TremorMUV Build Forum

[LCP]

Hi!

I wanted to introduce myself and my project. I?m building my TremorMUV on off-road truck Sisu A-45 chassis. I purchased the truck from Finnish Army auction 6 months ago, and since then I have been thinking about restauring it, but on the other hand I don?t find myself as the type of guy who wants to build something for the museum. So at the end of last week I was browsing the Internet and found TremorMUV, and hey - yesterday I received the plans from Thomas! Pretty fast I?d say!

Some technical details of my donor vehicle:

Make: Sisu
Model: A-45 (Finnish Army nickname "Proto")
Year of Manufacture: 1977 (stored till 1992)
Mileage: 42.000
Engine: Leyland 6.5TD, 160Bhp
2WD/4WD, low range, air locks, 20.000kg winch
Weight: 6000Kg
This vehicle goes anywhere and is very rugged

So you may ask why I would use this truck as donor?
- The original chassis wheelbase was exactly 130" long, but the Army added 12" more. So, basically I'm bringing it back to the original dimensions.
- The position of the engine. Pretty close to Hummer position and gives excellent weight distribution.
- Heavy Duty chassis. Weight is not an issue and its much tougher than really anything else in this size.
- Tires are around 43" in diameter , I will keep the diameter, but propably change the tires to twice as wide (now 15" wide).
- The width is somewhere like 5" wider than stock Hummer. Extra width is no probs
- Read the previous lines and you realize its going to be a kind of Monster Truck
- It can be registered for street use!
- Rockwell gearboxes and Sisu?s bullet proof axles.
- The original Leyland will have to go, instead I will use some modern Turbo-Diesel in the range of 200-300bhp.

..yes I'm crazy

Because of my work I spend a lot of time in Oil Terminals, sometimes in extreme conditions. I want to make a vehicle that gives the right idea of my business, and really is a survival vehicle and can hold my things I need at work. Basicly I'm building a tool for my company so lets say its a kind of an investment. What really is a better vehicle for Oil Industry than a Hummer

The first pic is something I found from the Internet, but its 100% the same as my vehicle looked just days ago. The other pics show some of yesterdays work, lifting the bed off with a crane. After this I took many dimensions so I could make some alterations in TrevorMUV plans to accept the wider chassis etc. I'm off to holidays this and next week, but after that we start building a new chassis for the Sisu mechanicals. Btw, its not me in those pics.





















It has been fun reading about the other projects

Regards,

Cedric
Finland

[the JoKeR]

Wow, that looks like it's going to be heavy-duty alright! I'm looking forward to seeing the project take shape. Welcome to the group!
_________________
Come see what we're up to.


And now, for something completely different: http://www.locostusa.com/

[99GT]

Hi Cedric
That thing is a beast; you will definitely have a heavy duty Tremor
This will be Monster truck material.
How wide is the frame? Will you be able to fit the frame inside the
tunnel or will you sit the body on the frame
I can?t wait to see more pictures.
Francois

[LCP]

Thanks guys!

I haven?t got the dimensions of the frame with me at the moment, but I think it was 35" inches wide. We are making a brand new frame for it, so I can make some alterations and secondly I can move the positions of the rear leafs to better locations (the same way they are at front), so the frame will be in level with the ground. Its interesting, that the steering, gearstick, pedals etc. are fairly easy to move behind the front wheels because some are hydraulic or air operated, and the others are very simple mechanics. The low-gears and locks are only switches in dashboard (air operated).

One problem with the engine is the height. I will try to find a lower new model Turbo-Diesel, that should solve part of the problem. Its also possible to relocate the engine somewhat lower (around 3"-4"). These things will rule the location of the TrevorMUV body on the frame. Sure, some compromises have to be done, but on the other hand at this time I can make some decisions which will later be much harder to change. But, I haven?t yet read all those plans, usually it helps to sit down - have a beer and start thinking

Anyway, I think this will be fun

Cedric
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1977 Sisu A-45 Off-Road Truck, 6.5TD, "TINY"

[99GT]

Nothing like a good beer and bench racing to start that old brain working

[LCP]

Hey 99GT,
I noticed you are years ahead of me! Your project is starting to look really good
... hmm... not sure at what time a "project" turns to a vehicle but yours is really looking like a Hummer!

I?m also waiting for Jokers TrevorMUV2 to finish, those big tires are really big (I can tell that even my tyres look oversize and they are 7" smaller than those big balloons). Hope to see some additional pics in near future (Perhaps size DOES matter? )

Cedric
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1977 Sisu A-45 Off-Road Truck, 6.5TD, "TINY"

[the JoKeR]

Yeah, I sure wish I'd hurry up and finish that truck! It's going somewhat slow at the moment because I'm spending so much time re-designing things to fit the changes we've made. Taking extra time has paid off in that I've only had to go back and make minor changes to "finished" areas. I'd hate to find out I need to completely redesign a whole section after it's done! I'm guessing you'll be changing a few things as you build as well. What are your plans for doors and a roof?
_________________
Come see what we're up to.


And now, for something completely different: http://www.locostusa.com/

[LCP]

Any idea how high your vehicle floor will be from ground? What about the width, is it going to stay inside the Hummer dimensions, or will you build fender flares or something? Is it going to be ready for the summer?

I haven't yet made any decisions about the doors or roof, as well the body style is still open, either slant-back or wagon, and either military camo, or shiny black. Perhaps I will have an answer in the next few weeks time. As well I haven?t got any of these original Hummer parts yet.

Because I?m doing both the chassis and body, I will first make some CAD drawings of the chassis (same time browsing through the plans) and then perhaps make a full 3D model of the chassis and body. This way I can easily see the problem points and generate new plans for those regions that need some work. With the chassis I have not too many options, mostly I will follow the original chassis design, the actual width of the frame is 37.4 inches, which surely means I must do some changes for the body.

The other plus point for using 3D models, is that because where I live we use metric scale, not the imperial system. All the material available is perhaps not available exactly the same size, and those 0.1-0.2 inch tolerances may well affect the final outcome. Bad point is, that it takes around a week worth of work from me to make the 3D models (I used to be 3D programmer years ago), but that should make the actual build much more straight forward. Still, its going to be more than once when the beer is needed
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1977 Sisu A-45 Off-Road Truck, 6.5TD, "TINY"

[TantoMUV]

Hi Cedric,

What is the progress so far on your build? I like your frame concept, it's a tough truck. I have always been wanting to build one on my Unimog U1300L chassis I have.

Let us know your progress!

Tanto
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"Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes."