'72 K5 - Greg's @MightAsWellK5 Build

[Greg72]

I do have one question, you probably have a reason, so what is the reason you can't bend the rear tube a little more than 90 degrees so the bottom lands right on the frame in this photo? Is it aesthetics?

Yep.... it's the same OCD that wouldn't let me lay the strut at a backward angle by a few degrees to make my life easier. It just HAD to be 90*.....

The overhang will be reinforced from underneath. I figure a small section of 1/4" plate running vertically up underneath there and welded to the frame and the underside of that plate will make for a really strong gusset. If I make it a triangular gusset, I can probably even drill a single speed hole through it.

The nice part about having the two tubes both at 90* is that when I try to weld my speedhole plates between them it will be nice and simple to measure and cut since the spacing stays the same all the way from the top to the bottom of those tubes.... and yes, I think it will look better if those plates are 100% parallel to the frame, the bedsides, the wheel tubs, etc.

It's a disease I tell ya!!!



-G

 

[jekquistk5]

I would bet hes going with the symmetrical look. Edit, question answered..

 

[TREA18]

I would bet hes going with the symmetrical look. Edit, question answered..

I really thought it was because you can't have angled stake supporting the plywood...



Seriously though this is really cool to see the amount of engineering you've put into this truck.

 

[Greg72]

I really thought it was because you can't have angled stake supporting the plywood...



Seriously though this is really cool to see the amount of engineering you've put into this truck.

Thanks Tony!

I can't wait to get a lot of this finish-welding completed so that I can sandblast and primer some of this stuff. It feels kind of weird posting photos of a truck that "appears" to be rusting away even as I lavish hundreds and hundreds of hours on it.


-G

 

[max 02]

If I can get my Edelbrock carb tuned correctly by then..... j/k


BB2018 is my target. There is still an insane amount of work that still needs to be done, and I have no illusions that this truck is even CLOSE to being finished now.


-G

BAHAHAHA! The carb tuning bit killed me!

What you did back there looks wicked...that will be amazing to watch on the rocks with a go pro....in 2018

 

[Greg72]

2015.06.08 - UPDATE! - KILL DRILL, PT.1... !!!!


OK, OK.... it wasn't a drill, it was my angle-grinder that died. It's hard to find a good rhyme for "angle grinder" that makes any sense for a build title though.

Looking back, I think this is only the 2nd angle grinder that I've killed on this 7-year build so far (both Craftsman).....Hmmm, coincidence?

At least I took the opportunity to move upmarket a bit. This one should last me to the end of the build for sure.

So with new tools in the shop (I had to buy a new AC Cord reel also, since the plug got so worn out nothing would stay plugged in) I dug in on Sunday morning for some additional work to complete the rear strut hangers.

First step was pulling off the other tire/wheel and letting the suspension fully droop-out, so that I could get easier access to the lower brackets.

The tire clearances all seemed pretty good, so there really wasn't much value in continuing to cycle the suspension with them attached, and it just makes everything a lot heavier and more difficult to work around. With just the portals connected, I was able to really stick my head in there and look for signs of trouble...

As it turns out, I did actually have more work to do. When I started to stuff the driver's side the lower Schrader valve got close enough to hit the outside of the bracket. If left unchecked it certainly would have broken off and damaged the strut, so I'm glad I went slowly and checked things in small increments. After a series of unbolting the lower strut, grinding and reshaping the bracket, and re-installing the strut I finally was able to get to "full bump" on the driver's side.

The lower brackets were still only a single-shear connection for the early mockup so I still needed to cut a plate with a DOM sleeve to sneak inside that pocket. I also needed to make sure I left drainage areas for water and mud... and as I've mentioned before, bolt access for the portal backing plate was a bit of a challenge in a couple of spots, so the lower brackets also needed two access holes for those as well.

Once everything was clearly marked I cut the spot welds off the axle and removed the entire bracket so it could be fitted up with the extra material and then fully-welded (inside and outside) for strength.

After laying down some welds at 22.6V for a while, I had this:

The end result came out nice. I was able to reinstall onto the axle with a lot more welded area (not completely finish-welded in place yet but close!) so the bracket will be able to hold the fully weight of the truck now.... and I was careful to modify my paper templates to accurately show all of the small tweaks that I needed to make for clearance.

..... I spent the remaining time last night transferring those new template patterns over to the PS bracket and did some finish-welding on that one too. Hopefully tonight I will be able to get that bracket back onto the axle permanently and then turn my attention to finish-welding the upper mounts on both sides.

If things go well over the next couple of evenings, I should be able to get this truck standing under it's own weight before next weekend!!!


-G

 

[folkenheath]

Nice work! It looks good. So I thought you clearanced the bracket to clear the shraeder valve on the inside, then you flipped it to the outside? Is it easier to get to? Will it still clear when you stuff that side?

 

[Greg72]

Nice work! It looks good. So I thought you clearanced the bracket to clear the shraeder valve on the inside, then you flipped it to the outside? Is it easier to get to? Will it still clear when you stuff that side?

Funny story, that.......

Yes, I started with the Schrader facing inward figuring it would be easier to reach with the nitrogen tank and fittings when I wanted to make adjustments. Given that the shock has a 15* inward lean, the valve ended up angled downward and hit the inside of the bracket and I needed to cut a pretty large notch to give it enough room to live there without hitting anything.

When I built the DS bracket I flipped the valve to the outside figuring that it would now be angle UPWARD at a 15* angle and would be positioned well above the bracket and I wouldn't need to notch the inside again. As luck would have it, the chrome hits the bracket on extreme articulation on the inside anyway.... So the end result is that I ended up cutting an almost identical notch to clear the strut chrome on the inside of the bracket.

Even with the Schraders now facing outward, there are still times when they rub... so I had to do some gentle clearancing on that side of the bracket too. I'm in that really critical phase now where it's important to look for all the "little things" that might not work and address them now when parts are moving slowly in a nice, controlled environment. Landing off some crazy whoops at-speed is probably NOT where you want to learn that the charge valves are going to break off and dump all your strut pressure!!!!


-G

 

[jekquistk5]

You will like that Milwaukee grinder. I have its makita counterpart and its nice and smooth still. My hitachi that I bought at the same time needs new brushes while the makita is going strong still.

 

[Greg72]

You will like that Milwaukee grinder. I have its makita counterpart and its nice and smooth still. My hitachi that I bought at the same time needs new brushes while the makita is going strong still.

Yeah, I agree....

I have two of those Milwaukees now. One dedicated for cutoff discs and one for flapwheels....

When the Craftsman died, I just went out to find the exact same Milwaukee that I already had and liked. One of the things I originally liked about the Craftsman was the paddle-style trigger since it was so easy to just blip it easily and quickly... but it turned out to be pretty dangerous at times. There were a few occasions when I'd lay it down on a pile of other tools and it would accidentally trigger itself on and start bouncing and sparking off everything!!!

The Milwaukee uses a two-button trigger system which makes it impossible to have accidents like that. At first I didn't like how clumsy it felt to have to pull the first safety button in to unlock the trigger, but now that I'm used to it I don't mind it at all.


-G

 

[ashman]

One of the things I originally liked about the Craftsman was the paddle-style trigger since it was so easy to just blip it easily and quickly... but it turned out to be pretty dangerous at times.

I was actually wondering about that when I first saw the pic above. I really dislike buttons like that, too easy to hit when you don't want it.

 

[chevyfumes]

Is there gonna be enough tub behind the seat to stuff your rubber?
Looks like it'll be tighter than frog nay nay.

 

[Greg72]

Is there gonna be enough tub behind the seat to stuff your rubber?
Looks like it'll be tighter than frog nay nay.

The tire hits the floor at the rear of the original wheeltub opening, but that is not unexpected. I shifted the axle back a couple of inches over stock and was already planning to relocate the entire wheeltub back 3 inches to compensate. I still have to cut/shift the floor around a bit more as I'm welding that large center panel back into place for the rear seat to land on.

It's still a bit unclear if the wheeltubs themselves will need to go higher or wider to accommodate the crazy tire flex that I've got going on now, but I have an extra set of 1st Gen wheeltubs (donated by RyanB about a dozen years ago back in CA) so I've got extra material to work with if the shapes need to be "enlargenated"


-G

 

[chevyfumes]

Oh sweet. I figured you'd have extra to make OG looking tubs. But Ryan B specials is an added bonus!

 

[Greg72]

2015.06.09 - UPDATE! - !!! ONLY 2,711 DAYS LATER.... !!!


WOW!!! It HAS been a long time hasn't it?

It was on January 7, 2008 that I pulled the truck into the garage, shut off the engine and blew it apart to start a full-on rebuild/redesign of my 1st Gen. That was the last time that it actually sat on it's own springs, wheels and tires... 7 YEARS, 3 MONTHS and 5 DAYS.

The good news is that as of last night, this truck is OFFICIALLY on it's own springs, wheels and tires again!!! The rear ORIs are fully-charged up and all of the jackstands and previous "trickery" used to hold the truck up in the air have been removed permanently!!!


Here's how it all went down:

On Monday night I did a bunch of finish-welding of the rear strut support structures....didn't quite finish, and so last night I ran around welding tubes and plates in so that everything would be nice and strong. Then I cut a couple of small 1.75" DOM gussets to load between the diagonal downbars and the upper strut mount bars:

Like always, the first one took maybe 30 minutes of fussy trimming, testing and grinding to get just right.... and then became the template for the driver's side tube, which was then completed in about 5 minutes.

Underneath the rubble, I found my nitrogen tank and regulator and dual-fill hoses... I charged up the lower chambers to 90psi, and then hooked them to the uppers in preparation for LIFTOFF!!!

It didn't take much pressure either. While the front of the truck took close to 300psi to lift the truck, since the rear of the truck is still so light....all it took was about 200psi to get things moving upward and off the jackstands!!!

The adrenaline was pumping, and I quickly snatched away all the cribbing and jackstands out from underneath the truck....then let some N2 out of the upper chambers to settle the ride height down to about 7.5" of visible chrome...

If it wasn't pitch-black and raining (and 11PM at night) I would have probably rolled it right out of the garage onto the driveway to take more photos... Today is supposed to be sunny, so maybe I'll get a chance to do that after work today?


Anyway, it felt like a "hero moment" for sure....and it's been a LONG time coming. It feels good to know that this build is probably 50% complete now.


-G

 

[Phil513]

Congrats dude!

Hopefully that 50% done figure doesn't relate to time, lol. Only 2711 days left!

 

[folkenheath]

Awesome Greg! That is a giant accomplishment and a moment to be proud of. Give yourself a pat on the back, a cookie, and a beer. But eat the cookie after the beer or the beer will taste like sh!t.

 

[chevyfumes]

Nice.

 

[Babaganoosh]

Congrats Greg!

 

[Greg72]

Congrats dude!

Hopefully that 50% done figure doesn't relate to time, lol. Only 2711 days left!

Actually.....Moab 2018 is only 1180 days away!!! Knowing that this truck WILL be completed and attending that event, that means that I need to be 69.6% complete at this point in time if I'm going to actually be ready. No pressure!!!

Awesome Greg! That is a giant accomplishment and a moment to be proud of. Give yourself a pat on the back, a cookie, and a beer. But eat the cookie after the beer or the beer will taste like sh!t.

Yep, definitely going to celebrate on Thursday night, but tonight I want to get it out of the garage again just to see it in the sunshine for inspiration.

I believe Colby owes me a West Coast Toast for hitting this milestone as well....

Nice.

Feels nice.

Congrats Greg!

Thanks! I love the look of all that available bump travel out back!!!




-G