys opinions on different rim widths. Should i go 15x10 or stay with my 15x8's.

Here are some photos of it when i picked it up from Tom's before i lifted the back. I will upload the ones taken today once i get them off my phone.












Sam

[muddyhilux]

looking awesome mate,toms done a great job and with any luck my truck will look not much different to use not long after xmas.i prefer 15x10s as i do alot of sand so like the wide footprint and more of a float over the top type setup and also just to help widen the truck being that its lifted up high,and id advice 8s if you want to dig more for in the mud etc

may i ask,ive also got 2"lifted rear 80series springs in mine,do these 100 series fit strait into factory setup ie eye bottom and pin top?would save me alot of hassle trying to figure out what it is i need

[SamLogan]

yeah they do. I was trying to find ranchos 9000xl's for the rear but autolign had nothing in nz for that setup so they would have had to order from the states (1-2weeks) which was too long. These shocks are huge bloody things. If you want i will give you all the part numbers you need. The raw shocks in the back are 350 each retail but they are working out a trade price for me so i will find out tomorrow about the cost. i need them though so they are staying. The extra size means that they will keep cooler and perform better. yeah i do a lot of mud driving so i am in a dilemma as it is quite tall and i now need the width

Sam

[muddyhilux]

oh tru,yeh 75mm sounds bloody decent and yeh part numbers would be great thanks,mhm,maybe you need the best of both worlds and get a 15x10 bead locked so you are wide but can also drop pressure way low and go hard ,are you gona get 35s under those guards on just suspension lift or you going with 2" body lift aswell?ive got a 2" body lift in at the mo so mine will be even taller then yours but am yet to flex the back to see if i actually need it haha.originally had a 3.5" body lift to fit my 350 above my ifs but with fitting a solid axle im hoping dropping back down to a 2" lift

[samewan]

your truck IS SICK

i want mine to look very simliar when i am done do you mide if i have a chat to you about how you did it ect ?

if not flick us a txt on 027 841 4176

cheers mate

sam

[SamLogan]

sweet i will track them all down for you. Haha i can't afford them atm. i might just get them on 15x10s and not air them down heaps. they look bigger on 15x10's anyways. I have a 2 inch body lift as well so 35's will be good. Not to mention it now has about a 6 inch suspension lift haha. Make sure you get tom to use johnny joints so you get the extra flex. Are you in chch? your location says auckland are you bringing it down here?

Sam

[muddyhilux]

cheers.yeh i run 15psi and have never lost a bead and tru,i know how high ya truck is then,exact same as mine,oh na ill be doing my own conversion but have pmd tom about maybe making up my chasis brackets and link arms saves me having to work out the sizes etc if hes just done yours hopefully he'll still have drawings etc.cheers for sharing the info mate,certainly saves me alot of time tracking things down,will have to buy ya a beer if i ever make it down your way

[SamLogan]

yeah he has the lengths etc as he is going to make a spare bottom control arm just in case i bend one haha. All good. i will be at my parents beach house in auckland over xmas so i will have to go and have a look at how you are going with it.

Sam

[ClassicCruiserSpares]

sweet cheers for that. I will go on a hunt for some.

Sam

Ive got a pair of the cruiser aisin hubs here if your still looking for some?
Send me a pm if your keen.

[SamLogan]

bugger. I went and got some new ones from lineside on friday haha. Oh well thanks anyways.

Sam

[tomsoffroad]

Sorry Sam couldnt wait for you to post pix It's my instant gratification disorder

[SamLogan]

haha i haven't got around to putting them up. bloody audi's. i am never working on one again.

here are the others





Time to flex it on saturday up the worsley

Sam

[SamLogan]

does anyone know of anyone who makes the mr2 rear disc conversion brackets. i need some asap and i haven't heard back from snr.

Sam

[SamLogan]

well i have just seen that all this flexing has caused problems in the back. the drivers side upper link is hitting the fuel tank and now has a slight bend in it. only noticed it tonight. Has anyone redone the 5 link in the back of theirs? Did they keep it 5 link or change it to a 3? And what do people think of a 3 link rear. The 3 link would be much cheaper as you won't need to move the fuel tank as it is in the way of putting longer upper arms in.

Cheers
Sam

[ClassicCruiserSpares]

If you were going to change the rear wouldnt you be better with a 4 link?

[SamLogan]

so a triangulated link on top of the diff?

Sam

[turoa]

If you were going to change the rear wouldnt you be better with a 4 link?

Na theres nowhere else to put the fuel tanks on surfs without a whole lotta pissing around

And what do people think of a 3 link rear. The 3 link would be much cheaper as you won't need to move the fuel tank as it is in the way of putting longer upper arms in.

Cheers
Sam

Nothing wrong with a 3 link rear. Easy to build and set up the geometry.

Cut the existing lower mounts off the chassis and trim them to fit further toward the front. New longer lower arms and then for the top mount just a single link from the top of the diffhead to a new crossmember on the chassis (parallel with the rails and run it between the horseshoe xmember and the coil/shock xmember (or nearest one).

Then just lift the panhard mount on the axle to flatten out the panhard angle a bit and shes done

[SamLogan]

yeah i have just talked to Tom and that is what we will do i think. much easier. he says he will brace the diff up as well just for any extra loading on it since it will now be missing an upper link. So you need to put in another crossmember?

Sam

[turoa]

yeah i have just talked to Tom and that is what we will do i think. much easier. he says he will brace the diff up as well just for any extra loading on it since it will now be missing an upper link. So you need to put in another crossmember?

Sam

Yea just a simple bit of box or something does the trick nicely

[SamLogan]

sweet sounds like a plan then depending on cost haha. This is truly an addictive hobby. 8 months ago i was saying i was never going to SAS my truck haha

Sam