The "Rice Rod" - '31 Model A pickup with a 2JZ

In reply to minivan_racer:

Yeah, but I decided to try Pic-A-Part/Pull-A-Part this weekend for a Jeep Cherokee column and wheel. I like the style a little better.

Went to the yard today to get a Cherokee column and surprise! It's 50% off day! And they had a '93 2-door with a tan colored tilt. Should clean up nicely, maybe use a re-wrap later if there's budget left.

And I got the lower shock mounts made. The stock ones were about 2 inches too far outboard, so I added to them.

I used 1/2" pieces of foam to center the spring inside the control arm so there won't be any contact.

The outboard hole is the sway bar mount, which should still work.

And a friend came by to start building a cage for his MR-2 Lemons car!

Yeah. That wheel looks much better than the ones I had to offer. Nice Score.

This thing keeps getting more and more amazing.By the time you are done, your TIG skills are going to be god-like.

Now on to the shock mounts...these have been fun to cut out. Wish I still had access to the waterjet back in college. Two of these curvy plates per side, and everything will be fully boxed in.

But most of yesterday was taken up by the Lemons MR-2. I've never welded a roll cage before, but there's a first time for everything. There is no pretty way to fit a safe and inspection-passing cage INSIDE an MR-2 that can accommodate a 6-ft driver. So over the top it goes.

Rear hoop complete! A lot more to go.

Also, that beater is still tagged and insured. He drives it over here to work on, even in its current gutted state.

Here in tiwn, we have a welding shop. He has a plasma cutter. He has cut stuff like your shock mounts for me before for beer. You should look around your town.

It's a long drive for you, but I'm pretty sure metal supermarket has a waterjet.

Too bad the beds are so small on Tinijet and Wazer. Tools don't count against the budget.

Could always DIY a big plasma table too for half the price.

maschinenbau wrote: Now on to the shock mounts...these have been fun to cut out. Wish I still had access to the waterjet back in college. Two of these curvy plates per side, and everything will be fully boxed in.

I'm at Tech for another year. I doubt I always have the material you need, but I am happy to use the waterjet and mail you parts if you want clean cuts, ever, and have the .dxf's ready. Shoot me a message if you want and we'll go from there!

Doug

I just picked up this leather wrap to fix my 4Runner wheel, I haven't had a chance to actually do the wrap yet, but the leather itself is nice, perforated as well. It might work for what you want too. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PC0G07A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I promise I've been working. This is probably the slowest, most important part of the project, getting all the geometry right. I highly recommend keeping the original subframe next time. I don't think I'm satisfied with how this looks, which was the primary motivator for integrating the front suspension. Maybe I'll change my mind when it's finished.

The shocks, with are off 2006ish GSXR600 sport bikes, mount to the chassis and arms using their original hardware.

The control arms attach to the chassis the same way they would on a Lexus. The control arms don't know they're on a hot rod, and I suggest we keep that secret.

With everything finally tacked up and all measurements checked and double-checked, it's time to weld it all up. Once the internal welds are complete, I will cut and bend plates to fully box everything in for strength.

Great fab work!

I like the shock towers. Do you have plans for how you are going to avoid a twisting stress in the main frame members? Strut bar on top or crossbar below?

Holy E36 M3! I just realized how far back the motor is going to be!

Have you removed the springs and run the whole assembly through its' full travel yet? I would highly recommend doing that before welding everything, for example the reservoir on that shock looks like there may be a combination of bump/droop and steering input which causes it to have a cospatial event with the tie rod.

In reply to NOHOME:

There will be a small one below, which will mount the steering rack and tie the front LCA mounts together. There will also be curved frame horns for that extra "hot rod" touch and a spreader bar between them, which will need to be structural. I really hope to avoid a strut tower brace, because I want to use the original headlights and mounting bar, which look like this but rusty. I could also fab a more "structural" headlight mounting bar that covertly stiffens the whole front end, but hopefully it doesn't come to that.

Have you run this type of shock before? I see you are going to mount them upside down. All the oil will be in the wrong end but then again I never tried it myself.

The GSXR is a lot lighter than the front of this car is going to be. I have gotten the stock shock on my Hayabusa so hot on occasion that I had to stop riding. I did have Works do a "Heart Transplant" on it and it helped.

In reply to MulletTruck:

I have actually no idea what I'm doing. I am just a dude with a welder. If this is absolute failure, I can always mount some forward-pointing half-leafs along the frame with a "normal" hot rod shock inside the tower.

We shall see! You never know. Might be the next big thing!

If they are from a 600 the spring rate is about 425lbs if I remember right.

On the bike they use a lever and dog bones to make them rising rate, the more it goes down the higher the rate is.

they have a pretty short stroke and small diameter shaft so a bump stop may be needed.

I may have a couple Hayabusa shocks around if you end up needing a beefier shock and spring.

maschinenbau wrote: In reply to MulletTruck: I have actually no idea what I'm doing. I am just a dude with a welder. If this is absolute failure, I can always mount some forward-pointing half-leafs along the frame with a "normal" hot rod shock inside the tower.

And if there is an oiling problem it looks like there is room to turn the unit over and run upright.

One side is almost fully welded. I am using TIG for everywhere I can comfortably reach, and MIG for the really tight spots.

Further proof that nothing I am doing can't be done in a typical garage. This part really sucked though.

maschinenbau wrote: In reply to MulletTruck: I have actually no idea what I'm doing. I am just a dude with a welder. If this is absolute failure, I can always mount some forward-pointing half-leafs along the frame with a "normal" hot rod shock inside the tower.

"....just a dude with a welder." Don't worry I usually feel the exact same way!

I prefer to think of it as" im a redneck with a rabbits foot and no fear of failure "

maschinenbau wrote: In reply to MulletTruck: I have actually no idea what I'm doing. I am just a dude with a welder.

Welcome to the club. What I found out is that if you don't tell anyone, they think you hazz "Madd Skillzz"

I am getting excited because my project is reaching the point where I get to use wrenches.

More shock tower/control arm mount progress. I drilled holes in the shock towers and welded in some short lengths of tube for that extra "hot rod" pizzazz. The tube ID was smaller than the hole ID, so I broke out the die grinder and smoothed it out. The end result is a hole with an hour-glass profile that is shiny and metal, which I think I will leave bare and clearcoat over.

Used a cardboard drilling template to ensure the two sides are equal.