With the LUV cleaned up as much as it's going to get at this point, the time to tear into it has finally come! The initial plan of attack was to 'bag the truck and set up the suspension, and with the frame and suspension sitting where we want it, move on to the bodydrop. But a funny thing about plans—they rarely work out how you want.
To start things off, the seized engine and tranny were both pulled, then off came the rusty bumpers and the bed. With that, we had our first look at what we had to deal with. The frame was far from laying out, up front was the strut rod crossmember, and along the frame there were two other crossmembers holding everything up. A couple hours of cutting and grinding would take care of this problem and put the frame on the floor. A floor jack was then placed under the control arm to eyeball the situation, and it was immediately obvious that the ol' LUV wouldn't just lay out. The upper ball joints were locking up way too early, and as anyone who's worked on most older minis knows, there's not a lot of real-estate available up front for 'bags, so a bit of clearancing was in order.
At this point in the game, a lot of us are tempted to just order a set of tubular control arms and be done with it, but a quick glance in the wallet brought us back to reality. We had to find another way. A couple of strategic slices on the upper control arms and we had the extra travel we needed. We then did what every minitrucker would do by throwing on a wheel to see how things looked. What we found was that another 1 1/2 inches needed to be cleared. Rather than monkey with the control arms for that last bit of extra room and possibly lose more precious room for the front 'bags, we decided to Z the front frame. Although it's a bit more work, the Z allows us more breathing room for the 'bags and lets us leave the control arms the way we've already set them up. With that, we hung the fenders, bolted on the wheels and set the LUV back on the garage floor.
1. Once the old engine was...
1. Once the old engine was out, it was apparent that the extra time shampooing the engine bay was well spent.
2. Tear-down typically happens...
2. Tear-down typically happens fairly quickly.
3. Be sure to keep track of...
3. Be sure to keep track of the bits and where they go. Your memory isn’t as good as you think it is!
4. With the torsion bars ...
4. With the torsion bars out...
5. ...we set the truck on...
5. ...we set the truck on the ground only to find that the crossmembers were holding the frame up about an inch and a half.
6. The strut rods and sway...
6. The strut rods and sway bar came off, leaving more room.
7. Our initial suspension...
7. Our initial suspension sweep revealed interference problems and the upper ball joint locking up way too early.
8. A couple cuts on the upper...
8. A couple cuts on the upper control arms allowed us to tweak the ball joint plates to gain the travel we needed.
9. The arms will be fully...
9. The arms will be fully welded up once the fab work is complete.
10. With the upper ball joint...
10. With the upper ball joint angle adjusted, and the frame clearanced, we had the suspension travel we needed to lay the truck out.
11. The location for the Z...
11. The location for the Z was carefully marked...
12. ...and cut to give us...
12. ...and cut to give us the last inch and a half we needed.
13. The splice was V-grooved...
13. The splice was V-grooved for deeper weld penetration—DO NOT compromise strength, as this is a major stress point on the frame. This area will also be gusseted and plated. Make sure all metal is clean before final welding.
14. We used a cardboard template...
14. We used a cardboard template to build some gussets...
15. ... out of some scrap...
15. ... out of some scrap 2x3 box tubing.
16. The gussets were also...
16. The gussets were also V-grooved for better weld penetration...
17. ...and as stated earlier,...
17. ...and as stated earlier, we will be plating the area with 1/8-inch plate.
18. With the Z done, we hung...
18. With the Z done, we hung some fenders and laid the truck flat on the ground for the first time. Getting this sneak preview is just the motivation we need for the next step. Next, we start the bodydrop. Stay tuned!