Pigeon-Rat - Opel gambler build

[ashman]

Went to the junkyard Saturday.




I got the correct crossmember!!

It took me a couple of hours, but it was worth it. I had to pull the d35 axle out first, then use the hoist to hold the engine up (this is also the engine crossmember), but otherwise it came out easy enough.
I decided it was easier just to cut the frame out, rather than try to get the crossmember cut away. Thank God for battery powered grinders!

Anyway, once I got it home, I removed my makeshift crossmember and installed this on the axle.


I was actually pretty close with my crossmember, but one thing I hadn't taken into account was where the were left to right.
The passenger side arm mounts almost in the center of the crossmember, while the drivers side is almost directly under the frame rail.

It took a fair amount to of effort to get this, but it's gonna pay off big time in less guesswork and wondering.

 

[BoondocK5]

Went to the junkyard Saturday.
View attachment 525544

View attachment 525545

I got the correct crossmember!!

It took me a couple of hours, but it was worth it. I had to pull the d35 axle out first, then use the hoist to hold the engine up (this is also the engine crossmember), but otherwise it came out easy enough.
I decided it was easier just to cut the frame out, rather than try to get the crossmember cut away. Thank God for battery powered grinders!

Anyway, once I got it home, I removed my makeshift crossmember and installed this on the axle.
View attachment 525546

I was actually pretty close with my crossmember, but one thing I hadn't taken into account was where the were left to right.
The passenger side arm mounts almost in the center of the crossmember, while the drivers side is almost directly under the frame rail.

It took a fair amount to of effort to get this, but it's gonna pay off big time in less guesswork and wondering.

I was getting worried you weren’t going to be able to get this to work.

 

[ashman]

I was getting worried you weren’t going to be able to get this to work.

Me too!

 

[83ChevyK5Blazer]

I miss good junkyards, I'm glad you were able to find the correct xmember.

 

[83ChevyK5Blazer]

Are you doing coilovers or coils?

 

[ashman]

Are you doing coilovers or coils?

The plan is coil overs.

 

[ashman]

I got all of the front suspension pulled today.


There are a few things I need to cut off before I have a smooth frame.


I've got a gambler500 event this weekend, ( I'll have to take the blazer) but I'll get to cutting next week.

 

[ashman]

I got all of the old suspension brackets cut off.



Now that I've got a clean frame to work with, I can prepare the Ranger crossmember to fit up in there. I still think it's likely I'll have to build a custom crossmember, but we'll see shortly if it at least fits up in there.

 

[ashman]

I got the frame rails cut off of the Ford crossmember, and trimmed it up as much as I could, and it's just not going to work.


The gap i have to work with between the oil pan and the pitman arm is only about 9". I'm really hoping to keep the stock steering box, so I'm stuck building my own.
Having the ford crossmember isn't a waste though, I'll be able to use it to set the pivot points in relation to each other, the build up from there... Hopefully.

 

[kgblazerfive]

Hydro steering

 

[Babaganoosh]

Hydro steering

That would fix it but also seems to be really overkill.

 

[ashman]

Hydro steering

it's on the table.

That would fix it but also seems to be really overkill.

Lots of builds use hydro steering for packaging reasons rather than for strength like we're used to seeing in the wheeling world. That said, I'm going to try not to go that way.

 

[Truckman4life]

Full swingset!!!

 

[Babaganoosh]

Full swingset!!!
View attachment 526734

That’s what I was going to suggest but don’t know how the ford box fits.

 

[ashman]

Full swingset!!!
View attachment 526734

Oh, for sure. The stock steering box already has an idler on the PS, so running swingset steering is totally doable, and the plan. We'll see if I can make that work. If I go full hydro, sky is the limit, so I'll go with best possible geometry.

 

[fourwheelerjeff]

I got the frame rails cut off of the Ford crossmember, and trimmed it up as much as I could, and it's just not going to work.

little late here but the Ford Bronco II used a Dana 35 in the late 1990 models that might have been narrower for your needs.

 

[CK5]

Wow, lots of shenanigans in this thread!

 

[ashman]

I took the ford crossmember, bolted some spacers in the pivot mounts, then welded those to a plate on 3" standoffs so I could approximate where I wanted the axle pivots to end up under the car.


To find a baseline, I also measured how far the axle pivots sit below the Ford framerail:


Just about 6.5"


Here is where the axle pivots sit at the same 6.5" below the frame rails.

Front view:

The black line on the oil pan marks the centerline of the vehicle. Funny enough, the engine doesn't sit in the middle.



Looking at it from the other side, you can see where the steering idler arm sits. If the pivots were in this position, it wouldn't work as the pitman arm ends up on top of the DS axle.

I haven't really looked at where I want the axles to sit in relation to the wheel wells yet, so maybe I just need to move the whole thing back a bit more and go under the oil pan. Moving the pivots down a few inches isn't a bad thing. It'll actually give me more travel since I'll have more room for uptravel. I'll look at that tomorrow.

 

[Babaganoosh]

Try it out hopefully it gives you more steering

Really interested in this, if I didn’t do a solid axle and know what I do now it would have a ttb for sure in my truck.

 

[BoondocK5]

The more I visualize what’s happening, the more I think full hydro steering is going to be what happens.