The Weasel v2.0- SAS Tracker Build

[bmzero]

Ok, so I bought a '91 Tracker and am about to do a linked SAS.

Here is how it was when I bought it:


Current condition:


All pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/britmansell/sets/72157622461699213/

At this point, I'm leaning toward Toyota axles w/ 4.10's, e-lockers, 33" tires, cage, aluminum body armor, aluminum bumpers and maybe sometime down the road a 4.3 V6 swap. I still want it to be a driver, so that's going to limit how radical the build gets.

Any advice?

I will be doing some of the fab work at www.BlueTorchFab.com. My company does their website and marketing, so I have a good connection to some top quality builders and resources. That should help make sure I don't weld something on upside down. 

[Whitfield]

 Welcome!  Great to see another SAS Track / Kick build coming together.  Sounds like you''ve got a great plan for an awesome truck.  I can't wait to see the build up unfold.   

  Only hang up I have is  The Weasel is a 2-dr Tracker SAS that has been here since 2004.  The name defines another truck with history dating back nearly as far as Zuwharrie it's self. 

I see you have stickers made up and your truck is named, I'm cool with that ~ My issue is that for years I've directed folks to search the Weasel for this or that build design / trick.   
A second truck named weasel will confuse things.


 

 



It was one of the First SAS on Toyotas and one of the first with dual T-cases.

It was built by Glenn (Wild Weasel) and then later traded to Sean DeVinny of Aftermarket 4x4. 

5 Years later and it still makes most east coast Suzuki 4wd events a few competitions and attends our Semi annual Zuwharrie off road event.





http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content/topic,5153.0.html

http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content/topic,77423.0.html

http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content/topic,66127.0.html

[bmzero]

Ha, that's an ironic coincidence.

So be it. This vehicle will hence forth be known as "Weasel v2.0". 

[Whitfield]

Cool Thanks!

With Blue Torch Fab on board + E-lock Yotas I can't wait to see what you create.

[bmzero]

I'm putting together my pile of parts for the SAS.

I have found a local salvage yard that has the axles. The rear is from an IFS truck. They both have 4.10's in them. That should be fine for the build. As soon as everything is welded and street tested, I'll find some e-lockers to throw in it. Pushing that purchase back will help lessen the financial burden of the build.

The question I have is what other parts can I pick up from the salvage yard to help with the swap? I've read that one of the driveshafts from the IFS truck will work as well as the steering box from the same truck. What about steering linkage parts? Anything else?

The next purchase will be the seats since I'm driving this thing as my daily driver right now. The seats in it have seen better days, years ago. ;-) I'm leaning toward the el cheapo Summit Scatt/Procar seats (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SCA-80-1605-61L/). They will be hard to beat for that price. Does anyone have any experience with them?


thanks,
-brit

[bmzero]

For the record, the Scat Procar seats from Summit will NOT fit in a Tracker.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SCA-80-1605-61L/


-b

[bmzero]

For the record, the Scat Procar seats from Summit will NOT fit in a Tracker.

Well, I'm a little hard headed when it comes to things like this. I took the seats apart, removed the foam, and narrowed the seat frame. They went from over 24" wide to right at 21" wide, which fits perfectly in the Tracker.



I was also able to use the stock seat sliders which made mounting them much easier.



And, the finished product.

[Joe S.]

gonna be good!! welcome to zuwharrie!

only problem i see with your plans is leaving the 4.10 gears in there and not doing the 4.3 swap at the same time. with 33s and going from (either) 4.62 or 5.12 gears to 4.10, i think it is gonna be hard on the lil truck. unless i missed something...

now once the 4.3 goes in, there wont be an issue, but for now i think it will be...

nice work on the seat!

Blue Torch does AWESOME work!

[bmzero]

gonna be good!! welcome to zuwharrie!

only problem i see with your plans is leaving the 4.10 gears in there and not doing the 4.3 swap at the same time. with 33s and going from (either) 4.62 or 5.12 gears to 4.10, i think it is gonna be hard on the lil truck. unless i missed something...

now once the 4.3 goes in, there wont be an issue, but for now i think it will be...

nice work on the seat!

Blue Torch does AWESOME work!

I agree with your gearing observation, but at this point, I just don't want to go overboard on the budget for this vehicle. The 4.10's seem  to be laying everywhere. I have three other vehicle projects in various stages of completion (BMW M3, Jeep TJ at Blue Torch Fab, Mazda B2600/Ford 302), so I don't want this build to get out of hand. That's the only reason for not going with the 4.3L right now.

I've been at SEMA all week, so I miss the Weasel. Hopefully, I can start the cage and bumpers soon. After those are done, I'll do the SAS swap. I want to get the cage and bumpers done so I can set the ride height correctly after the extra weight has been added. The bumpers and body protection will be aluminum, so that will help with weight a little.

Thanks for weighing in.


-b

[bmzero]

I picked up one of the e-lockers today. One more to go.


-b

[bmzero]

I have a pretty good lead on a nearly perfect set of axles and wanted to get your feedback on them.

Both have e-locked 5.29's in them. Rear is from IFS truck. Price will be around $1200.

I ran a gear ratio calculator on the 5.29's and it looks like that will be much better for my application than the 4.10's, which I was planning on running in the interim until I could properly build out the axles. I had planned on going with a larger ring gear in the future, but haven't done any research on what size I needed. It looks like 5.29's would be nearly perfect.

Here are the results from the ratio calculator: http://www.flickr.com/photos/britmansell/4117918024/

I'm just as concerned about street driving as I am with offroad, so the tale tale sign for me is the final drive ratio in 5th, which puts it going down the interstate turning around 3200 RPM. I think the mighty Weasel can support those RPM. What do you guys think? My only concern is that it might not pull that speed at that RPM on the interstate.