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Welcome to Deepmud ...........


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A big welcome to Deepmud from the Alaska forum (Wasilla, not a million miles from anchorage) …………… I see him lurking in the background ……….. so I guess its time you posted up Erik………..

This is his baby…………… there’s bits of most things in there including some obscure LR parts ;) ………….. a zuk like you have never seen before……… :blink:

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:)

Ian

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A big welcome to Deepmud from the Alaska forum (Wasilla, not a million miles from anchorage) …………… I see him lurking in the background ……….. so I guess its time you posted up Erik………..

This is his baby…………… there’s bits of most things in there including some obscure LR parts ;) ………….. a zuk like you have never seen before……… :blink:

:)

Ian

hehe - I've been "outed"

here's my odd critter with some other shoes, back when it was "normal"

tracks11-24-02%20002m.jpg

We're following Jez and crew with bated breath over here - I'm glad to hear he survived the "loose wheel" - it sure picked a fine time to leave him!

:D

Erik

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Good to see you finally here Erik………………….. you have been hiding in the dark and lurking for far too long…… :lol:

Yes, the old critter might be zuk ………….. but it’s a sami without much zuk left in it ………… passat oil burner………… I have lost count on the rest…….I think 30 spline longs …………. Maybe toy axles…………IM Scout steering ……….. LR steering hose ……….coil sprung ……….. etc……….

Normally I think it runs on 39.5 boggers …………………. But here it is on 45 agri’s ………….. are those apples ?

2a6qw4z.jpg

:)

Ian

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Very nice truck.

Any info on the tracks, home built, bought, etc?

Homebuilt, but by someone else :D I've dreamed about tracks since seeing a set on a Blazer cruising the snow in the late 70's. Mattracks hogged the market and charged too much for anyone to afford, and I couldn't find any of the original SnoTracs - so I jumped on these when they came up for about eh...convert convert -:eek!: 1000 pounds or so - on Ebay.

The original designs, before Mattracks came along, were these (not mine, but in Alaska):

P4070496.JPG

Mine use a trailer bearing, supported on one side only (weak) - the Snotracs depend on the track material to keep it all together - the toothed wheel sort of floats on the rollers, and the track keeps it from falling off.

Mattracks uses a bearing too, but a better design - and the big thing they have is the "anti-rollover torque" mechanism, that keeps the tracks from tipping into the bodywork.

Anyway - I bought mine, they seem to be infused with "No-Snow-VooDoo" because I got them in December and we had no snow for months - in Alaska! The next fall I played them in my yard a bit, and found the weak spots :(

The next year I took my custom, 1.9turbo diesel, gets 35miles-per-US gallon supercar and cut it in half.

As long as I was at it - I put in a new adapter, so I could run Toyota 5spd transmissions ( my turned up 1.9tdVW had eaten three teeny Suzuki boxes already) -- oh, and I came across a great price on a 1.9TDI VW with manual pump conversion --(sold my older AAZ 1.9td to Jimfoo in Colorado -- my old diesel is powering a Series Rover now :D )--- and as long as I was doing that - how about Toyota axles? Beefy! New CV's from Longfield and I have near D60 axle strength - - - and as long as I was doing that , I thought a custom coil/link suspension would be nice - and then when my kids complained I was cutting off the back end to tube out the buggy - I decided to stretch out the frame a bit and make a decent cargo/passenger bed ......as long as I was at it - I'd make room for these nice 39.5x18 Boggers I came across.....and then my friend Grant suggested I borrow his 45" tractor tires......

070325-2007_03_25_web03.jpg

so now it's been 3 years torn down while I mess with it - and I am SO glad to see it running again, even imperfectly.

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Good to see you finally here Erik………………….. you have been hiding in the dark and lurking for far too long…… :lol:

Yes, the old critter might be zuk ………….. but it’s a sami without much zuk left in it ………… passat oil burner………… I have lost count on the rest…….I think 30 spline longs …………. Maybe toy axles…………IM Scout steering ……….. LR steering hose ……….coil sprung ……….. etc……….

Normally I think it runs on 39.5 boggers …………………. But here it is on 45 agri’s ………….. are those apples ?

:)

Ian

ha! I am all day replying, so you got in before me! but they made me work some today. :D

Um - apples in back, firestones in front. Grant/Logjam moved onto another project, and talked me into trying his custom beadlocked rims/ags out for him a bit. :D

yeah - the frame and what's left of the body is Zuk .... which isn't much.....I'm hoping your LR powersteering hose makes me hybrid enough to hang out here some :D

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Welcome to the nuthouse Deepmud ...those 45's look sweet ,are they 16" dia? and how wide ?

the toyota here is a mate of mine's playday machine with my 15x15 agri tyres.

One of the other teams is running a blog on Ladoga (when they can get reception!) on www.macsport4x4.com ..Paul Mc Cleary on Robb's team.

looking forward to seeing lots more pic's of Alaskan offroading B)

Cheers

Steveb

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post-1339-1181111548_thumb.jpg

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I used to have a set of the 31x15.5 Terras in the XT pattern - they really worked great!

wideterrasweb.jpg

Sometimes I wish I had stopped there.......... :lol:

Here's fun one - 1 meg video of a deep water crossing - snorkel eqipped 1.9VWtd, 35" tires .... it floats a bit :D

http://www.supermotors.net/vehicles/registry/media/202352

and vid of my Zuk on the tracks, playing around in the street

http://www.supermotors.net/vehicles/registry/media/202354

and here is the view out my office window in Anchorage

04-22-06-003.jpg

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I used to have a set of the 31x15.5 Terras in the XT pattern - they really worked great!

wideterrasweb.jpg

Sometimes I wish I had stopped there.......... :lol:

and here is the view out my office window in Anchorage

04-22-06-003.jpg

nice view from the office but how on earth do you concentrate on anything with that to drift into ? :lol::lol:

I've got a set of 15.5 XT terras too but they are prone to popping off rim beads at 5psi , but they do work well...going to have to go up a size or two when I eventually get round to sorting out the 404 axles tho B)

Steve

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B)-->

QUOTE(steve b @ Jun 8 2007, 10:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
nice view from the office but how on earth do you concentrate on anything with that to drift into ? :lol::lol:

I've got a set of 15.5 XT terras too but they are prone to popping off rim beads at 5psi , but they do work well...going to have to go up a size or two when I eventually get round to sorting out the 404 axles tho B)

Steve

on the view - it's bad sometimes trying to work :D but I should get a pic from my supervisor's window for you - he faces north and has Mt.McKinley and Foraker dominating the horizon over the towers of downtown Anchorage. Not to mention a great view of the airforce base, which recently got a contingent of F-22 Raptors :D.

My XT's were "bead screwed" on both inner and outer beads - I could run zero psi and make a huge soft footprint with them. Great for boggy stuff and snowmachine trails.

I wish they made a 35" - 37"x18 version of the XT pattern. You can get small tractor tires but they are soooo stiff at that size it doesn't work as well. The 45" tractors are awesome tho' - pretty much unstoppable with very little fuss about it.

I've worked up and down the Alaska Pipeline a bit - here's another cool pic - north side of Brooks Range, about 5pm (no sun there in winter). Past that rock it levels out for about 200 miles - flat, flat, flat, FLAT country. The fence-like thing at the bottom of the pic is the Pipeline

moonatpumpfour_filtered.jpg

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I thought this was a thread about driving in deep mud, something I try to avoid these days, so I didn't bother to check it out until this evening. Nice rig with an interesting mix of components and welcome to the forum Deep Mud. I think I know you from Pirate.

Bill.

Thanks for all the welcome(s)!

Deepmud became my online name about 7 or 8 years ago when I get personalized plates (altho' with only 6 letters on Alaska plates it ends up DEPMUD :D ) . I've been "ONLINE" almost before there was an internet ( the useful, easy to navigate Internet, I mean) - I was reading Suzuki lists using 300 baud dialup over 10 (eeek! more like 13?years?) ago. So you might find me as "deepmud" on a LOT of different sites - I'm an internet slut, pretty much.

I could elucidate a bit more about me instead of my rig - how much personal intro is appropriate for this board? Wanna' hear about my wife and kids and my adventures working in Alaska? or do we keep it to the mechanical side of the family? :D It's all good either way.

664q837.jpg

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  • 8 months later...

steers by turning the wheel - needs power assist, I blew the thread-on fitting I used to adapt the LR steering hose that goes from my ZF pump to the IH Scout steering box - blew it twice, actually, trying to steer tight enough to get it on the trailer. On a quick trail run, power steering overheated to cavitation, and I had to pack snow on the steerning box to cool it off. Those are Una-Tracks - the same ones from the previous pic with the little girl - Una-Tracks! And for all I know, they are the same set I saw about 30 years ago - they are original 1970's manufacture. The tracks are a plastic, not rubber, and are in segments, about 10 inches per, with steel rod linking each one to the next. They still flex a lot like rubber, but stiffer. I can hardly roll them on the ground, and at about 240 pounds each, you don't just tuck one under your arm and walk around with it. Track length is about 158 inches - it's possible to thing about swapping snow machine tracks on them, but the width is not normal, nor is the drive window spaces/size - so no easy match. The owner before Grant/Logjam bolted on 4 inch wide rubber belting, on each inner and outer edge, with hundreds of 1/4-20 nylock nuts and bolts, to try to make them last awhile longer. It helps.

With 5 feet of track laying on the ground, they are a BOOGER to steer ( at least, steer fast - wide open terrain it's fine) - I may try a mod I found in a .pdf file about the U.S. Military testing of these in 1973 - they pull smaller bogies on the front and rear, which seemed to help "climb up" for them, and should help with steering on hard pack, 'cause only 3 feet of track would be touching then. That, and ram assist is a must too. Gotta' get it set up. I have a ram - might be too large, which would slow steering too much for when I run wheels tho'. I may have to actually spend money :angry: and get a good ram-assist kit.

Oh - and they are slow :D I don't feel comfortable running much past about 10 mph - the flop and rattle a lot. My old tracks may still be the ticket if I fix 'em up, maybe add some length and floatation. I have run them past 30 mph :D

http://www.supermotors.net/vehicles/registry/media/202354

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  • 1 year later...

Hey all - I thought I'd speak up, I still lurk a lot :D

Got 'er running again - I tore it down last fall, working outside until the cold got to be too much, and finished her up just this month,lol.

It has a new adapter plate from ACMEADAPTERS.COM, my Beta version was offcenter - it took me a few starters and a couple destroyed transmissions to figure out it wasn't me, it was the plate :( but Jeff was quick with a replacement when we figured it out, it just took me all winter and most the summer to actually install it.

samurai-7_25_2009.jpg

It has new 30 spline Longfields, new 5.29 diffs, a front EZ Locker, and I did the "fozzy-locker" in back - not sure what that might be called or if it's done over there - just weld the valleys of the side gears, 180 degrees apart - the diff is open until it rolls to the filled valley, and jams - sounds SCARY, but has been done to good effect - so I'm trying it out. So far, just bumping around the woods on my property, it's great :D, lol - it easily turns, doesn't fight the locked rear - but I haven't found enough space to do figure-8's or anything, and haven't had it slam/lock when spinning the wheels in muck, either.

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  • 1 month later...

Got 'er out again - Just a couple pics - the famous "one link" suspension worked great, this was the first rocky trail where I beat on the suspension a bit, lots of deep ruts, two lonnng steep hillclimb up deep-vee gulleys with loose rock/dirt, where I tried all the steepest/ugliest lines with no issues. All was wonderful - except blowing my thread-on high pressure hose line fitting - AGAIN - in the first mile or so. I think the threads on the outer collar cut the hose - add the locker front end, too-long pitman arm from the Scout II box, and the pressure lines keep blowing. Hydro assist will stop this. I was able to strong-arm the trail up and down ok.

view near the top - you can see the Knik (Ke-Nick) Glacier way in the back there - that's another fun trail, you can actually drive on the edge of the ice, as long as the river crossing doesn't eat your rig.

img_1946.jpg

The black Samurai is my friend AkDale - smart man, his rig hasn't changed in the last 5 years. :D

img_1952.jpg

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  • 9 months later...

I got it out again, first time since my last post there :( - I had the left shoulder opened up this spring, the doc had to remove some bone and stitch up a tendon tear. I'm still recovering but getting close to "better" :) and could work on the rig some. I fixed my high pressure line, again, and that was it, I still want to add ram-assist but no time - I had to get it running for the 2010 Alaska Meet and Greet. This year for the first time we had an obstacle course because it's in a new location that allows it. I got to thrash the truck while staying close to help and my trailer :D. The big surprise was my score of first place. I took some good lines and let the diesel idle over everything, so never stopped or backed up. The frame-twister section was last, and tweaked up my suspension enough to drop the rear coils out. Not many pics of me :( but it was a good time.

here's Diana's moose buggy.

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That rig is a working machine, gets moose every year.

one of the two big jeep buggies:

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and me and the big red Suzuki...

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I still lurk here :D Hope all is well on the far side of the Earth :D

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