BUILD YOUR OWN "ROCK-CRAWLER"

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Tue May 06, 2008 8:33 pm

I have placed an add in the wanted section of this forum for bigger tyres.....this is why

I'm building a "crawler".....don't get this confused with a challenge vehicle, it's purely for rocks (100+:1 reduction in 1st)
It's got a fuel injected 229 cid Chevy V6 that will still get a dry sump oiling system,SM465 box,twin sticked NP205,front and rear steer portal axles,four corner solinoid operated braking system,pneumatic operated front and rear diff-locks,fully adustable air-ride system,front and rear hydraulic steering....blah blah blah...dont want to bore you with all the tech stuff.
At the end of the day i want to build something that can go anywhere and when it gets kicked hard it must ask for another
helping.....

No the I-beams under the rig don't stay there!!!! If i got R100-00 bucks every time for that question i'd have this rig
done already

Zantus · Post by **Zantus** » Tue May 06, 2008 11:17 pm

What axles....404 Mog?

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Wed May 14, 2008 9:05 pm

:) Yes Zantus you are right! Don't see many of these old mog axles out there anymore.
Cheers

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 5:44 pm

:D THANX to grensvegter BLOM from the oily little village of LANDROVIA i now have some bigger wheels ! :D
My crawler now has a set of 39.5 x 15 x15 TSL's under her belly

This week i started working on the suspension control arms and should have rig "FREE STANDING" by friday

i have also had the M&P FAB beadlocks powder coated

BenHur · Post by **BenHur** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:43 am

Mark

Riceburner · Post by **Riceburner** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 11:01 am

Your work looks 1st class.

Tristan · Post by **Tristan** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 12:15 pm

Green with envy...
Sooo!! many toys it must be great, cant wait to see the crawler finished and in action

Scorpion · Post by **Scorpion** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 4:33 pm

Looks awesome!

blom · Post by **blom** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 7:31 pm

ICan tell you okes that this rig will push the bounderies when in action, Fab work is of the best quality and the design is awsome.
Mark I can't wait to see it opperate

Scorpion · Post by **Scorpion** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 4:06 pm

The pics are a bit small and I would like to admire it from a bit closer. Could you PLEEEAAASE make it bigger? Pretty please...

blom · Post by **blom** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 5:07 pm

Johan I can promise you. ek voel effe geintemedeerd as ek langs mark se crawler staa die ding is HUGE

HannesCreamsoda · Post by **HannesCreamsoda** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 5:54 pm

NIce!!!!!!!

And who was lurking in the corner in the first pics.....

My new babe!!!!!!!!Lucy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

blom · Post by **blom** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 6:45 pm

Scorpion · Post by **Scorpion** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 8:51 pm

HannesCreamsoda wrote:NIce!!!!!!!

And who was lurking in the corner in the first pics.....

My new babe!!!!!!!!Lucy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

En wat se jou vrou daarvan...?

blom · Post by **blom** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:54 pm

Hey Pendego waas die GROOT fories ?

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:17 pm

was too surprised to see all the replies.....thought i was alone on planet ROCKCRAWL...

i'll send pics of the rig as i progress....
[img]

[/img]

Busy at the moment with the 4 bottom control arms.....as you can imagine this all
has to be built bulletproof

TO make it THROTTLE proof

Scorpion · Post by **Scorpion** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:37 am

You better! Otherwise we'll never forgive you and ban you to the oily village of Landrovia, where you'll spend the rest of your days fixing Land Rovers.

Tristan · Post by **Tristan** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:49 am

Why left hand drive

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:27 pm

:D I will keep on with the pics as i progess.....so no BANNING please !
I made it left hand drive becauase i offset the motor 50mm to the right to get better drive-line
angles and more leg room . :D

Scorpion · Post by **Scorpion** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 10:33 am

Mark, this is your first formal warning. It has been ten days since your last post and 2 weeks since your last update -what's happening? Come on, we want to know!

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 11:36 pm

I humbly appologise it won't happen again

I have been busy on other rigs
the past 2 weeks and haven't had much time for my baby.....this is not an excuse i know.....
so here is what i'm doing for the control arms, as you can see they will be working with an
air ride system that will be fully adjustable on all four corners of the rig.....as they say a picture says
a thousand words !

I'm also using M30 joints to make sure there's no breakage issues.....i hope

ashtabula4wd · Post by **ashtabula4wd** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 5:41 pm

Wow, that rig will be a monster! I am very impressed. Are the axles from a Unimog? Unimog is such a rare sight around here, I've only seen one once in person! Nice work!

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 8:48 pm

Thanx Peter, i havn't had time to do much on the Rig lately.....busy building Rigs for friends and also trying to keep my old faithful Hilux running.The axles are unimog portals with a 7.6:1 final ratio.....I'm busy with a "doubler" set-up at the moment to get even a better crawl ratio, at the moment it's a 100:1 in first as the SM465 has a "granny 1st" gear,with the "doubler" in place this should go to about 200:1....think that should be enough to "CRAWL" with !!! I'll try post some new pics as well !

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 6:30 am

At last some time to post new pics.....the new control arms are fitted.'High misalignment" bushes are in place giving the joints double their turning capacity.....the V6 Chevy has also been tossed out and replaced with a stout Chevy V8 that will have enough horses to "light -up" the 39.5's :wth: :wth: .....Yes we are moving foward again

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll17 ... awlera.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll17 ... awlerc.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll17 ... awlerd.jpg

Scorpion · Post by **Scorpion** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 1:42 pm

Looking good, Mark!

BenHur · Post by **BenHur** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 4:47 pm

Cool

2.8 d/cab SFA · Post by **2.8 d/cab SFA** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 9:55 am

AWSOME

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 6:56 am

Its been a while now but this is the year of the Crawler.....

.I have dusted off the "Monster" and surgery will comence soon !

witmamba · Post by **witmamba** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:37 am

Glad you decided to leave the Playstation for a while & commence work on your draadkar!!!

Tjokkie · Post by **Tjokkie** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 9:36 am

I WANT ONE TOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Awesome voertuig en baie netjiese werk Mark. Kan nie wag om te sien hoe lyk die finale produk nie!

Sal jy my Hilux se body daarop kan sit sodat mammie nie agterkom ek het 'n nuwe speeldeng nie?

Rampie · Post by **Rampie** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 8:30 pm

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!

Now just add a bin at the back for an estern cape kudu and you can sell that to any hunter who's had to climb those mountains!

ChrisF · Post by **ChrisF** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 8:42 pm

WOW !

Calbro2 · Post by **Calbro2** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 7:37 am

WOW!!! dis nou n smart DIY speelding!!

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 9:00 am

witmamba wrote:Glad you decided to leave the Playstation for a while & commence work on your draadkar!!!

I learn't how to drive the way I do on My playstation !
Thanx for the cool comments and Yes we'll need some mountains to play on when this Rigs done.....Heres how it flexes so far . The control arms are connected up front and now the bottom links need to be fabbed up to triangulate the diff. The rear end will flex a third more as the fulcrum point differs from the front so I guess there will be more than enough articulation for any terrain.

cprinsloo · Post by **cprinsloo** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 1:52 pm

Ek dink hierdie wa sal loop waar 'n bobbejaan met 'n kierie nie kan loop nie!!!

Post by **Mammabeer** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 8:21 pm

Lyk goed!

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 6:39 am

Heres a shot of the 2 Crawlers We are busy with.....

Pype · Post by **Pype** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 7:14 am

Mark that looks 'befonk'

Is the second one for me

witmamba · Post by **witmamba** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:46 am

Dis nou een standaard bedonnerde draadkar wat so flex!

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:23 pm

Pype wrote: Mark that looks 'befonk'

Is the second one for me

Andre You need to visit our shop .....I don't think Peter will let His Crawler go so easily ....We'll have to build another for You

Heres one little "Beast" We built about 3 years ago thats still making some serious noise in the challenge series.

Andries · Post by **Andries** » Tue Feb 01, 2011 9:44 pm

Dis nou mooi.wat kos so draadkar.

OOOOMS · Post by **OOOOMS** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 7:01 am

Mark, gaan die monster buggy in aksie wees die Saterdag by Hennops?

Pype · Post by **Pype** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 7:21 am

THROTTLE-BOY wrote: Andre You need to visit our shop .....We'll have to build another for You

Will do

will like to see what you are up to, the rigs I have seen that you build does their job pretty well

OOOOMS wrote:Mark, gaan die monster buggy in aksie wees die Saterdag by Hennops?

OOOOMS meen jy nie Hekpoort nie, lyk my die ouderdom begine nou wys

:wink2:

OOOOMS · Post by **OOOOMS** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:13 am

Pype wrote:
THROTTLE-BOY wrote: Andre You need to visit our shop .....We'll have to build another for You
Will do will like to see what you are up to, the rigs I have seen that you build does their job pretty well

OOOOMS wrote:Mark, gaan die monster buggy in aksie wees die Saterdag by Hennops?
OOOOMS meen jy nie Hekpoort nie, lyk my die ouderdom begine nou wys :wink2:

Eish ja......bedoel Hekpoort.....

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 6:39 am

OOOOMS wrote:Mark, gaan die monster buggy in aksie wees die Saterdag by Hennops?

I wish it was finished already but No

I will as usual bring My weapon of choice No7...It always brings out the responsible adult in Me !!!

OOOOMS · Post by **OOOOMS** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 6:47 am

Great :!: Hope to see No7 there then

ps Nice pic

Calbro2 · Post by **Calbro2** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 7:54 am

very nice pic

wakkjobb · Post by **wakkjobb** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:05 am

Cool pic; it's like the truck is waving to the camera.

What tires are those?

>>Dan

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 2:20 pm

Thanx for the comments.....the tyres are Simex Centipede 36x12.5x15,these are the best Mud tyres I've ever run off-road.The grip like hell !

Calbro2 · Post by **Calbro2** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 8:14 am

Mark,I've got a 1980 SFA project that I will Start on soon,but i want to know if it's a lot of work to build it with the link suspention front and rear,and will it still be a nice ride on road?

Thanx

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 8:39 pm

Calbro2,to do the 4-link isn't a problem in the rear except for the stock fuel tank.....this can be relocated by fitting a custom tank under the Rig.You get great flex out of the rear but the front end has issues with a 4-link....You'll probably get away with control arms and a panhard rod in the front. A 4-linked Rig also gives more body roll at speed with no torsion bar so I'd suggest a set of blades up front for stability and a 4-link in the back.Heres a pic of my Hilux with a 4-link rear and stock blades up front.

Calbro2 · Post by **Calbro2** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 8:01 am

THROTTLE-BOY wrote:Calbro2,to do the 4-link isn't a problem in the rear except for the stock fuel tank.....this can be relocated by fitting a custom tank under the Rig.You get great flex out of the rear but the front end has issues with a 4-link....You'll probably get away with control arms and a panhard rod in the front. A 4-linked Rig also gives more body roll at speed with no torsion bar so I'd suggest a set of blades up front for stability and a 4-link in the back.Heres a pic of my Hilux with a 4-link rear and stock blades up front.
mark.JPG

Thanx for this info Mark,it's nice to have that kind of info from someone with firsthand experience!!!!
If my hilux can do what yours does in that pic,I'll be HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!

How much moola will it cost to build the rear link suspention,Or maybe if you had to build it for me,so I can start saving

Calbro2 · Post by **Calbro2** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 8:16 am

Mark,is this more or less the setup?
So what will I need to build this?
* ___size hollow bar
* Big rose joints
* Long ciol springs
* Long shocks
* Fuel tank
* CO2 welder
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Thanks mark

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:59 pm

Corne,theres a couple of things one needs to adress with a 4-link, firstly how much "Tar" does the vehicle see.... as You'll need stiffer rear coils to keep the body roll to a minimum.I use M20 joints and sched tube for the links because breaking a link at speed means changing lanes without flickers and You'll almost always land up checking the quality of the welds on Your Roll-cage...

Budget almost always dictates how much flex you'll get at the end of the day.
The pic You posted shows a "Off-road" rig with Fox Airshocks,Theres plenty of flex but You'll be picking up your side mirrors in a tight corner as the body rolls !

The 4-link in My hilux works well with no bind and plenty flex,the geometry is perfect so the universals live longer.If your 4-links right You can "Kick" it all day long with no worries

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 8:57 pm

Started again this weekend to get my thoughts together regarding this Crawler project.....Time is the biggest enemy,You have to make time or you'll never get it done.Dusted the old girl down and was quite relieved to see that most of the welding was completed already.

I decided to TIG weld all the joints for maximum strength and penetration because a Rig like this is going to roll......thats a give ! Most of the framework is triangulated for strength as well. TIG welding does take a while longer but I feel theres no substitute .....good welds make good cages.With none of us getting any younger,it's always a great idea. A wise man once said "With age comes a CAGE"......

Good cages don't get built with oil bath welders.....at the end of the day it's usually the only thing that stands between you and hard place.

keeping in mind that stupid always hurts !

OOOOMS · Post by **OOOOMS** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:48 pm

Nice Mark, following your progress with interest

Post by **Mud Dog** » Tue Feb 15, 2011 12:53 am

Those are VERY nice welds!

THROTTLE-BOY · Post by **THROTTLE-BOY** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 12:53 pm

Thanx for the comments....I've made some time to get my thoughts around the 4-link setup for the front and rear of the Rig.This morning I ordered the plane end bearings for the links that I need to fab by the end of the week.I took M 30's just for the peace of mind.....don't want to be doing "Flower Trail" and have a link break !

Theres been a lot of ideas aroud the tranfere cases but I've decided to go with the tried and tested "Doubler" setup.....It'll stand up to all the abuse and still ask for more if You aren't kicking it 'HARD" enough......My type of tranfere case setup. This will give the Rig endless configurations of gearing ....stating at 4-high ,4-low ,4-crawl 225:1, all in 4 wheel drive,2 wheel drive rear and 2 wheel drive front only as I've already twin sticked the NP205.....

Heres an example of the "Doubler" I'm busy with.....

: doubler.jpg (17.54 KiB) Viewed 10230 times

bosjakkals · Post by **bosjakkals** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 1:06 pm

More

African Child · Post by **African Child** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 3:48 pm

My mond hang ooooop......die keybord is papnat gekwyl......