We have seen a huge number of ways to customize mini-trucks throughout the years that have taken mini-trucker's expectations to new levels of detail and show-readiness. If someone has thought about it, then we're usually the first to jump to get photos of it to further pique our readers' imaginations. Recently, we went on a four-day suspension-rebuilding work spree to bring the suspension of our Mini Truckin' S-10 up to 2002 standards with Suspension Dimension in San Bernardino, California.
Before our visit there, however, we called KP Components in Hilmar, California, to get our hands on one of the company's four-link kits. We got more than its tried-and-trusted cantilever setups in the mail, and it amazed us. They'd prototyped a killer new crossmember especially for us, and since it was so cool, we decided that an article showing its installation was in order.
Don't think that MT's S-10 is the only mini that can run these cool crossmembers. KP Components can do all sorts of designs, including club logos, in its crossmembers. Without further ado, check out the coolest new crossmembers available from KP Components and installed by Suspension Dimension.
The truck we worked on has...
The truck we worked on has been lowered more than a few times, so the installation process went a bit slower. To start things off, Sean at Suspension Dimension sanded off the paint on the truck's frame at every point we would need to weld in order to install KP Components' large bridge-notch.
Since the truck had been notched...
Since the truck had been notched in the past, Suspension Dimension went the extra mile and checked the truck's frame to find out if it was bent from all of our abuse. We found out that the truck's frame was indeed bent when we tack-welded a 6-foot-long piece of 2x2-inch square tubing to the front bed mounts and checked out its position in relation to the rear of the frame.
After tweaking the frame back...
After tweaking the frame back to straight, S.D. lined up the outside plate for the notch and welded it into place. Notice the square tubing? They didn't pull it off until well after the frame was strong again to be sure that we no longer had a bent truck.
Next, the inner plate of the...
Next, the inner plate of the bridge-notch was tack-welded into place and checked for square with the outside notch plate.
Hey, no one's perfect. The...
Hey, no one's perfect. The plates needed minor adjustment before they were welded into place permanently.
Checkout those perfect penetration...
Checkout those perfect penetration burns in the notch side plates. That's what you need to look for if you want really strong welds.
The notch plates were welded...
The notch plates were welded completely to ensure strength before the inner notch section was added to give the notch sections strength from beneath.
Finally, we were able to...
Finally, we were able to place the KP Components' notch cover in place to get it ready to be welded into the top of the notches. The brace not only serves as a crossmember but also as the top of the notch itself.
When we dropped the notch...
When we dropped the notch cover onto the newly notched framerails, we found that there was a bit of difference between the shape of the notch cover and the framerails themselves. The difference between the frame and the notch cover was adjusted by placing a few tack-welds on the cover and doing a little bit of trimming to fit the truck's bridge-notch.
Starting at one corner, the...
Starting at one corner, the notch cover/brace was welded in. The whole cover was not welded in continuously to keep warping to a minimum. Instead, the areas at each end were welded until the cover was completely welded into place.
Next, we noticed that one...
Next, we noticed that one too many 'bag jobs had left the frame weak just behind the notch, so this area was strengthened with a plate on each side, custom-fit to that location, and welded into place.
Since the notch was strong...
Since the notch was strong from above, all that was left to do was to trim out the leftovers from the small C-notch that the S-10 had been equipped with up to that point. With a big hole where the notch used to be, the last piece of the notch was welded into place, closing the underside of the notch and making the whole structure stronger than ever.
Completed and with the bed...
Completed and with the bed back on, the inside of the bed was trimmed to show the notch cover/brace through the bed floor. The inside of the bed took on a whole new appearance with the custom-cut crossmember installed.