WILDWEASEL'S WORLD

This is the finished WildWeasel 3





April 8, 04

I will be updating the site this week, Lots has changed this year along with what I am happy with and what I have tweaked/changed.
Updates will be in bold typeface.
Here is a pic of the finished product!back
Updates! the suspension and dual tcases are in, along with the Automatic. It runs and drives great!
These are 33's I built it for 35's when I purchase them.

 
Check below for sections on the build up.

 I am in the process of building a new rockcrawler, Check back here and As soon as I finish a section of it I will be trying to add new info.
This will be the 3rd in the Wildweasel series of trucks I have built, the first being a 1958 Willys M38a1. (military CJ5) It had a ford 302 and mostly stock running gear.
I learned that you need to gear and set things up right on that truck and learned the lesson the hard way..  (A 302 and T-90 don't co-exist well shall we say.)
That was in the early 80's and I sold it to a local kid.

 In the rush toward Y2K I decided that I needed to buy a new toy to unwind with as a Fun project. little did I know what I was getting myself into.
That was Wildweasel MK2 a 1987 Suzuki Samurai.  (Pic below) It first went to 27" tires then to 31's SPOA and then onto 33's with 4.62 gears and a 4.16 tcase with missing link suspension.
It worked very well and was a great truck. I sold this to a fellow in eastern Mass. (Hey Tom!)

I am now building Wildweasel MK3 a 1991 Geo Tracker, (same as a sidekick) Into my ultimate rockcrawler.

  

Updates and changes.  

I have been wheeling the new Tracker/WW3 for a few months now. I ended up using 200 LB springs up front and 170 LB in the rear for now.
(QA1 Hal 12-200 and 12-170)   I could really use the 200's in the back too as I carry ALOT of tools Just incase. (and a spare 33" tire)
The rear bushing on the "A" Arm (upper) doesn't last well unless you leave the adjustment Loose. and then carry a spare. A
Poly bushing seems to be lasting well. (this is a part from an early Ford bronco.)
>>>I have found that the Poly bushing works fine (almost a year on the current one.)  I plan on going to 4 link with rod ends as soon as I get to it. (sick of dinking with it.)
The dual tcase works great and the Automatic is a no-brainer. talk about reducing driver workload! and it stays nice and cool with the
Motorhome Tranny cooler I have on it. (the fluid is still nice and clear no wear at all, I have checked the temp on the cooler lines after working hard sections in 90+ degrees days and
it is still not "Hot" Have to get a gauge on it one of these days.  It is warm to the touch but It hasn't gotten hot enough so I can't hold the lines with my hand.
>>>The Auto has worked out great and has never overheated with the cooler.
The ARB rocks. I love it in the rear end, and plan on a front when funds allow.
I also installed an Electric air pump that is wonderful I bought it from Buzzard Gulch tool supply. (it is a PUMA 12v compressor and tank. cont duty and only 189.00 shipped to me.)
It pulls some amps so My GM alt handles that with no problem. the only problem I had was with the ford type solenoid that I burnt up and replaced with a heavy duty one,
I need to dig up my spare Winch solenoid (cont duty rated) and use that.
I have more pics I need to get up but with due time.

Future additions-
I plan on a front sway bar and quick disconnects for on the road use, (with the coils I feel it is needed for daily driving)
The full cage and of course the 4 link on back.
the front end is perfect and I will not be modifying that right away until I fab a new set of arms for the tire clearance. (winter project)

I have Made the new arms for the front (Pics and description below) to give me additional clearance for the 35's I have gone to this year.
the only problems I has where at steering lock the tires rubbed. with the new links the 35's may hit the frame at full lock but It will be close.

This is me rockcrawling up in NH.


FRONT BUMPER/WINCH


I am currently building a 1991 GEO Tracker for rockcrawling. (Something a little different!) Some of the first mods so far are a new bumper and my Ramsey 9K
ProPlus winch. here are a few pics,

winch

ww3

Here are some more detail shots , More, last one

This will Be WildWeasel MK3 And will have the stock 1.6l and a 3 speed auto with the tracker t-case backed up by a samurai T-case with 4.16 gears into a set of 1984

toyota truck axles for axle longevity. Suspension will be a 3 link coil suspension. with the auto and 2 t-cases it should come out around a 220-1

crawl ratio. More pics as I build it this winter.

Feb. 03-14-03  Got the 95 tracker 3 speed auto and tcase swapped in during the fab fest. It is a Th180 (actual a 3 series but I don't recall)  with the converter lockout. that part works fine with the 91 wiring harness
but the backup lights still need to be reconnected. (this weekend!) I installed a heavy duty trans cooler for a moblehome so it will stay nice and cool while crawling. drives and shift great!!
I added a drain plug on the pan while I had it dropped so I can change fluid without running it down the arm when I drop the pan to change the filter.

If you like the bumpers and would like a set I will be producing them for sale soon and will need a guinea pig to be the test subject. which means cheap bumpers!  I will just need them for a few days after construction for  building jigs. I have a 2 door parts truck I can make them off of if you have a 2 door, or if 4 door I would need the truck for a weekend to make templates. (if all else fails I can steal the
wife's truck and use that!)


GM ALT INSTALL
Here are a few shots of the GM alt That I installed Dec 15th 02

 

It is from a 1985 Pontiac 6000 with the 6cyl engine 94Amps. Uses the stock pulley bored out on my Lathe to fit the GM shaft. I had to add 1 washer behind the pulley to get it to line up

perfectly. I also replaced the main and cam seals and swapped in a new timing belt while I was at it. (it has been leaking oil as you can see from the first shot. No drips now!

The wiring hookup is the same as a 87- sami, with no problems. works well and has been powering the winch as I plow this winter.


REAR BUMPER

With the rear bumper I was trying to go with the less is more  (Weight wise) and still maintain the usability that I had in mind. rear tow points, and a receiver for my hitch.
 You may notice the mud flaps, they are removable with a pin so I don't loose them in the wilds... Gotta keep the Police happy.    The spare will go on the rear deck,
it will have an external cage and be a half top ala old bronco's and scouts, Bobtail style.                                                                                                                                                              
 Rear bumperrear bump

 


Tracker suspension buildup (Note- alot of these pics are old and where mock ups on the way to the final config.)
I Built the suspension myself with inspiration from current 3 links suspensions on the market for sami's.
 I did most of the fabrication off the truck before I started on it. I took 2 weeks off in april and lost myself for the whole 2 weeks in the garage.
I put in 100+ hours to get it to what you see at the top of the page.

In building it I first cut the stock IFS off the frame.
IFS bitschoppeddiff

Next was to slide the toyota diff under the front after sawzalling the IFS mounts off including the IFS cross member.
  Once I did that it became apparent that the torsion arms would hit the frame on upward movement. So I ended up out boarding the mounts.
with this config full movement and flex is allowed. (the spring is a stock tracker rear, It was too light for the front.. I reused the stock front for now.)
passside
Here it is with the knuckle on and the steering mock-up. I used the stock tracker steering box and shortened the upper hysteer arm to closely match.
I ended up within 1/4" of the stops on the toy axle. I can live with that.
 
Here is a shot of the upper pan hard mount. It goes into the stock mount for the IFS diff.
I had to beef the mount and tie it into the frame after use in heavy rocks. after that no more problems.
I also went to a pan hard with Aurora rod ends and DOM tubing. the first one I built with the bushings worked okay But I decided
It may not be heavy enough.

Outboard mount.                                                                                          Shot of the pan hard and tierod.
rearlink
Here is a shot of the front with 33" tire and sami flair that I will be using.

 
Here is a shot looking forward from the rear toy diff. (gas tank moved up into the frame rails.)
On the rear mount on top of the axle I have run gussets to the top of the diff and modified the mount so both
sides have nice flat bearing surfaces for the Bushing to ride on, That was very important for the longevity of the Poly bushings.



Here is a shot of the new "doghouse" over the tank.
This is because the tank was moved up so the rear diff would not contact it as the diff is pushed back about 6"
for drive train clearance.

2nd tcase
here is a pic of the sami GRS2 from Petroworks. Hard to get good pics of both tcases. It had a loop of 1/4"x4" steel around the top of the
tcase with 1.5 square tube for arms on both side of the case. no short arm /long arm BS..
I have since traded for a GRS1 as the gearing on the road was much too low for daily driver use.
(which it is not used for anymore..)
tcases
This is a shot of the 2 cases, notice the short shaft between the 2. I am going to redo the transmission mount to improve the angle soon. (a bit of vibes there..)
and hook up the front DS too. (I may be running a 2 part driveshaft or just cut off the front output of the first case and weld it shut.)
rear ds
Shot of the rear end, the angle isn't as bad as it looks, and there is very little vibes from the rear tcase.
flairs
Here is a quick shot of the sami flares. Just covers the rear wheels, the front hangs out a tad.

I added a sami Tcase behind the stock tracker one, It Is a GRS2 gearset. With the 3 speed auto and 2 tcases and 4.10's in the toy axles I have 260-1 reduction.
gearing is a little low for highway but not terrible. a 4 speed auto would be perfect. (future project?) Update I swapped A friend for a GRS1 the 2 was just too low for road use.
(I need to drive to paragon this year no tow rig! 6Hrs 1 way)  and the road gearing is lots better. I will still have 225-1 lowlow.

Tracker Tcase mods

One of the problems with the twin tcases is the front driveshaft. I could have dicked around with a 2 part  D-shaft with a coller bearing in the middle, But I didn't like how it would hang
down. When I first conceived of this project I figured I would lop off the front output of the tracker case. well Thats what I did. I disassembled my spare case ad cut off the output,
and then ground it flat (the opening) and had my Brother-in law Don weld it up for me. He is a crackerjack welder fabrication guy.  Here are a few pics. (this is the only job I had someone else do BTW..)
tcase1tcase 2

 
It is about 5" shorter there now. I still need to install a drain plug and drill 3 holes in the flange.  
I made an adapter for the small flange sami tcase to my toyota front driveshaft (actually a lengthened rear toy truck d-shaft.) It is 42" long.
The only thing that will be done to this is an extra mount will be added as with only the bottom mount the transmission wiggles when starting from a stop.
Not a real problem but more of an annoyance.


Here are my current (april 04 ) mods and current work.

Front links
newlinksSidelinks

Here is a shot from the front of the axle showing the new links position to the frame.  they are 1.5" DOM (1/4" wall)
and are connected together at the back with a rodend (3/4") to allow Castor adjustment.) I also moved the mount directly onto the frame.
This allows 4" of clearance at the frame end, (I only need 3") Here is a shot of the pass side.
pass side link

I am also bob tailing the body and making a tube body and external cage this year. (along with Rust removal.)
chopped
chop33
tgaterear

Finished with modified top, I resewed it on and old (1960's) Singer machine.

It uses most of the stock mounting hardware. I can remove it just like before.

I also swapped to a new 1.6L 8V Factory new short block and a head with a Cam from Hawk. (tourqer cam) (thanks Zooky)
SAMURAI section


My former Ride is a 1987 Suzuki Samurai, That is set-up in a SPOA lift with CJ springs in the back and rear springs moved up front With Homemade missing links
to allow the longer springs and also allow more droop.  Here are some pictures of it   Grill shot   I have an SJ410 grill. It really looks much better than the stocker
action  It is named the WILDWEASEL2. It has a 4.16 T-case gear set, and  has 4.62 diff gears from a 91 Sidekick. It is locked both ends with Powertrax Lockers.
I am Running 33x12.50x15"  Couser Mud tires on Willamette custom backspaced wheels. here is a finished shot of the mods on  33's
The paint is a modified woodland camo pattern, Its cheap and is easy to touch-up. bigweasel

I also have added Toyota Truck power steering,
Not the easiest swap around but its very strong. Here are some pics of that,  toy  toy2

Here are a few more shots.toy3
toy4
toy5
toy6


Here are the changes I am working on now,   Missing link  Rear Sami springs up front with homemade Missing link expanding shackles.
and my new  hybred axle  I made that in my shop, along with the M/L .It is part Sidekick and part sami axle. I get the 4.62 gearing of the sidekick and the
larger gear with the correct offset and  axles for the sami, Along with disk brakes from the front of a sami, I also added in a traction bar to help
my springs survive in a SPOA configuration.  These mods are now complete.  Here are a few pics - Trac1
 Trac2
Trac2 also has "Rolling Rockers" from  My friend Tim at  Yankee-offroad  They are the rollers on the front of my rear spring mount. the hope is they
will  help prevent the mount getting smashed as I climb over rocks.

Here are some other shots of the truck and parts of it.
 dash  dash2   These are of the dash insert that my friend Randy bent up for me, It gives me more room to install gauges and hardwired control of my
winch. (Its a 8K lb Ramsey BTW..)

 rockrails  rock2   This is my soulution to the rotted and dented running boards on the truck.


Updated 04/05/04 (happy Daxe?)

Glenn@cs.umass.edu