'72 K5 - Greg's @MightAsWellK5 Build

[Greg72]

Some responses to questions / comments I've missed recently:

If you only have a 1/4" clearance I'd be putting some kind of solid or small poly bump in there for a straight up hit. This was Brandon's suggestion to me and it saved my ass already. You're no feather weight buggy just like me. Come down hard and that 1/4" could disappear fast. Cheap insurance regardless.

Definitely! I don't want to rely on the oilpan as my final bumpstop. Gotta find a good spot for a couple of "last resort" bumps of some kind...

You mentioned that the portals make the axle move front to back more during turning, maybe that´ll give me some room on mine since I only run 37" tires and a D60 without portals.

One thing I noticed on mine and you migt want to check that too is the bottom of the radiator support. At full lock and bump, on mine at least it looks like the tire would actually contact the radiatorsupport. So I´ll have to clearance that too. Have you checked on yours?

These 38's only measure out to about 36" diameter. Normally I'd feel cheated, but with as many issues as I'm having getting them to clear I won't complain. If your tires measure more true to their rated size you may have more to deal with than you realize.

I deep-sixed the original core support a long time ago, so I don't have to worry about that, but the radiator is still pretty wide. This is the best photo I have that shows the full-bump hard turn scenario...

It seems like there's going to be room, but there's only one way to know for sure!!

I remember reading about it back in the tread somewhere but at this point it could have been a hundred pages back. You're going to have new wheels made. I know you plan on steel wheels trying to keep the original hub cap look but keep in mind while cycling the suspension if the rim width or back spacing changes on your new wheels vs you h2 wheel, you could have clearance issues again. That would be a bummer!

The new wheels should have a very similar offset (backspacing) to the H2 wheels that are on there now. My ace-in-the-hole is that there is a thick aluminum spacer that is required for almost ANY wheel that I use... so by adjusting the thickness I can move the wheel in or out, depending on where my interferences are.....

Greg, I haven't wheeled much, but when I do....oh wait a minute here...

How much minimum clearance exactly do you have in any particular position?
Seems like things will move a bit more in the real world of wheeling with your setup, and in the case of leaves, maybe a lot more in the real world!
Just wondered if you should allow a bit of "extra" clearance for such a situation.

The experts seem to think that 1/4" is probably the minimum... I'll have to do a thorough check to see that I am not cutting things too close. But in some areas, there just isn't a whole lot of room left to increase the gaps I've got.



-G

 

[blazinzuk]

The solid bumps are a good idea. I have seen instances where that may have prevented thousands of dollars of damage

 

[Greg72]

2014.08.27 - UPDATE! - NO JACKSTANDS, NO CASTERS...!!!

Got a call back from Kirk over at ORI and got the hard facts about the 14" STX travel numbers. As many have claimed, he confirmed the 5/8" chrome stickout at full-compression is the absolute maximum possible compression.....if there's suspension clearance above the axle with that stickout, it's good to go. (I'm still building some kind of crash stops to protect the oilpan just in case). The MAXIMUM droop is 14" of chrome showing.... that's it.

I'm no math whiz, but the difference between those two values is 13-3/8"..... not 14"

Mostly, my concern was that the "missing" 5/8" was actually hiding in the upper bumpstop which would have eventually been catastrophic. Kirk explained that in reality, when the STXs were beefed-up a while back, the extra materials ended up stealing some of that total travel out of the strut.... so when you buy a 14" strut, it's actually 13-3/8" total travel. Not a big deal to me (especially considering how many tire interferences I've already seen..... but for those of you shopping for ORI's in the future, it's good information to know.... The STX's run 5/8" shorter than the advertised lengths... so move up a size if that bothers you.

So...... armed with that information, it was clear that I didn't need to scramble to raise my lower strut mounts, and since everything in the front suspension was looking good and the cycling tests were successful, there were no more excuses!

I read the charging directions a few times, and decided to give it a shot.... Here's the setup..... (the instructions said to start with the strut fully compressed, and since I couldn't lower the truck because of the front casters, I put 6" of blocking under each tire to accomplish the same thing.)


READY FOR LIFTOFF!!!.......

10......9......8......7.....6......5......4...3....2.....1..... Liftoff!!!

Here's the super-shortcut ORI Strut Charging process that I ended up learning after making a few mistakes along the way.

Step 1: Put a 90 psi charge in the lower fittings. This is produces a small amount of damping but since it is pushing UP, it does not change the ride height of the truck

Step 2: Put a much larger PSI into the upper fittings to extend the strut and to lift the weight of the truck into the air! For me, this ended up being around 300psi to get the truck to ride height. Based on some quick math, knowing that the piston diameter of these struts is 2" (each) that means that the total weight (sprung mass) of the front end is around 1885 Lbs as it sits in these photos.... obviously, the truck weighs more since axles/wheels/tires are not factored into that number.

That's pretty much it. There are a lot of shutoff valves and diverters on the nitrogen dual-fill kit, so it takes a while to get comfortable with the sequences for adding or removing pressure without accidentally overfilling or dumping pressure....

Something I've been waiting for a LONG TIME to actually do..... (It's been 6 years since this truck has sat on it's own wheels without jackstands or casters....but who's counting??)

And since they are all the rage on social media these days..... I decided to do my own "Bucket Challenge" to celebrate this important milestone.

FOUR BUCKETS.....NO PROBLEM!!!!

.....and from a different view with the truck pushed a bit deeper into the garage.

I have said before that the photographs don't always express how much clearance the truck has with the portal axles and this suspension design... but I think that these photos may actually do a pretty good job of providing some perspective and scale....

It was a long night, but ultimately it ended up being a VERY satisfying night in the workshop.



-G

 

[ashman]

That last shot is beautiful man! Great milestone to hit and a long time coming. Gratz man!

 

[Z71paramedic]

OH MAN!!!!!!! That's so badass Greg

I want to see it outside!

 

[livid4dirt]

Outstanding Clearance man! Great work!

 

[jekquistk5]

Effing awesome!!! Sunshine shot is almost here!!!

 

[CK5]

Kick ass!!!

 

[Greg72]

Kick ass!!!

WOW!

6 years building this thing and I finally get a visit from "The Man".....


Thanks Steve, much appreciated.



-G

 

[CK5]

Oh I've been watching you young man! lol

 

[folkenheath]

That is an awesome feeling to have it back on its wheels again after links alone, not to mention everything else you have done to it in the meantime. Congratulations are in order there, you deserve it!

Also, I think I missed this part of the build, but it appears the back is already charged up previously or are the shocks not mounted yet, just the links with something else holding the body up? I mean, all you have to do now is roll it outside for a pic?

Are you going to install that N2 tank in the vehicle and build a solenoid system with interior gauges so you can raise and lower the ride height on the fly? I guess you are the last person I should be joking about that with because you might actually do it.

 

[rdn2blazer]

Bad ass. Killer job brother.

 

[max 02]

Congrats!!

Love how flat everything is under it! And the insane clearance!

 

[Greg72]

That last shot is beautiful man! Great milestone to hit and a long time coming. Gratz man!

THANKS!

OH MAN!!!!!!! That's so badass Greg

I want to see it outside!

THANKS!

Outstanding Clearance man! Great work!

THANKS!

Effing awesome!!! Sunshine shot is almost here!!!

THANKS!

Kick ass!!!

THANKS!

Bad ass. Killer job brother.

THANKS!

Congrats!!

Love how flat everything is under it! And the insane clearance!

THANKS!

That is an awesome feeling to have it back on its wheels again after links alone, not to mention everything else you have done to it in the meantime. Congratulations are in order there, you deserve it!

Also, I think I missed this part of the build, but it appears the back is already charged up previously or are the shocks not mounted yet, just the links with something else holding the body up? I mean, all you have to do now is roll it outside for a pic?

Are you going to install that N2 tank in the vehicle and build a solenoid system with interior gauges so you can raise and lower the ride height on the fly? I guess you are the last person I should be joking about that with because you might actually do it.

Heath,

There is just a small "slight of hand" going on to get the truck on all-fours... but I've confessed to it in previous threads. YES, I built small standoffs for the rear axle to set the ride height. At the time when I finished the rear axle trussing and got the axle slung underneath the truck I was pretty burnt-out on that part of the project and wanted a change of scenery. To be fair, those standoffs have been there since the LAST time this truck was outdoors.... so it's not like I pulled a fast-one on you guys, just to get myself some "prouds" today.

In-cab adjustable N2 for the struts, eh?

Don't forget I'm already committed to a CTIS system with in-cab controls... so it's not like I won't already have experience in running air lines and solenoids, etc. In reality, I don't think that the convenience justifies the effort and expense (both in time and $$$) to set it up that way. My understanding is that once the ORIs have some miles on them and everything is "broken in" you do a little bit of upper/lower pressure tuning (and set the external rebound screw where you want it) and that's pretty much where it stays forever.... the only exception is for high-speed desert stuff where you might have a different "setup" for best performance, but those situations will be rare enough that it would be hard to justify an in-cab system.

I was somewhat encouraged to see the "calculated" sprung weight of the front end at only 1885 Lbs.... I'm not sure how much I can trust that number, but if it's even close to accurate then there's a good chance I can keep this whole project under the 6000Lb goal.


-G

 

[blazinzuk]

Talked to Kirk huh good kid ask him if he has built sliders for his Nissan yet.

Also I know everyone is saying kudos and awesome and good job let me just reiterate what they are saying awesome to see it down on the ground like that

As far as you bucket challenge goes once again I hate you






So jealous

 

[Greg72]

As far as you bucket challenge goes once again I hate you

You know the rules..... if you can't match my 4 buckets-worth of clearance, then you need to donate $100 to the "Might As Well" build fund....






-G

 

[folkenheath]

I was really joking Greg, although it would be cool to be able to raise and lower the ride height for different terrain, I don't think the hassle is worth it when it comes to N2 and not just airbags. The bottle would need to be closed every time you get out for safety sake (2000 psi in the struts woudn't be good) and also the higher pressures of the system and all the necessary lines and fittings would greatly increase the chance for a leak, which could reduce reliability.

 

[Babaganoosh]

Awesome update, looks fantastic.

 

[Greg Ducato]

Wow!! That looks fantastic! I like the clearance reference with the 5 gallon pails. Some years ago I was behind a construction trailer that lost a 5 gallon bucket, as it tumbled in front of me I thought I had enough axle clearance to miss it. It must have stopped tumbling on an end just as I made contact, but worse, it must have been what was being used for a toilet on the job site. I spent the next hour power washing the underneath of that truck for my miscalculation......

 

[Chevy305]

Awesome Greg! Now where's the Daylight pics????

Also did you get the driverside tire clearance figured out? I don't recall if you had to cut the firewall there too or not.