62 Rear-Start to finish!

[moneypit]

Phase two of my first build, rear LT. Phase one was bolting up the total chaos kit to my 96 single cab 4X4 3.4l manual trans. I did the project 100% by myself so I have no one to blame.



6.5 inches stock



started by drilling out the spot welds



and mounted up the glassworks fiberglass



Extended the frame with pieces I cut off my buddies rolled truck and fit up the new rear bumper.



boxed the frame with 1/8" plate





tapered the frame into the bumper



welded up frame and bumper and smoothed out bumper for a clean look



welded in new and the old crossmember, and fitted up reinforcments for frame extention



front spring mounts and rear shackle hangers were tacked in. Both got moved during the corse of cycling the suspension



This is what I settled on. The front mount was 1/2 inch forward from stock. The front mount center to shackle pivot center distance was 54 3/8 inches.



boxed in pivots



I cut out my lower shock mounts with 4 1/2 grinder out of cold rolled 1/4 inch plate and a hole saw.



See what you can do with some patience!



Base frame completed and painted



Start of bedcage



Mocked up upper shock mounts



plate for bumpstops





New tire carrier





Sanded shiny and ready for paint



I cut the tack welds and started cuting up the bed. I welded in a rim to help support the weaked bed.



Got the bedcage welded on



Tires will clear even at full flex, metal to metal!



Rear proportioning valve-



Tucked between frame and fuel tank



exhaust had to be shortened and straightened



Rear is done rides great, cycles 17.25 inches full droop to hard bump. It could get 18 inches if hydro bumps were put in. It was a ton of hard work and a major learning experience fabricating this rear. Start to fininsh it was around 325 hrs( I work slow). I am already coming up with plans for a cage!

[yota4lyfe]

That's a nice setup. Good work.

[PinkTaco]

Amazing work man!

[Five1Nine8Eight]

Great work. Looks like it came out of a reputable fab shop.

Did you say you cut everything out with a 4 1/2 grinder?

[GatorTaco]

Originally Posted by Five1Nine8Eight

Great work. Looks like it came out of a reputable fab shop.

Did you say you cut everything out with a 4 1/2 grinder?

x2 on both of those! Clean cuts for a grinder! Big props to you for some great work.

[marnes2986]

Im very impressed! i always admire those who do their own fabwork.. great work !

[brock]

i like the idea of using the stock spare holder... great idea.

[menacekustoms]

Amen brock. That's some excellent work. Nothing to nitpick here. Well thought out, sturdy and simple.

[06HAOLE]

Great setup. Very clean.

A few probably very obvious questions.

How do you decide your shock angle when building a bedcage?

Is a rear proportioning valve needed due to an upgraded rear brake setup? (disc brakes?)

[moneypit]

I do have a 14" cutoff saw which I use to cut tubing at a more precise angle but I use my little 4" (not 4.5" my mistake) grinder for everything. When cutting thick plate for example you just score the metal following your line then you just keep going over it letting the wheel make the cut. if you force it you can't make a straight cut plus you will blow through blades. You really don't need $3000 in cutting tools just to build one truck.

My design was pretty simple, you may notice some similarities to the trails less traveled Tacoma. I felt that I would have to give up to many things to keep the bed open like for my dirt bike( I am just going to use a motor cycle carrier in my new receiver). I still wanted to be able to carry stuff like camping gear, have good wheel wells to keep from throwing around mud and dirt, keep the spare up high for clearance underneath but not take up the whole bed and keep center of gravity low. Another factor that I took into consideration when coming up with the design was recongizing that this truck won't always be a daily driver( no matter how much I want it to be). Whether I drive it 2 years or 10 eventually it will strickly become a toy so I didn't want to waste my time or money and came up with a design that is simple to strengthen and build off of.

As far as setting shock angle and mount placement I started with my lower mounts. You have to determine how low you feel comfortable placing them so as to minimize your loss of ground clearance. plus you want them as close to each wheel as possible. In order to find the best upper shock mount placement you have to cycle the suspension with only the main leaf. Actually, I probably cycled the truck 20 times in the coarse of the build. I took the leafs apart once I found my ride height and didn't put them back together untill the truck was done. But as far as the upper shock mounts I discovered that really all you are doing is drawing an arc of your upper shock eye when compressed and your rear is at full bump. Any where on that arc you can locate your uppermount. Now, anyplace tilted forward of vertical ( or backward) will allow for more droop or travel numbers higher than your shocks. So you could get 17.5 inches of travel with an 16 inch shock, more or less depending on how much angle you put on it. Many people would say that it is best to mount shock so you have a 1:1 ratio and of coarse you could mount a shock at such a sever angle that you could lose a ton of damping right when you need it most before you bottom out. I am using 18" triple bypass kings and mounted them forward on full compression so everything would cycle cleanly. The way my shocks are mounted they are capable of 19" of travel and I felt that was a very acceptable compromise. I can't use that travel now but if I got a little more arc in the leafs it would probably droop more and with hydro bumps I could use every bit of that 19".

[moneypit]

The rear proportioning valve is needed because I removed the stock one. The linkage that conects the valve to the axle can't cycle 18". You could cut the linkage and keep the stock valve. I have seen people make it so you can manualy adjust the cut arm on the stock valve so you could adjust it. but a bigger problem on my truck was the size of the stock valve and with plating the frame it would be hard to keep it clear of the new shocks. The stock valve does work well in that there is no wasted pressure in the brake system. however, in my case it seemed easier to replace it.

[Five1Nine8Eight]

Jeez you have some patience. I about quit while cutting out pieces for frame plating, motor mounts and gussets for front shock hoops.

[menacekustoms]

Well, I'm glad you joined this board. Good practical info. This is definitely something with reach of the backyard fabricator.

[VietNguyen82]

Great Job, clean work! I like your SN, it speaks truly for all of us .

[06HAOLE]

Thanks for the answers.

[Chaos DMZ Tacoma]

nice job. very clean and simple. props.

[usaf_taco]

plate for bumpstops




i stole your idea for the bump stops when i installed mine this weekend, so i just wanted to give give you props. i realy like the look of a bed cage done with no bends, maybe i won't have to wait till i get my bender