DRIVEN said:
Wow I came into this really late and didn't see the previous 5pages. Lol. Its going to be a sexy truck. Good luck and can't wait to see the finished product.
Cheating The Reaper
- Thread starter DRIVEN
- Start date
Wow I came into this really late and didn't see the previous 5pages. Lol. Its going to be a sexy truck. Good luck and can't wait to see the finished product.
Thanks for watching. I don't know that sexy is the exact word to describe my intended finished product. It'll be pretty traditional with the exception of the suspension. Progress seems to be sporadic -- But at least it's progress.
Hope your back feels better soon. My doctor used to rag on me when I'd go in for a physical after another one of my heroic weekends. My bloodwork would show creatine off the chart. "You're a weekend warrior, aren't you?" Body breaks down muscle when you're beating yourself up, then flushes all the broken muscle into the bloodstream.
Keep up the inspirational work. My Dad was never into cars, and my kids are still too small to help much yet, but I'm working on them...
Keep up the inspirational work. My Dad was never into cars, and my kids are still too small to help much yet, but I'm working on them...
Different strokes for different folks. I'd say it sexy. Ha! But then again my friends say I'm weird. They frame and suspension set up just makes it look so smooth even just sitting there. The whole build is cool and the put something other than a 350 or a big block is also very cool. Its like reading an article in Hot Rod magazine as the writer is typing it out.
Not a huge update but posting just the same. Bought a gently used rack that the seller claims is a Flaming River quick ratio. Can't absolutely confirm because there are no identifying numbers or marks but it seems to be true. Even if it's an offshore knockoff -- the price was right.
Bolted on a set of wheels and tried to set ride height so I could take all my measurements for the crossmember and trailing arm brackets.
Since I didn't have any wheels that cleared my bigass front brakes, I has to get creative. Don't laugh...okay, laugh.
Starting to kinda look like something...
So, I didn't really do much in the way of fabrication but I DID get a bunch of useful and necessary measuring done. Also did a steel inventory and it looks like I have everything I need on hand. More to come.
Bolted on a set of wheels and tried to set ride height so I could take all my measurements for the crossmember and trailing arm brackets.
Since I didn't have any wheels that cleared my bigass front brakes, I has to get creative. Don't laugh...okay, laugh.
Starting to kinda look like something...
So, I didn't really do much in the way of fabrication but I DID get a bunch of useful and necessary measuring done. Also did a steel inventory and it looks like I have everything I need on hand. More to come.
"....So, I didn't really do much in the way of fabrication but I DID get a bunch of useful and necessary measuring done....."
Yeah, setup/mockup can eat up a bunch of time....it almost becomes anticlimactic when you finally weld/bolt things together. It pays off in the long run though. Nice looking work.
Yeah, setup/mockup can eat up a bunch of time....it almost becomes anticlimactic when you finally weld/bolt things together. It pays off in the long run though. Nice looking work.
Thanks for the compliment. My goal is to NOT have to redo a bunch of steps. Everything gets tacked until I'm positive it's all in the right place.
Didn't get much accomplished but still managed to waste a few hours. Started by cutting the C-notches for the rack to clear.
Then things got interesting. Now I'm not too certain that my bargain rack is exactly what it was represented to be. For starters, the power rack I have (which is the correct one for the kit) and a true Mustang manual rack are 15.5" on center of the mounts. This rack was 16". Not a huge big deal. I just opened up the mount holes 1/4" on each side.
Also, for whatever reason, the manual rack seems to sit about 1/2" higher than the power rack. It's most obvious where the bellows pass through the C-notches.
So now I'm trying to decide whether to just use the power rack as the kit was intended, use the manual rack and raise the C-notches, or lower the rack mounts. I guess I need to reassemble the suspension and compare angles. Obviously, I'm trying to avoid bumpsteer and other handling ills.
The other things I got done was to cut my rear suspension crossmember and rough out my mounting brackets. Lots of cleanup to do still.
Then I took the lower control arms to work with me to press out the stock bushings and install the new poly pieces that came with the kit. They do this to increase the size of the lower mount bolts from 12mm to 5/8".
Then things got interesting. Now I'm not too certain that my bargain rack is exactly what it was represented to be. For starters, the power rack I have (which is the correct one for the kit) and a true Mustang manual rack are 15.5" on center of the mounts. This rack was 16". Not a huge big deal. I just opened up the mount holes 1/4" on each side.
Also, for whatever reason, the manual rack seems to sit about 1/2" higher than the power rack. It's most obvious where the bellows pass through the C-notches.
So now I'm trying to decide whether to just use the power rack as the kit was intended, use the manual rack and raise the C-notches, or lower the rack mounts. I guess I need to reassemble the suspension and compare angles. Obviously, I'm trying to avoid bumpsteer and other handling ills.
The other things I got done was to cut my rear suspension crossmember and rough out my mounting brackets. Lots of cleanup to do still.
Then I took the lower control arms to work with me to press out the stock bushings and install the new poly pieces that came with the kit. They do this to increase the size of the lower mount bolts from 12mm to 5/8".
Time for some catchup. I guess this is the rough stage of the build where it looks kind of crude. Stay with me though. In a month or two things should have a much more sanitary appearance.
Stacked the rear brackets and ground on them for what seemed like an eternity.
Cleaned the faces and drilled holes.
Took them to work and bent a step in them with the Ironworker.
Raised the frame back up off the suspension and welded the box plate seams in preparation for the rear crossmember.
1/4" wall 2"x2" square tube was used for the rear crossmember. When I was laying everything in place it occurred to me that there would need to be a pass-through for the exhaust. In a Corvette it would route under the differential but that limits ground clearance even more than it already is.
Tacked in place it leave plenty of room for even 3" pipe on each side. That's a 2.5" piece sitting in there.
Now it's time to move on to the front mounts...
Stacked the rear brackets and ground on them for what seemed like an eternity.
Cleaned the faces and drilled holes.
Took them to work and bent a step in them with the Ironworker.
Raised the frame back up off the suspension and welded the box plate seams in preparation for the rear crossmember.
1/4" wall 2"x2" square tube was used for the rear crossmember. When I was laying everything in place it occurred to me that there would need to be a pass-through for the exhaust. In a Corvette it would route under the differential but that limits ground clearance even more than it already is.
Tacked in place it leave plenty of room for even 3" pipe on each side. That's a 2.5" piece sitting in there.
Now it's time to move on to the front mounts...
Blurry shot of the filler piece in the crossmember. There will be a gusset welded in each corner when I finish weld ther whole frame.
I also cut and sliced a bent pipe in the forward lower X-rail section. Meets the rail in a much better fashion now.
The beginning of the trailing arm brackets. The hole has actually been punched out with the Ironworker rather than drilled. Pops out little slugs. Since it's my boss' toy I let him do all that work. He even made some decent slots that will allow me to adjust rear toe.
Started making a pinion support. My first idea was a single drop from a second 2"x2" crossmember. After a quick mockup I decided against it.
My second version was a tandem drop. One of the challenges of a build like this is planning a few steps into the future and considering how all this real estate fits together. In order to drop the rear suspension more easily in the future, I decided to make the pinion support bolt-in.
I've decided that I like this basic design but decided to go with larger diameter downtubes. Not really for structural reasons -- more aesthetic. There will also be 2 diagonal braces added. I had to buy more 1.5" pipe and just haven't gotten it cut yet.
Also, shiny stuff came in the mail...
Unfortunately, I immediately realized that I had mismeasured the coilover length. Now I get to send them back. Q1As are also not available in the length that I actually need so I'll be going with a Bilstein/Carrera combo. In the meantime, I scabbed together some placeholders so I can continue fab work.
