What do yall think about this?

[99ranger4x4]

I have decided the SAS is too much to do in 8 months, i want to do it, i would have 3-4 instructors looking over my back to make sure its done right but i just dont think i can scrape $2500 together in the next 8 months (that doesnt include gears or an ARB for the front)

so i have decided im going to do an Exo cage that ties into the front bumper, sliders and maybe rear bumper.
I'm still not sure how i want to do the bed.. i would prefer to keep it a bed and not make it a flat bed just yet

Here's my rough sketch from class today, i have 8 months to set a design i like, then about 4-5 weeks to do it and all of it will have to be drawn up with dimensions and crap then passed by the instructors before i can begin...


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/scan0001.jpg

[Hypoid]

WOW! Either project will take some major coin, and can be completed in stages.

With the Exo, you could drive your project home every night. With the SAS completed, you may not want to go home.

What is the cost break down for the SAS?

[99ranger4x4]

i need to do some research, but how do you weld the inside of an exocage?


that was just the extimate for a rear spool, 5.14s, axles, leafs, steering box misc tubing, heim joints... i forgot about high steer knuckles and arms.. it didnt include materials for a front drive shaft, 5.13s, or the ARB locker
i'm not 100% how i got $2500
$400 for Steering box (reman from All Pro, i can probably junk yard that)
$200 gears
$200 spool
$600 Leafs (all pro 5" yoda long tavel)
$500 Axles - D44/9" late 70s F150 (local JY quote, but i would have 8 months to shop around)
$? Tubing
$? Heim joints
$? Brake Lines
$? High steer crap (not needed)
$? to rebuild the axles

[mattadams]

I like the exo-cage, but what can I say I'm partial to having the spare tire on the rollbar portion :).
http://mattstruck.com/rollbarmount7.jpg
Got I miss that thing sometimes.

[99ranger4x4]

yea i think it really looks cool, im also going to have a place to put my hi-lift and if i come across any, a spare driveshaft too.

[99ranger4x4]

chuck said it was kinda hard to visualize, so i had some fun with photoshop, switched over to paint this morning and wish i did everything in paint, PS sucks for making basic lines lol
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/drawings/exo1.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/drawings/exorear1.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/drawings/exorear2.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/drawings/exotop1.jpg

[99ranger4x4]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/drawings/exofront1-1.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/drawings/exofront2-1.jpg

[mattadams]

I like it! :)

[99ranger4x4]

what about the bars over the windshield?
i have mixed thoughts lol

[mattadams]

If it were my vehicle, I wouldn't do it... unless I seriously thought I was going to roll the vehicle to make it worth protecting the windshield. Just my preference though :)

[RevT]

i need to do some research, but how do you weld the inside of an exocage?


With a welder....Duh....LOL

This guy used to have a hella Exo Cage on his bronco.
http://www.bronkzilla.com/

He is on the FSb forum, but I'll be danged if I can find any pics of his truck. There used to be a write up somewhere about him building it.
http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum/index.php

RevT

[Warrlord]

If it were my vehicle, I wouldn't do it... unless I seriously thought I was going to roll the vehicle to make it worth protecting the windshield. Just my preference though :)

Ditto :)

Looks like a nice design except one of the most vulnerable parts is left unprotected.............your door.

[99ranger4x4]

yea, i want to protect my door, but do you have any suggestions that wont ruin the sleek design? haha

i could drill and tap the pieces infront of and behind the door, then bolt a few pieces of tubing between them.. im also thinking about caging in the back doors since their not 100% necessary..

and i dont PLAN on rolling my truck... but im building the cage for a reason ya know? haha

especially if i SAS it, go home and go play at Katemcy or go out to MOAB... i have the bad habbit of trying lines that people want me to try :o

[99ranger4x4]

With a welder....Duh....LOL

This guy used to have a hella Exo Cage on his bronco.
http://www.bronkzilla.com/

He is on the FSb forum, but I'll be danged if I can find any pics of his truck. There used to be a write up somewhere about him building it.
http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum/index.php

RevT

and how do you propose i fit a welder between the tubing and body, and still get a good weld?

i'll most likely be doing it with a TIG welder, but i'll have access to both TIG and MIG.. before i can start a project and to pass the class my welds with both have to be flawless

[Hypoid]

and how do you propose i fit a welder between the tubing and body, and still get a good weld?
Set up and Tack weld sections, lift them off the body and use every advantage that you can to run quality welds. You may want to consider doubling, gusseting and bolting structures in areas you would need open to service the vehicle.

Two other considerations you need to allow for are weight and stiffening:

The work I do uses a lot of dimensional steel, we bill stock out by the pound, it adds up real fast.

I don't know how much your frame flexes, but as you add material, the chassis should lose some of it's flexibility. Whatever you lose in the frame, the suspension makes up...or not.

Losing flexibility, and adding weight to the top of the truck can change the vehicles break-over angles, making roll-over protection a necessity. Sometimes less really is more.

[99ranger4x4]

i was planng on tacking up the roof part and taking it off to weld fully, probably a few beads per joint since it'll be taking a hell of the load if i do dump it, but once i put it onto the up rights, which are going to be (hopefully) bent to the curve of the body so im not sure how far i'll be able to pick it up to weld

i was figuring the 1 1/2" .120" walled tubing weighs almost 2 lbs a foot.. i'm going to go measure my truck eventually and get a rough estimate on how muck im going to need.. and probably an extra stick because i KNOW im going to screw up a few times

where else besides the hood will i really need to get to? probably the most heavily protected area with my luck..

Ranger frames flex quite a bit, i think?
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/BVORR%20small/BVORR811-12009.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/BVORR%20small/BVORR811-12006.jpg

(to tell ya the truth i love plastering those pics all over the place:D)

[Hypoid]

BTW, you live in truck country. The demand for good truck parts will be high, with prices to match. The pull-yo-shiat yards will sell an axle assembly for around $100, steering gear for around $50. The whole trick is to know what you want, and jump on it when you see it. Also, it can't hurt to have more eyes looking on your behalf.

There are a few places like this in the Denver-Metro:
http://pullnsave.com/index.html
Might be a good idea to run through a few next week when you are close.

FWIW, If I had the money and the choice, I'd be looking at the axle first.

[Hypoid]

You might think this is nuts, but I think you could slip-tube the bottom where the cage attaches to the sliders and bumpers, and lift the whole thing off for DD chores. Run through bolts where the tubes slip together.

[99ranger4x4]

i have the choice.. its cash money thats holding me back lol. i KNOW i can get 2 axles for less than $500. i dont NEED high steer, i dont need gears or a locker for the front, i dont need a front driveshaft. if it wasnt my DD i would 4 link it front and rear then weld a piece of metal between the frame and axles then put the springs on when i had money..

8 months is a long time....

once i get new coils and sliders ill be on the search for axles

[Hypoid]

8 months is a long time....True that!

I'm also waiting for digger to post up. There is a lot he could add to this thread, but then we'd have to pay him what he's worth. I just can't afford him. LOL

[99ranger4x4]

well ill give him all i got... $0.86 in the bank :twocents:


maybe i can recruit a few guys that i know can weld on the task of making me an interior cage :glasses10:

[mattadams]

I personally prefer an exo-cage to an internal cage, but thats mainly because of my height, I have very little spare room in the vehicle as it is. I've ridden in a vehicle with an internal cage (Rick's explorer from explorer4x4) and my knees were constantly banging on the cage, and my head was always hitting the bars that protected the roof.

[99ranger4x4]

well the interior one would be if i could scrape together the money for a sfa, and had some left over i would prefer any cage over no cage

[Richard]

i have the bad habbit of trying lines that people want me to try :o

does anyone else get worries over this statement?

[99ranger4x4]

haha, what does that mean?

i mean i keep it reasonable, i dont do the stuff that the trailered jeeps on 37s and 42s do.. but back home when we went out with the rangers i had the most capable truck on the first run so i was getting offered parts of the park that the guide couldn't even make..

[bronc_17113]

Next ttime I am at the pick and pull out here I'll look at some axles for ya. I amlooking to do an SAS on my 84 soon but I already have my donor rig. There are a couple guys locally I know that have done them off of fullsizebronco.com and it seems to bewel worth themoney you put in.

[99ranger4x4]

anyone figure out how to weld the inside of the tubing yet? i had a mall crawlin mishap and it looks like i'll be doing a flatbed probably tied into the exocage now as a project in school.

[Hypoid]

Give me some detail drawings on the mounting.

For the most part I see panels that can be welded off the vehicle, and assembled around the vehicle before mounting.

[99ranger4x4]

i know i can assemble pieces, but there's still going to be the parts that you probably cant weld and its only as stong as its weakest link.

i dont really have any detailed drawings of the mounting, im guessing im going to be making plates out of 1/4" steel or something that i weld the tubing to then the plate to the frame, or bolt the plate to the frame who knows. i still have 8 months before i can start, and before i start i have to draw up designs and blue print it and everything

these flat beds are what i'll be aiming for though
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/flatbed/cleanbed4.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/flatbed/flatbed072.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/flatbed/IironSika-Valmislava.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/flatbed/L_desoto197.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y153/yellowblurRX8/flatbed/bed1.jpg

i'll probably try and incorperate pieces from all of them, i have a list of stuff i want to make a spot for

[bronc_17113]

one question if you go SAS why do you think you need to go 9"? It isn't that much stronger than ur 8.8 and it is not VSS compatible