how come you gave up on the silicone couplers?

because one of the ones I got was red

updates? Progress? i must have read this whole thread 4 times.

Tonight I should have all the small plumbing done (tranny coolers and fuel system) Its all 3/8" Stainless hard line with -6 stainless braided hose at various places. Turns out the stainless hard line is cheaper than the alumanized stuff you buy at napa/carquest/etc.

well shit. I didnt get everthing finished like I said in the previous post... Imagine that eh?!

've been working on finishing up the last bit of plumbing for quite a while now. Im using as much stainless as possible, as I dont ever want to have to do this again, and it turns out its actually cheaper than the alumanized stuff you buy at the parts store. Looks alot nicer too. The stainless braided stuff ISNT cheap though, but its definately going to last a long time, and will be much less likely to be damaged or have to be replaced due to abrasion or heat damage.

Fuel lines first...

Here is a picture of the Rigid Bender I purchased, since the regular bender I had didnt provide enough leverage to bend the 3/8" 304 SS Mechanical tubing I'm using. It was a good purchase at 50 bucks, and allows for 180 degree bends. And its marked to provide easy and accurate bend locations. Also pictured is the pile of tubing I scrapped during this project. Good thing its cheap :D

The local industrial fitting supply store was out of the proper 90* compression fittings so I cut some other ones apart, and welded them up.

These are bulkhead unions that I installed so that I could just remove the end of the hard line for removal of the fuel tank. One is stock, the other I welded an AN fitting on one end to adapt it to the AN Russel hose end.

This is the filter and temp sender housing thats plumbed into my return line (the upper port.) The hard line on the right hand side is connected to the hard line in the next picture. (all one piece)

Since the 205 is clocked flat, and the 203 is upside down, I have never had a good way to verify the fluild levels. Basically, all I have been doing is filling them while they are on the bench, then hoping for the best the rest of the season. This time I took the time to put a sight gage on both cases (forgot to take pics of the 203 gage).

Anyway, the fittings and vinyl tubing is all from home depot. The protective tubing is parts from a mirror off an old 72 GMC beach truck. None of the pieces of stainless were long enough, so I but welded them together, and bent them around with some heat from the ol' oxy/act torch. I scrapped one because I put too much heat on the inside of the bend. The next try I just focused the heat along the outside of the bend, and it worked well.


more tonight...

The last of the 3/8 plumbing. FINALLY finished. I still need to re-plumb the rear brake lines, but I dont know if I have it in me. Im getting a bit sick of bending tubing, crawling under the truck, makeing a little adjustment, crawling back under, over and over and over.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=181639&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=181640&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=181641&stc=1

Incase you ever want to change the cooler fittings on your TH-400 (TH-350 is the same I think) 1/4" Straight Pipe fits very nicely. I machined some 3/8" NPT compression fittings down to the 1/4" Straight Pipe, and installed them with copper washers taken from the original sae double flare fittings. I was going to hard pipe right into the tranny, but decided against it since I had some flex hose left over from the other stuff, so I made some bends, and welded male AN fittings on the end of them.

some fuel line stuff

the fluid lines are making me happy..... you are good. i bet you cant wait to take it out becuase i want to take it out... and i havent even seen it in person..... your almost done right? just a few little things left?

I am excited to get it out. I should have it running by next weekend. At least then I can get it out of the shop, and do some testing. I might be putting it back in the shop real soon though, as I MIGHT be putting gears and lockers in it, and installing coilovers on the rear.

I didnt get much done on it today because I spent the morning clam digging. (Didnt get shit for clams, but it was a nice day on the beach) I did get the cage ready for its deck plate, and started working on my CO2 tank mount, as well as the rear brake plumbing though.

The biggest job left is to strip it down and finish all the welding, and build a bunch of gussets.

Need a CoPilot? :D

Are you going to use the TIG and MIG for the finishing welds? How would you go about selecting which joints need TIG or MIG just curious...

I'll TIG everything thats clean, IE: Stainless, and Cold Rolled steel. The rest will be MIG welded.

I want to MIG as much as possible, because its less expensive than TIG, and alot faster.

I got the tranny and t-cases mounted up today. Built a new t-case crossmember to make instal a bit easier. All the plumbing is blown down and tighetned up (except for the fittings that will need to be removed for painting). Exhaust is installed with new gaskets, and black RTV. I built a CO2 tank mount too, and installed a bunch of gussets (only about 6 more left)


http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=182334&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=182335&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=182336&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=182337&stc=1

Lookin' great, as usual. A question on the last pic. Why the zig-zag in the lines going to the top of the fuel tank?
And quote, "I did get the cage ready for its deck plate,". Is that what the tabs are for on the horizontal (sp) tubes? If so, how much are you covering / protecting?

When you have full hard line, you need a "spring" section to flex so you can get the ends in and out of their mates without pulling the vibration supports loose.

There is enough flex in the tubing runs I made to allow for removal of the fittings without having a zig zag, as long as the tube isnt straight from one fitting to another. If its shaped like an L or a ] or something like that, it will bend enough. BUT, depending on the application, you may or may not need to put some bends in there to allow for thermal expansion or other movement. for example: a pressure gage for process steam (industrial steam turbines, etc ~500*F) you could bend a 360 degree loop in the tubing to allow growth and to help isolate vibration.

Yes, the tabs are for the deck plate to attach to the chassis. I will be covering that entire plane, and will be mounting some temporary ammo cans for storage similar to last years incarnation.

Nice, kinda like a flat bed tool box. I've been kicking around storage ideas lately too and hadn't thought of doing that...

And on the zig-zag, I figured those in the pic was needed to allow flex with that bracket/mount thing being so close to the front tube. Even if the mount just floats, that front one would be tough to work with unless the back or mount was loose. In any case, that was exactly the reason I put zig-zags in my new lines, just to simplify single point access for disconnect/reconnect. However, as usual, mine are no where near as nice. :D

The reason mine had a zig (not quite a complete zig zag) was to keep the tubes parallel the the bottom of the deck plate as possible, for as long as possible, should I ever want to put supports hanging from it. Also, it looked cool, and was a challange to get them both to match perfectly.

CO2 Mount, and some gussets...

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183768&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183769&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183770&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183771&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183772&stc=1

The gussets are mostly 1/8" A36 plate, I buy it in 8" wide strips to make handling and storage easier. The gussets along the very rear tube, the one that has the angled receiver hitch tube in it, has 3/16 gussets since it will see quite a bit of force. The CO2 mount is all 18 ga cold rolled sheet, and there is small doubler plates welded onto it where the latches are attached. I cut all the brackets with the old miller spectrum 500 I bought from logjam. Its getting old, but if you steady your hand well, it still cuts pretty good. All the brackets are finished with a norzon 50 grit flap discs.

Rear brake lines...

I didnt have a cool way to hold the tee, so I cut a peice of rec tube and captured it by welding the steel tubing to the axle truss. Kinda hack, but its gonna work well.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183773&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183774&stc=1

A couple more gussets

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183775&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183776&stc=1

I should have it running by this weekend :grinpimp:

I've been working on the small details for the last few days... I built the bed deck out of a single piece, but while trying to do the inital fit-up I got the damn thing stuck. After a good two hours of b.s. I got it out and decided to follow my initial plan of making the deck in three sections.

I cut two side pieces and one middle piece with enough room in between for a sliding hook mechanism. The slots are capped underneath with a "Hat" style hull stiffener made for boat hulls. (just a hat shaped 1/8" thick aluminum extrusion) The hull stiffeners are riveted to the middle piece, and the outside pieces are going to be held on with countersunk 1/4 stainless screws, and Nutserts.


http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183777&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183778&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183779&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183780&stc=1

Pull Pal mounts

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183782&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183783&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183784&stc=1

Stub shaft mounts, and a couple brackets to hold the tire Irons in place.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183785&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183786&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183787&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=183788&stc=1

holy crap man, your a fawkin artist!!! :smokin: nice gusset's, all 20 of em :flipoff2: and your fit up is awesome. best detailed rig i have seen on here, its more of a tool then a toy.

oops, I forgot to post pics of the gun mounts :D

You have to post up the gun mounts.

Everybody likes gun mounts

Looking great man! I can't wait to see it on your trails up there. Almost ready huh?

:evil: SETHZILLA!

Not really much to look at, but hell, how many buggies here can say that they have hard mounts for large caliber hunting rifles, AND a mount for a sawed off shotgun in the cab?

in cab mount

hey Bgreen, That dash looks nice, how about a view from the drivers seat?

:evil: SETHZILLA!

As always, your fab work is amazing.

Got any more pics of the interior?

I love all the thought and details you put into this buildup.

Jay

There are some dash build pictured in this thread (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=209961&highlight=Freak+Dash)

Its ALIVE :smokin:

CONGRATS! :D When is the FREAK gonna get its first taste of new mud?
How about some finished pics outside before she's all covered in the brown stuff!

:evil: SETHZILLA!

BAD ASS! i love that thing cant wait to see some action shots! the in cab sawed off is AWESOME!

BAD ASS! the in cab sawed off is AWESOME!
Longest "sawed off" I ever saw.
Seriously as much as I get annoyed by the number of people who's only addition to a thread is to tell the author how awesome they are ...... well dammit dude YOU ARE friggen awesome. Everytime I see your truck I am amazed.
Only suggestion I can muster is why not put the orbital outside the cab. Oil injection is definately not a good thing. I assume you will at least have a sheet of alum between yourself and the valve/hoses. but you'd still end up ruining your snakeskin boots. lol

Ya, the orbitrol should be outside the cab, or it should be shrouded. But its not. Another thing on the list of crap I havent got around to. :emb2:

I got it out of the shop today, and thrashed on it for not more than 5 minutes till I found this... Limit straps are you friend.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=184474&stc=1

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=184475&stc=1

Longest "sawed off" I ever saw.


AFAIK thats the shortest legal barrel I could get, either way, its not a full length shot gun. I carry it when on the trail so I can poop in the woods without worrying about being eaten by furry critters. :smokin: Complete with a custom mag light mount that I made. :flipoff2:

Finally I could get a shot of it at a different angle. lol. I'll post more pics when its on the trail next weekend.

Looking kick ASS!

definitly, ive been following this for a long while and i love it! :D cant wait till next weekend for your trail shots.

:smokin:

:) AFAIK thats the shortest legal barrel I could get, either way, its not a full length shot gun. I carry it when on the trail so I can poop in the woods without worrying about being eaten by furry critters. :flipoff2:


HAHAHAHA THATS FAWKEN GREAT :) :smokin:

Looks cool, is the hood a cut down chevy? Or did you fab it?

Thanks, the hood is stock chevy, as are the "fenders". Not much left of either, but it makes servicing the engine and aux. components pretty easy. Keeps the rain off the engine, thats all I needed.

dont roll it onto any rocks and break your heater box. :grinpimp: looks great.

Here is a little video I took yesterday. Nothing special, but it was fun to have the thing out of the shop for the first time in 6 months.

right click, save as please... http://www.akfabshop.com/movies/2k5incarnation.wmv

Here is a little video I took yesterday. Nothing special, but it was fun to have the thing out of the shop for the first time in 6 months.

right click, save as please... http://www.akfabshop.com/movies/2k5incarnation.wmv

Man get that thing in the woods and get some wheeling pics bro...

your like the MadMax of Alaska with that chit!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaalker

Waaaaaaaaaaaaalker!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/Pdaddy/madmax.bmp

what exactly is a pull pal ?
whats it for and what does it do?
Truck looks asome by the way.

The only guess i got is, is a pullpal something used to pick up a moose?

Pull-pal, n [of Greek origin]
1. A device used used by Alaskans for homoerotic activities
2. A large self-securing land anchor with a spade shaped head used in extraction or recovery situations
3. A portable platform used to mount a moose during archane beastiality rituals in Alaska

You choose.



Brook, sorry about the carrier, your machine rocks and I truly appreciate the time you put into this thread.

Pull-pal, n [of Greek origin]
1. A device used used by Alaskans for homoerotic activities

Only on people from Canada. :flipoff2: http://www.satdirect.com/snow/Smilies/bang.gif

If you think the pics and vids are cool its WAY better to see it in person!!! :D

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :flipoff2:

Three times its left the shop now, three times its gone back in cause of broken/bent parts. We took the buggy out on a solo night run, and ended up dropping off a ~5 foot ledge onto frozen ground at about 5 mph. oops.

A couple more pics of the night run...

:cool2:

:smokin:

anything besides a bent link?

I wouldnt be supprised if I did some damage to the 513... after we started winching I noticed that the gage showed zero oil pressure. Other than that, nothing other than some rock chips in the paint :cool2:

The timbrens seem to be working well. I need a longer coil for the rear though, and stiffer shocks.

damn d00d....you are hard on that thing before you even get a chance to test it out!! looks good and hope you didnt do too much damage..

Brian

Hey bgreen what tranny are you running in this? 400 maybe? Where can I get some info on where to get parts for my 513 I'm building up now to mud bog with? Please let me know......Sorry about the bent link....few hours in the shop AGAIN......I know the feeling.......Tim

Hey bgreen what tranny are you running in this? 400 maybe? Where can I get some info on where to get parts for my 513 I'm building up now to mud bog with? Please let me know......Sorry about the bent link....few hours in the shop AGAIN......I know the feeling.......Tim

The next link is going to be fabricated, I dont think even 2" x .250 wall DOM 1045 would have held up on that one. I think Im going to use some 3/16 x 3" steel flat bar, and make a truss shaped link (boxed in of course). Then plate the sides with another piece of 1/8 or 3/16 for the last 12" or so on the frame end. I need the most strength on the part of the link that is exposed from the edge of the tire out to the frame.

For all your cadillac needs, check out the www.cowboyseven.us forum. Look up a guy on there that goes by POTTER. He is THE MAN for extreme high performance cadillac engines! otherwise speak with AL at MTS... Hes more into the more budget oriented stuff/street performance.

Im running a cadillac TH-400 with a stock rebuild (not a very good one at that) and a reverse manual valve body from Art Carr (only one I could find that retains compression braking in all three forward gears).

anything new? I LOVE this build

You need some rocklights :beer:

Love your truck, unique for sure.

anything new? I LOVE this build
no update? :(

No updates yet, I am so sick of working on it I havent even put it back in the shop. Probably this week some time I will fab the new link.

Well, its not pretty, but its hell for stout and only weighs a couple lbs more than the old arm. All thats left is tabs for the brake lines.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=188311&stc=1

The main portion of the arm is 2x3x.125 rectangular tubing, with .125 thick plates welded on both sides to give an effective .250 wall. I did this so that I would have maximum resistance to vertical bending loads, and save weight by having a thin .125" thick top. The bottom is .1875 for dent resistance. The 1.5" B7 threaded rod was removed from the old arm and spot / plug / rosette welded into the new one in two places, on both sides, and the top. Everything other than the rosette welds was done with TIG.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=188312&stc=1

After running that piece of B7 for several years, I noticed no appreciable increase in slop. Never greased it, except for upon original assembly. I ran it in every kind of mud imaginable, including salt water silt. It did show light pitting from rust, but still felt as tight as the other side which was jam nutted. (is nutted a word?)

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=188313&stc=1

2 hrs of design and fabrication, 4 hrs of tig welding. :shaking:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=188314&stc=1

as always...nice work. Do you think it will be significantly stronger than the old setup?
DId you end up doin any damage to the 513?
Brian

"but still felt as tight as the other side which was jam nutted. (is nutted a word?)"

It is in Texas! :flipoff2:

as always...nice work. Do you think it will be significantly stronger than the old setup?
DId you end up doin any damage to the 513?
Brian

I hope its MUCH stronger, but Im not an engineer, so really I dont know. :grinpimp:

I dont believe I did any substantial damage to the caddy. But as soon as I got on flat ground again, I added another quart to the sump :p

:grinpimp: UPDATES???

Yeah this has been one heck of an interesting thread but haven't heard much in quite a while.

Well, its not pretty, but its hell for stout and only weighs a couple lbs more than the old arm.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=188311&stc=1


Not pretty? That thing is a work of art :eek:

Yeah whats new on the Freak, Brooke?

Nothing to report really. Its running ok, driving ok, not overheating except on very long and steady climbs, etc.

I would like to put 5.13's in the diffs with front and rear ARB's, but will likely settle with welding the front end for now.

I would like to put coilovers on the rear since my shock valving still leaves a bit to be desired as does the spring rate and length of travel on the 4" xj springs. But I will likely get buy with adding another 2 shocks and going with 6" xj coils.

I built some limit straps that I should post pictures of. Kinda cool, and very cheap for custom length straps.

I plan on doing something to automate the cooling fans, as well as installing a higher flow water pump to hopefully eliminate all of the cooling issue. After that its just going to be little details like finishing out the interior (paint, a few more gages, a latch for the glove box, a shroud for the orbitrol valve, etc)

Im going wheeling this wednesday, so maybe I'll have some carnage pictures to post...

I sure hope not though :flipoff2:

I came here to look at a battery holder and spent 1.5 hours reading this thread.
I think I deserve an update.

Nothing to update, it hasnt been in the shop for months.

My fan solenoid quit working, so thats going to have to be moved. I'll post the new part number for it if I end up replacing it with something else before I change the setup completely.

The batter hold down is working well, and it does make it easy to remove the batteries, except for the location making them a PITA.

I'll post up if I go on a winter run this year.

I wish some one with your abilities would make a new Chevy 4wd Truck front crossmember that would be a bolt in design for adapting to the Caddy mounts.

MTS's universal mount kit (Though effective) looks like a kindergarden art project.

Maybe Al could work you some trades, parts for parts.

I'm sure they'd sell like crazy.

That thought has crossed my mind. If I ever do one agian, I'll look into it.

Don't know if you ever solved the over heating problems but I'm running a rear mount radiator and did a LOT of messing around to get it all figured out. Eventually I wound up putting it up high, top of the radiator even with the roof of the cab. But what ultimately made the largest difference for me was slowing my flow down. I'm using a CSR high flow electric pump on my 460. It was flowing TOO fast for the radiator to cool properly. I installed a valve on my return line and cut my flow in half. Now I have no trouble keeping the temp down.

Interesting.:smokin:

Hey Bgreen, could you post up some pics of your homemade limit straps?

SETHZILLA

I'll try to get some when I go wheeling this weekend.:grinpimp:

I just got done going through this whole thread, and Freak is fucking awesome!!! Great work, and I'm a hack...

Brook
Get off the slope and add some updates.:D

I havent been on the slope for over a month :emb3:

didnt you see the totally pimpin plow mount? :smokin:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=220075&d=1135063766

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=220076&stc=1&d=1135064218

I havent forgot about those limit strap pics...

What a pice of shit.:flipoff2:



ill take it back if you unban me:grinpimp: :flipoff2:



No but really does the whole sub frame for the plow come up or just the plow, post a pic of it in the up position.

the sub frame is just an extension of the buggys frame. It doesnt move up or down.

bad-ass. I just spent the last 45 minutes saving pictures of this truck. :smokin:

These are the limit straps I made this summer. I used strapping that I cut off my 2" trailer tie downs. The tabs were cut from 3/16 A36 plate. I had the local upholstery shop sew them after dinking around for a couple hours with a sewing awl, and not even getting one side, of one strap sewn. lol. 25 bucks to have them all sewn, and that included a good sized tip for doing it while I waited. :smokin:

I made them to bolt on at the shock mounts, and had them sewn so they would stop the shock at about 1" short of full extension with no load. Total cost for 4 custom length limit straps... $40.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=221090&d=1135581103

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=221091&d=1135581103

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=221092&d=1135581103

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=221093&d=1135581166

The freak looks good as always. I don't know what to say about the plow though. I hate shoveling as much as the next guy but I still don't think I could bring myself to do it to my rig. I mean then whats next, a mower deck:flipoff2: .

Do you still have the dimensions from when you had your beadlocks cut?

Just FYI Brook hold on to your Goodyears, they don't make them anymore. Goodyear has sold their agricultural tire chain to Titan tires. (http://www.titanstore.com/store/HT_LUG_R1.html)They still make a 18.4-16.1 with a 50/32" tread depth but it is a 8 ply tire. They will not make a 6 ply unless it is a special order of 300 or more tires. Some other brands still do make a 6 ply, but they only have a tread depth of 40/32" at the most.

The freak looks good as always. I don't know what to say about the plow though. I hate shoveling as much as the next guy but I still don't think I could bring myself to do it to my rig. I mean then whats next, a mower deck:flipoff2: .

Do you still have the dimensions from when you had your beadlocks cut?


If I had a mower deck that was big enough to run off the buggy, I'd sure as hell do it! I figure it like this... I've got a rig that doesnt get wheeled for most of the winter, I might as well use it. If its not sitting, its in the shop being torn apart/rebuilt/etc so I never get to use it. This way I am kinda forced to use keep the thing out of the shop, cause I'm too cheap to pay someone to plow the yard at 70 bucks a shot.


I dont have the dimensions anymore, but anyone that has dimensions for 16" beadlocks has dimensions for 16.1" beadlocks. Same Same.

Hehe, now you'll be scared to take it apart again during the winter months. I used to have plow for mine too. I sold it because I like to do most of my modifing during the winter months. Of course when I sold the plow I bought a front end loader to push snow with and I found out the loader is great for pulling the truck out of holes with in the summer.:laughing: :laughing:

Re - Beadlocks, I have been thinking over the beadlock problem alot. I'm betting you have thought alot about it too. There are no safety beads on the implement tires. The weld-on beadlocks will only work on the outer bead and there is not enough room to use them on the inner. Staun does'nt make anything wider then a 12", and I just don't like the screw idea. Screws might work on a zuki or jeep but I think it's just misery waiting to happen on a 6000lb. truck with a big block.

I think I finally found an answer. Me and my buddy who works at the local tire shop are going to see if we can do THIS (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=342253&highlight=muttlock)with a 18.4 - 16.1.

I'll let you know how it works out, and if it works I'll let you know what we used to make it work. Right now we are thinking a 50 series low pro 16" scrap tire and a tube from a skid steer, but we are'nt actually going to try it untill the second week of January.

I lost an inner the first trip after I put the beadlocks on. lol. I havent had a problem since, probably due to the tires rusting to the rim. Why not just weld a piece of wire on there? or a small diameter piece of round stock? If I ever loose another inner, that is exactly what I will do. (the lage ga wire/small dia round stock)

I wouldnt hesitate to run these tires on a 12" rim.

I had thought about welding coat hangers around the inside of the rim as a safety bead, then using urethane window sealant to stick the tires to the bead. I think it's a great idea, but my friends at the tire shop just keep shaking there heads at me when I mention it. :shaking: :shaking: Something about having to cut the tire off with a sawzall if I ever had to get it off the rim.:eek:

Thats probably the case if you welded a piece of 3/8" key stock in there, but I dont see a piece of 1/8" crs being a problem. especially if you used liquid nails or something to smooth the transition for tire removal.

Questions (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4936881#post4936881)

I dont think im going to do the suspension, too much work for something that really doesnt need to be done.


I cut apart one of my old crew cabs this fall, so I saved the fenders thinking I might use them to make the buggy look a bit more like a chevy truck again. I got held up on the axle project for a bit, so I decided to see if I could make these fenders fit. Obviously they need a bunch more fitting, but you get the idea.

Whatcha think?

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=223394&stc=1&d=1136783531

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=223395&stc=1&d=1136783531

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=223396&stc=1&d=1136783531

I like it. Fab 'em.

Put some rear bed skins too and it will look bad ass! Keep up the good work!

How did you break the powerloc? Must have been a pretty hardcore wheelin place....:flipoff2: :flipoff2: :flipoff2:

Worked on the piece that goes between the fender and door. What a PITA. Ended up just trimming the difficult part off :p No dime width body gaps here! The door and cab are so thrashed that I just gave up on the usual bgreen anal fitup. :eek:

A couple more hours of tabing and fitting the fender and I'll be done with this side.

Did you notice how the body lines dont line up. I never realized that I mounted the hood that far above stock. Good thing its shorter than stock or I would have been loosing quite a bit of view. :(

other than the body line it looks great. especially the filler piece.

Sweet rig man.......:smokin:

There is a very simple process for straightening the body lines on a full size chev trail rig. Simple smash the side of the truck up against a tree then spray bomb it. Repeat until body line is properly blended from panel to panel.:laughing: :laughing:

Im thinking that I might section the fender to lower the line. Anyone got an english wheel I can borrow? :eek:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/wildcatkit52/other%20pics/128ea7bb.jpg

no, is it good?

Good. Not sure if he still does but Al used to sell them. When he could keep them in. I searched and got mine on Amazon years ago. 540 cubic inches doesn't ever sound bad though. Just by using BBC rods on the stock offset ground crank??? POTTER doesn't trust the BBC rod idea though. To each his own but I have talked to many others over the years that say it isn't an issue. If they hold up in a BBC what would give them reason to kill a Caddy crank turned down for them? I haven't heard of it happening and this book has been out since 1999... I have been planning a caddy build for some time now. Have a few engines and trannies and am just now starting to work on them. Money for these "extra" projects being the key factor...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/wildcatkit52/other%20pics/526ac42e.jpg

Potter is the MAN!

Cut and Turn project: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=437649

Bracing the C's incase I decide to mount the coilovers to them:

1/8" A36 plate Tig'd on with ER70s2

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=227207&stc=1&d=1138682885

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=227208&stc=1&d=1138682885

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=227209&stc=1&d=1138682885

I'm dieing to see how your axles hold up with the welded diff. It will give me a good idea of what I will be able to get away with, and what I shouldn't even try.:flipoff2: :laughing:

me too! lol, the whole truck is pretty much a guinea pig.

Just FYI i decided to go with the weld on beadlocks on my 16.1's and I am going to try welding some 1/8" or 3/16" wire in for a safety bead on the inners. The muttlocks just seemed alittle too complicated. I should get the first 2 finished this weekend. I'll let you know how it works for me.

well....


The C's are gonna bet re-cut and un-turned. lol. I decided to lower the front end several inches but with the pinion rotated up so far I have major clearance issues. I'll do that later.

AND!!!....

no more wristed radius arm!

lowering the front of the chassis creates very limited room for a panhard. In order to fit the hydraulic steering and the bumpstops I've never been able to install, I started looking for ways to change things up a bit. I dont have any complaints with the wristed arm suspension but I just couldnt find a way to get a nice long panhard and still fit the rest of the suspension and steering, so....

I'm going to fabricate a double triangulated 4 link. XX. The lowers will be the same basic configuration as before, but the uppers will be splayed way out on the chassis. The passenger side upper will be mounted to the side of the diff housing.

Here is a few pictures of the new, and 4th rendition of my passenger side control arm. (bent the first, straightened it out, and braced it with angle, then bent it again, and finally made a trussed version which held up VERY well, and now the latest change for a new suspension design)

The main tube is 1/8" mild steel rec tube. The bottom was cut off to form the truss shaped contour then a new bottom out of 1/4" mild steel (A36) plate was welded on. The top is the rec tube 1/8" with a piece of 1/4" mild steel (A36) 1.5" plate welded along it. The goal here was to get as much material as far from the centroidal axis as possible. If you remember correctly, on the drivers side arm, I used 3/16" on the bottom, left the top alone, then plated the sides with 1/8. There is no way Im going to calc out the difference in strength between the two, but theoretically this should be a bit stronger.

One thing to take note of is the additional material wrapped around the O.D. of the bushing sleeve. My lower axle end bushing sleeve was an oval, so this should prevent that from happening again. As you can see, I'm re-using as much of the old arms as possible. (All the threaded mechanisms and bushing sleeves.)

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=228426&d=1139210150

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=228427&stc=1&d=1139210695

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=228428&stc=1&d=1139210695

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=228429&stc=1&d=1139210695

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=228430&stc=1&d=1139210695

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5078499#post5078499

I've been following this build closely and I like it very much


but you should hit enter in between those pics so they don't stretch out the page all the way.

keep up the good work otherwise.

weird, it doesnt do that for me. oh well, I edited the last pic post anyway. is it fixed for you?

Looks great now, keep up the high-quality work.

It will be interesting to see first hand the difference between the wristed radius arm and the XX dual triangulated 4 link. It will also be interesting to see what a few inches lower ride height will do.

The front suspension design is complete as far as the links and their mounts are concerned. The mounts are all 3/16" A36 plate, and the lowers have 4140 weld washers Tig'd on with ER70S3 like the rear. Only diff here was that on the rear I welded the washers on with 309SS in an effort to prevent cracking due to the dissimilar metals. So far I prefer the ER70S3 I think.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=229416&d=1139811603

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=229417&d=1139811603

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=229418&d=1139811603

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=229419&d=1139811603

Last one to show the triangulation. Ignore the angles created by the bent arm. The angle is determined by the line connecting similar points on each connection point. (center of the bushing to the center of the cartridge joint)

Also... notice the upper and lower arms are pretty much parrallel when viewed from the side in the pictures above. Another interesting aspect... infinite instant center. IE no anti-dive.


edit: oh... also notice the caster. lol. only took 2 hrs this time. The first side went just like the last, but for the second (pass side) I welded a peice of pipe from the short tube down to the table to keep the axle from rotating and to keep from shearing the rosette welds in the diff. I heated the C up till it was holding a dark cherry red, had to crank up the pressure on the bottles, then smacked it with a sledge. The damn thing spun free! lol. I only hit it once, and ended up having to rotate is back! So, my best advice at this point is to use two torches if possible.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=229421&stc=1&d=1139852712

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=229422&stc=1&d=1139852712

And then...?

Need more of the "FREAK". Wicked rig. Great article in Petersons by the way.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=448696

I'll make an update in there