CK5
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'72 K5 - Greg's @MightAsWellK5 Build
- Thread starter Greg72
- Start date
This is the build description. I will improve this later. (GB)
Everone has some faults.....You just made yours public though.
Not the first time I will have been publicly humiliated on here
Sean,
I'll be selling mine if you don't come to your senses in the next few months.
-G
I'll be selling mine if you don't come to your senses in the next few months.
-G
Sean,
I'll be selling mine if you don't come to your senses in the next few months.
-G
Guess I need to re-up so I can see all the pics and catch up on everything!
Sean,
I'll be selling mine if you don't come to your senses in the next few months.
-G
Intriguing
Hey stranger! Welcome back to the party....
The photos are all linked from Photobucket, you shouldn't need a membership to see them.
-G
2013.07.07 - UPDATE! - KNUCKLE TWO...
Didn't get a whole lot of time to spend on the truck, but was still able to knock out a few new pieces. Here's a shot of the drivers side steering arm tacked together...
Ignore the extra heim in this assembly. I decided to build the arm as a mirror-image of the passenger side, and obviously there isn't a draglink on this side. The idea is to just swap in a thick slug of DOM to replace that upper heim so that I can run a long bolt down through the entire thing and torque it down. This will allow me to weld the boomerang shape on this side as well and it will carry the loading correctly. Keeping that "placeholder" in the steering arm will give me an option to connect my hydro-assist ram to that spot if I want to. It's not my preferred location but we'll have to see how the packaging works out later on..... it's nice to have options.
As Colby observed previously, there are a LOT of heims (and zerks) in this front suspension... And I still have quite a few to buy to finish things up. I really like the idea of using the Evo heims for everything, but at ~$100 each, it's really starting to add up!I'm debating whether I should use the "medium" size heims (like you see almost everywhere) for the panhard bar ends, or go one step larger (like the ones in my lower links)...
My hatred for the Hummer H2 wheels has not subsided, and I'm not giving up on the idea of eventually ending up with a classic white-wheel / 12" Chevy hubcap configuration. Turns out a newer Dodge Ram wheels are 17" and use the Chevy 8 x 6.5" lug pattern with a substantial amount of backspacing.
Some quality time spent welding up those 10 "windows" on the wheel, and coming up with a clip system to hold the factory 1-ton hubcaps and we should be golden!
-G
Someone was bitten by the hubcap bug!!!
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I've always liked factory hubcaps and white wheels. The problem is that the tires I've got need a 17" wheel.....
This would have been a LOT easier if I was still running 16.5" wheels. I've never seen a truck running 17" wheels AND hubcaps before. I bought a single 16.5" wheel and cut out the center, then found a 17" wheel shell with the largest valley available in hopes that I could weld the two together. Unfortunately, even the deepest valley was still about 1/2 too large and the stock center fell right through it....
The Dodge wheel thing seems like the next best option, though they are only 7.5" wide, so I'm going to have to have them cut and widened to something more workable (like maybe 10") and then have new thicker aluminum spacers machined so that the rim doesn't crash into my pretty new steering arms!
-G
BUDDY
1/2 ton status
The Dodge wheel thing seems like the next best option, though they are only 7.5" wide, so I'm going to have to have them cut and widened to something more workable (like maybe 10") and then have new thicker aluminum spacers machined so that the rim doesn't crash into my pretty new steering arms!
-G
I'd recommend cutting the outer lip off and giving yourself a little "dish" to the wheel. You could just slap a 3-4" wide piece of strap and weld it up all around the outside of the wheel. then you'd have a little depth to the outside of the wheel and a place for the hubcaps to tuck into.
Just my .02. I wouldn't normally make that recommendation at all, but you guys know who we're talking to here. sheesh!!
Later,
Buddy
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The KM2s are 14.5" wide. BFG recommends a 10 - 12" wide wheel for this tire size, and as you can see in previous photos they are currently installed on H2 wheels which are only 8.5" wide.
It's going to be tough to add 2.5" width to the current Dodge wheel. Almost all of that width is going to end up on the outer edge which is going to increase my track width and scrub radius pretty substantially.
Couple new photos for last nights work:
DS steering arm. Starting to figure out this welding thing.
An "on top of the toolbox" view:
Time to call up Branik to order up some 7075 Aluminum links?
-G
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Great looking welds Greg! 
A few more updates.......
I spent a couple of hours last night VERY carefully aligning the front axle to the truck frame and making sure that it was back on it's tires for correct ride height. Since the next steps are building bracketry for the PHB it was important to insure that everything was in it's EXACT correct location before I start using up the empty spaces that remain... After dropping plumb lines and checking and double-checking everything was perfect, there was still a little time left to make one critical modification.
Here's a shot of the original axle-side "upper 3-link" bar and the way it attaches to the pumpkin...
BEFORE:
Now that the steering and PHB are being stuffed into that area, it doesn't really work anymore..... the main problem is that the PHB is aligned vertically above the draglink, so as the suspension cycles up on the passenger side (especially while steering left or right) things are going to collide. The axle-side PHB mount is also going to need to become a true double-shear mount, unlike how it looks in the current mock-up work, so additional clearance will be needed for that also. Here's how it was resolved....
AFTER:
By gently removing about 1" from the bracket and smoothly transitioning it with a curve back up to the upper-heim area, the bracket still looks nice but now allows the PHB to go back towards the axle by about 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" more. This will allow the heim to clear the draglink under all suspension cycling motions (hopefully!) and will have the side benefit of allowing all the PHB bracing to occur much closer to the pumpkin/axle housing itself. This should make it a lot easier to build, and to keep it strong... not like some long, crazy arm hanging way out in space!
Here's another shot, more from a side-profile to show the new clearance. Obviously in this shot the PHB hasn't actually been moved yet... but you can see that it's got a substantial amount of room to move backwards now.
Just got confirmation from EMF (Formerly Evolution Machine) that another 4 heims are on their way to my house, and I should have a purdy 7075 aluminum tie rod spec'ed out with Branik by the end of today as well.... Things are really starting to fall into place!....
-G
I spent a couple of hours last night VERY carefully aligning the front axle to the truck frame and making sure that it was back on it's tires for correct ride height. Since the next steps are building bracketry for the PHB it was important to insure that everything was in it's EXACT correct location before I start using up the empty spaces that remain... After dropping plumb lines and checking and double-checking everything was perfect, there was still a little time left to make one critical modification.
Here's a shot of the original axle-side "upper 3-link" bar and the way it attaches to the pumpkin...
BEFORE:
Now that the steering and PHB are being stuffed into that area, it doesn't really work anymore..... the main problem is that the PHB is aligned vertically above the draglink, so as the suspension cycles up on the passenger side (especially while steering left or right) things are going to collide. The axle-side PHB mount is also going to need to become a true double-shear mount, unlike how it looks in the current mock-up work, so additional clearance will be needed for that also. Here's how it was resolved....
AFTER:
By gently removing about 1" from the bracket and smoothly transitioning it with a curve back up to the upper-heim area, the bracket still looks nice but now allows the PHB to go back towards the axle by about 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" more. This will allow the heim to clear the draglink under all suspension cycling motions (hopefully!) and will have the side benefit of allowing all the PHB bracing to occur much closer to the pumpkin/axle housing itself. This should make it a lot easier to build, and to keep it strong... not like some long, crazy arm hanging way out in space!
Here's another shot, more from a side-profile to show the new clearance. Obviously in this shot the PHB hasn't actually been moved yet... but you can see that it's got a substantial amount of room to move backwards now.
Just got confirmation from EMF (Formerly Evolution Machine) that another 4 heims are on their way to my house, and I should have a purdy 7075 aluminum tie rod spec'ed out with Branik by the end of today as well.... Things are really starting to fall into place!....
-G
you cycled it right??
cycle.
Looks like it will clear everything. So much fun getting 5 gallons worth of parts to fit in a one gallon space
Me thinks your gonna be tickled with the front suspension and steering though. Time spent here is worth its weight in gold
I did notice something, might just be the angle, is the jam nut gonna rub the bracket?
You gonna brace the upper bracket side to side?
cycle.
Looks like it will clear everything. So much fun getting 5 gallons worth of parts to fit in a one gallon space
Me thinks your gonna be tickled with the front suspension and steering though. Time spent here is worth its weight in gold
I did notice something, might just be the angle, is the jam nut gonna rub the bracket?
You gonna brace the upper bracket side to side?
you cycled it right??
cycle.
Looks like it will clear everything. So much fun getting 5 gallons worth of parts to fit in a one gallon space
Me thinks your gonna be tickled with the front suspension and steering though. Time spent here is worth its weight in gold
I did notice something, might just be the angle, is the jam nut gonna rub the bracket?
You gonna brace the upper bracket side to side?
Eric,
Well..... I cycled it as far as I could until things hit each other.
That's sort of the brute-force method that's been in play with this front suspension so far...... build stuff where it seems to fit, then cycle it, turn it, and notice where it collides. Re-evaluate and re-engineer. You were the one who told me to stop building every bracket so damn nice at the early stages of mock-up and that was sage advice. I would have thrown away a lot of "pretty" brackets by now.
Once I get the PHB mount moved back 1.5" I will throw some heavy tacks on my "adjustable" PHB sleeves and cycle it again to see where else I messed up. The next likely interference from what I can tell will be the draglink vs. tie rod on the passenger side under heavy PS bump travel.... it seems like the tie rod won't really "fall in behind" the draglink quite as perfectly as I'd hoped, so it might require me to move the idler bracket slightly forward on the frame to create more angularity between the two (so they aren't overlapping as much on the PS steering arm). Kind of tough to explain, but I have a feeling you know what I'm taking about.Which jam nut are you referring to? The upper link?
-G
I thought by now you probably had a pretty good handle on all this stuff sounds like you do
Yah the upper link jam nut. I am guessing the bracket is wide enough but you might consider taking a nip out of the bracket when it is in its final stages.
Nothing says I got lazy at the end like a buggered up jam nut
Yah the upper link jam nut. I am guessing the bracket is wide enough but you might consider taking a nip out of the bracket when it is in its final stages.
Nothing says I got lazy at the end like a buggered up jam nut
2013.07.10 - UPDATE! - ONE-AND-A-HALF INCHES...
This is a good sign.
That components are moving in such small increments is a good indicator that the overall suspension design is getting close to its final iteration...
Here is a shot of the drivers side... (left to right) Idler arm, tie rod, and PHB bracket (PHB moved back 1.5" from yesterday)
....and here's the PHB bracket moved back 1.5" on the passenger side. You can see how much closer it is now to the upper link mount bracketry:
Here's a close up of the clearance (or lack thereof) to the upper link bracket....don't worry, there is a slight gap in there and the tube I'm using for mock-up is 1.75" diameter....the final version of this tube will only be 1.5" so there will be a tad more clearance than this photo show....
Nice.
Now for some overall shots of the complete assembly for context... (try to ignore the casters and frame bracing to look specifically at the tie rod, PHB and draglink)
And a final image that illustrates why I have been working literally for YEARS to get these axles to fit under my truck... the "Homer Bucket" demo!
Lots of clearance everywhere under that axle. There isn't a mall on this planet that cant be conquered.
-G
This is a good sign.
That components are moving in such small increments is a good indicator that the overall suspension design is getting close to its final iteration...
Here is a shot of the drivers side... (left to right) Idler arm, tie rod, and PHB bracket (PHB moved back 1.5" from yesterday)
....and here's the PHB bracket moved back 1.5" on the passenger side. You can see how much closer it is now to the upper link mount bracketry:
Here's a close up of the clearance (or lack thereof) to the upper link bracket....don't worry, there is a slight gap in there and the tube I'm using for mock-up is 1.75" diameter....the final version of this tube will only be 1.5" so there will be a tad more clearance than this photo show....
Nice.
Now for some overall shots of the complete assembly for context... (try to ignore the casters and frame bracing to look specifically at the tie rod, PHB and draglink)
And a final image that illustrates why I have been working literally for YEARS to get these axles to fit under my truck... the "Homer Bucket" demo!
Lots of clearance everywhere under that axle. There isn't a mall on this planet that cant be conquered.
-G
y5mgisi
1 ton status
Incredible work! And incredible clearance!
Very nice so farnow get to cycling
