Slow going, but still at it. Yokohama stopped making the Geolandar M/T+ so I'm going with the Geolandar M/T G003. I don't have time at this point to find different tires and these were at the shop, so ....

37" Geolandar M/T+ beside my little '97 with 31"s and stock 15" rims.

37" Geolandar M/T+ beside my big '97 with 35"s and Stockton Series 22 17" rims.


Yokohama Geolandar M/T G003 37"x12.5"x17". I'm not overjoyed with this tire already. The tread width is at least 2" narrower than the M/T+ irrespective of what Yoko says. I put both tires side by side - you don't need a ruler, it's VERY obvious. How flotation will be with the new tire is now a giant question mark. Compound is - AFAIKT - exactly the same at the M/T+. VERY soft.


Stockton Wheel Series 22 17"x9" custom built rims, with custom rock rings powder coated in 80% black. Zinc undercoat and clear over-coat. Gonna have to do some body work to get everything to fit.




Edward

Teraflex stopped making the Low231. I managed to get one of the very last ones they had and got the transfer case and Low231 built, and promptly decided building a vehicle around a part I couldn't replace if it broke was a REALLY bad idea. So, rather than engineer the entire drive train around the NP231 and Eco Box, I decided to cut my losses and go with the Atlas 4-speed.

On the + side, I guess I now have an entire spare t-case as well as an NWF box to replace the setup in my black Sport if something should break.

The went into production last Wed so it should be here next week.

Oh, and I switched to the 1350 u-joints. The 37" Geolandar G003's with the 17" steel rims and rings are massive and REALLY heavy and the G003's are super sticky. Figured I probably shouldn't press my luck with 1310s. Also, the 1350 CVs have a higher operating angle.

Atlas t-case -

Gear Ratio: 10.34:1
Drop: Left hand drop (Driver Side)
Input Spline: 23 Spline short
Tailhousing: Standard Tailhousing (w/ speedo provission)
Speedometer: Electronic Speedometer Module
Rear Yoke: 1350 CV
Front Yoke: 1350 CV
Site Tube: Yes Please

Edward

This is what happens when a project starts pushing 3 years. PCS now makes an entirely new TCM and stopped selling the one I originally had planed to use. After spending an inordinate amount of time dealing with the two supposed PCS Colorado vendors, I finally found an online source. I probably should have just skipped trying to source the part locally in the first place, but ....







Finally showed up at the office this morning. Whoohoo! This was the last piece I was having issues getting. The only thing I added was the remote gear position indicator. I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to hook the PCS unit into the dash to make the dash position indicator work and I figured it'd be really nice to know what gear I'm in in the dark as the RADesigns shifter isn't lighted.

I finally got the parts below from "Pace Performance" -

PCSA-TCM2800 - TCM-2800 Transmission Controller Only (TCM-2800)
PCSA-TCM4028 - TCM-2800 Universal Unterminated Harness
PCSA-GDS5012 - PCS Gear Indicator, Red Display w/ PCS Option

Edward

UPDATE (3/2/2018):

Using the Atlas transfer case instead of the NP231 and Low231 and NWF crawl box. Tera quit making the Low231 some time ago so switching made more sense than building my entire drive train around a discontinued part.

Changed axle configuration. I'm still using the Dynatrac Pro Rock front and rear, but I decided to go with the D60 in the rear instead of the D44. Whether I regret this remains to be seen. The front axle is still a D44 but I decided to go with the D44/60 Hybrid. Pro Rock D44 axle but with the D60 knuckles and hubs. I'd seriously considered doing a D60 front, but remembered that it won't fit without major surgery. Just not worth it since the only thing I was really worried about was ball joints and the u-joints.

Had to change tires from the Yokohama Geolandar M/T+ I've been using for almost 20 years to the Geolandar M/T G003. 'Not happy' is a major understatement. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We'll see. Unfortunately I found out that Yoko stopped making the M/T+ about a month ago, leaving me with nowhere near enough time to start searching for something different. The plan is to keep in mind that I may be changing tires in the near future and to design accordingly.

Body lift is done. Rhino Liner on the rocker panels is also done.

I decided to use King coil-overs front and rear.

Anti-wrap bar in the back.

Sticking with the leaf springs from Alcan in the back, but the 3-link in the front got scrapped. Rather than the 3-link, we're going to do extended radius arms.

Howe hydraulic assist steering with a different steering box. Mitsu steering boxes are getting really difficult to find in good shape and not worth fighting with. This will also make it a lot easier to find a Pitman arm.

All-Pro skids and ARB bumper, XD9000 winch and line are in. The only pending parts is the t-case and axles. Both should be here at the shop next week or the week after.

All that's left is to drop it off once the t-case and axles show up and start work.

Edward

Do you have enough thread engagement on the front wheel lug nuts? They look pretty empty in the pics.

Yeah, big tires!

Those pics are somewhat dated. They were taken after I went to 17" rims and replaced the lug nuts last year with open-ended 1" lug nuts, but before I had the lug studs replaced on the front with the same diameter and length as the rears. So, actually the fronts have about 1/4" of stud sticking out of the 1" lug nut now.

Pictures do not do them justice. I have them sitting next to my 33"s and 35"s and the 37"s just dwarf the others. They're also about 130lbs +/- a wheel.

Edward

Following in your tire path, a little, but trying to stay independent.

Was just curious about the shadow in the nut, but figure that was under control.

Cheers,
Russell

Nice!

With the atlas/pro rocks, sounds like a starter kit for a race rig...

UPDATE (3/7/2018):

One of those weeks ... packed everything up yesterday for the transmission build and half way through realized no Transgo shift kit. I know I ordered it and I know it showed up but it looks like my garage ate it. Thankfully the shop says they will get another one.

On a more positive note ... the Atlas 4-speed showed up at the shop this morning. Whoohoo!



All that's pending are the axles and the transmission build. I'm on my way back to the transmission shop tomorrow to hopefully kick that off.

I can't wait to get this build actually started. I WANT MY GARAGE BACK! :D:D

Edward

Very nice!

Yep. The OEM 44s only had a 1/2" thick lug nut so with the 1" thick lug nuts, things looked pretty scary. Why GM used such short studs and thin lug nuts on a truck, let alone a 4WD truck, is a good question. But, yes, fixed, for whatever 'problem' existed. They were like that for 14 years and never had a problem with them backing off or studs breaking. It was really freaking people out, though.

Edward