Bullitt's Bruiser hybrid

[Bullitt]

I thought I would go ahead and post up my ongoing Bruiser project. After running my Cherokee for the first time and seeing all of the trailfinders out there, I decided that the Bruiser project needed to go in a different direction. I will put in an order for my cast Yota axles today and try to get her moving alongside the Cherokee.

This is what the body looked like when I got it in a trade.


The chassis



After some cleaning and wrenching, it started to look like a custom Bruiser.

Dual shock mounts


TLT shocks with boots


Paint




It was coming along nicely


Then I took it for a test drive. The previous owner had put bearings in the transmission and not the shims, so it did not roll. The slipper was stripped as well. This was the turning point of the build and I decided to go from an early '90s show truck to a good running trail rig. This is what it looks like right now.



Body mount


I'm planing on continue running my TLT shocks (singles) Novak esc & Traxxas servos. I do plan on getting RC4WD Yota cast axles, 1.55 rock stompers, Gear Head ENK wheels.

That's all for now. Time to get back to work,
Harry

[Bullitt]

And so it begins. RPP had the axles in stock, so they were ordered. I also started the best part of the build / rebuild.


I noticed that the final gear in the transmission was chewed a bit on one side. Once I read through the transmission guide, if its possible to rotate the gear, I will. I am going to call it quits early tonight because I am going to see if I can find anything on switching the transmission to a twin shifter, ie, 4wd-2wd and 1-2-3. I had a transmission converted 10 years ago, but I never got to try it out :(


Harry

[Bullitt]

Mr postman brought these for me today.



The I modded the bruiser springs









I decided that I am going to go with the 1.7s on the Bruiser just like on my Cherokee. However, I am going to use the stamped 1.7 bead lock wheels from RC4WD so I can have a little more clearance around the front axles during full lock.

Harry

[Bullitt]

Well, its been just about a year and I'm still not finished with the Bruiser. However, I did start to working on it again a few nights ago and this is where I am at. I put the 1.7's on the Cherokee and picked up a set of 1.55 Mud Thrashers. I ditched the original transmission (sold for parts) and picked up a RC4WD transfer case. I am hoping that I will be getting some new drive shafts and a Disruptor for Christmas this year. If this is the case, I will be ready to head up to San Antonio soon afterward for some trail runs. I also picked up some Tamiya SRB shocks and mounted them up yesterday. I also found out that Tamiya must have some standard hole patterns for various items. I wanted to mount my Highlift light bar in the front of the truck but I was not quite sure how I was going to do it. I glanced at the Bruiser push bar mount and noticed the hole pattern. I grabbed the light bar off the shelf and 4 self taping screws later, the light bar was a direct fit. The truck is finally coming along and here are some pictures :)
















Thanks for looking,
Harry

[sgtsteve]

I dig the light bar Harry!

[Bullitt]

The missus was out of town on Saturday, so I was able to spend more time on the bruiser than the kids.

Please don't ask me why, but I always liked the original Hilux's pushbar. I liked it so much that I hacked my HL pushbar, mounted one of the existing holes to the front spring mount and ta-da. The next step will be to make the side hoops and tie them into the uprights.





I also caught the mail man and he delivered the MIP driveshafts that were on my Christmas list. They will not go on until after Christmas, so I thought I would at least install the transfer case.



I also mounted the front portion of the body and now it is set. I used the original body mount hoop and removed the post. I attached a piece of 1/2" angle with a couple 2-56 screws on the ends. These screws slide into a piece of 1/4" abs tube attached to the underside of the hood. The rear portion is held by a couple flange nuts on the underside. No pins or hardware showing makes me happy.











Then I started to work on the sleeper a bit.




At the end of the weekend, I was not a good role model for my kids.


Harry

[Bullitt]

With the stress from work, I have found myself at the workbench more often than normal and that is a good thing. I had a little bit of cash in paypal and ordered a RC4WD gear case and mistakenly a 55 turn motor and new decals. I received some MIP shafts for Christmas and I was ready to get the Toyota rolling. I decided to trim some of the chassis and drop the gear case in place. I just needed to drill two additional holes and it was mounted.




All was going great until I tried to mount the front shaft. They were for a Axial kit and were a bit long for the Bruiser chassis. I pulled out the hacksaw and removed 1/2" from the spline and 5/16" from the barrel and it fit like a charm.







Next up it to finish filling the holes in the body and repaint. At the same time I will start working on the radio tray / electronics compartment.

That's all for tonight,
Harry

[Bullitt]

The white paint started to yellow a bit and something needed to be done. After a quick trip to WM and a new set of decals ordered, I am much happier with the end result. If this does not get me to get off my keister to finish the radio box, I don't know what will.

Hearing aide beige with rainbow stripes :wub:








Harry

[Bullitt]

Hey all! Late in the summer I was finally able to send her out on her maiden voyage and she was pretty slow. I decided to change her up a bit and within the last couple weeks, I have made some serious progress. Let's take a look see :)

I followed CambodiaTire's lead and covered up the internals a bit. To speed her up, I removed the transfer case and dropped a 35t motor and I am much happier.


The power switch is under the curb fender and the winch selector (front/off/rear) is under the driver fender.




The rear winch mount







To pay homage to the original Hilux, I went with an original hilux style bumper using the uprights off of the highlift and aluminum rod.





And to think I tried to sell it in the fall. I'm glad the sale fell through. From now on, he shall be called Hondo.



I just need to finish the bed rails, sleeper and wiring and she will be set. Thanks again for looking!


Harry