Wicked 
keep up the good work steve
keep up the good work steveCK5
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A few UAV spy shots: updated 9/19/05 at the bottom
- Thread starter CK5
- Start date
stallion85
1/2 ton status
jekquistk5 said:Wicked
You mean Stephen?
Looks pretty wicked
. Jeez how many hours have been put into the UAV over there at ORD?
Hours? You mean weeks maybe! There was some thrashed material to start with, just to get it to a decent starting point. And trying to design the chassis and coilover rear suspension to be repeatable and usable on different frames in different configurations is a pain.
I sometimes wonder why I chopped up a perfectly good K5 that was a better all around vehicle than what I have now, but every little step seemed like the right thing at the time. And sticking with one vehicle and building it smart lets you spread the labor and $ cost over time which makes it easier. I'm kind of proud of my 14FF that's been in my K5 since 1995, for example. And, what do you do when the sheet metal is thrashed? Replace it? I don't think so, unless you retire the truck and after a while, it gets to where you couldn't get fresh panels to bolt on and line up anyway. I just wish I'd reached a point where I could start at the frame like Fox, his chassis is about 8" narrower than mine since wally's based off the in-cab cage that was never designed for being a tube chassis. Everytime I've thought about starting over with the cage, we look at it and see too much work that would have to be re-done and leave it alone. And it's definitely DONE now.
Coil front or rear? I did the front because I wanted better steering and wheel travel than I could get with leaves up front. The leaves with traction bars worked OK in the rear with the full body so I left it that way. It almost comes down to how fast you want to drive. If you're crawling, you should probably link the rear 1st for departure angle, clearance underneath and wrap control.
For higher speed, you'll probably want to link the front to get more usable wheel travel with better steering. A set of long rear leaves can easily give 15"+ wheel travel and with a traction bar will control the torque well enough. With the coilovers up front, I got 15-16" of vertical with good steering and control. That kind of travel in the front with leaves would be a nightmare to drive unless I was to unleash some of the complicated makes-sense-only-in-a-race-vehicle stuff I've dreamed up.
I sometimes wonder why I chopped up a perfectly good K5 that was a better all around vehicle than what I have now, but every little step seemed like the right thing at the time. And sticking with one vehicle and building it smart lets you spread the labor and $ cost over time which makes it easier. I'm kind of proud of my 14FF that's been in my K5 since 1995, for example. And, what do you do when the sheet metal is thrashed? Replace it? I don't think so, unless you retire the truck and after a while, it gets to where you couldn't get fresh panels to bolt on and line up anyway. I just wish I'd reached a point where I could start at the frame like Fox, his chassis is about 8" narrower than mine since wally's based off the in-cab cage that was never designed for being a tube chassis. Everytime I've thought about starting over with the cage, we look at it and see too much work that would have to be re-done and leave it alone. And it's definitely DONE now.
Coil front or rear? I did the front because I wanted better steering and wheel travel than I could get with leaves up front. The leaves with traction bars worked OK in the rear with the full body so I left it that way. It almost comes down to how fast you want to drive. If you're crawling, you should probably link the rear 1st for departure angle, clearance underneath and wrap control.
For higher speed, you'll probably want to link the front to get more usable wheel travel with better steering. A set of long rear leaves can easily give 15"+ wheel travel and with a traction bar will control the torque well enough. With the coilovers up front, I got 15-16" of vertical with good steering and control. That kind of travel in the front with leaves would be a nightmare to drive unless I was to unleash some of the complicated makes-sense-only-in-a-race-vehicle stuff I've dreamed up.
spearchucker
1/2 ton status
With all that tubing how much is it going to end up weighing?
And why did you keep the frame and build off it? Wouldn't it have been better to just ditch the frame rails and start off with box tubing? Seems like it would've made sense since you had it stripped down that far and it would've been stronger. Are there reasons why you went with the stock frame rails?
And why did you keep the frame and build off it? Wouldn't it have been better to just ditch the frame rails and start off with box tubing? Seems like it would've made sense since you had it stripped down that far and it would've been stronger. Are there reasons why you went with the stock frame rails?
az-k5
1/2 ton status
spearchucker said:Are there reasons why you went with the stock frame rails?
Wiring, and the drivetrain was already bolted in place are two main reasons to keep an assembled chassis.
FWP
CRS
Stephen said:
Me too. I understand. It's the hindsight 20/20 thing. But you learned alot in the process, right
That's where it's at for me, learning.
Nice.. Keep us updated
coloradok5 said:Brought it home yesterday, have lots of details to finish yet, I will take lots of pics as I dismantle to paint and finish items etc..
Well now you have a whole year to get it done, okay well more like 48-49 weeks now.
see you next year 
Emmettology 101
3/4 ton status
So how much tube did you guys end up using? Didn't see the answer mentioned... And anymore updates?
OffRoad
1/2 ton status
looks great. congrads on keeping your 14b that long.
go wheel!
go wheel!
