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CK5
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87 Dodge Raider - Beadlocks & Grabbers
- Thread starter truck-oholic
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Stomis
Professional Amateur
To be totally honest Im so not a fan of the drag link sitting over the arm on the same bolt as the tie rod like that. Thats a lot of abuse single shear on the same bolt...
Yes, I know what you mean and I was a bit skeptical too BUT keep in mind that is a 3/4" grade 8 bolt with no force on any part of the threads AND this isn't going to be a "hardcore" wheeler, more like a trail riding type deal that I will daily drive. That being said I know several people that run this setup and wheel pretty hard with V8s and 42s without any issues. I am planning on running a 37" tall tire and will be using hydro assist so that also reduces force on the drag link. Any force exerted on the tie rod itself will actually be spread out over 2 3/4" bolts (not just the passenger bolt) and the hydro asssist ram acting as a dampener. All things considered I think this is an acceptable compromise.
Stomis
Professional Amateur
The hydro assist will be a huge factor IMO.
This is my favorite setup for something hardcore.
This is my favorite setup for something hardcore.
The hydro assist will be a huge factor IMO.
This is my favorite setup for something hardcore.
Yep, no doubt that is a stronger setup. I think the main thing you would have to worry about with the single shear is shock loads and that is where the hydro assist is going to act as a big dampener and keep a shock load from happening from say hitting a rock really hard with one tire and forcing it to turn violently.
Resurrecting this thread from the dead also.
After the engine shit the bed I had planned to do a full on build on this thing but having let it sit for several months I have had time to regain my senses and decided to scale things way back to where I was initially headed with the build, a very mild expedition-style daily driver.
So, here is the new/old plan. Stock drivetrain with original 2.6L replacement motor, all the body armor I was working on before, 33" mud terrains on 15" weld on beadlocks from Jester Fab, 9k winch, roofrack, etc etc.
With this thing back on track I needed to find a good 2.6L to drop in. Well, after searching the web for several weeks I found one in this . . . an 88 2 door Montero a little over an hour away from me.
I really lucked into finding this. Guy had a Dodge Ram50 listed on Craigslist with a spare motor for $1,500. I called and asked if he would sell just the spare motor by itself and he said no since the Ram50 needed it but he had a running and driving Montero that he would sell for $1,300 without the wheels and tires. Went and looked at it yesterday and made a deposit. Wife won't let me pay the balance and bring it home until the Pebble Bouncer Buggy is sold to keep projects limited which I have to agree is fair. The engine in this Montero runs amazing and all the other miscellaneous parts that were gone or bad on the Raider are present and in good condition on this Montero!
So, now, I have a complete spare parts rig waiting to tear into in a couple weeks. Excited to get this Raider back on the road and in all it's glory.
After the engine shit the bed I had planned to do a full on build on this thing but having let it sit for several months I have had time to regain my senses and decided to scale things way back to where I was initially headed with the build, a very mild expedition-style daily driver.
So, here is the new/old plan. Stock drivetrain with original 2.6L replacement motor, all the body armor I was working on before, 33" mud terrains on 15" weld on beadlocks from Jester Fab, 9k winch, roofrack, etc etc.
With this thing back on track I needed to find a good 2.6L to drop in. Well, after searching the web for several weeks I found one in this . . . an 88 2 door Montero a little over an hour away from me.
I really lucked into finding this. Guy had a Dodge Ram50 listed on Craigslist with a spare motor for $1,500. I called and asked if he would sell just the spare motor by itself and he said no since the Ram50 needed it but he had a running and driving Montero that he would sell for $1,300 without the wheels and tires. Went and looked at it yesterday and made a deposit. Wife won't let me pay the balance and bring it home until the Pebble Bouncer Buggy is sold to keep projects limited which I have to agree is fair. The engine in this Montero runs amazing and all the other miscellaneous parts that were gone or bad on the Raider are present and in good condition on this Montero!
So, now, I have a complete spare parts rig waiting to tear into in a couple weeks. Excited to get this Raider back on the road and in all it's glory.
There is a Montrero very similar to that parked under a huge pine tree at a house down the street from me--I bet its been there 10-15 years..it must be in great shape by now!--probably break in half if you tried moving it....the one you got looks too nice to part out,but underneath it might not look so hot ?..
The tan one is going to be a parts rig, not parted out per se. Basically these things are so old and so rare at this point you pretty much need a spare everything if you want to keep one on the road. The Raider is more valuable than the Montero because they are even more rare (only produced 3 yrs)
Got 5 new steel 6 lug wheels on sale for $190 shipped from 4WD.com and a whole lot of 3/8 grade 8 hardware. Wonder what that means?
Well I'm still working a crap load of overtime so don't know when I'll get around to this but I worked with Dave at Jester Fab to come up with this custom beadlock design repping their name and jester hat. Jester Fab has been awesome to work with on this and other projects. They do great work and are VERY affordable even with shipping cross country to me in TN. I highly recommend them for any fabrication parts you may want or need, especially DIY beadlocks and H1 wheel centers and rock rings.
I don't know why but I really like the raiders and troopers... Looking forward to this one! And I know it was a long time ago but I've been running my steering like that since 2006 without any issues. The only thing that I have changed it it has high steer now. I know it's not ideal but it's not any worse than guys that riyn hydraulic assist with tierod ends.
Pulled the trigger on some tires today so 5 of these in a 33x12.5x15 flavor will be showing up at my door in about a week. Got a great deal on them from 4wheel Drive Hardware. They were 25% off and I will get a $70 mail in rebate from General Tire. Total cost out the door shipped with tax and rebate included is $832 for 5! 
FedEx left me a present today
Ok, update.
Got the rock rings painted.
Started building beadlocks. I'll take my time on the next four and make them a little nicer looking for practice even though you'll never see this stuff unless you have to break them down again.
Ride height pics
That passenger fender is the new outer beadlock ring & body color
Ride height pics
Still have to do the engine swap, finish bumpers, finish & install sliders, etc but beadlicks are done and i moved it inside for engine swap prep.
More recent pics.
handloader90
Building!
Any updates on this thing?
Been working on the road since end of July but this is top priority when i get home. Need to get it finished and out of the garage so i can get back on the K5. Going to have a couple months of downtime at home no later than end of Jan so I'll be hitting projects hard.
