Vintage Baja FJ40 Build for Desert Racing...

[retroblazer]

One more note. I know tne picture was taken during trial assembly, but I noticed that the ubolts that hold the axle to the spring pack are hanging below the bracket. From a reliability stand point, it would be worth the time to fabricate a ubolt/skid plate to keep the ubolt nuts from tearing off on the rocks..

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[Suhaib Kiani]

Well last month we participated in the RedBull Jhal Magsi Desert Challenge 2011. Thanks to some good advice on this thread, we managed to finish the harrowing 200km course! Though being first time rally goers in a new car and unfamiliar settings the timing was nothing to write home about. Nevertheless, our aim was to finish the race which we did and ended up 7th out of 13 enteries in our class mainly owing to breakdowns

Some Updates here on Pirate4x4 thread and some pics below: RedBull Jhal Magsi Challenge and Islamabad Jeep Club Rally Team - Pirate4x4.Com





Some vids from recce/prerunning:

We saw our friends Asad Marwat and Docc NN filming us, gave it some gas only to find that they had planned to catch us at this spot with a booby trap ditch which we hit rather hard but thanks to BFG MT KM2s it wasn't bad at all


Settling down to a better rhythm the next time around:



BTW we were the only car not running a windshield and were asked a lot of questions as to why we were doing that. We told everyone that we had been watching too many videos of the Baja races and besides had busted our budget and could not afford the wipers

[Mark Newhan]

Nice job! It has to feel good to get it out and get it dirty...

[PDANK Racing]

I really like your fj40, shows you don't need a bunch of tools to build a quality truck. Great job and good luck

[Suhaib Kiani]

Many Thanks @Mark Newhan and @PDANK Racing!
I feel its an honor to share our build out here on the forum!
Look forward to sharing more over the course of time....

[retroblazer]

Congratulations on finishing your event. Keep us posted on your efforts. Your fans want more...

[sirhk100]

Okay, gonna have to chime in on this one... Badass build!!! That adapter plate in the thread on the other forum was impressive for hand cut and this video!!! HOLY CRAP!!! LOL Wasn't expecting to see an old FJ40 moving that quick!



Congrats on your finish! The info Retroblazer has given you on spring selection is pretty good stuff! Find the bare minimum to support the weight of the vehicle, then work on the handling aspect thru your shock selection.

[Suhaib Kiani]

@retroblazer and @sirhk100: Many thanks for your posts which were really inspiring for us out here to say the least....

On the spring rates, I have been caught between retroblazers advice and Billavista's suspension frequency talk ( http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billav...nsionFrequency ) . If I read Billavista's views correctly he seems to suggest a high spring rate for an offroad racer to ensure a higher suspension frequency (basicallly a function of spring rate / weight).

For this race we had attempted to do a balance between the two approaches with my preference not to increase the spring rate beyond what is absolutely needed. Anyways, somehow with the rear tire being outboarded and the very light 1UZ engine uofront, the ride on the car became much softer, we were running stabilizer bars (back and front). We ended up with quite a soft ride running 4 Toyota leafs in the front pack and 5 at the back. our limitation seemed to be that were were under damped with just 4 Bilstein shocks supporting the vehicle.

For an upcoming desert rally with deeper sandy terrain, we plan to put at least 2 shocks in each corner and maybe 3 each at the back if we can manage it. On the springs we would probably leave things as they are though by retroblazer's recommendation we could take one leaf off. I would be a bit concerned about breaking the leaf pack in this case... Going by Billavista's views, we should on the other hand add a leaf all across to make it stiffer to handle the bumps at speed. I guess ideally we should try both set-ups along with the springs though I have a strong feeling retroblazer's views are much more relevant here.

[Suhaib Kiani]

@retroblazer and @sirhk100: Many thanks for your posts which were really inspiring for us out here to say the least....

On the spring rates, I have been caught between retroblazers advice and Billavista's suspension frequency talk ( http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billav...nsionFrequency ) . If I read Billavista's views correctly he seems to suggest a high spring rate for an offroad racer to ensure a higher suspension frequency (basicallly a function of spring rate / weight).

For this race we had attempted to do a balance between the two approaches with my preference not to increase the spring rate beyond what is absolutely needed. Anyways, somehow with the rear tire being outboarded and the very light 1UZ engine uofront, the ride on the car became much softer, we were running stabilizer bars (back and front). We ended up with quite a soft ride running 4 Toyota leafs in the front pack and 5 at the back. our limitation seemed to be that were were under damped with just 4 Bilstein shocks supporting the vehicle.

For an upcoming desert rally with deeper sandy terrain, we plan to put at least 2 shocks in each corner and maybe 3 each at the back if we can manage it. On the springs we would probably leave things as they are though by retroblazer's recommendation we could take one leaf off. I would be a bit concerned about breaking the leaf pack in this case... Going by Billavista's views, we should on the other hand add a leaf all across to make it stiffer to handle the bumps at speed. I guess ideally we should try both set-ups along with the springs though I have a strong feeling retroblazer's views are much more relevant here....

Would love to hear views on the above and some guidance if I seem to be missing something here!

[retroblazer]

I read some of Billavista's stuff. Almost all of it is forcused on coil-over spring selection. There is no mention of the friction generated by leaves in contact with each other. First off, you won't likely break the springs because they are too soft. You will break them if the spring stops allow the spring to hyper extend. It sounds like you have that part right already. If the car worked well on the first run, I wouldn't be inclinded to change too much before your next event without testing it first.
It can't hurt to try to add another shock in front, it sounds like a good option. You shouldn't need three in the back at each wheel. Are the shocks you have rebuildable?
Not to make more work for you and your crew, but I would suggest two items. One is comfort, the other is safety. Your Land Cruiser is fast, really fast for something that short. On the safety side I would encourage you to put a horizontal door bar( a door bar) that connects the lower legs of the front cage and ties them to the back roll bar. I am a minimalist, but that bar will tie your cage together and make it much safer.
Second, on the comfort side, I know you guys are "Manly Men", but you don't have to have your face full of dust when you finish. I would be happy to run you though the process of making your own filtered air helmets. A heater or defroster motor, a paper filter, and hoses to connect the helmets for little or no money.