Oh uh....fabricator got his hands on a Minty 85 4WD....
Vince @ CTD-Fab
Band Wagon
Hey guys. Just picked up this pretty clean 85 push button 4wd
Pix first then talk
Updates will also be posted on my Business facebook page along with other projects
http://www.facebook.com/CTD.Fabrication
Pix first then talk
Updates will also be posted on my Business facebook page along with other projects
http://www.facebook.com/CTD.Fabrication
Comments
I lived in Tempe for a few years, and was the only wagonist (it seemed)... glad to see some big things popping up down there! Might pop in and check out this wagon when I visit in the spring
Thanks! I'm all about work but it stays prett fresh and fun. Yeah, dont see too many rolling around here. There are a couple down the road, including a k24crv drivetrain wagon! Sure, feel free to stop in antimee, I'm at the shop about 20 hours a day, haha
I love the look of these but the price and size suck! These are 215/75-15s and to be able to run them quite a bit of suspension modification and trimming of the body and bumpers would be needed. Not worth it IMO. I really want to be able to keep USEABLE travel so it looks like 14's on my HX rims are going to be the best choice.
Two tire options are
General grabbers 27/850-14, about 27 in diameter
BFG All terrains 195-75-14s, about 25.5 in diameter
The BFGs are the perfect size to fill the wheel well and not have to worry about clearance issues however they are about $130 each and not rated for snow. The generals are about $100 each and can be studded for snow but are just a hair too big.
Right now and for quite a while I plan to run the carb'd EW engine so power isn't very plentiful. Also the bigger the tire would add more stress to the transfer case right? Being my wagon doesn't come with any type of viscous coupler this would be bad...
HMMMMMMM.
I'm leaning towards the BFGs but I didn't really want to spend $600 on tires :shock:
Anyway.
Axles are on order, one boot is ripped so I'm just going to replace them both.
Need to order a fan temp switch and install my new thermostat soon.
Also have to try and diagnose the stalling when cold issue.
More pix?
SQUASH BOMB
Old original "high flow" exhaust.
Practically brand new 2011 Honda fit OEM exhaust that will be modded to fit.
Might stay and and fab up the exhaust tonight with a couple cold beers
Cut it all apart and started putting Humpty back together again. The muffler will work great but the resonator is a tad on the large side so that's where I stopped. It is quiet enough for now.
Had to start the year off right so I checked all the fluids and tires then headed for a local canyon. It was a bit of a drive, about 15 miles from my shop. The 80 super tight twisty miles of half paved and half dirt roads was sooooo worth it! Nothing like getting sideways on the side of a cliff to refresh the soul!
To be honest this little wagon surprised me. Bone stock down to the 13" tires and yet still was pretty nimble. The power was a tad lacking but still had enough grunt to get you into trouble fast. After the first couple miles I started to feel how it responded to steering/gas/brake input in 2/4wd.
Even took video but quality is so so, need more lights
$700 later the Wagon is rolling on brand new top of the line shoes!!! Went with the BFG All Terrains 195/75-14s, were a bitch to find and had to drive 100 miles but the size is perfect and they barley rub even at stock height right now!!!
Now to start planning a quality 3.5 inch lift. All the links in the four link rear will be replaced with custom fabricated chromoly links. They will be fully adjustable without removal and include high quality heims with dust covers. Plans to remove the fuel tank to make room for triangulated uppers links might be in the works.....
These are a set of Nissan 200SX rear links my brother makes. The wagon ones will look similar.
Tire shots shall we? Keep in mind this is completely stock height right now.
Rolled onto a curb to see how well the tires will tuck during suspension travel. Turned out perfect!!!
Still the daily though, on the way to fill up Argon bottles. I started designing a rack to hold the bottles inside securely.
Might get some tint today
Already planning an air suspension setup for off road. Same concept as the Land Rover stuff, maximum traction with open diffs to minimize drive train stress. Probably pick up an Audi air pump and I already have a nice little 3 gallon tank. Ideally I would want about 8 inches of soft, progressive spring rate travel.
The shocks I plan on using will be KYB Gas-A-Justs for a bit stiffer ride and I might end up fabbing swaybars with quick disconnects.
Money pit?!?!
Looks like you need to look into lifting that beast! I am jealous of you're solid rear end....ive kind of been wondering if it can swap into the newer model wagon.
you got quite lucky finding such a minty 3rd gen.
good luck in your wagon adventures!
Lift is coming but I'm going to make sure it will be done right without stressing anything and still be in good alignment. I love the solid axle as well! Even if they are the same ratio it would require quite a bit of fab to locate the five links. If you find out about the ratio please let me know! I want to keep the rear and go D trans.
Haha, well the wagon is definitely going to be shop truck than the Crx was. Got to admit though, the rex carried two large Argon bottles and numerous 10 foot sticks of material very well!
Ha, mine shouldn't get as crazy as his. The lift he is doing on that one is pretty insane, I mean the sheer amount of work, whew. His builds are def cool to read about and watch!
Thanks for the like!! The car pretty much fell into my lap, meant to be sorta way. I'm super lucky most of the previous owners took really good care of it and that it never had enough power to hurt anything, haha.
Thanks again for all the comments guys. The build might get a bit slow this month due to spending my "Fun Budget" on tires. I do have 1.25" wheel spacers coming to be though, should be here fri/sat. Gonna give it a bit of an aggressive stance, widen the track 2.5 inches.
Random fun time project:
Hope to turn that into a functional Snow Bike in about a week and take the wagon to see the white stuff!!
Boost!!!!
for doing truck things....lol
I did have a bit of free time this weekend to give HotWheels a little love. I added 1 1/4" hub spacers to widen the track and improve tire fitment. Seems I got a tad bit greedy with that last 1/4 and I have to roll the inner fender lips to prevent the slight rubbing I'm getting now during travel. I know some people do not like the idea of hub spacers but I went through a multi-step torquing process and re-torqued everything after about 50 miles. Currently not using hub centric rings and vibration has not been an issue.
Should be ordering a 1" bending die set and all the hardware for my adjustable links. And the more I go over a lift the more I tend to sway towards airbags. My only concern is having to buy a preset height controller so I can make sure my alignment is on during cruising.
Here is a paying project that has been eating up my time. Its a local road racers track only Eg hatch and I'm converting it from a Jackson supercharger to my twinscroll ultra response kit. Should mimic the SC's response but smoke it on the top end for some nice horsepower gains!!
Also toying around the idea of a Suby top mount Intercooler for down the road. I have always wanted to do this and since my stock hood has some damage I won't feel all that bad cutting into it, haha. I do want to source a stock replacement before I go hacking. Imagine this with a nice big hood scoop!! Should be pretty efficient up to about 300 hp and have good response due to the lack of charge pipe volume.
I spent the whole last weekend building and installing a custom 3" lift kit for the wagon. The front was easy and just required re-notching an re-indexing the torsion bars. Passenger side was cake after I learned how to remove the bars. Now the driver side threw me for a loop and I had re-notch and index the front assembly three times!!! Apparently I underestimated Honda's engineering and didn't even stop to think they would put a different rate torsion bar on, probably to compensate for driver weight. On the passenger side three notches came to about 3" lift but the driver side only needed one notch to equal everything out. For the rear I just threw together some 2.5 inch spring cups. I designed them to be squeaky-free and fail proof. Total weight of the "lift kit" came out to around 3 pounds.
I will try to post up some pictures later. The ride is a bit stiffer but that was a given because of the increased preload. Both the front and rear sit about 1" into the total travel to help eliminate a harsh ride. Limiting straps are planned along with shock extensions to minimize the chance of shock overextension. I still need to get an alignment but I need to flip the tie rod ends first to even out the steering angle. Front positive camber doesn't seem to be too bad.
Ground clearance is about 12" under the oil pan. That should do for now
This looks like its going to be a good build. Im exited!
Looking better already ....
bed liner spray is a great idea :idea: