Truggy build Season 4 (Project Freak)

[bgreen]

Whatcha think?

I bought this grill when I lived in Southern Idaho to add a bit of "bling" back when the truck was pretty much a pavement pounder. Well those days are long gone, but I am trying to get back a bit of refinement by adding more stock "looking" fenders and possibly a section of this old grill.

The only thing I dont like is the distance between each slat in the grill, so I have two options. Use this grill, or build a new one from scratch.

 

[SCOOBYDANNN]

That is awesome--keep it--can you use the origional hood--(insert Dazed and Confused stoner guy)"it would be a lot cooler if you did"

 

[stockk5]

i like the look of that,, and everytime i see ur rig it freakin amazes me the amount of work u put into it. great job.

 

[bgreen]

That is awesome--keep it--can you use the origional hood--(insert Dazed and Confused stoner guy)"it would be a lot cooler if you did"

I dont know if I will be able to use the 1976 original hood, because my original 1976 fenders are only about 6" tall now, but do have a set of 83 chevy fenders and hood I can use. Definately not going to go hoodless because of the rain and associated mud.

You can see in the above picture that I wont be able to have much of a fender, but Im going to try to leave as much as possible. I really want to bring back the stock body look as much as practical. The front of the hoold will be way lower and way shorter than stock though, but that will greatly increase the visibility when cresting a hill, etc, as will the new and much lower ride height. (lower than stock I think)

 

[bgreen]

everytime i see ur rig it freakin amazes me the amount of work u put into it. great job.

LOL, me too. [bangs head on wall]

I push myself to do better work every winter when I put the thing in the shop, this year its been a process of testing. I really wanted to get the front of the truck as low as possible to make it easier to get in and out of my 7 foot shop door and get the COG as low as possible to gain performance in washouts and the like. I've cycled the front suspension well over 100 times trying to get the shocks mounted in the best place, and getting the axle mounted as high as possible. I had to completely re-work the first 3 feet of exhaust (my third 3" exhaust system for this truck), purchase a remote oil filter adapter, lower the steering cylinder mounts, and work with the new bumpstops to make sure evertying could compress as far as possible in all situations but still offer as much travel as possible.

To get any lower I would have to raise the entire drivetrain and build a new fram for the front 3 feet or so. I think its good now

 

[bgreen]

pimpin the mondo mud flaps and the bling grill

 

[Citizen Rider]

That looks sweet! I say keep it. It does have alot of space, but its not over doing it by a ton of bars. Looks great to me.

Your axle is almost to the drivetrain and you go those meats under it.....insane.

 

[Drey]

LOL, me too. [bangs head on wall]

To get any lower I would have to raise the entire drivetrain and build a new fram for the front 3 feet or so. I think its good FOR now

Fixed it for ya


Nice work, I like the grill to, that will be a nice touch as well as the hood and fenders.

 

[bgreen]

Fixed it for ya


Nice work, I like the grill to, that will be a nice touch as well as the hood and fenders.

Here is a look at the fenders before I started working on the suspension. You can see in the second and third picture how far off the hood was. With how short it was, and how tapered it was, I could see much better than before, but now visibility should be REALLY good in comparison to stock.

 

[bgreen]

That looks sweet! I say keep it. It does have alot of space, but its not over doing it by a ton of bars. Looks great to me.

Your axle is almost to the drivetrain and you go those meats under it.....insane.

Im thinking about mounting this grill for now, then building another next winter, that will have 4-6 more bars.

The axle would hit the frame if I shave another 1/4" off the solid stops built into the bump stop mounts, but if I did that, the tire would probably tear the heater off the cab. As the truck sits in the first picture, the tire actually rubs the heater, but I dont think it will when the poly bumpstops are installed, and thats with the axel moved froward about 8 inches.

In the pics attached you can see how close the axle actually comes to the frame. Also note where the upper link mounts are attached to the axle and their proximity to the frame. You can also see part of the new exhaust an how close it comes to the 1410 pinion yoke.

 

[bgreen]

Keep the comments coming. Questions and comments from threads like this are what inspire me to keep pushing myself and they help me think about aspects of my build that I might have never otherwise considered.

 

[PeteH]

so so nice

 

[surpip]

so pic #2 i am looking at the ram mount for the front axle on the right hand side of the pic?
looks real close to the oil filter,
mabye just the angle

 

[bgreen]

so pic #2 i am looking at the ram mount for the front axle on the right hand side of the pic?
looks real close to the oil filter,
mabye just the angle

Yes, in that picture, the diff housing is actually crushing the oil filter. So, I purchased a permacool remote filter kit from Schucks. Part #10695

This picture shows the new adapter and how close it will be to the axle at full compression. The kit comes with goodyear pushlock flex hose and the fittings shown in the picture, but due to the very limited amount of clearance I will have to plumb the remote filter with 1/2" Stainless Steel hardline and swedge lock fittings. I'll post pics and a bit of tech on that after I start that particular sub project.

 

[surpip]

with it that close are you worried about it hitting the fittings on a hard compression
seems like the bump-stops would compress enough
to bend the crap out of those fittings

 

[bgreen]

your right about the angle of the picture though. This pic shows the same clearance issues but from a different angle. you can see that the cylinder mounts arent a clearance issue to the filter.

 

[bgreen]

with it that close are you worried about it hitting the fittings on a hard compression
seems like the bump-stops would compress enough
to bend the crap out of those fittings

The bumpstops are mounted in a housing that has a "hard" stop. You can see in the pictures above how the housing points down toward the axle housing. There is a similar point on both the front and back of the housing with a piece of 1/4" plate on edge between them. This "hard stop" prevents the axle from traveling too far and contacting the engine, or letting the steering contact the frame. I'll get specific pictures if you are interested. If that 1/4" plate were to fail, it wont, the upper link mounts will contact the frame and stop suspension compression before the adapter fittings could be damaged by the axle.

 

[surpip]

just ideas is all
looks like the housing is 1/2" from the fittings, thought it was a little close

 

[bgreen]

it is really close, but I think it will be ok. the fittings im actually going to use will have a bit more clearance.

 

[jekbrown]

BG,

as always, your truck rocks. I follow the buildup threads on pirate and they are always inspiring! I especially liked the dash thread. Just sick.

Anyway, if it was my rig (i wish!)I think I would just run the trimmed down hood, no fenders and no grill. Use the 8274 for a "grill". Between the engine and the coilovers I'd use some kind of heavy rubber sheeting (conveyer belt material, big rig mudflaps etc cut to fit) to keep massive amounts of water/mud/crap from flying all over the engine every time you turn and hammer down or make a water crossing. Severly trimmed/narrowed fenders really don't seem to be doing much anyway... and I've never been a fan of bling like billet grilles. Also, neither the factory fenders nor the grille seem to match what you've done to the rear half of your rig... which is totally butt-kickin' madmax style fab work. I'm not 100% sure what the answer is... those are just my thoughts and what I'd do if it was my truck. At any case, keep us updated with buildup threads, I love 'em!!!

j