My Towdster Build

[Big Bus]

Finally got the tyres and wheels together and fitted (fronts are 195/80/15's and the rears are 31 x 10.5 / 15's ) up to the car and it measures up to a whopping 1870mm or 73 3/4 "OA width at the rear and 1840mm or 72 1/2"at the front , which with out much else fitted to the car makes it look like a praying mantus .
But i fitted up the old engine cage for a look last night and even just with that fitted it soon looked quite normal .

Thats not full droop but it's not finished ride height either , it's probaley about 40mm or 1 1/2" higher than ride height in the rear and just where i fitted the torsion bars so i can roll it around and get it on a trailer to go to Steel Art to get some more fabrication done .
And as for wheel travel i have got a full 300mm , 12" of travel in the front and the rear , with 100mm or 4" of that being droop front and rear which gives me approx 440mm or 17 1/4" under the torsion housing's at ride height

[Big Bus]

Forgot , Tires are Yokohama Geolanders for those interested

[BAJA-IT]

That looks sharp! And should have plenty of ground clearence.
How hard is it going to be to put the guards (fenders) back on?

[59Bisquik]

Looking good!!!

[Big Bus]

That looks sharp! And should have plenty of ground clearence.
How hard is it going to be to put the guards (fenders) back on?

My fenders are already modified quite a lot due to the previose wheels and tyres that were fitted and the need over here to have those wheels covered .
The rear fenders i intend to cut into 3 sections the middle and the 2 arches then we will support the 2 arches where they need to be to clear the rear wheels in all positions and look nice then we will join the 3 sections back together and blend it all to give it back it's original lines and shape then smooth it all and use that as a plug for a mold to make a couple of sets .
The front fenders will be much the same ie cutting the arch off the section that bolts to the side of the hood and supporting the arch again where it will clear the front wheels through full travel and then join the 2 section back together and smooth , take molds and flop out some fenders .

[Ol'fogasaurus]

BB, the front fenders are "'cycle fenders" so they are mounted to the suspension; would ‘cycle fenders mounted to the rear suspension be allowable for the rear tyre covers where you live?

Since the tires are sitting out and to the rear farther remounting them is going to be difficult and you will have a cantilevered situation more than you had before especially since you are going off-road with it. Is the reason you are talking about moving the stock fenders out is that you are trying to keep the stock looking appearance.

Lee

[Big Bus]

Ol'fogasaurus,

The front fenders are not cycle fenders and are not mounted to the suspension but are fixed position fenders mounted to the sides of the hood and with mine being so wide they are also supported at the top of the shock tower by a bracket which also mounts the headlight .
With my rear fenders, again they were pretty large before having to cover massive 15 X 10 rims so we had support brackets that came out of the barwork into the inside of the bottoms of the arches front and rear which i will be remaking to suit the new fender position.
And yes i am trying to keep the stock looking appearance plus as my car has the deck lid which i want to reuse at this stage the centre section of the rear fenders needs to be there to mount the deck lid off , not to mention i hate the look of cycle guards

[560]

Great looking car.
My friend Todd has a Towd but never drives it.

Mike

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Ol'fogasaurus, ... the front fenders are not cycle fenders and are not mounted to the suspension

It's been a while since I saw one up close but for some reason I remembereed that they were cycle fenders; 'scuse me!

I understand wanting to keep the "the look" and I don't particularly like rear 'cycle' fenders but sometimes...

It is still looking like a nasty good ride.

Lee

[Big Bus]

Great looking car.
My friend Todd has a Towd but never drives it.

Mike

Yea bought those rear arms of Todd last year and had a chat about his , would like to see some photo's of his

[560]

Great looking car.
My friend Todd has a Towd but never drives it.

Mike

Yea bought those rear arms of Todd last year and had a chat about his , would like to see some photo's of his

I might have a photo saved some were of it, I will look soon.

Mike

[Big Bus]

Well , i have been a bit slack lately on the posting of progress , but the good news is there has been plenty , although to some of you it may not look like much has been done at all .
To jump back a few weeks i have now moved the car over to Paul at Steelart Creations here in Brisbane and am very happy with the progress we have acheived in such a small time frame considering the steering column alone took a lot of head scratching for something that has ended up only 200mm long .
Ill let the pictures of the latest progress speak for it's self .

That of so short steering column


The lower end of the steering shaft and pedal box


An overall side view of the steering , pedal box and front bar mounts


An overall top view of the steering shafts and pedal box etc


And the front bar

[Iguana]

Looking good, that is an interesting front bar you have going on there ...

[manxiberty]

the inspiration for the front bar came from last time I was in SoCal



that and to hide the width of the beam from the authorities down here....

[manxiberty]

Work continues with the shocks mounted with minimal deflection on the spherical bearings



worth the time when you see the result

pretty much bang on 90 degrees at full bump...

approx 14" travel at the hub face

photo shows close to full flex with 3/4" left of shock travel ( jack ran out of travel and spare bits of timber to put under it)



full droop