Keep everyone up to date with how your project is coming along.
= Resolved threads
I thought I would kick this Build Thread forum off with the Hilux build, it's almost impossible to know where to start on this but it all began with an idea that wouldn't leave my head, what if a mini truck could be a competent drift car?
If you look at a complete tube frame race car then it's easy to get overwhelmed just by looking at the complexity of it. This put me off building one for years and I continued to campaign my S chassis and learnt a lot about what I need and what I don't need because of it.
I kept going back to the notion that a full tube frame car is made up of a few basic measurements which are not that difficult to obtain.
Wikipedia told me the wheelbase and track, my neighbour had a hilux and I was able to measure the body then I made a few decisions based on the performance aspect of those dimensions.
First of all the stock Hilux has a wheelbase of 2850mm, an S13 has a wheelbase of 2550mm, a JZX100 had a wheelbase of 2700mm and in my opinion is one of the best flowing drift cars of all time.
When you lower something it accentuates the length of the vehicle so I made the decision to shorten my wheelbase to 2700mm and do not regret it!
Soon after I bought an S15 that was destined to become the donor for this project, I had ideas to use the floor pan sections but after 10 minutes with the tape measure and a bunch of head scratching the whole lot was never going to work. The seating position, steering position, motor position and just about everything else was completely different (obviously)
So I was left with no choice but to go full tube frame, that didn't worry me in fact it made the whole project what it is and I am thankful for it.
Without overthinking things I thought there would be no better way to begin that to strip the S15, find a Hilux body and layout the bits that I needed.
By using the 2700mm wheelbase, the measurements off the neighbors Hilux cab (the sill panel pinch line) the front and rear S15 cradle assemblies, the SR20 motor I could get my local steel supplier to make up a jig. This is because I didn't have a single flat surface in my one car garage and I needed the project on wheels to actually work on.
With the jig made, the motor and cradle assemblies sitting in position I could go shopping for a cabin. I found one on eBay in Sydney and drove the 22 hour round trip to get it. I was lucky, it was $500 and had been blasted and primed for a drag car, he had the doors and the grille and everything I needed to work out my initial design.
The same afternoon I got home from Sydney my neighbors went surfing (this was a single unit in a 6 unit complex so I had to be mindful of noise) I got the angle grinder out and blew through a few 1mm thin disks removing the floor pan which would find itself in the bin along with the majority of the stock parts.
All I needed was a roof, some pillars, a few holes to hang some doors and guards and enough surface area to stick a few windows in.
I was in love and inspired by the look of the body on wheels but a little daunted at the years of construction left ahead of me, still it was better than dreaming about the project and not making a start on it.
Next step was to get some steel and join it together, I had only ever MIG welded and I spoke to a friend who made custom motorcycles, I got a quote through his steel supplier which is Racetech Steel in Sydney and ordered 60 meters of CDS (Cold Drawn Seamless) Mild Steel tube. Because I had never TIG welded before I ordered Mild Steel as it made life a lot easier to learn with.
I made up a Tube bender by drawing up my own plans and getting my local laser cutting place to make them up. The dies came from SpeedWerx and I was bending my $3,500 of tube in no time.
After tacking everything in position and MIG welding up a floor out of box tubing I spoke to my friend Luke again and he questioned why I was MIG welding. The only answer I could give was that I didn't know how to TIG weld, he just looked at me and said learn to TIG you will not regret it.
I stewed on that for a week, I looked into different machines and researched forums for the best value machine, I ended up buying a 200 amp AC/DC TokenTools TIG for $900.
When it arrived I ripped it out of the box, screwed up the manual and connected it up ready to go. But it was harder than expected and nothing I did would create a good weld. I spoke to a friend who had a friend at Tafe who taught TIG welding and he came around a week later. He simply switched the earth and power leads (reversed the polarity) then gave it back to me, I did two welds and he got in his car and drove off yelling "you'll be fine those welds will be strong enough"
Luke was right, TIG changed my life, after two welds I looked at this project with different eyes and immediately cut the whole MIG welded floor off and threw it in the bin.
That began the rest of the build and with more and more welding I started to understand how a TIG works and where it strengths lie, yes its slower, but boy it is quiet, clean and precise. You can literally see the molten weld pool and the effect it has with minor changes to the settings.
From that point on the rest has a well documented history, I wrote this so that you may get an idea of my mindset in the beginning, I think the biggest thing you need to understand before starting something like this is asking yourself the question "how much do I want it"
Builds like these take over your life, it was 3.5 years of mine where I didn't spend too much time on anything else, when I look back on it it was a whirlwind experience that had supercharged my learning potential.
Did I ever feel like giving up? Of course, every few weeks, the key was to just work it out, don't be afraid to put a months work in the bin, consider it a lesson and move on.
I feel the same about my accomplishment now as I did the first day I drove it, it becomes more than a car, it's a snapshot of what your capable of and a membership into an extremely small club of people who believe the perfect car does not exist, it must be built!
We need more pictures!
I have never been "into" the mini truck scene, but have always had mad respect for the fab work that goes into them. Its extremely inspiring. I have a customer with a 1988 Ford Ranger that he bought with the sole intention of doing something wild.
We are thinking an RB26 but since we have some time we haven't decided for sure.
I am assuming that you drift this truck? It looks extremely clean from what i have seen in the video modules, i would love to see more of it!
Still can't believe how much you accomplished in that 1 car garage... thanks for the post Nigel.
Also, Tim. Im sure he will end up posting photos on this forum but if you are impatient I am sure you can still find endless build photos on the engineered to slide blog. Link below
I remember seeing pictures of your build on facebook way way back. It caught my interest as it was very nicely fabricated and everything looked like it was made propper. Now that i come to think of it, i belive the first picture i saw was a blowout where all some of the parts were layed out around the bare tube frame.
PS: I managed to electocute myself about 5 times before i figured out to swich the polarity on my TIG cables..
Awesome! Looking forward to the updates on this build with all the great pics you've shared in the past online but all in one place.
Cheers
bob
elk', I think you mean shock yourself - electricute would mean you were killed by an electric shock 5 times ;-) - if it is correct, you must have some of Thor's blood in your veins :-)
I really loved this build and still do. I still see components of the car I have never noticed before as different angled photos pop up from time to time. Also due to the fact that I'm learning more and taking notice.
I have a folder on the computer that has shots you've put up over the life of your blog with the hilux build so I can see the steps taken. I hope to one day create my own tube chassi build.
Very nice to read the lessons learnt Nigel!
You guys mention the polarity of the TIG, how do you guys set it up? Mine came GND is negative and Tungsten positive, I believe my MAG welder is setup the same. Material to weld for now is mild steel and stainless, but looking at trying some aluminium as well in the future. Once my Miata is done I will spend a lot of time on practicing TIG welding as I would like to redo my exhaust manifold.
Thanks and sorry for the thread hack!
That would be normal - some ARC (stick) rods are VERY particular and need 'reverse' polarity - it is clearly marked on the packets, but I don't have enough experience to make an informed comment of MIG/TIG exceptions.
When TIG welding the "earth/ground" clamp is positive and the tungsten is the negative.