Thanks! I'm still quite a hack in my mind, but I just keep trying to learn new skills. I would never be able to cut it at a real shop. I'm SO slow! Ha!
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Cheaper Than Therapy: A Build Thread
- Thread starter marjama
- Start date
Thanks! I'm still quite a hack in my mind, but I just keep trying to learn new skills. I would never be able to cut it at a real shop. I'm SO slow! Ha!
To drain, or not to drain?
Ok gang...I'm on vacation at the moment, which means I'm back to work on the Bronco. (Well, I just finished making a body cart to get a different project off of my lift...I'll post some pics of that later!)
I'm planning on burning in a lot of the brackets on the axle housings over the next few days. I'm trying to decide if I should pull the rear upper link bracket off and add some kind of drain holes to it. Thoughts?
In the pics below you can see the bathtub that exists below the link mount. That's just going to fill with water and dirt. Should I worry about it?
Ok gang...I'm on vacation at the moment, which means I'm back to work on the Bronco. (Well, I just finished making a body cart to get a different project off of my lift...I'll post some pics of that later!)
I'm planning on burning in a lot of the brackets on the axle housings over the next few days. I'm trying to decide if I should pull the rear upper link bracket off and add some kind of drain holes to it. Thoughts?
In the pics below you can see the bathtub that exists below the link mount. That's just going to fill with water and dirt. Should I worry about it?
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Marcus- you'll be good to go w/o mud or water if you park it downhill on your driveway when you get home!
I would not worry about it. There are SO many crooks and cranny's on a Bronco and this is just a spot to hit with the hose or pressure washer when you get home. Sure it will get a puddle stain on the inside... no big deal
Good to hear you are back on it!!
I would not worry about it. There are SO many crooks and cranny's on a Bronco and this is just a spot to hit with the hose or pressure washer when you get home. Sure it will get a puddle stain on the inside... no big deal
Good to hear you are back on it!!
You're photo editing skills are better than mine Steve!! lol
Steve has a good point and I'm not saying don't do it but unless you are looking at water drainage only, I think whatever hole you cut will easily plug up. Mud for sure. Small debri of any kind and for me it will pack with ICE and not thaw out till it sits overnight in my shop. Course then most of it would drain... lol
Sure wouldn't hurt but it will probably plug... at least where I wheel. My upper brackets don't have drain holes and no gunk is in there after I spray it with a hose to get rid of leftover whatever I've wheeled in that day/week.
Steve has a good point and I'm not saying don't do it but unless you are looking at water drainage only, I think whatever hole you cut will easily plug up. Mud for sure. Small debri of any kind and for me it will pack with ICE and not thaw out till it sits overnight in my shop. Course then most of it would drain... lol
Sure wouldn't hurt but it will probably plug... at least where I wheel. My upper brackets don't have drain holes and no gunk is in there after I spray it with a hose to get rid of leftover whatever I've wheeled in that day/week.
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Cut a 5/8” radius in the corners and the water and debris will have a way to escape without affecting strength
Please excuse my most hacktacular photo edit
That's kind of what I was thinking about doing...a small radius cut in each corner to allow drainage. Might not look as "cool" as being fully welded, but at least the water will have a place to go!
I don't disagree with all of your comments either, Brian! In the PNW I just keep imagining all of the water sitting in there this time of year. Not a huge deal really, but that pocket is quite deep. Then again, most liquid would probably just run out every time I'm on the brakes. So...
I'll go out to the shop and stare at it a little more. Now is the time to do it if I'm going to pull it off and modify it. Thanks guys!
As promised...here are a couple of images of the body cart I built over the last week. It's essentially a copy of an Autotwirler design. Happy to share Solidworks files if anyone wants them. Pretty simple design to copy though. It's adjustable in basically all directions, so it can be adapted for almost anything you want to move around.
The only downside to this design is that it sits pretty tall. The '66 F100 you see on there would sit quite a bit lower if I had a longer center tube...but that was the longest tube I had in the shop and we have 6"+ of snow sitting on the ground, so I'm not pulling the trailer to the metal yard for a bit. I'm also using 8" wheels because I want to be able to roll this thing around and onto a trailer more easily. Soon to be added are D-rings to be able to strap it down / tie the body down to the cart.
I'm contemplating trying to add a tow hitch of some kind to this so I can pull it out of the shop. Ever since I went nuts and cut all of the suspension off it has been taking up a lot of space. I live on a hillside though and there is no way to simply 'push' it out of the door. I just keep imagining it getting away from me though, and this body tipped over in my driveway. That would be bad. Really bad. Ha!
The only downside to this design is that it sits pretty tall. The '66 F100 you see on there would sit quite a bit lower if I had a longer center tube...but that was the longest tube I had in the shop and we have 6"+ of snow sitting on the ground, so I'm not pulling the trailer to the metal yard for a bit. I'm also using 8" wheels because I want to be able to roll this thing around and onto a trailer more easily. Soon to be added are D-rings to be able to strap it down / tie the body down to the cart.
I'm contemplating trying to add a tow hitch of some kind to this so I can pull it out of the shop. Ever since I went nuts and cut all of the suspension off it has been taking up a lot of space. I live on a hillside though and there is no way to simply 'push' it out of the door. I just keep imagining it getting away from me though, and this body tipped over in my driveway. That would be bad. Really bad. Ha!
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My PTO is over, so I guess it's time for another update. Didn't make quite as much progress as I'd planned (what's new?), mostly due to about 12" of snow falling, which is basically apocalyptic around here!
I re-fixtured the front axle with my true bar setup, and burned in all of the main brackets. Still need to weld the bump platforms on permanently, but I'm waiting to cycle everything again before I call them done. Also didn't think I could get the mig gun into all of those nooks and crannies, so I'll tig them when the time comes.
I've been holding off on putting the 9" diffs together specifically so I could use on of them in the true bar setup to hold the pucks. Now that I did, I can tell you that if there was movement it was really minor - those 3/8" wall housings are pretty stable! Not going to worry about putting the true bar back in that axle for any additional welding.
I didn't take many pics, and I certainly didn't take pics of any of the uglier welds ;D Sometimes I can produce robot-like welds, but as soon as it gets complicated things occasionally go to sh^t. Ha! Overall, I'm pretty happy with it and glad to wrap that up. Still need to add the fill cap, vent connection and brake line mounts before I can call it done (well, and possibly a sway bar link mount). I really want to get it blasted and painted so I can assemble it - it'd be nice to empty some of the boxes around here and get those parts in the truck! Someday...
I re-fixtured the front axle with my true bar setup, and burned in all of the main brackets. Still need to weld the bump platforms on permanently, but I'm waiting to cycle everything again before I call them done. Also didn't think I could get the mig gun into all of those nooks and crannies, so I'll tig them when the time comes.
I've been holding off on putting the 9" diffs together specifically so I could use on of them in the true bar setup to hold the pucks. Now that I did, I can tell you that if there was movement it was really minor - those 3/8" wall housings are pretty stable! Not going to worry about putting the true bar back in that axle for any additional welding.
I didn't take many pics, and I certainly didn't take pics of any of the uglier welds ;D Sometimes I can produce robot-like welds, but as soon as it gets complicated things occasionally go to sh^t. Ha! Overall, I'm pretty happy with it and glad to wrap that up. Still need to add the fill cap, vent connection and brake line mounts before I can call it done (well, and possibly a sway bar link mount). I really want to get it blasted and painted so I can assemble it - it'd be nice to empty some of the boxes around here and get those parts in the truck! Someday...
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Once I got the front axle welded up I spent an inordinate amount of time realigning the chassis to my (now three year old) marks on the floor. This makes me wish I had a frame table or a jig of some sort. I'm sure my idea of accuracy is excessive for what I'm building, but the engineer in me can't help it.
With everything realigned and the axle rehung I went back to work on the shock mounting and the support bar. I didn't take a lot of pics of this process. I ended up pulling the hoops off and re-aligning them (first attempt wasn't great), then fabricated the cross over tube. Completed bar is in the first two pics, all tacked up and set in place with the TMF interlocking connectors installed. I managed to clear the steering shaft (which was the problem with my original attempt), but there will likely be issues with the master cylinder. You can see this in the last two pics. I had the hydroboost set pretty high, and it'll be quite a bit better if I lower it down. I'm also going to clock it 90° for better clearance. We'll see how it looks after that - a remote master cylinder or relocating the entire assembly may be on the table. TBD!
Another change I made - I had two 1/2 spacers under the intake, and removed one to drop it down a bit. That's going to create some challenges with the throttle cable, but it wasn't great in the previous version anyway.
Burned a lot of time over the last few days, but I'm pretty happy to see forward progress. I've got some ideas for modifying the rear axle mounts, so more to come on that later this week.
With everything realigned and the axle rehung I went back to work on the shock mounting and the support bar. I didn't take a lot of pics of this process. I ended up pulling the hoops off and re-aligning them (first attempt wasn't great), then fabricated the cross over tube. Completed bar is in the first two pics, all tacked up and set in place with the TMF interlocking connectors installed. I managed to clear the steering shaft (which was the problem with my original attempt), but there will likely be issues with the master cylinder. You can see this in the last two pics. I had the hydroboost set pretty high, and it'll be quite a bit better if I lower it down. I'm also going to clock it 90° for better clearance. We'll see how it looks after that - a remote master cylinder or relocating the entire assembly may be on the table. TBD!
Another change I made - I had two 1/2 spacers under the intake, and removed one to drop it down a bit. That's going to create some challenges with the throttle cable, but it wasn't great in the previous version anyway.
Burned a lot of time over the last few days, but I'm pretty happy to see forward progress. I've got some ideas for modifying the rear axle mounts, so more to come on that later this week.
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marjama, what laser are you using, I have one that works well but not near that bright, or is it dim in your shop?
Steve, it's a Leica laser. The model is the Lino L2 Li-Ion. I bought it last year for some remodeling projects and to use in the shop. It has been super handy! I went with this model for various reasons, but was really looking for rechargeable & the ability to plug in. I picked it up here with a coupon, but the price has dropped a bit since then:
https://www.appraiserslaser.com/collections/lino
Green laser is supposed to be the way to go for better visibility in bright rooms, but it is quite a bit more spendy. It's also not very bright in my shop, so that could be part of it too! When I turn on my LED lights it gets washed out quite a bit.
Nothing like "Snomeggaden" to help ya be locked indoors to get so much done! Glad you had power too!
What connectors are you using for the tubing on your crossover pc?
Whole project is coming together fast now... you might not think so but it's looking good!
Glad you had power too! What connectors are you using for the tubing on your crossover pc?
Whole project is coming together fast now... you might not think so but it's looking good!
Nothing like "Snomeggaden" to help ya be locked indoors to get so much done!
What connectors are you using for the tubing on your crossover pc?
Whole project is coming together fast now... you might not think so but it's looking good!
I just keep creeping the project forward! Sometimes it feels like I'm making good progress, but I do still have a lot to do. I'm ready to get this thing back on the road!
I'm using TMF's interlocking tube clamps:
https://www.tmrcustoms.com/collections/tube-clamps-flanges
They aren't the cheapest version, but I like their design.
Just another weekend update...
I spent an excessive amount of time reversing the intake manifold with the hope that it would cure all of my hydroboost clearance issues. In the first pic you can see that it's still pretty much a no-go. I'm contemplating shifting the booster far to the right in that photo (to the drivers side) - basically outside of the typical EB pedal bracket. I need to get the front tube frame back on the truck and cycle the tires around to see how things look though. I may still go with the intake flip - it solves some issues with other clearances. However...it requires different fuel rails and either different throttle cable routing or a different throttle body. First world problems.
Second set of images is what I've decided to do with the rear upper link tower. Two things are happening. First is that I made a cut out in the back of the part - no real reason for this other than I think it "looks cooler"! I've been looking at way too many cool desert truck and prerunner builds on instagram, and it's ruining me. The main reason I started digging into it was to add the orange highlighted piece you see in the solidworks model - it's basically a thin drain plate to stop water from pooling.
Here's my real question for the day. You can probably see that the tower is slightly offset from the CL of the case. It's 0.19", just because that is how everything lines up...according to science. (i.e. the pinion is in line with the driveshaft, links are in line with the center of the truck). I am thinking about centering the tower on the center section...again, just because it looks funny. I'm sure that's well within the slop of most vehicles, but the engineer in me wants it all to be 'precise'. Can't imagine it would make a noticeable difference with anything. (The roll center will be skewed slightly.) What do the experts say?!
I spent an excessive amount of time reversing the intake manifold with the hope that it would cure all of my hydroboost clearance issues. In the first pic you can see that it's still pretty much a no-go. I'm contemplating shifting the booster far to the right in that photo (to the drivers side) - basically outside of the typical EB pedal bracket. I need to get the front tube frame back on the truck and cycle the tires around to see how things look though. I may still go with the intake flip - it solves some issues with other clearances. However...it requires different fuel rails and either different throttle cable routing or a different throttle body. First world problems.
Second set of images is what I've decided to do with the rear upper link tower. Two things are happening. First is that I made a cut out in the back of the part - no real reason for this other than I think it "looks cooler"! I've been looking at way too many cool desert truck and prerunner builds on instagram, and it's ruining me. The main reason I started digging into it was to add the orange highlighted piece you see in the solidworks model - it's basically a thin drain plate to stop water from pooling.
Here's my real question for the day. You can probably see that the tower is slightly offset from the CL of the case. It's 0.19", just because that is how everything lines up...according to science. (i.e. the pinion is in line with the driveshaft, links are in line with the center of the truck). I am thinking about centering the tower on the center section...again, just because it looks funny. I'm sure that's well within the slop of most vehicles, but the engineer in me wants it all to be 'precise'. Can't imagine it would make a noticeable difference with anything. (The roll center will be skewed slightly.) What do the experts say?!
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I am NO expert (as anyone that knows me "knows") but center the links to your frame no matter what it looks like. I was impressed with how far off center the pinion is on my 14 bolt.
Don't look at the tube buggy builds or you will never finish! lol
I just built what I wanted and seriously never looked at any other builds when I did mine. I just knew what I wanted to accomplish suspension-wise and it STILL took me forever. Mine does not have the finish cutouts or details in gussets but it works. I'm sure in 10 yrs when I tear it all apart again for 4 electric motors that I won't care at all when I cut all my brackets off and re-do them.
Keep going Marcus... your build is looking great.
I have moved my m/c farther over to the left 3 times for different reasons over the years. You can see it on my build but it works great where it is now. My 40's miss it by a couple inches on full stuff but it's amazing how close they get. Just make sure you leave enough room for them to clear your strut hoops as a HB w/MC protrudes out about 14".
Don't look at the tube buggy builds or you will never finish! lol
I just built what I wanted and seriously never looked at any other builds when I did mine. I just knew what I wanted to accomplish suspension-wise and it STILL took me forever. Mine does not have the finish cutouts or details in gussets but it works. I'm sure in 10 yrs when I tear it all apart again for 4 electric motors that I won't care at all when I cut all my brackets off and re-do them.
Keep going Marcus... your build is looking great.
I have moved my m/c farther over to the left 3 times for different reasons over the years. You can see it on my build but it works great where it is now. My 40's miss it by a couple inches on full stuff but it's amazing how close they get. Just make sure you leave enough room for them to clear your strut hoops as a HB w/MC protrudes out about 14".
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great updates and progress.. keep plugging away
Well Brian, you are more of an expert than I am...you have a proven functional vehicle! I'm not sure my internal need to have things be 'accurate' would let me center that rear tower up anyway, but the aesthetic still makes me a little nuts. Maybe because it's offset by such a small amount that it looks more accidental than intentional...? I don't know. Ha!
I will go digging for pics of your hydroboost install - I thought I remembered yours being about where I'm talking about putting it.
Alright - question of the day:
When welding on coil over mounts, link mounts, etc. are you guys all attempting to weld all around (both sides), or just one side? Weld everything you can reach?
Given the function and how everything is bolted together one side should be more than strong enough (and clearly based on factory welds it doesn't take much!). I've been wrapping around the link mounts by about 1/2", but the lower coil over mounts in the pic are only welded on the outside.
When welding on coil over mounts, link mounts, etc. are you guys all attempting to weld all around (both sides), or just one side? Weld everything you can reach?
Given the function and how everything is bolted together one side should be more than strong enough (and clearly based on factory welds it doesn't take much!). I've been wrapping around the link mounts by about 1/2", but the lower coil over mounts in the pic are only welded on the outside.
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I always do my best to center the links with the chassis, it does make the geometry better. However I have skewed them pretty severely due to clearance issues, like engines in the way, and really had minimal negative side affects but sometimes in some scenarios they get weird and unpredictable. however .19" you'll never notice, if the aesthetics bother you that much center it but if to help negate the other compromises keep it centered, even though I am positive you'd never notice performance wise and I can promise only you will notice the aesthetics.
As for the welding, single sided is more than adequate. And if for some reason you need to remove it, your cussing a whole lot less..... I'm my own worst enemy, I like the blue light and get carried away...LOL
I have a friend that is a weld engineer and makes his living working with companies optimizing their weld processes for integrity, speed and final product quality. His favorite quote every time he looks at my stuff is "Over welding is holding the World together", Which is true, improper techniques creating poor quality welds that are just over done keeps the world from literally falling apart.
As for the welding, single sided is more than adequate. And if for some reason you need to remove it, your cussing a whole lot less..... I'm my own worst enemy, I like the blue light and get carried away...LOL
I have a friend that is a weld engineer and makes his living working with companies optimizing their weld processes for integrity, speed and final product quality. His favorite quote every time he looks at my stuff is "Over welding is holding the World together", Which is true, improper techniques creating poor quality welds that are just over done keeps the world from literally falling apart.
