RADO's Off Road Rig- Build Thread

[VXorado]

We did a SAS on my buddies Rodeo race truck, which is pretty much the same as the VX. We went with the Toyota steering box on his. The steering shaft was the same and in his case the hoses threaded right on. We had to modify the pitman arm by straightening is some and had to clearance the frame a bit. The setup works quite well actually.

That's good to know. I had read a post on Pirate a while back that the threads where different and new lines would need to be made. I have the ZU box mounted now which was a bit of challenge because it had to be move forward a bit. I will play around with my old box for tapping hole to add hydro assist. If it doesn't work out, I may refab the steering for a tapped toyota gearbox + hydro assist.

Sounds to me like a winch-attached-down-travel-limiter (TM)! What you are describing is exactly what I was running up against on my build also. Lots O Fun! Things get tight really quick...

Nope, not a winch. It will be part of the spring suspension.

Things are tight, finding a spot for the track bar is tricky. I think I might run it in reverse at the same angle as the draglink.

[Buffy]

We did a SAS on my buddies Rodeo race truck, which is pretty much the same as the VX. We went with the Toyota steering box on his. The steering shaft was the same and in his case the hoses threaded right on. We had to modify the pitman arm by straightening is some and had to clearance the frame a bit. The setup works quite well actually.

[ZEUS]

Are u joking about the track bar direction? I swear u are mocking the Nuke VX with that comment! If not, please reconsider.

[VXorado]

Are u joking about the track bar direction? I swear u are mocking the Nuke VX with that comment! If not, please reconsider.

Now you've offended me Justin,

... I will install two opposing, opposing track bars. That should keep the bump steer minimal.



Yep, just messing with you.

[ZEUS]

Haha! Jerk! Whew, u had me going there... Two opposing track bars would work much better; great thinking!

[VXorado]

Steering is mounted

I was able to use the stock steering box but it was a little hassle getting it mounted. Because of the pitman arm angle, I needed mount the box flat which caused a nice angle on the steering shaft u-joint. I'm not that happy about the U-joint angle although I don't see it being much of an issue for the time being. To allow frame clearance of the u-joint, I needed to raise up the mounting position of the box by 1.25." I still plan to add a bottom plate to the box for extra support.

I may end up switching to a Fj60 steering box at some point if I notice in wear issues occuring with the ZU box. If everything works well but I need extra turning power, I'll look into tapping the box for hydro assist. Indy4x sells an HD u-joint that I can install if I notice any wear on the stock u-joint.




I still need to ream the pitman arm for 1-ton TREs

[VXorado]

Shock Towers

I found the tallest towers I could and cut them through the wheel wells into the engine bay. The biggest challenge was rearranging a few things in the engine bay but I was able to make it all fit. On the driver's side, I had to cut a section of the tower out to allow clearance for the steering shaft. Lastly, I fabbed up a tube to mount between the towers that should add some strength & rigidity to the towers/frame.







Now I'm working on the trackbar... If I dedicate a bit of time this weekend, I may even get the VX on the road for a test drive!

[ZEUS]

I sure wish I could work that fast! ...and simple. Try running the track bar front to rear for best results.

[VXorado]

I sure wish I could work that fast! ...and simple. Try running the track bar front to rear for best results.

Oh yeah we're moving along...


I had to drop $100 on a reamer for the 1-ton TRE. It only took about 10 minutes of turning really slow with a cordless drill. Now that the steering draglink is mounted, I can get the angle for the trackbar.



It's possible (fingers crossed), I'll have this build on the road today!

[LittleBeast]

Very nice work!

[JoFotoz]

Awesome....

jo

[AvacadoBaby]

I created an account on vehicross.info so that I could communicate with you since it seems that you are now spending nearly every waking moment in the garage. JK. That's an overstatement. To be fair, you do come in to eat and use the restroom.

I spelled Avocado wrong in my username. I'm so embarrassed. I guess that's what I get for trying to publicly shame you on your own thread.

I'm taking your pumpkin, all the pumpkin bread, and Buddy hostage. If you ever want to see any of them again, you better get out from under that VX and get in here.

Sincerely- your loving, supportive, funny, easygoing, beautiful, modest wife.

[JoFotoz]

This....
.
.
This....
.
and
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This....

Its 'Avacdo'..with an "M"


jo

[arcobarco]

Lizette and I love you two. Parts of this seem to hit close to home. Now John you better pay up to get Buddy free cuz we all know that buddy needs you, and I'll take the pumpkin bread.

[VXorado]

Such a funny wife I have...

I did spend a good amount of time in the garage this weekend, probably 10 hrs over two days but don't let Avacadobaby fool you! I took her out for date night on Friday, movie night on Saturday, breakfast & pumpkin carving on Sunday! I feel I did a very equal 1:1 VX vs wife time this weekend.

Didn't quite get the VX on the road yesterday. I finished the shock mounts and tightened down all of the bolts to get the VX road worthy. I found I needed to drill out the brakelines I got from Indy4x and I didn't have the right size drill bit. So a trip to the store later and I was able to mount the brakelines. Lastly I needed to charge the shocks and bleed the brakes before the test drive. That's when I noticed my big bottle of dot3 was about empty. Called in the towel... shouldn't be a problem finishing today after work.

I'll get some update pics posted soon.