'72 K5 - Greg's @MightAsWellK5 Build

[folkenheath]

Oh Greg...I saw something in the latest 4WOR mag and thought of you and the rig, have you seen these yet...sorry, I know you will want them now...

http://74weld.com/2012/02/22/unimog-404-portal-boxes/

 

[Greg72]

Heath,

Yeah I came across those a few days ago. A couple of the Mog guys on Pirate4x4 are responsible for those. One of the guys runs a buggy on 404s with a 650HP motor so my guess is that if there's any weakness in their design it won't take long for him to find it.

No pricing has been set yet, but it's sure to be some serious coin.


-G

 

[folkenheath]

No pricing has been set yet, but it's sure to be some serious coin.
-G

No doubt about that! How much weight would they save? It says they weigh 8 lbs, but how much weight does it replace?

 

[Greg72]

Not sure exactly.

The original parts are cast iron, and my CNC boxes are conventional steel.

I suppose you could reverse-engineer the answer by figuring out how many cubic inches of 6061-T6 it takes to make 8Lbs...... Then plug those numbers into a materials calculator to see what the equivalent original (cast) part would weigh.

Ultimately it's not about the weight savings as it is the strength increase. The cast boxes have a reputation for cracking due to their age and inconsistencies in the original casting process. Honestly I think most of the failures occur due to bolts coming loose on the backing plate which allows the helical-cut gears to slide around and hammer the boxes mercilessly.

-G

 

[folkenheath]

The original parts are cast iron, and my CNC boxes are conventional steel.

I suppose you could reverse-engineer the answer by figuring out how many cubic inches of 6061-T6 it takes to make 8Lbs...... Then plug those numbers into a materials calculator to see what the equivalent original (cast) part would weigh.
-G

If you assume they are the same volume that would work, but usually with aluminum you have to add material to get the strength back, although as not much with 7075 I suppose. If you just use the two densities, 8*(.284/.101)=22.5 lbs of steel or iron of the same volume as 8 lbs of 7075 aluminum.

So are you saying you cut new pieces out of billet steel to replace the cast pieces? I thought those pieces were just the axle housing ends? Not the gearboxes? I am confused now.

 

[Greg72]

What.....you can't remember details of my build from almost 2 years ago!! [\sarcasm]

Here's the photo that shows the original cast portals (very top of the image) and the MSI billet portals that I bought for this build.

Back about 5 years ago when I ordered those from MSI there were NO options for aftermarket boxes.... and if you wanted something stronger you had to pay DEARLY for them.

It's nice to see that there are more options now, though I'm sure they still command a premium price based on the amount of machine time it must take to get a finished product that looks that good.


-G

 

[folkenheath]

Ah, I see said the blind man as he talked to his deaf sister on the telephone.

I don't remember that, I guess you won't be wanting those aluminum units then, you already have something stronger! Sweet. Cha ching!

 

[blackburne]

Indestructable

I have recently started trying to start build up my blazer and looking through your build makes me super eager for the future. I have a 496 in mine and have big plans....only time will tell how they will unfold.

 

[Greg72]

It's a big elephant.....take small bites.

If I had any advice to share its to take on smaller, achievable projects so that you can keep enjoying the truck as you go. I've owned this truck for 11 years and have barely driven it for the last 7 of those years. Big, dramatic builds are awesome once they are finally completed but it takes a LOT of patience to work on a truck year-after-year when you can't even drive or enjoy it during the process.

If you haven't done it already....start up a build thread it his forum and post your "before" pics and plans. You'll be amazed at how much motivation you will get from the other members of CK5. Encouragement from this group is surprisingly effective at keeping you focused on getting things done.

-G

 

[Greg72]

2012.07.08 - UPDATE! - ... NOW WITH FEWER JACKSTANDS!!!

In previous garage sessions, there were a few details that were overlooked on the rear axle. Today was the day to address them while I could still remember all of them.

I'd forgotten to install the new lower bearing race into the backing plate so I had to completely disassemble the portal to gain access to it. (I'm getting good at taking these things apart!) . More importantly, I realized that even though I'd had the backing plates machined for CTIS, the adapter that they bolt to was still completely solid... So there was no way to get air line into the portal.

I carefully marked the hole center and drilled a 1" hole through a VERY thick adapter (1.5" thick IIRC).... And get this, I did it with a Uni-Bit! It was stupidly slow progress, but the step bit gives a good visual reference of squareness of the hole. You can't argue with the results...

In-Process:

Finshed:

Once I got both sides completed and confirmed that all the bearings were new, I bolted the portals back onto the axle, installed the rotors, disc brake and newly machined 3/8" wheel spacers and bolted the wheels/tires to the axle....

Time to get serious.

The rear axle was done, the only thing missing was to get the rear of the truck under its own weight. So I welded up a couple of small structural brackets that bolt/wedge between the axle truss and the framerails to hold the frame and body off the axle. Once completed, I was FINALLY able to do this....

It was nice to pull those out from underneath the truck after almost three years, and look at the truck without anything blocking the view!

A shot down the bedside to confirm that the tire "stick out" was minimal (I'd originally calculated 2" per side)

.... It was a good adrenaline rush seeing the progress, so I cleaned up the shop and rolled the front tire into position for a parting shot for the evening.

-G

 

[76zimmer]

pretty sweet Greg...I'm really diggin the look of it again on its tires. Even if only temp.

 

[Greg72]

The coolest part of those braces,, is that I can fine tune the ride height to make sure it's locked in perfectly... Then it's time to pull out those temporary 2" aluminum body pucks to set the body at the correct height. Fender clearance is going to be super-tight once that happens.

Now I can create the tubing structure for the rear struts (upper and lower) and set the strut at exactly 6.5" stick out at ride height. Wherever the upper strut hole lands is where I need to land my tubing... Takes a lot of the guesswork out of it.

Soon I'm going to have to decide if the rear wheel tubs need to be widened, and I've got to cut some holes for the struts to poke through....


-G

 

[lectric80]

2012.07.08 - UPDATE! - ... NOW WITH FEWER JACKSTANDS!!!

In previous garage sessions, there were a few details that were overlooked on the rear axle. Today was the day to address them while I could still remember all of them.

I'd forgotten to install the new lower bearing race into the backing plate so I had to completely disassemble the portal to gain access to it. (I'm getting good at taking these things apart!) . More importantly, I realized that even though I'd had the backing plates machined for CTIS, the adapter that they bolt to was still completely solid... So there was no way to get air line into the portal.

I carefully marked the hole center and drilled a 1" hole through a VERY thick adapter (1.5" thick IIRC).... And get this, I did it with a Uni-Bit! It was stupidly slow progress, but the step bit gives a good visual reference of squareness of the hole. You can't argue with the results...



Once I got both sides completed and confirmed that all the bearings were new, I bolted the portals back onto the axle, installed the rotors, disc brake and newly machined 3/8" wheel spacers and bolted the wheels/tires to the axle....

Time to get serious.

The rear axle was done, the only thing missing was to get the rear of the truck under its own weight. So I welded up a couple of small structural brackets that bolt/wedge between the axle truss and the framerails to hold the frame and body off the axle. Once completed, I was FINALLY able to do this....



It was nice to pull those out from underneath the truck after almost three years, and look at the truck without anything blocking the view!

A shot down the bedside to confirm that the tire "stick out" was minimal (I'd originally calculated 2" per side)



.... It was a good adrenaline rush seeing the progress, so I cleaned up the shop and rolled the front tire into position for a parting shot for the evening.




-G

Even though I completely understand, and love how much ground clearance you have, that just plain looks weird with the center of the wheels lower than the centerline of the axle.

Gotta say though, I can imagine how good it felt to finally see it open like that and off the stands.

 

[tRustyK5]

Unreal Greg!!

I've gotten so engrossed in the minutia of the build it's pretty cool to see more of a "big picture" pic. Your ground clearance is just jaw dropping, and the rear diff looks like it turned out perfectly.

 

[Greg72]

Even though I completely understand, and love how much ground clearance you have, that just plain looks weird with the center of the wheels lower than the centerline of the axle.

Gotta say though, I can imagine how good it felt to finally see it open like that and off the stands.

Give it time....you'll learn to love it.

I will admit that the axle stands out a little too much right now because of the bright silver color. Once it's in final paint (the same dark grey as the backing plates) the whole thing will practically disappear into the shadows beneath the truck. For all of the work that I'm putting into these parts I really DON'T want to have them stand out and call attention to themselves. Ideally, most people will just walk by and not even recognize what's going on..... But every once in a while someone will see it, do a double-take and say "hey, what the heck is going on under there?" as they walk up to take a closer look.

-G

 

[lectric80]

Like I said, I think it looks good, but when you are so used to seeing standard axles under our trucks it sticks out pretty well to my eyes. Might help with the paint color, but it still looks unique enough that people who know trucks are going to notice.

 

[Z71paramedic]

Looks freakin unreal Greg! You've got to feel like a million bucks with those stands out from under it.

 

[folkenheath]

Nice progres Greg! Keep it comin'!

 

[jekquistk5]

Amazing!! One of a kind!!

 

[Greg72]

Looks freakin unreal Greg! You've got to feel like a million bucks with those stands out from under it.

You know....

I COULD actually use the cherry-picker to lift up the front end of the frame and roll the whole thing right out of the garage onto the driveway now that the rear axle rolls on it's own.....

If I had the front winch already installed, it would be easy to pull it back into the garage when I was done for the day. (just hook it up to the back wall of the shop and hit the switch!) It would be fun to actually work outdoors when the weather was nice. And it would be great to get some photos with a different background for a change too.

-G