Added the lower suspension mount point supports that tie them together and back to the engine cross member. They'll also double as skid plate mounting points.
Added the lower suspension mount point supports that tie them together and back to the engine cross member. They'll also double as skid plate mounting points.
Loosely assembled the suspension again after giving everything a spray of etch primer. I still need to run the limit straps as right now it's limited by the end of travel of the uniball.
Here's the tire on at full droop.
That puts the top of the tire at 32.5"
At the top of travel I had to remove some more wheel well as that bulge interfered with travel and turning.
Now I've got an even bigger gaping hole.
With that removed I can stuff the tire up 43.75 inches off the ground. So just over 11 inches of travel.
I can get a bit more out of it if I remove some more sheet metal, but I need to get the fiberglass fenders mounted first to find out if that would be worthwhile.
Next I think I need to drop the engine back in again so I can figure out the strut brace, and then limit straps attach to the strut brace, and I need to mount the steering rack. Somewhere in there I need to figure out bump stops.
In reply to Rattmandu :
What bump stops are you planning on running.
awesome stuff!
In reply to Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) :
I might give those Daystar Stinger bump stops a try. They look like the hydraulic bumpers but it's just a piston squishing a urethane foam, and I could always swap to a hydraulic in the same mount in the future.
In reply to Rattmandu :
That's what I was gonna recommend. We have used them in a few trucks we built and they work awesome.
Uhhh this is awesome!!! And I spy WA plates? Where are you located?!
In reply to java230 :
About an hour north of Seattle.
In reply to Rattmandu :
Sweet, im just north of Seattle!
Stuck the engine back in this morning and got started on the strut brace/ engine cage thing.
Good header clearance to the shock tower.
The first bar tucks in right over the intake manifold.
rad!
why leaned back on the engine hoop so much?
In reply to solfly :
To clear the hood. I'm making another bar to goes in the gap between the intake and the throttle body. That rear bar only clears the hood by like 3/8".
Front bar similarly tucked in. It needed slightly more bend than my bender can do so that's actually three set ups right next to each other.
I bent up a couple brackets to attach to the old steering box mount holes.
And then added this forward bar to keep the whole assembly from rocking forward and back. It's really a "K" member now, lol.
I pulled the engine cage off to finish weld it.
And it pretty much fit back on after welding, just slightly reamed out the M8 holes on the tower tops.
Bolted the other wheel on this evening,
And test fit one of the fiberglass fenders.
This is about ride height.
Pokes out a little, I'll need to run mud flaps.
At full bump the tire does tuck into the fender.
The lower front will get trimmed.
Looks great with the flared fenders.
I finally found the U joint straps for the rear end so I could measure the driveshaft length tonight. It's going to be 58.25" tube, or 63.75" joint to joint. So it's a long boi.
Near as I can figure, the 5" x 0.125 wall 6061 should be safe to like 7000 rpm, so 115mph. Should be plenty.
It's so big.
this is wild. i love everything about it.
sorry if you mentioned it and i missed it, but with the LS shoehorned in there are you going to run the radiator mounted behind the cab?
In reply to ScottyB :
Yeah, there's only 4" between the water pump pulley and the grill, so radiator is going in the bed, and up front will be oil cooler, power steering cooler, and eventually AC condenser.
Very cool project. Since it seems to be headed towards a cup truck style build why not just build a front bumper that sticks out, eliminate the grill and run a rad up front laid down a bit? Just a thought.
In reply to OneSickGNX :
That would be doable, but I rather like the grill. Hopefully this will still be recognizable from the front as a Hardbody, lol.
After being finished for like 8 months I finally got a time slot for inspection on my trailer, and made its first pick up today.
I’m sure at least hardbody enthusiasts will still be able to recognize it ether way. I just suggested it because any time I hear remote cooling system I think of much a cluster berk burping remote systems can be. Anyways really digging the project; keep up the awesome work.
In reply to OneSickGNX :
Vacuum coolant bleeders is the the best thing ever for remote mounted radiators.
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