Awesome, glad you are able to get out and enjoy it.
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
1991 Volcano K5 - Family Wheeler - Fully Independent Twin Turbo BBC
- Thread starter folkenheath
- Start date
Dang Heath, those kids have grown so much since I saw them last.
Glad the initiative outing was a (mostly) successful weekend flr ya.
At least your trans held up! (Unlike the Maiden…)
That thing is pretty light overall.
That Craig is a solid dude!
Glad the initiative outing was a (mostly) successful weekend flr ya.
At least your trans held up! (Unlike the Maiden…)
That thing is pretty light overall.
That Craig is a solid dude!
Your one daughter does not look amused with the photos!
Currently her idea of a perfect dunes trip is to sleep in and then play on the beach all day, so any time not playing on the beach is not cool, especially after we wake her up...
Thanks, I think the trip was a success despite a few setbacks, we had fun and they all want to go back again.
Thanks Zim, yeah they are 9, 10, and 12 now!
And yes Craig saved the blazer for the day! I dropped the wheel back off on our way home Sunday.
Unlike the TH400, I was concerned about this trans. I used to leave the NP205 in low range since it was only 1.96:1 ratio, and I could still go 70 MPH in 3rd gear. I would let the trans shift between gears since I tuned the governor weights to work with my combo.
The 4.10/37 axle/tire combo I had before ends up about the same with the 3.73/33 combo, but with this 4L60E/NP241, low range is 2.7:1, too low for the dunes.
So I left it in high range and used 1st gear most of the time, sometimes second gear if I was lower load. 6500 RPM in 1st gear high range is ~56 MPH, if I tromped it it would hit the chip almost immediately spinning all 4 tires and I would usually not shift to 2nd under full power because I was afraid it would break the trans, ha ha
But to be honest going almost 60 out there at times with leaf springs and old bilstein shocks is plenty fast. I was usually doing half that.
After my wife rode in the blazer the 1st time in the dunes she says, "Are you going to leave the suspension like this?" She is used to the RZR and remembers the K10 coilovers.
----------------
I forgot to mention I got the dash bezel updated with carbon fiber I had CNC cut to mount the ProDash unit, I 3D printed an ASA angle mounting clamp for it to tilt it up.
I 3D printed little angled finish washers too.
I also designed and had carbon fiber pieces cut for the dash pad trim and upper door trim to match but they aren't on yet.
I left the turn signal and gear indicators functional.
And I got a leak at the dunes, I thought it was the power steering, but evidence back home pointed toward the front balancer seal, so I pulled it and the front seal came out in 2 pieces! I guess 30 year old rubber isn't so flexible anymore, it wasn't even connected to the outer ring now, "but I just installed that..."
This winter I plan to:
- make new side panels for the rear and put 6.5 speakers toward the bottom front.
- replace the window seals, motors, and switches, and put an original mirror on the passenger side
- add carbon fiber trim to the upper door and dash trim strips
- replace the heater core
- new tires
Last edited:
I like how the gauges turned out, some day I would like to add another holly screen but for the passenger between the vents on the dash. Maybe 3d print a mount for it.
Looks good, I'm very close to buying a 3d printer to use for things like this. It's way easier and looks better than fabricating everything out of aluminum or steel.
I like how the gauges turned out, some day I would like to add another holly screen but for the passenger between the vents on the dash. Maybe 3d print a mount for it.
I was thinking, if I ditch the AC, I might 3D print a phone mount that replaces the upper vent above the HVAC controls.
They are at the point where they are pretty easy to use now. @kennyw has a thread on them, I'll drop some pics of this in there.
-----------
These will be mo betta.....I was hoping to use the old tires for a couple years but I don't trust the remaining 3, I got a good deal on these so I'll just sell them when I upgrade....
Last edited:
I agree with the printers being easy to use. Custom designs do require learning some basic CAD skills, or finding help. But there are some AI tools that are starting to get helpful with this as well. However, with most things AI, understanding how it is done before you ask AI to do it for you does impact your results.
I agree I have been using CAD for nearly 3 decades so it's easy for me to say it's easy.
But there are still minor things you need to learn to pay attention too when designing specifically for 3D printing, such as layer orientation, overhang angles, potential supports, etc, upper and lower patterns, infil patterns for strength vs weight vs print speed, etc.
On the other hand you can design things that can be printed that you couldn't build otherwise as well since you can add material internally to other material.
-------------------------
This are some final pictures of how the cage turned out because I want to put them here for reference in my build documentation.
I have a lot of head clearance in the back by eliminating the middle support by of the softopper and using the custom cage as the support and letting the softopper rest on it.
