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Projects Haulin' ass in fiberglass

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Mr T body, Nov 1, 2017.

  1. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    A day of work and it occurs to me that others probably can't tell much progress from one pic/day to the next. Need to finish the corner welds and make the feet for it, but it's about 80% done. Ordered a battery for it that would let me cut the box down flush with the cell. Also went AGM so I don't have to worry about acid splashing and fumes.
    fp7.jpg
     
    brEad, droppedstepside, OFT and 3 others like this.
  2. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    Still raining, so can't do a whole lot with no room. Since I couldn't find anything I liked, the project du jour is making my own fan mounting brackets. Doesn't sound like a hard thing to do, but try bending a nice 90* with a hydraulic press and not a brake. Takes 20x longer than it should, but at least it's not an off-the-shelf piece that I just don't like. fan1.jpg
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2019
    droppedstepside, loudbang and OFT like this.
  3. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    Not traditional, but I can't afford to leave any horsepower on the table. These would have been pretty easy to make with a brake and a mill, but where there's a will, there's a way. Surprisingly, it even fits. fan2.jpg
     
  4. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    Soooooo....... this is one of those little details I like to figure out (though it's not really that big of a deal). Since I'm mounting the fan to the radiator with my own brackets and not using the cute little feet Spal makes, there were a couple issues to handle. With there being a gap between the fan & radiator and the mounting bolt heads being on the radiator side, I thought I could kill 2 birds with one stone.
    Spal makes a cool rubber seal that will take up the approx. 1/4" gap but the second issue was how to bolt the brackets on without bolt heads wearing 4 nice holes into the core. I surfed Google and found something called Hurricane bolts with really thin and broad heads. I trimmed the seal around the mounting holes so the rubber would seal against the core but the heads wouldn't hit.
    And nobody will know when it's all assembled...... fan3.jpg
     
  5. Dick Stevens
    Joined: Aug 7, 2012
    Posts: 3,708

    Dick Stevens
    Member

    Elevator bolts would possibly be another option for this job.
     
    loudbang likes this.
  6. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    Today's project is making feet for the cell/tray frame. The goal is to be able to bolt the cell/tray frame directly to the the frame rails. The floor where the feet mount tilts back, so that angle had to be matched so the cell sits level. The fronts can't be made up until the roll cage is in place as the rearmost points of the cage need to mount as far back as possible. tank2.jpg tank1.jpg
     
    loudbang, bchctybob and OFT like this.
  7. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    A couple pics of making the feet. Simple is good.....
    20190224_132116.jpg 20190224_134736.jpg
     
  8. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    Hasn't been a lot going on lately with life getting in the way and all. This simple little project took weeks for me to make up my mind about. I modified the stock brake hose bracket but needed a way to hold it on the axle housing. Wound up making a threaded plate out of 1/4" and tacked it on the housing. One more simple little thing.....
    hose1.jpg
     
  9. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    So, things are moving along again. The '31 is moved and covered and the '32 body is off again.
    First thing is get rid of all the garbage frame work the PO did. I'll be re-designing it, but here's where the balancing act is. I've marked where the roll cage will be, but other things that don't have a flexible location need to be mounted.
    frm5.jpg
    Tonight, the parking brake cable bracket was mounted. Layed out the cables to locate the bracket, drilled and installed rivnuts so it can be removed later if need be.
    frm3.jpg
    frm4.jpg
    Next up will be moving the brake master/booster back the 4-3/8" the firewall was set back. When that's done I can then locate and mount the electric vacuum pump. At that point I can start designing the frame reinforcing working around essential components.
    Unfortunately, I also need to cut off and properly mount ALL the suspension brackets since the PO eyeballed everything and the closest he came to getting left and right equal was 1/4". That was only ONE bracket.... the rest are off up to 3/4".
     
  10. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    One more little detail. Since all the suspension mounts/bracket need to redone, I can't trust anything is where it should be. To lay the foundation, I have tape on the top of the frame rails and will be laying out a grid so I can mark locations and measure for square before tacking.
     
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  11. AmishMike
    Joined: Mar 27, 2014
    Posts: 955

    AmishMike
    Member

    God I hate those angled 4 bar suspensions. The steel of a rear end does not compress or stretch. The top bar swings in an arc and then go away from each other if the steel stretches. GM factory used with big rubber bushings to work. Try jacking rear up and down to see if binds. I know I will never use.
     
  12. Splitbudaba
    Joined: Dec 30, 2014
    Posts: 752

    Splitbudaba
    Member

    I put the same style 4 bar in mine, squared it up, set the rod lengths to give adjustability. Tached it in, no binding and no panhard bar getting in the way of exhaust. Try to keep the lower bar parallel to the ground when installed. thumbnail (3).jpeg
     
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  13. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    I'll be honest, I have my doubts about this suspension handling the HP which is why I'll be rattle-canning the frame. Probably wind up going parallel 4 link but you never know 'till you try, right?
     
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  14. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    I'm at a point where it would be easier to just go 4 link now, but there's that part of me that wants to know IF it'll work this way. I know I'll need the adjustability a 4 link gives when it's raced later, but I'm still fooling myself into thinking this will see much street time.
     
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  15. AmishMike
    Joined: Mar 27, 2014
    Posts: 955

    AmishMike
    Member

    I see heim ends in “split bud” which help. Also dragged GM with angled bars. After stiffed bushings really stiff/bind suspension helped it hook. Still will use 4 bar + panhard rather then angled. Big rubber bushings for street & no maintence soft ride. Just my hang up & hate angled bars becoming more popular
     
  16. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    I hear ya. Hard to get my head around this geometry as movement in any direction will bind. Only way I can see smooth articulation is with heims top and bottom at the front. I can do that (and may), but there's a lot to do before that.
     
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  17. Splitbudaba
    Joined: Dec 30, 2014
    Posts: 752

    Splitbudaba
    Member

    I seem to have been edited again! Heim end with a spacer on each side work pretty good! Let’s it roll a little! Won’t mention my El Camino again????
     
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  18. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    Well my momentum came to a screeching halt tonight. I've been measuring to get the 4 link brackets in the right place and nothing's adding up. Started measuring diagonally and ...... frame's tweaked. Now I know why he eyeballed it. Looks like the frame's getting stripped down and put on the frame rack to see if it can be squared up. Only 1 word comes to mind and it starts with an F.......
     
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  19. Splitbudaba
    Joined: Dec 30, 2014
    Posts: 752

    Splitbudaba
    Member

    Bad luck, can’t think of a worse issue! One step forward, two back, story of my life! Well a frame rack should work! Keep smiling?
     
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  20. loudbang
    Joined: Jul 23, 2013
    Posts: 40,274

    loudbang
    Member

    Well crap that is a setback.
     
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  21. dumprat
    Joined: Dec 27, 2006
    Posts: 3,477

    dumprat
    Member
    from b.c.

    If I could add one thing, check the tubing on those links.

    That small of a diameter will not support much torque. Off road 4 link lowers are usually 1/4" wall 2" Dom tube due the the gearing torque multiplication.
     
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  22. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    So I've accepted the inevitable and am stripping the frame down. Motor and trans come out tonight and the frame goes out for some quality time on the frame rack.
    I've been thinking long and hard about just switching the rear to adjustable parallel 4 link seeing as how I have to cut off all the triangulated brackets anyhow. Just have to see if I can do it without going up through the floor. I can't fit the roll cage in if the brackets kick up.
     
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  23. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    Been doing my homework on parallel 4 links and am moving more toward a race setup for tuneability. That means limited street use but I'm OK with that. Thing is, I can't find pics of anyone doing this on a deuce frame so I'm kind of stepping off the cliff and doing it my way. Anyone have pics of a drag parallel 4 link suspension on a deuce frame?
     
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  24. dumprat
    Joined: Dec 27, 2006
    Posts: 3,477

    dumprat
    Member
    from b.c.

    @29highboy
    just did one. He should have pics but they are likely on instagram
     
  25. koolbeans
    Joined: Apr 12, 2015
    Posts: 633

    koolbeans
    Member

    Not so.....take a floor jack... lift the center...then take a 2x4 under one wheel....lift it up then down...works perfectly.

    Sent from my XT1710-02 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  26. dumprat
    Joined: Dec 27, 2006
    Posts: 3,477

    dumprat
    Member
    from b.c.

    Having built a four link on an off topic rig that had near 16" on travel and 48" of articulation, the trick is making the links long enough so that the allowable rotation in the joints is not the limiting factor.

    And all of what you read about a four link not articulating is absolute bs. Done right they ride great and handle better.
     
    gimpyshotrods likes this.
  27. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 23,233

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Truth.
     
  28. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    Well, good news and bad news. Bad news is everything but the 9" goes. Good news is I figured out how to mount the CE C2028 magnum 4 link kit and all I have to do is mount the axle brackets between the frame rails and cell/battery tray, cut out part of the trunk floor for clearance and fab up the front bracket x-member. Ride height should stay the same and the front 4 link brackets won't look too obnoxious.
    Anybody need a complete triangulated 4 link setup?
    cee-2028_cp.jpg rear3.jpg
     
  29. dumprat
    Joined: Dec 27, 2006
    Posts: 3,477

    dumprat
    Member
    from b.c.

    Ya might wanna rethink the angle of the shocks at the same time.
     
  30. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    Those are going too. The new coilovers will need to be shorter and will be straight up (not laid over and certainly not like the pic!). I've come to the realization that street duty will be extremely limited, so let's make the rear suspension tune-able. The triangulated setup just can't do what I want, so time to stop beating my head against the wall.
     
    loudbang likes this.

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