77K5. The IronMaiden...9/2 headed for Blazer Bash 20!

[Deuling]

Dang Dave thats sweet!!! Stainless Fittings are REDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE!!!!. You start getting into compression style fittings for stainless tubing, you can have $1000 in a few 3/4 90s and tees

 

[max 02]

Recycling is fun!

Looks good Zim!

 

[shady]

Recycling I'm guessing they came right out the bin

 

[jekquistk5]

cough cough hookup cough cough

 

[76zimmer]

Recycling I'm guessing they came right out the bin

when they demo, nothing gets reused...all sent to metal recycling...so If'n I can get it before they haul it out of the unit, they'll never miss it. And steam/air really don't do nothing to hurt this stuff. It cleaned up as you see with a simple wire brush on the grinder. I may or maynot have had to aquired a piece or two from the fitters though....You know, "hey Paul, I need a 1/4 90* elbow, got any extras/"....he rifles through his toolcart, and has a bunch of misc. stuff in the bottom, "like this?" "yep just like that".

 

[shady]

thats about how it goes where I am too Thers alot of people that have alot of stuff that looks alot like what we use at work around here. but they sell EVERY bit of it locally so.... yeah thats where we bought it

 

[76zimmer]

Removed this hacked together gas tank skid plate....this was a last minute, 10pm Sunday night....throw something together and get it on there before heading to Moab plate, that my brother made....well it did its job, but now for something more to my liking...making a template for Kert to cut me a new one!

Here is one Kert cut out on Labor day night when I showed up at his shop...one of the many things we worked on that night before heading to Moab the next AM..

This is where I need some ideas, covering the trans pan/torque convertor....I need to come up with a template, I was thinking of attaching it to the doubler cradle and maybe the torque convertor cover...maybe a couple legs over to the frame rails?
Any pics of what you got?

 

[jekquistk5]

Removed this hacked together gas tank skid plate....this was a last minute, 10pm Sunday night....throw something together and get it on there before heading to Moab plate, that my brother made....well it did its job, but now for something more to my liking...making a template for Kert to cut me a new one!

Here is one Kert cut out on Labor day night when I showed up at his shop...one of the many things we worked on that night before heading to Moab the next AM..

This is where I need some ideas, covering the trans pan/torque convertor....I need to come up with a template, I was thinking of attaching it to the doubler cradle and maybe the torque convertor cover...maybe a couple legs over to the frame rails?
Any pics of what you got?

Dave I have thought about this as well, but haven't done anything yet till I start flexing it out to see driveshaft clearance. I am interested in what you come up with, and see if I can make something similar. I only have the stock pan on the tranny.

 

[76zimmer]

In this photo, the front shaft is below the header and out of view. The header hangs below the frame enough to make it difficult at best to get a plate across there, and the driveshaft could come up high enough to be close to the header, so taking something straight across to the frame isn't an option on that side...the driver side either...I would have to go under the header to the bottom of the frame, or over it to the side of the frame (where the boxing metal is) either way I only have the metal thickness of the frame to attach to (~.125" thick?)
So I was thinking if I went up to the torque convertor cast cover w/ the 2 bolt holes in it (you can see one bolt in the photo), and back to the cradle to attach to it would be rigid, but then I wonder a scenario of the truck crashes down on a rock right under the torque conv cover, if the weight of the crash would crush the cover, or worse yet, crack the trans case?
Am I over thinking this?
If thats all I can come up with, it would at least provide protection to that cast aluminum pan.

 

[SUPER'BURB]

taking something straight across to the frame isn't an option on that side...the driver side either...
So I was thinking if I went up to the torque convertor cast cover w/ the 2 bolt holes in it (you can see one bolt in the photo), and back to the cradle to attach to it would be rigid

If I understand correctly what you are saying is to plate it from the tranny/xfer case cross-member to the dust cover bolts?

If yes, I would worry about the motor torquing and cracking the bell housing in addition to a hard hit on a rock or stump.

 

[76zimmer]

If I understand correctly what you are saying is to plate it from the tranny/xfer case cross-member to the dust cover bolts?

If yes, I would worry about the motor torquing and cracking the bell housing in addition to a hard hit on a rock or stump.

Kinda....the cradle is mounted to the doubler w/ poly shock bushings.
The cradle is mounted to the REAR crossmember with builders poly Hard urethane bushings, and also to the two legs on each side to the frame.
So it is possible for some movement of the skid plate if it were rigidly attached to the cradle and the torque conv cover. What if I used poly bushings at the t/c cover?

 

[SUPER'BURB]

Kinda....the cradle is mounted to the doubler w/ poly shock bushings.
The cradle is mounted to the REAR crossmember with builders poly Hard urethane bushings, and also to the two legs on each side to the frame.
So it is possible for some movement of the skid plate if it were rigidly attached to the cradle and the torque conv cover. What if I used poly bushings at the t/c cover?

I forgot about your trick doubler set up .

If it can all move together that "shouldn't" cause a twisting stress issue but I don't like relying on the dust cover bolt holes and bell housing in the case of a hard hit.

I know it's pretty tight under the rear of the motor and tranny but is there any room to put a cross member to support the front of a plate? Even if it is not straight across, a square tube piece angle cut and welded as needed to get around all the low hanging obstructions would be much stronger than the bell housing.

Hope that made sense.

 

[cybrfire]

 

[76zimmer]

I forgot about your trick doubler set up .

If it can all move together that "shouldn't" cause a twisting stress issue but I don't like relying on the dust cover bolt holes and bell housing in the case of a hard hit.

I know it's pretty tight under the rear of the motor and tranny but is there any room to put a cross member to support the front of a plate? Even if it is not straight across, a square tube piece angle cut and welded as needed to get around all the low hanging obstructions would be much stronger than the bell housing.

Hope that made sense.

good idea on the cross member...I'll check into that...

You probably planned it that way didn't you....I got headers inside the frame rails and hangin low, and not a flat belly either....that would be the ultimate Kert....we'll see what I can come up with!

 

[blazinzuk]

I don't think I would worry too much about the TC cover, I have never hit mine before, the pan I would worry about most, those cast pans don't really take any kind of hit at all, they just shatter the first time you put the pan on a rock.

So I would consider the trans pan the main priority and the extend it as far as possible.

I have done some skidplates that cover the whole thing ( not on chevys) and it takes a full 40 minutes to take the skidplate off. Kind of complicated deals sometimes.

 

[folkenheath]

Dave I think I saw in the last FW mag that there was a company that makes trans pans with built in skid plates, you might want to consider that and call it done. I don't think you will hurt the doubler or 205 anyway. Your pan is the most vulnerable.

 

[76zimmer]

I don't think I want to mount directly to the trans though (trans pan skid plate)..I'd like to keep a gap between the skidplate and the pan, so if something hits hard on the skid it will not put all the weight on the trans case...sounds good in theory right?
Eric, a full belly plate would be cool wouldn't it!

 

[kgblazerfive]

Woohoo double post.

I agree that I would not get or make a skid plate the is mounted the transmission or transfer case. They need to be separate, if you break the skid plate what happens to the other part. Like with Kurts at BB, pulled it off because it was running hot, could not have done that if it was part of something else.

 

[blazinzuk]

What Heath is talking about used to be called Slam Gaurds, I think Trans Dapt makes em now and they work very very well.

I have seen them take a very hard hit with no damage

 

[76zimmer]

I think if I get creative I can make a crossmember that will snake its way around the headers, the driveshaft area, the torque convertor cover and supply a rigid point of attachment for the front of the skid plate....then I can widen it as it goes back towards the framerails, I think it will weigh 200 lbs also!