FreshSeaBass Build Thread

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The boardwalk in santa cruz is cool. Lots of places to eat and grab a beer. Bay area isnt too far if you wanna see alcatraz, golden gate bridge, fisherman's wharf. Monterey has the aquarium if it's open. Gilroy is the garlic capital, but it's a pit unless there's a festival happening and I doubt there will be with covid.

Also that's northernish california. We're about 6 hours south.
It sounds like I'm going to be visiting Santa Cruz then! Ill have time from extra curriculars outside of the time I spend in the factory.
 
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Digging the new front end! It's hilarious how quickly the old "Toyota" emblem blew up in popularity on satoshi grilles in the 3rd gen community. That faux pro grill sure is a fresh take on the grill though, I'd sure like to see it in person. I'll be excited to see you dive into the solid axle swap!
Thanks! I can't take credit, a friend of mine made it to put on his 3rd and he rolled it, the epoxy resin job isn't perfect, so I'll work on making it a much cleaner job and replacing the hardware with some stainless! This really modernized the front and it has quite a timeless look akin to the Landcruiser
 
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The only place I remember eating at and really enjoying was aldo’s in the marina. The omelets were huge
Aldo's Harbor Restaurant
(831) 426-3736
https://goo.gl/maps/q4m97PyQDrHNAG5H8
I'm referencing this thread as soon as I get out there. Not sure what to expect as far as time commitments to work, but it sounds like they want me to make the most of it too.
 

4runner DOA

Hold my beer
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Santa Cruz have any good mountain biking?

The santa cruz mountains have all sorts of stuff so I'm sure you can find some routes. Bet there's stuff down in monterey or you can go a bit further south into big sur although I'm not sure what side the 1 collapsed on so it might not be accessible from the north. You can always go east towards the Sierras too, but that might be 3 hour drive.
 
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Updated front end

IMG_20210406_074715.jpg

Got my axle sorted, axle widening sleeves are machined, and the next step is to tear down the knuckles to sand blast the housing and start choppingIMG_20210417_121906.jpg
IMG_20210417_121921.jpg
The sleeves are meant to be self centering which should be fairly easy to check and the weldment will be super solid. The plan is to go +2" on each side and then swap the hub assemblies to the IFS pre tacoma hub assemblies which add another 3" overall which would in turn put me at 61.5" - 62" WMS/WMS. The IFS hub will allow me to run my 3rd gen brakes and rotors which are considerably larger with the help of the FROR IFS hub conversion plates.


Anyone have a comment about the 60.75" rear width and the 61.5-62" front width, should i shoot to reduce this a bit or will the width be fine?
 
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Not saying it will be an issue for u, but as u know Toyota housings r stamped, when shorting a rear Tundra Housing, I found that when fitting my machined ends into the housing that said housing wouldn't fit my self centering ends without using a die grinder and burr to help the housing diameter in some spots. Being a front and not a rear simi-float like I was working on it shouldn't really be much of an issue if ur a little off centered, just an FYI...
 
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kasnerd

Danny's Red Headed Step Child
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New look! View attachment 35400

Also scored a free elocked third member this weekend.... So SAS is definitely going to happen now. Will be modifying the housing I have for the front to accept the motor and the stud pattern for the diff. Once that's all sorted then the axles will be the next thing to order. Six shooter knuckles, hi steer arms, coilover tabs and link mounts!
View attachment 35402

For all you californians, I will be headed to watsonville to our company's location out there for a week Friday to Sunday. What should I do in so Cal, never been! Santa Cruz, scotts valley, el cajon, etc...?

get swanky! hit up napa. lots to eat (french laundry if work is paying) and drink. bear republic is a good spot downtown. it's different than the rest of the bay area.

If you are going to cruise around, Yosemite isn't that far. Carmel, Monterey is super nice too. Chill spot if you go into SF is Golden Gate Park because of the Japanese Garden. Also like hanging out at Bernal Heights park for nice views of downtown and the bay.
 
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Not saying it will be an issue for u, but as u know Toyota housings r stamped, when shorting a rear Tundra Housing, I found that when fitting my machined ends into the housing that said housing wouldn't fit my self centering ends without using a die grinder and burr to help the housing diameter in some spots. Being a front and not a rear simi-float like I was working on it shouldn't really be much of an issue if ur a little off centered, just an FYI...
That's good to know! I have a die grinder and several rasping bits, but hopefully i won't have to use those.
 
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I've been away a while, so I wanted to update and see whats up! The truck is getting the last of the sheet metal work done and I'm catching back up on projects that have been delayed due to work. I'm feeling like i just want to chop everything off now! I need to be patient on re-welding the axle housing together and focus on installing the new to me e-locker!

I got some work in on aluminum TIG with a few small storage projects and I'm happy with my first time doing any sort of aluminum TIG on something I'll use
 

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Always happy to see an update from you! Out of curiosity, what were the major symptoms that made you swap out your steering rack? Did you just replace it with an OEM one as well? I recently installed some new coilovers, swapped out LCA bushings (Whitelines), I know my outer and inner tie rods are good, tires are all balanced/rotated/aligned... and my steering is still all over the place. Thinking I’m due for a new rack at 195k.
 
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Always happy to see an update from you! Out of curiosity, what were the major symptoms that made you swap out your steering rack? Did you just replace it with an OEM one as well? I recently installed some new coilovers, swapped out LCA bushings (Whitelines), I know my outer and inner tie rods are good, tires are all balanced/rotated/aligned... and my steering is still all over the place. Thinking I’m due for a new rack at 195k.

Thank you for the kind words! I'm always dying to see how everyone is coming along! Hopefully as my job begins to sort of run without so much of my direct input, I'll have a bit more time.

The rack was OEM for 320+k! I noticed a pretty massive leak coming from the steering rod coming out of the rack from within the boot and that told me all i needed to know. I was putting ATF in once a week at a minimum. A1 Auto is supposed to be the best non OE replacement but it will all get cut off soon enough!

Also.... When turning under load i would hear my pump start to scream pretty incessantly
 
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Well, some interesting developments. I'll make the update brief.... I've been living in California out of a hotel for work, and I had my little daily driver taken to a shop back in Ga. The short story is that the hatchback has to go as repairs will put it well over the actual value of the vehicle and it isn't worth keeping another project car. I am working on plans for a new vehicle and I've narrowed it down to either wanting a Van like maybe a Ram Promaster Diesel, a Ford Transit Connect Titanium, or something like a Truck with a camper shell.

Reason: Mountain bikes, climbing gear, and kids in the not too distant future.

Anyone have experience with any of these or thoughts?

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Drop your comments!
 

AssBurns

will wheel for beer
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I've always thought a Ford Transit Connect would be cool to have. Small enough to still get anywhere you need, but tons of cargo space.
The ProMaster would be great if you realistically plan to use it for camping or loading a lot of payload (both volume and weight). They are just really big and don't have the towing capacity that a real truck would have. If that is something you need or care about. Not much more tow capacity than our 4runners or a stock tacoma.

If it's a DD that you want with a lot of cargo space, I'd go with the Transit Connect. If you want a camper or something to haul a lot of payload then the ProMaster.
 
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