rocks....
79Stomper said:
All right. Have had this thought in my head for a while now and well it is looking to become more than a thought. I can find rockwells for a whole lot cheaper than a 60 front.
So I want to see some pics of Blazers on rockies, specifically suspension setups and driveshaft flanges and stuff of the like. Also what about rims?
TIA
James
<flamesuit on>
Ok... ehhe... Here goes... Everything that I have gathered over the past several months of research...
There ain't no way to build a cheap bulletproof front end... You can find deals on rocks, 60s, 9s, etc, but built, you're going to spend bucks to get what you want or need.
some words of wisdom, huh. lol...
Now to the rocks.
Various info compiled from here and out there in the nethers....
Sources - Axles, parts, etc.. - individuals, government auctions, military surplus dealers, several commercial companies.
Some of the more common...
www.ouversonengineering.com
www.usa6x6.com
www.chuckstrucks.net
www.boyceequipment.com
www.adelmans.com
Your mileage may vary with any of these, I'm not advocating any of them, and there are probably several others. I have found a good bit of info here on CK5, a good bit at Pirate, and quite a good bit from just browsing around.
Available Widths -
Front axle - 79.5"
Front axle - Hubs can be machined and flipped to get 69.5" width
Front axle - Narrowed using 2 short side axles hubs out - 72"
Rear axle, single wheel configuration - 69.25"
Rear axle, dual wheel configuration - 79.5"
Weight -
Front - approx 670 lbs
Rear - approx 500 lbs
Remove drum brakes will lose about 80 lbs per axle...
Gear Ratio -
6.72 period
Daniel at USA6x6 is working on a 5-something ratio, due out later this year, and will cost around $1k or slightly less.
Braking options -
stock drums
pinion mounted disks
coupla commercial wheel disk brake setups avail
Misc -
3 types of front axles, you want the ones that have rockwell on the tag to get spicer type shafts...
1.62 inch 16 spline axles - hardened alloys and thicker available commercially...
detroits lockers avail, and Ouversons has a beef version.
coupla types locking hubs avail...
takes a bit of lift (est 8" + ) to keep the front diff from hitting the oil pan.
------
What I'm doing....
After doing a bit of research, and figuring that some of the things I could do myself and some were better left to the pros <heh>, I have ordered a set of axles from Chucks Trucks in Orlando, FL... I chose Chucks for a coupla reasons, number one is that it is a 1.5 hour drive from here and I can go pick them up instead of paying for shipping...
Anyways, I ordered two fronts, both narrowed and rebuilt. He also has a steering arm that I'll use in the front for hydro assisted crossover steering. For the rear axle, I'm looking at a self centering ram, and a locking clamp, but I haven't decided on the best route to achieve this yet.
Will build my own perches for the axles (hey they're square, can't be that hard
) I'm also picking up a front crossmember, u-bolts and upper u-bolt plates when I get the axles. Will post thoughts and pics when I get them (should be a coupla weeks tops).
As for the brakes, I still haven't decided this route yet either. There's several options, and I don't think I want to rely on just a pinion brake (not even considering the legality of it...) , we'll see. Ouversons also has a hub to use 1-ton rotors and wheels, not sure I want to spend that kinda bucks, but slick none the less...
As for wheels, I'm probably going to go with a set of the double beadlocks from USA6x6... He can custom cut both the centers and the beadlock rims...
<flamesuit still on>
I still have a few things to work out, and I would also be interested in any other thoughts/ideas/experiences with rocks.
And yeah, the blazer will be a mile high in the air, and weigh a ton (actually several, ehhe), and there will be some places I won't be able to go, like we have a lot of rocks here in Florida anyways, but it's going to be a blast to build, and most likely quite a blast to drive!
Mark
