New A-arms for the Maverick prerunner build

[Bwicka]

Have you seen the FB page—
Fast Mavericks? If not, check it out.

Right , Some good stuff there !
Just ordered some !
These are awesome platforms !
We have a member doing 11 second quarter miles already !
My S600 twin turbo v12 I had which msrp was 150k in 2006 which barely did that With mods .
The funniest thing I see people , whoas , about is that it’s unibody.
I raced off road for 9 years and watched jeep speed class become a regular to the tune of pulling down times as fast as class 8 trucks ( full size ) in the desert.
all these are based on old Cherokee ( 1st gen)and 1st gen grand Cherokee ,I believe xj and zj. Catching 2 - 6 feet of air and handling 2-3 foot whoops(whoop de doos for old folks)for hundreds of miles non stop off road 4 to 6 times a year for years ,never once seen one rip a UNIBODY apart or make it unusable unless it had a serious rollover or crash which would have destroyed a similar frame mounted truck or suv as bad . Many of these jeep speed class vehicles still live in the local deserts as trail rigs if they are still not racing . The mustang debuted as a unibody , the escort always a unibody in Europe , both tons of rally wins at insane abuse levels!
long live the unibody!

coming soon ! Pre mods in tahoe.

Everyday someone creates something new , makes a new product or a discovery to make something better , society advances as a whole .I can’t sit back and wait
for things to get better ,worrying about doom and gloom , I want to be part of the solution , the advancement , and have fun!
Soooo back to work !
out to the driveway!

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[Bwicka]

Wait one more quick one
yes , plan is to redo factory crossmember , have a new tremor one coming in $760 from ford , should be here this week , going to do a chromoly tube version with a 3-31/2“ drop built in with new rack mount to keep bump Steer in check ,
the factory k member ( old 5.0 racing days ) or x Member will strengthen the mounting points as th factory sheet metal for a arm bolts distorts and opens and Tears too easy . Should shove 2 things one item . Will fixture that up and do it hopefully next month .
oh here is steering shaft

I will be doing additional 2 1/2” longer arms ,maybe 3” with axles , hopefully soon .
did these arms stock length with original 11 degrees built in to uniball , that’s factory ball joint angle. Will see what truck cycles like and what can be improved with cross member mounts to keep axle angles minimal .Main goal is to maximize original package with no cycle resistance so spring rate and dampener has no outside influence , to totally tune and control the corner .
post later

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Right , Some good stuff there !
Just ordered some !
These are awesome platforms !
We have a member doing 11 second quarter miles already !
My S600 twin turbo v12 I had which msrp was 150k in 2006 which barely did that With mods .
The funniest thing I see people , whoas , about is that it’s unibody.
I raced off road for 9 years and watched jeep speed class become a regular to the tune of pulling down times as fast as class 8 trucks ( full size ) in the desert.
all these are based on old Cherokee ( 1st gen)and 1st gen grand Cherokee ,I believe xj and zj. Catching 2 - 6 feet of air and handling 2-3 foot whoops(whoop de doos for old folks)for hundreds of miles non stop off road 4 to 6 times a year for years ,never once seen one rip a UNIBODY apart or make it unusable unless it had a serious rollover or crash which would have destroyed a similar frame mounted truck or suv as bad . Many of these jeep speed class vehicles still live in the local deserts as trail rigs if they are still not racing . The mustang debuted as a unibody , the escort always a unibody in Europe , both tons of rally wins at insane abuse levels!
long live the unibody!

coming soon ! Pre mods in tahoe.

Everyday someone creates something new , makes a new product or a discovery to make something better , society advances as a whole .I can’t sit back and wait
for things to get better ,worrying about doom and gloom , I want to be part of the solution , the advancement , and have fun!
Soooo back to work !
out to the driveway!

Great pics, Brian! Thank you for sharing and for being part of the Ford family!

 

[SlowTime2011]

Cool stuff, nice work. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

[Bwicka]

Great pics, Brian! Thank you for sharing and for being part of the Ford family!

Thank you , always have been part of the family.
My Friends and I had a blast with you guys in “Best in the Desert from 99’ to 2009”
Cliff from Ford and the other powertrain guys did us good and we constantly improved our Ford explorer sport (Red one )through out its lifetime.
Had some epic battles against Rod Hall , Scott Douglas and more .
Hoping to do the same here .
If you guys have any ideas let me know . Your welcome to dm me or any of the r&d teams .

 

[capecruiser]

Wait one more quick one
yes , plan is to redo factory crossmember , have a new tremor one coming in $760 from ford , should be here this week , going to do a chromoly tube version with a 3-31/2“ drop built in with new rack mount to keep bump Steer in check ,
the factory k member ( old 5.0 racing days ) or x Member will strengthen the mounting points as th factory sheet metal for a arm bolts distorts and opens and Tears too easy . Should shove 2 things one item . Will fixture that up and do it hopefully next month .
oh here is steering shaft

I will be doing additional 2 1/2” longer arms ,maybe 3” with axles , hopefully soon .
did these arms stock length with original 11 degrees built in to uniball , that’s factory ball joint angle. Will see what truck cycles like and what can be improved with cross member mounts to keep axle angles minimal .Main goal is to maximize original package with no cycle resistance so spring rate and dampener has no outside influence , to totally tune and control the corner .
post later

Awesome fab skills Brian !

 

[Maverickman74]

Right , Some good stuff there !
Just ordered some !
These are awesome platforms !
We have a member doing 11 second quarter miles already !
My S600 twin turbo v12 I had which msrp was 150k in 2006 which barely did that With mods .
The funniest thing I see people , whoas , about is that it’s unibody.
I raced off road for 9 years and watched jeep speed class become a regular to the tune of pulling down times as fast as class 8 trucks ( full size ) in the desert.
all these are based on old Cherokee ( 1st gen)and 1st gen grand Cherokee ,I believe xj and zj. Catching 2 - 6 feet of air and handling 2-3 foot whoops(whoop de doos for old folks)for hundreds of miles non stop off road 4 to 6 times a year for years ,never once seen one rip a UNIBODY apart or make it unusable unless it had a serious rollover or crash which would have destroyed a similar frame mounted truck or suv as bad . Many of these jeep speed class vehicles still live in the local deserts as trail rigs if they are still not racing . The mustang debuted as a unibody , the escort always a unibody in Europe , both tons of rally wins at insane abuse levels!
long live the unibody!

coming soon ! Pre mods in tahoe.

Everyday someone creates something new , makes a new product or a discovery to make something better , society advances as a whole .I can’t sit back and wait
for things to get better ,worrying about doom and gloom , I want to be part of the solution , the advancement , and have fun!
Soooo back to work !
out to the driveway!

I keep trying to tell people how ridiculously heavy duty my Comanche is for its size and design. 2200 payload 5000 towing. I've done way more of both. Regularly. All just bits of spot welded sheet metal.

 

[Barracuda340]

I have studied the dot standards for private use vehicles , calfornia highway patrol laws and dmv for California laws . For a Hand built vehicle in the USA there is no certification process for hoods,bumper covers, trailing arms ,rocker covers ,windshields,a arms ,engine mounts ,seats, door handles , brake components ,engines , shocks etc… if there is a registry I would like to know where. Canada might have some more restriction since the bricklin kit car thing but dot standards are minimal for visual and actual contact patch.
Even windshields are allowed to be lexan,the rules state IF it is glazing material it must be SAFETY glazing material which means plastic lines tempered.If all vehicles had certified parts we would be playing plane prices for parts , trust me you don’t want to get into that , I already am and threir is stainless nylons nuts on a basic piper 4 seater that are 6-8$ a nut ! Not even critical fasteners.And these are certified! Planes!we don’t drive certified cars .Your 70’s f100 - not certified , your Datsun - not certified. Your maverick ( if you have gotten it yet) not certified.
if you are referring to nhstb standards , there is guidelines for manufactures to use to bring the crash data inline with others and meet minimum federal safety standards .But these are just guidelines as each manufacturers crash data is different .some score bad, some good .as long as they pass minimum CRASH standards.
If there was certified everything on vehicles this crash data would be identical across all manufacturers and we would all be driving identical jelly bean crossovers ….
oh wait we are almost to that point in society!
nope not me , I’m personalizing mine !
just not with mud flaps and a personalized cell phone holder , I do it for fun in my driveway this week in the socal sun (starting tomorrow) and off roading some trails of the beautiful southwest ( maybe some Baja too)!
personally I wanted stronger arms with more articulation , so me and my friend made some. I am not forcing you to buy any .
Just sharing the fun , you know car guy stuff!

I hear you about that aviation thing. That's the industry I work in. Structural repair. Parts are expensive as heck. Aircraft are expensive flying liabilities as I call them. Everything you install on one has to have certification. That piece of paper drives the costs waaaay up.

This is why I like the car hobby, and especially the modifications I am making to the 69 barracuda I am rebuilding. No NTSB telling me I have to do this or that a certain way. I'm no dummy either. I understand stress and strain. I have designed plenty of repairs for aircraft, submitted to the manufacturers and gotten the go ahead to repair that way. The modifications made to that car are within those parameters.

The A arms you made look fantastic. Arguably much better than the aluminum pieces they will replace. Plus the greasable ball joint is a bonus !!! I'd buy a set like that just for street use.

 

[24MavPuy]

I have studied the dot standards for private use vehicles , calfornia highway patrol laws and dmv for California laws . For a Hand built vehicle in the USA there is no certification process for hoods,bumper covers, trailing arms ,rocker covers ,windshields,a arms ,engine mounts ,seats, door handles , brake components ,engines , shocks etc… if there is a registry I would like to know where. Canada might have some more restriction since the bricklin kit car thing but dot standards are minimal for visual and actual contact patch.
Even windshields are allowed to be lexan,the rules state IF it is glazing material it must be SAFETY glazing material which means plastic lines tempered.If all vehicles had certified parts we would be playing plane prices for parts , trust me you don’t want to get into that , I already am and threir is stainless nylons nuts on a basic piper 4 seater that are 6-8$ a nut ! Not even critical fasteners.And these are certified! Planes!we don’t drive certified cars .Your 70’s f100 - not certified , your Datsun - not certified. Your maverick ( if you have gotten it yet) not certified.
if you are referring to nhstb standards , there is guidelines for manufactures to use to bring the crash data inline with others and meet minimum federal safety standards .But these are just guidelines as each manufacturers crash data is different .some score bad, some good .as long as they pass minimum CRASH standards.
If there was certified everything on vehicles this crash data would be identical across all manufacturers and we would all be driving identical jelly bean crossovers ….
oh wait we are almost to that point in society!
nope not me , I’m personalizing mine !
just not with mud flaps and a personalized cell phone holder , I do it for fun in my driveway this week in the socal sun (starting tomorrow) and off roading some trails of the beautiful southwest ( maybe some Baja too)!
personally I wanted stronger arms with more articulation , so me and my friend made some. I am not forcing you to buy any .
Just sharing the fun , you know car guy stuff!

Looking forward to more pics and follow up. Not all of us have your expertise or resources (plasma torch). Maybe a YouTube video?
Keep pushin' the envelope! We're here .

 

[Snox801]

Right , Some good stuff there !
Just ordered some !
These are awesome platforms !
We have a member doing 11 second quarter miles already !
My S600 twin turbo v12 I had which msrp was 150k in 2006 which barely did that With mods .
The funniest thing I see people , whoas , about is that it’s unibody.
I raced off road for 9 years and watched jeep speed class become a regular to the tune of pulling down times as fast as class 8 trucks ( full size ) in the desert.
all these are based on old Cherokee ( 1st gen)and 1st gen grand Cherokee ,I believe xj and zj. Catching 2 - 6 feet of air and handling 2-3 foot whoops(whoop de doos for old folks)for hundreds of miles non stop off road 4 to 6 times a year for years ,never once seen one rip a UNIBODY apart or make it unusable unless it had a serious rollover or crash which would have destroyed a similar frame mounted truck or suv as bad . Many of these jeep speed class vehicles still live in the local deserts as trail rigs if they are still not racing . The mustang debuted as a unibody , the escort always a unibody in Europe , both tons of rally wins at insane abuse levels!
long live the unibody!

coming soon ! Pre mods in tahoe.

Everyday someone creates something new , makes a new product or a discovery to make something better , society advances as a whole .I can’t sit back and wait
for things to get better ,worrying about doom and gloom , I want to be part of the solution , the advancement , and have fun!
Soooo back to work !
out to the driveway!

First this is amazing, pre runner maverick would be sweet. Second I agree why would a unibody matter? I raced snowmobiles professionally for years. The chassis on those would be very similar build to a unibody. He’ll they epoxy them together. They hold up to a serous amount of abuse. Why would unibody be any different?
I’d love to build one for serous off road. Would be fun. And so what if it did break. Not like our trucks are very expensive.

 

[Maverickman74]

First this is amazing, pre runner maverick would be sweet. Second I agree why would a unibody matter? I raced snowmobiles professionally for years. The chassis on those would be very similar build to a unibody. He’ll they epoxy them together. They hold up to a serous amount of abuse. Why would unibody be any different?
I’d love to build one for serous off road. Would be fun. And so what if it did break. Not like our trucks are very expensive.

And thats the real point right there. Racers and builders always love working with the cheap platforms. Just like the 70s Mavericks and drag racing. They made a million of em, so parts are plentiful, and they cost less and are lighter than the Mustang. XJ/MJ/ZJ/WJs really have the same thing going on. Though the ZJ/WJ were higher end new. Once they got to be 10 years old they were down 75% in price. By that time people had learned enough on the XJ/MJ that they new to scoop em up and race em.

 

[Maverickman74]

Hey Brian, was just looking back at your other thread about tire fitment. Did you put any thought into moving the lower ball joint forward to get the tire out the chassis a bit more? With the computer moved up and your plans for fiberglass up front, you should be able to gain a bit more clearance behind the tire. Or is that gonna mess with the caster too much? I would think the custom steering rack mounts would help with that too. Unless you are planning on your dropped subframe going a bit forward aswell.

Whole different ball game but when I used to build CJs for mudding. I used offset pin Wagoneer front leaf springs to move my axles out for a wheelbase stretch. Which allowed me to cut out the fenders. I got a 8" lifts worth of tire clearance with only a 5" spring lift. A couple times I almost rolled into a river I sure was glad I had a lower COG.

 

[Vtec87pr1]

Sneak peak , all chromoly.

Get to see what kind of travel can get out of stock pivots without the factory bushings adding to spring rates at top and bottom of travel . In other words just coil over spring and adj dampener.

Plus 3” spacer kit going in this week

are you planing of selling this?

 

[Bwicka]

Hey Brian, was just looking back at your other thread about tire fitment. Did you put any thought into moving the lower ball joint forward to get the tire out the chassis a bit more? With the computer moved up and your plans for fiberglass up front, you should be able to gain a bit more clearance behind the tire. Or is that gonna mess with the caster too much? I would think the custom steering rack mounts would help with that too. Unless you are planning on your dropped subframe going a bit forward aswell.

Whole different ball game but when I used to build CJs for mudding. I used offset pin Wagoneer front leaf springs to move my axles out for a wheelbase stretch. Which allowed me to cut out the fenders. I got a 8" lifts worth of tire clearance with only a 5" spring lift. A couple times I almost rolled into a river I sure was glad I had a lower COG.

Haven’t moved anything yet , going to plan some changes with the crossmember ,like you said and then choose width change too ,probably about 3 “ wider per side on the arms , but have to determine if inside mounting pivots are going to stay or move , depends on what I can come up with for axle solutions . Would really love to adapt to 930 cv‘s with a 300 m axle , bulletproof and can take massive angle. Haven’t sat down with an axle maker yet .
just going to optimize what I got and then work on the width , but a forward push would be nice , about an inch would clear the 33’s planned . Right now at 32” muds and little trim but still a little rub.

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