Our plan was to begin with this once-totaled 2006 Toyota Tundra 2WD and take it from delicate (and bent) to wild—constructing an Final Journey rig with large tires, tons of gearing, and extra, plus a retro Eighties Toyota theme (we launched the concept in UA 2022 Final Store Truck Construct PART 1 if you wish to wade by extra particulars on the construct). We then talked about beginning the rollcage in PART 2, and moved on to displaying how our plans for the marginally bent rear finish of the truck would come collectively in PART 3. With this installment, we’ll introduce you to among the elements that may convey the frontend of the truck collectively. We’ll begin with displaying you the junkyard entrance axle we’re engaged on, and speak about our plans for the entrance suspension. The reality is, we hemmed and hawed just a little bit about what to do for the entrance suspension. Our preliminary plan was to run a three-link with Diesel JL/JT entrance coils and shocks from Skyjacker. As soon as we obtained began we realized that will be a bit tougher than we thought for the reason that framerails on the entrance axle are fairly darn extensive. We then tossed across the thought of pulling a Dave Chappelle (you recognize, the man from Dust Each Day and our UA Crony) and including airbags to the three-link, however on the finish of the day we adopted the tried-and-true engineering precept of Okay.I.S.S.: Maintain It Easy, Silly. The result’s a Ford ball-joint Dana 60 situated and suspended by some Skyjacker Okay-series entrance springs in spring-over configuration. It is a easy, confirmed suspension system with a particular nod to the early Eighties Toyota vehicles that we’re utilizing for a theme. Test it out.
Junkyard Ford Dana 60
For years we have been constructing UA automobiles with Dana’s Final Dana 60 axles. The reality is, these axles are superior, however that is to not say {that a} pair of upgraded junkyard axles will not do the trick for our Final Store Truck. The very best half is that the entrance axle, from a 1995 non-Tremendous Obligation F-350, was already in our possession. These axles are simpler to seek out than the sooner kingpin Ford Dana 60s, and so they make an awesome place to begin for a easy store truck-style construct equivalent to this.
Trimming Manufacturing facility Suspension Bits Off the Body
Step one in including these new elements entails taking the outdated Toyota suspension bits off. We then hit the framerails with our Miller plasma cutter to take away the brackets and crossmembers that will intervene with the stable entrance axle. For a scorching minute after we had been eager about linking the truck, we thought possibly we may reuse the manufacturing facility shock/strut towers, however we’d have needed to slim the body for correct clearance for the coil springs we needed to make use of. Additionally, the manufacturing facility shock/strut towers are angled inward in a means that solely is smart for the A-arm-style IFS that the truck used to have. This may have sophisticated any shock- or coil-mounting for a stable entrance axle, so off they got here. We additionally plan on plating elements of the body the place we eliminated brackets, and including in crossmembers to regain body rigidity as soon as we get the axle situated and steering and suspension sussed-out.
Dana 60 Improve {Hardware}
Our plan is to match this axle with a 1999 GM full-float 14-bolt rear axle (we talked just a little bit about that in Final Store Truck PART 3). We’ll then add 35-spline chromoly axleshafts from RCV, 5.38:1 gears with full setup kits from Motive Gear, an Eaton locking differential (both an E-locker or a Detroit Locker), Warn 35-spline hubs, steering with aluminum tie rods and drag hyperlink from Chris Durham Motorsports and a ram from PSC, and extra.
Suspension Components To Convey It Collectively Beneath the Truck
For the suspension, we’ll use brackets from Barnes 4WD, some leftover U-bolts and spring plates from IH Components America, and a few shackles from OffRoad Design. We additionally custom-built a few shackle hangers that might be frenched into the Toyota body to tie all of it collectively. We’ll mate all these elements with mentioned Okay-series Skyjacker entrance springs and ADX shocks to round-out the entrance suspension bundle. The top end result might be a easy but efficient entrance suspension for our truck. We’ve not hung the shocks but, however we’ll replace you on how we do this in a future installment of this construct collection.
Sources:
Final Journey 2022 Official Sponsors:
- Official Jeep Accent: Rugged Ridge
- Official Fender Flare: Bushwacker
- Official Facet Steps: N-Fab
- Official Bedcover: Truxedo
- Official Mapping Device: onX Offroad
- Official IH Truck & Scout Components: IH Components America
- Official Shock & Suspension: Skyjacker
- Official Tire: Falken
- Official Artificial Restoration Gear: Bubba Rope
- Official Switch Case: Offroad Design
- Official Winch: Warn
- Official Customized Driveshaft: Quigley Customized Driveshafts