Count me as one of the many that never considered the green glass. I guess I always assumed the ones I had seen were a result of old manufacturing techniques. The finish will remain as is for now. At some point I am sure it will require paint as the primer is pretty chalky. It was black before fading so it would get that again. I believe the jaguar track width is within and couple inches of the solid axle, but someone please correct me if wrong.
Not too much progress, but my dad did finish up the shock mounts. He is painting the wheels this week and should have the steering done once the rack side joint shows up.
My dad painted the wheels and trimmed the fender liners for the shock mounts over the weekend. We found an aluminum driveshaft from the 04 trailblazer that was the proper length (51"). The tires should be mounted once the paint has set a for a few days. Excited to see how it sits.
My dad had all of the tires mounted and the rear looks good. The frame is going to need a small notch at the ride height we want. The front needs wheel spacers and maybe a taller tire than the 235/70 we have now. He also installed a majority of the sound insulation, the front sheet metal, and finished building the doors.
The jag spring rate was not going to get us the ride height we so we decided to bag the front. I would have rather used the springs considering the trucks intended use, but it was just not going to work. The bags also make servicing the suspension much easier as compressing the coil springs would require droping the subframe. I still think the tire needs to be taller. I have been looking for a set of stock hubcaps without much luck.
Any of the classic F100 part suppliers should have brand new/repro hub-caps. And that front end looks plenty high enough off the ground - mine is about 5" off the ground at the front pan and just under 4" at the front of the running-board.
Thanks damagedduck. I am trying to avoid the aftermarket caps because of cost. I really dont need them in perfect condition as they will be painted allowing for some repair. Used sets seem hard to come by though. As for the ride height that is not my main motivation in wanting a taller tire. It would mainly just be an attempt to fill the wheel opening and come closer to the rear diameter to reduce the "rake" a bit. There is almost a 3" difference in overall tire height front to rear. I think something between 30-31" should look right if it will clear.
Finished up the notch in the rear, and made some changes to the front shocks as we need more travel out of them with the bags. The brake lines are also now complete, and we finally got the steering shaft back after three weeks at the machine shop. One of the crossmembers under the cab needs be changed to clear the driveshaft so that is next on the list. Still need to tuck the bumper a few inches, its just sitting there for the image.
It may have but its unlikely considering the crossmember swap. It also would have cost more than the free I got the LS1 for.
When you finish the air ride can you post some pictures of the bag cups you used? I'm going to be doing the same thing and I'm unsure of what needs to be modified. Thanks
We have been slowly making progress with a few changes that took more work that expected. We modified the front cab mount crossmember so it can be removed in order to drop the motor while attached to the subframe. We also had to modify the rear cab mount crossmember to clear the driveshaft. I was not too happy with the front brake lines so those were plumbed again. This time through the boxed frame rails exiting at the bottom just ahead of the subframe mount. All but a short front section of the fuel system is now complete as is the rear suspension. My dad bought the air shocks before we decided to use the 8.8 and could not return them. Not ideal but I guess they will be nice if it has something heavy in it. I really struggled with the gauges and would have liked to use a long sweep electronic speedo behind the stock face. I could not find anything that I felt would work so ordered a new set. I am sure some will hate them, but its the most basic design I could find without breaking the bank. They are going to sit in the stock housing behind glass. Trying to find a local CNC router or laser cutter to have the internal surround done. May resort to hole saws if that is too expensive. We also tucked the bumper and I had to replace the 4l60e front pump rotor after my Dad fractured it while attaching to the motor. The engine harness is in along with the PCM. Just today I mounted the chassis fuse panel and ran wires outside of the cab down/inside the frame rail. Also fixed the emergency brake lever, re-reouted the cable and adapted it to the explorer 8.8 section. You dont need cups if you use a 5.5" diameter bag with the proper length range. We used slam specialties SS-5. Just drill the spot welds from the stock upper coil spring cups and remove them. This leaves you with a flat surface for the bag to mount to. The air fitting will pass through an existing hole used when compressing the coil springs. The lower plate remains stock with new holes drilled to mount the bag.
It takes time but your doing it. Im 4 years into mine, told the wife about a year, she wants me to hurry up and get it done. I think she is more anxious than I am. About a year to go but everything is paid for and everything is new or completely rebuilt from ground up. I helped rebuild it in high school [ was my auto body teachers], got it given to me after he passed away. It had sat in the weeds for 20 yrs. It is worth it tho.
I think we can have it driving within the next couple months now that I am back in town. Over the weekend we finished up the rear section of the chassis wiring and got the front through the boxed rail. We are waiting for the clip to go back on before clipping or soldering any connections on that end. I had to have a clutch lines done for another car so went ahead and had them do the power steering and 10x1.0 bubble to 3/16 standard brake lines at the same time. Steering column parts also arrived along with gauge glass so that should happen this week. I also found a local laser cutter for the gauge surround, just need to get the DXP file done in illustrator and send it off.
I was able to get the radiator mounted and a majority if the column finished up today. I was lucky to find the correct flanged bearing locally. Still need to chop a coupe inches off the stock steering shaft and pin/weld the DD section to it. We are going to level the hump above the radiator once the clip is on the chassis, so the top mounts will be done at that time.
Its from a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The inlet/outlet positions are not ideal, but the size is just about perfect and it was only $65 brand new. The fan is also from the same model as was another $45.
I finished the column and steering linkage this evening. Still need to work out a way to get the shift linkage to telescope in order for the limeworks safety mechanism to function.
The Jalopy Journal
