Rawml's 64 Daily Driver Build

[azsteve]

Mike,
Nice to see this outstanding post.
Stellar job as always2. I would like to know more about the removable crossmember. Why removable, access for repairs?

X2! ...on both the awesome work and the question about the removable crossmember...?

I visited a friend of mine this weekend who has a repair shop at his home and got to see a vortec 3700 swap he is putting into a late 70's scout. It made me think of your build, with the huge list of things to consider before and during the build. It also made me question my desire to eventually have 1 close to stock Patrol and 1 beefed up mod'ed daily driver like yours. I realized that I have about 10% of the necessary knowledge, tools, time and $ required to do a job like that, lol. It is really impressive to see the process and progress of your build.

You mentioned previous rewire jobs, I assume that was on one of your previous patrols? Do you recall what you used for the wiring then?

any updates on the build?

[rawml]

I finally found some time to work on my Patrol. I have been working out of state so I haven't had a lot of time. And when I do get home, it has been snowing and cold.

I went with a removable crossmember because it gives me options. My powertrain has a mount between the transmission and tcase. The mount rests on this crossmember. If I ever have to remove the tranny, I can drop the crossmember and remove it from the bottom. The crossmember attaches with some grade 8 bolts via welded in bungs. I welded them to the bottom when I had the frame flipped over.
I used a wiring harness from EZ Wiring. They are eazy to install. It is what I used on my first Patrol also. EZ Wiring has harnesses for FJ40's and old Broncos and Jeeps. These adapt very easily to the Patrol.

I have been avoiding the powertrain. I'm thinking now that I messed up on my headers. When I built them, I should have installed the sparkplugs and the wires and test fitted everything. I tried some shorty plugs but they are still to close. Also tried shielding for the plug boots. It's kind of an expensive mistake. So I am considering running a stock cast iron exhaust manifold on the drivers side, and then building a new header on the passenger side. If anyone thinks this will mess up my engine please let me know. A passenger side cast iron exhaust manifold won't work due to the narrow frame. I can run a drivers side manifold on the passenger side and have it dump to the front, but I will have to notch the frame. I am not ready to do that. If I could mount the engine a few inches higher it would make everything easier. This is impossible because the tcase is almost touching the bottom of the floor and I have a one inch body lift. I already have what I consider an extreme powertrain angle. Headers are a pain to build.

I have the dash complete and wired up. It was a true pain to get all wires in the small dash.



I built a center console out of angle iron and 16 gauge steel. My ebrake handle runs through the front. I have it so a standard size ammo can will fit in it. I found some 3 point seatbelts on eBay. They are for a HMMWV. They are better than the ones I had originally put in. I also made covers for my rollcage out of ballistic nylon. It is heavy duty. As I was sewing everything together, I realized I had some extra work to do. I have welded in all these fancy gussets not thinking that it would be difficult to cover them.





I re-worked my rear seats. I built a frame that bolts directly into the threaded bungs in my tub. I added the mounts for the seatbelts to these frames. I started on my tailgate but I haven't decided if it will be a drop down or a swing out yet. I used the firewall supports to attach my front seatbelts. I had welded in a thick piece of metal on the other side before painting. You can see them in this picture between the front seats.

[RiverPatrol]

Excellent work. The dash looks amazing! Good luck with the rework on the headers.

[50car]

On many v-8 race cars that I have worked on, the headers on one side actually came back , went up and over the transmission hump at the rear of the heads. Normally the left side on the race cars is dumped up and over the trnasmission hump towards the right side of the car. In your case, it appears that you might have room to dump the right side up and over the bell housing towards the left side and then join the two sides together..... . ???? of course that does mean building more headers....

[50car]

headers.jpg

Here is a set of Dynotechs that are bolt on listed in Lefthanderchassis.com's web site... they might be able to save you some time in fabbing up new headers

[bosque]

Awesome....great work....paint job......metal fabrication....sewing.......
.....my wife said she bets your a cuisine chef too!!!!
Mike your work is so much an inspiration. Thank you for a nice post and love the crossmember explanation.

[Grenadier]

I'll echo Bosque's sentiment here. Amazing and inspiring work, Mike. Please keep posting photos of your progress.

-Wade

[bosque]

Mike,
If you get a chance, could you get a shot of your connection pieces from roll cage to frame. I'd guess, weld to frame and just (3/8 grade 5 or 8?) carriage bolt bottom of cage plate, floor and top plate of connection piece.?
I'd like to see what you thought best.

[rawml]

Finally found some time to work on my Patrol. I have been working out of state. Thanks to Bosque for the side emblem. Looks great. I installed a class 3 hitch. It turns out that the older series of Mitsubishi Montero has the same bolt pattern as the Patrol. The holes align perfectly. I didn't really want to drop the tank so I taped the nuts in a box wrench trying to get them on the bolt ends, but I shredded my knuckles. Ended up dropping the tank. I also mounted a waterproof LED reverse light to the rear. I built painted and mounted the door along with my rear lights. I am mounting the spare in the tub so I can mount stuff to the back. I also made some super heavy duty bumperettes








I have been going back and forth on the idea of making a soft top. I made a cover out of Nylon Cordura and it was difficult to line the pieces up. My hardtop has rust in the seams even though I've sandblasted it. I hate rust. I grew up in Arizona and the only rust I ever saw was on all the snowbirds vehicles. I recently saw a link someone posted on the anniversary of the Simpson Desert crossing in Australia. In that video there is a Patrol with a cool looking hardtop. I have decided to make one like that. Making the sides proved to be simple. I used melamine shelving for the mold. It is a plastic coating over pressed wood which fiberglass resin doesn't like to bond to. I used a parting wax to be sure. This mold is not complex. It is just two flat pieces with a 90 degree bend. I used some thinner pieces of melamine for the window cuttouts. One benefit of using a melamine mold, is it is super smooth. After I pulled it I realized I won't have to do much sanding. I sealed all the joints on the mold with clear packing tape. The resin doesn't stick to this either. I used multi layers of material to include one called Coremat. This material soaks up resin and gives a little thickness to the sides. Coremat needs to have material on both sides because it doesn't really give any strength to the product. I used multiple layers of woven roving at different agles and chopped strand mat. I used about a gallon of resin on each of side pieces. The Coremat really soaks up the resin making these pieces about 1/4 thick. I made the windows larger than the regular one and I don't plan to use a sliding window. I am also putting two smaller windows on the back. The top piece will be a little more challenging. I am guessing I will have to make 4 separate molds and bond them together. I will have to remove the foam padding from the top of my rollcage to fit the top.



Mold shortly after the fiberglass hardened.


Fiberglass sides pieces pulled from the molds.


Rough finished product.


This is the drivers side sitting on the tub.





Installed a steering wheel for my GM column. I still trying to figure out how I am going to mount the Patrol horn button.

I removed my headers I made for the Patrol. They turned out to be an expensive mistake. You really have to install the spark plugs on the engine when you make tight-fit headers. I didn't do this and realized only after that I couldn't install two of the spark plugs and probably most of the plug boots would be melted if I started the engine. I found this dude in my town that can weld cast iron and just about anything else. I am going to cut off the flanges on the stock exhaust manifold for the 4.3 and have him weld them in place where I want them. Using the exhaust manifolds will force me to modify my intermediate steering shaft because they are rubbing. Since I am using a steering gear found on Jeep Cherokees and Chevy S10's, I have alot of options for the intermediate shaft.

[miller]

Looking great!