Ben_upde Posted July 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2019 Transmission mount complete aside from welding my ‘custom’ ¾” plate mounts to the frame to bolt the flipped stock crossmember to. Using an Energy Suspension urethane universal mount that fit the trans with only minor modifications. 3 Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted July 20, 2019 Report Share Posted July 20, 2019 Heavy duty! 2 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted July 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2019 47 minutes ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said: Heavy duty! I moreso needed them that thick for the drop of the crossmember. Might still need to add a small spacer to get another ⅛”, or do some trans tunnel beating. Either way, they outta hold up that half of the 400lb engine/trans combo 🤣 2 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted July 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2019 Sometimes you just gotta cut shit out.... In order to make room for new.... 3 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted July 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2019 So this fell out along with initial install of the lower control arms. Getting antsy. Should be able to at least tack-weld everything in place this week or next, make sure it’s all gonna fit as intended then burn her together and celebrate! 5 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted August 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 Spent a little time this evening grinding and mocking up axle brackets I didn’t like how far rearward the Beebani watts link bracket sat, occupying space my fuel cell would otherwise occupy. After trimming and lightly reshaping I am super happy with where it sits now. Guess tomorrow I gotta drag my welder home... 😁 3 Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 I do understand brand management, but I really do dislike when shops have their logos cut into the most obvious parts of the steel. I tend to cover up or get rid of logos on my builds, and that has caused problems... This truck is starting to shape up nicely. 4 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted August 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 9 minutes ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said: I do understand brand management, but I really do dislike when shops have their logos cut into the most obvious parts of the steel. I tend to cover up or get rid of logos on my builds, and that has caused problems... This truck is starting to shape up nicely. I’m usually in the same boat however these inset logos are very subtle and will be obstructed by the fuel cell anyway. If there is an obnoxious logo somewhere that I don’t want, I will remove it in a heartbeat, no fux given 😂 1 Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 When I designed my first official logo, I chose one of the oldest, simplest fonts available and stuck to three letters. My brand philosophy is "understated elegance", and this is awkward in the high performance automotive world. But it works for me! MSM 2 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 Picture barf incoming! axle brackets all tacked up Top link crossbar tacked in place. Pinion angle isn’t set here, just approximated Lower bars at full stuff Just some quick adjustments to try to get the bars parallel(ish) at expected ride height Shock/spring crossmember tacked in place and fitment checked Shock fitment test at full stuff My only concern/unknown; watts link bar alignment at expected ride height 4 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 With a weldy weld here and a weldy weld there and there and there And at least a dozen other inconvenient places 😂 the 3 link is installed. I’ll work on setting all the angles of the dangles when it’s on the ground again. 2 Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 I would strongly suggest making the frame side upper link bracket adjustable. If you want this truck to actually handle well, it would be nice to be able to do some tuning. 5 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 4 minutes ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said: I would strongly suggest making the frame side upper link bracket adjustable. If you want this truck to actually handle well, it would be nice to be able to do some tuning. The hardest part is packaging everything to fit under the bed without cutting. That is my overall goal so if I lose a little bit of adjustability for maximum truck utilization that may be what stays. If it’s really horrible handling wise I can relocate how it mounts to the pumpkin and crossmember to alter angles. 4 Quote Link to comment
Eric Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 Looks like you know what you are doing here, nice work. But all of this is only to get rid of the leaf springs? Or does it have any other use? 2 1 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 2 minutes ago, Eric said: Looks like you know what you are doing here, nice work. But all of this is only to get rid of the leaf springs? Or does it have any other use? Essentially yes, however it is replacing the leaf springs with a far superior method of positioning the axle under the truck as well as eliminating the possibility of axle wrap/hop with my much more powerful powerplant. Honestly the only reason I even did it was I got the kit as a massive discount. Well worth it, but retail price would have been too large of a budget fudge. 4 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted August 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 Set the bed back down in place and put the truck on the floor again. My compressor at home only goes to 120psi so that’s all I could put into the air shocks at the moment. However.......... here’s where it sits at 120psi 😃 awkward angle but looking straight from the side the links are sitting damn near parallel to each other and the ground! And here is with no air. I have to trim the wheel lip under the flare on this side (did 3 of 4 and apparently forgot this one) so the bed is actually lifting slightly. 4 Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted August 5, 2019 Report Share Posted August 5, 2019 Nice work, love those turbines B) 3 1 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted August 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2019 12 hours ago, ]2eDeYe said: Nice work, love those turbines B) Thank you it’s turning into a larger project than planned but I finally feel like I at the tail end of this part. A little wiring to finish, a driveshaft to get made and a few small things here and there to fab/finalize and I should be able to enjoy her again for a bit before winter 🤞 3 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted August 14, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2019 Another piece made up so I can measure accurately for a driveline 3 Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted August 15, 2019 Report Share Posted August 15, 2019 I just noticed that the link system uses the original front spring mount. That's cool. 1 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted August 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2019 3 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said: I just noticed that the link system uses the original front spring mount. That's cool. That was kinda the major final selling point for me to snag it. I didn’t feel like messing with a ton of geometry setting up a suspension. This made ⅔ of it almost bolt in. Fits nicely 👍🏻 1 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted September 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2019 How has it been a month since i’ve touched it?! Got exhaust parts. Still waiting on a pair of 90° bends to begin fabbing the exhaust up but everything else is here and waiting for me I REALLY wanted to have a through body tip out of each lower beside like this but the driveline is destroying my budget Going with this style; though about cutting a rectangle and going through the body with it but.... It’s not the look I want and patching it later will be a ton of work so i’ll angle them down like so and reassess in the future 5 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted September 27, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2019 Started fabbing the exhaust this evening. I was able to clearance the tunnel/floor near the torsion bar crossmember enough to get a 2.5” pipe through the area for now. In the future i’ll go coilovers and remove/modify the crossmember for more room and beat the floor back into place. But for now, a few pics 2 Quote Link to comment
Ben_upde Posted September 27, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2019 Driveshaft is done! Not cheap but went with 1310 joints to keep drivetrain weak spots down to the rear end 🤦🏻♂️ 3 Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted September 27, 2019 Report Share Posted September 27, 2019 What did the shaft cost? $300? And they didn't paint it... Quote Link to comment
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