Here's a couple of shots of her flexed out on the ramp at work. Notice I still didn't have the shock hoops welded in, bumps stops installed or a front drive shaft.



I need to remove the driver's side resonator to clearance for the drive shaft, and make up a new crossmember.



And I used the Calmini Pitman Arm for the steering, as it allowed the correct length to keep a normal steering wheel feel. The Axle max's out before the gear box does (just barely!). It's a great combination.



How to stuff a 35" tire!



I'll get some shots of the rear axle pretty soon. I also swapped it out for a Ford 9".

I'm running 5:13's, front and rear, mini-spool in the back and a lunchbox locker in the front (for now, it was free). Future plans will include replacing the driver's side front axle seal (I guess I damaged it when I installed the shaft, it's leaking) and getting a new hub for the driver's side (it makes noise, like it's trying to engage, but it's still in the "free" spot, warranty issue, not a problem). I also plan on a tummy tuck for the PhoeniX. 1" lift for the trans/t-case and a 2" lift for the engine. I want the underbelly flat (with a 6 pack!). Build a rear hatch with an integrated tire carrier/jerry can holder and better bumpers. I also plan on loosing the rear corners as well, cutting the body out and just going flat in there. All in about a year's time. No big hurry now, since Moab didn't happen for me.

We're not worthy!!! Awesome pics!!!

That is just sick !
That's actually the first mention I've heard of a "tummy tuck". That's really a pretty cool idea.

Those aren't revolver shackles on the front are they?

I'm thinking of swapping for a 9" rear axle, havn't done much home work on it yet. I already run a 31 spline conv. with a 5.14 and a lock right locker, but I want to put something under there that's a little easier to work on. I also want to swap for rear disk brakes. For that rear axle swap, with that require a shorter drive shaft?
Nice job, Keep us posted on the finishing touches.

SICK! well this kinda makes my previous post about leaf sprung sas's completely redundant lol. any pointers about your install? whats the deal with those bell shackles, are they just the ones from the calmini HB setup with some spacers? also i was wondering about the angle of the frame where you would mount them, anything special? i'm going axle hunting this weekend to do the same thing. plus i'm a huge fan of the chopped top. nice work

Wow! That is just very nice!

nice work, it really turned out good

Very nice!!

That's awesome.

Looks amazing. Truely amazing. Just dont roll it over again.

Thanks guys! I just got back from Amarillo last night, went to see the wife's family over the long weekend.

The shackles are from the HB kit of Calmini's. So is the front hanger. It fits nice! I would've moved the shackles backwards further on the frame, about 1/2" or so for the next one. But you'd have to redo the body mount support at that spot. I didn't feel like doing that, so I had to make some clearances for where I chose to put them. Not too bad though. That was with the stock Waggy springs. I'm sure a lifted set of springs wouldn't have had that issue. And no, they're not revolvers. Didn't need any spacers for the shackles either. Those are how they come from Steve.

The 9" rear actually needed a longer driveshaft. The nose of the 9" is shorter than the H233B. I got the shaft made 4" longer than stock. The 9" will also facilitate the rear disc conversion, as there are many, many kits out there for the Ford axle. Any gear ratio that you want is available as well. Highly reccomend using the 9'er in the back!

Nice Job!!

What vehicle did you get the ford 9" from?
And what was the overall drum to drum?

And you were able to use the Calmini front leaf spring mounts from the hardbody SAS swap kit?
Awesome! Did you have to modify it at all or was it wide enough for the Xterra's frame?

I'm contemplating the same swap in the future.
I'd love to do the orbit eyes all around though.
Keep posting progress pix.

Very nice work. If and when I go SAS, the leafs look more and more like the way to go.

I love your truck
ok...question, what are the benefits of a leaf spring SAS instead of coil overs? What is the drawbacks to this set up?
basically, what would be better and why?

Leafs are cheaper to build and require less parts. Simplicity is always its own reward. I have wheeled with SFA Yotas for years and they are great. The only thing I don't like about leafs is the occasional failure and harsh ride. However, my coilovers have a pretty harsh ride, too!

.....

Allen:

That looks totally AWESOME. I am dying to see the three latests RONIN builds. Any chance of a Castle Rock M&G any time soon?......

The leaves for the Waggy are pretty soft, which is suprising to me. I would've thought that they were stiffer, considering what they came off of! I like the leaves vs. coilovers for the shear simplicity of it all. I mean really, we've had since the 1800's+ to get them dialed in. I like something I can fiddle with. Heck, the rear springs are a super-hybrid of Chevy 1/2 ton springs, a Titan Add-a-leaf and the main spring is the Xterra one! Flexes real good!

The front portion of the kit is the SAS kit for the Hardbodies. Yes, it is wide enough. Although the where I put the rear shackle mount was a bit forward that it was supposed to be, it still works great! Like I said before, to put it where it should be, I'd have to modify the body mount a bit to do it. In hindsight, even that wasn't going to be hard. I should've just done that. But, being the first (as far as I know) to put the Calmini HB kit on an X, I think it went pretty good.

Calmini could help with things like selling their pitman arm for the Xterra steering upgrade seperatly. It's perfect for this!

You know what I really like about springs? I love that it won't take much to lift it to whatever I want, any time I want. I don't have to change radius arms, drop brackets, etc.. And, I can call a ton of places to get custom leaves made! Alcan, for instance, will put in those Orbit Eyes, I can order heavier duty springs, relocate the axle simply by having the center pin drilled wherever I feal like, it's totally customizable! Once I get a slip yoke eliminator for the rear, and move a stupid crossmember, I can let the ass end drop out like a turd from a running deer! It's awesome!

Oh, and what vehicle did I scavenge? A 78 Ford F150. You can even order the axles for the 9" drilled for the Chevy lug pattern, so no having to get new rims. Then, for the front, use the outers from a mid 70's Chevy D44 for that famous High Steer action. Then, you've got the Chevy bolt pattern all the way around!

I ended up using all stock axles for now. So I had to keep the Ford bolt pattern (5 on 5.5"). I used the Chevy outers, for the high steer, but then reconverted the spindle back to the Ford pattern. I had a set of rims and tires already for the Ford, so it was just a matter of convenience at that point. A couple of trips to the junk yard, and I had most of what I needed.

The brakes are the Chevy ones. I bought a flaring tool and reflared all the lines (replacing the flare nuts with SAE 3/8" ones) to go to the Chevy 4" extended lines. Worked great, and saved a bundle on line adapters. A little hard work saved a bunch of cash!

The wheels at the back are 65" Wheel Mounting Surface (WMS) to WMS. The fronts are a bit wider, but nothing I feel like correcting. Even the factories put the fronts a bit wider for tracking purposes. The front is at 66 1/2" WMS to WMS due to the conversion to high steer, and then back to Ford spindle. Drives nice!

A long ways from this...



Yes, that's Ian and Erik walking the wounded out, Jorge's driving.

Sick, sick flex.

Nice.

ANy updates?

I am planning my SAS/SOA rear with a lot of ideas from yours and DR's.

That xterra is soooooooooooooooooo sick!!!!!!

Sorry about the updates. Don't have pics though...

I had to remove the aftercats to make room for the driveshaft. It goes so far upwards that the driveline would contact the aftercat on the driver's side. So I took both sides out (wouldn't want to be lopsided!) and welded in straight pipes in place.

I made a crossmember to clear the driveshaft as well. It now goes above the exhaust on the driver's side, and mounts to the top of the frame mount. The original mounts below on the frame mount, for both sides. I used 2x2 square tube, drilling the holes for the trans mount, and then cutting an access slot below the holes to get the nuts in and get them tightened. Looks pretty cool. I had to hug the transmission pretty close to get the room. I probably need to beef it up some more, but for now, it's good. I can see if I landed on it pretty hard, that it might dent or bend. We'll see.

I did build some bump stops for it. But I need to extend the pads where the stops hit, as the axle will push them aside on a hard bounce. Kind of expected that, but now I know.

Will get some pics when it stops raining, perhaps tomorrow.

Well, OK, I finally got some pics done of her. I just love flexing her out now!

One of the guys at work brought his ZJ Truggy thing in, so I went ahead and parked on it. He's running 40" tires, full chromo shafts, everything. I was curious if my little 35" tires could do something against it, even at street pressure. I guess the pics speak for themselves!





And a little trimming was necessary for the rear to clear, but it does so nicely!



I have some other pics, but I'll probably need some of them for the magazine. I might even use one or two of these as well.

That is so sweet looking.

Beeyaa! Nice work man.

Looks sweet!

Maybe I missed it in previous posts, but what are the specs on the rear springs?

How much lift are you at right now?

Is the actual lift really a concern when it crosses up like that?

Nice work Allen

actually i am intersest in the rear leafs as well as i need a different setup as the way i have it right now is too stiff....

Actually it is a concern since I am going spring over and it would be helpful to know what Allen used to get the lift and flex that he has (for the rear at least).

So yeah, it would be a concern to some. Sick ass truck Allen. Can't wait to see where you go with the beast now.

Well, the rear springs are a mismatch of crap that I had laying around. When I'm all done with everything, then I'll have some Alcan's made up for the final pack.

As it sit's now, the top leaf is the stock X leaf, then a Chevy 1/2 ton leaf, then an add-a-leaf for a Titan, then another Chevy 1/2 tonner (with the spring keeper on it).



I'd like to still go up another 1" or so, but can't due to not having a SYE yet. I'd still like to get that and gears for the t-case. Winter project stuff. I'll wheel her like it is now.

I'll measure for the lift probably tonight. It's something that I wasn't really concerned much about, just needed it to function, sit level'ish, and be reliable.

I did a similar set up with my X. Stock leafs plus calmini AAL from before and added some leafs. But feels too stiff now. You don't have that problem? Doesn't effect your travel? I'm good up front but got to figure this rear out!

Here is a few pics to give ya an idea i'm going> it not done yet but close...

Al I have said it again and again that thing is awesome and so much fun to ride in!!!!

Dredging up an old thread....

Cyclemut, how are you liking the stock wag leaves in front? Too soft? My X still has all the glass in it, so it's a bit heavier, but most of that is to the rear. I've got most of my parts accumulated and am doing another leaf SAS, but this one will be spring over if I can use the stock wag springs.

I was also thinking about adding another leaf to the packs. Just curious about your thoughts after having wheeled with yours for a while now.

I like them. I angled the rear shackle back quite a bit, causing them to be perfectly flat static. If I had to do it again, I'd move the front axle ahead at least 1", and put a leaf in like you're talking.

The problem is that the rear end is going to max out quickly without a double cardan and repositioning the rear crossmember to allow for any more droop in the rear.

So it's a toss up to put in the extra leaf up front. But I'd definately move the front axle forward a minimum of 1" from the normal pin position of the stock waggy spring.

But they do flex!

Have you seen the latest edition of the Nissan Sport Magazine? One heck of a droop picture from Left Hand Canyon/Carnage in Boulder.

I'll have to check that out.

I'm using the HB xmember and the Calmini shackles too. I'm wondering if you could snap couple pics from the side when you get a chance just so I can look at your placement of each. I expect it'll be a little different than my frontier, which is currently SUA. I think the extra leaf is in order to stiffen it up, else my wife will be scared to drive it, and it's her wheeling truck.

I know what you mean on the DS clearance on the Xmember. I just put a set of Alcan rear springs in my Frontier and have less than 1/2" clearance now between the shaft and Xmember. I'll be notching and putting a limit strap in the center off the diff to keep it from hitting. Those springs should flex madly though.

Will the Calmini hb xmember bolt up to the Xterra?

Welds..

.

Get richard to fab you up one of his, his is bolt on

To clarify, I'm using the calmini Xterra crossmember for the transmission, and the Calmini Hardbody front spring hanger - that welds on. It'll be just about exactly what Cyclemut has, suspension-wise.

What are you using for a sway bar up front?

What's a swaybar?

You know, the little metal thingy that goes on the front that keeps this from happening when someone cuts you off at speed on the highway.

for one thing, mine wont be that tall. My Frontier has been SAS'd for over 4 years now and has no real stability issues. It also has a full exo cage

I'll run a bit stiffer spring in front to compensate. Also, in a modded rig like this, you just have to drive extra defensively knowing you no longer have a vehicle with stock handling.

Mine won't be that tall either. I alrady drive like that now. I know how it handled before when I took the sway bar off. It was little tipsy.

I know Barry modified one I think to fit on an X or Pathy. I'll see if I can find the info on that.

That circumstances that lead to that picture have been discussed enough as is, so I'll leave that be.

However, I'm running a spring rate close to what Cyclemut is (albeit, I'm running old school coils and shocks vs. leaf springs) and it's a bit tipsy. I don't DD it though and rarely drive more than an hour and a half to get to a trail. I seem to be doing alright without a sway bar, especially when I see what has happened to a few Calmini sway bars.

I never questioned it, and I don't know the circumstances.

With regard to spring rate, yeah, cyclemut's looks a little soft to be a good highway vehicle. Mine will be stiffer. I'm going to play with different setups, but what I have in mind is a stock wag front pack with 1-2 extra fairly flat leaves - not much more arch, but definitely stiffer. The SUA setup on my pickup using the 4" rough country lift springs is pretty stiff, and the truck has less body roll than it did with IFS.

Until I buy something else mine will be my DD as well.