Jesses' 48 PU

[Jesse49chevy]

Originally Posted by HAULIN' IT

Ok, That is what I expected, just wanted you to confirm. You threw me off for a second there with the part about: "One inch to the Left". That is going to get you in trouble working on vehicles. The passenger's side is always the RIGHT. Doesn't matter if you are looking at it from the front or back, sitting in it or sitting on the couch talking about it...the passenger's side is always the RIGHT.

On to the rear end. There is nothing wrong with what you have. That will go MANY miles just like that without ever giving you a problem! What is important is that you have the driveline angles correct or real close to correct, the U-joints phased on the driveshaft, ect. If your truck has a vibration when its done, look elsewhere because the off-set is not going to be the problem.
Think of it this way...your engine/transmission & rear end are most likely not exactly the same height off the ground. Basically no vehicle is. There will be
variation up/down. Likewise proper alignment for a street driven vehicle does not point the transmission directly at the pinion.
Envision if you turned your truck on its side...you would have the same thing you do now...the engine/transmission would be one inch higher than the pinion, Correct? That's what U-joints are for. Click on the link below, that photo has been around forever & shows what you're looking for. It shows the off-set to the driver's side but that is just for reference...what matters is the parallel units, engine/trans & rear axle. Put er together! Lorne
https://www.bing.com/images/search?v...j_RJH8bYgAAAA&

Lorne I appreciate the advise and insight. It makes sense now that you explain it. Thanks for sharing your knowledge...

Question, I hear and read different things about the angles. I set my engine 3 degrees down and the pinion 3 degrees up. Is that correct?

[HAULIN' IT]

Yep! Sounds like you are on the right track. Lorne

[dsraven]

ujoint angles sound good. with leaf springs some guys will leave the axle at a lesser angle because the springs wrap up under hard acceleration and allow the axle to rotate some (google it) if not doing a full on race car the angle matching should be good though. if you find you get a shudder under hard take offs you can always install an axle wedge shim to change the angle slightly (available at 4x4 shops or on line) or a traction bar on the springs to stop axle angles changing.

[HAULIN' IT]

I came across this video tonight (I had seen it & other similar versions before). It really helps make it clearer. There is another video that is longer with more variations that is cool to watch as well. Lorne
https://youtu.be/gmV4qwLfOMY

[Jesse49chevy]

Originally Posted by HAULIN' IT

I came across this video tonight (I had seen it & other similar versions before). It really helps make it clearer. There is another video that is longer with more variations that is cool to watch as well. Lorne
https://youtu.be/gmV4qwLfOMY

Lorne, thanks for the info and video.... Very helpful and sets my concerns at ease....

[Jesse49chevy]

It was a normal week, traveled to my Dallas and San Antonio office, came back home Friday. All week I thought about working on my truck, the trans tunnel I needed to build...
So today I did just that, mocked it up using poster board...

[Jesse49chevy]

one thing I learned is that you never have enough magnets!! Wish I had more small magnets...

[Jesse49chevy]

Last Xmas my wife asked what I wanted, I asked her to look at my wish list in Eastwood. So she bought me the 24" slip roller and a bead roller. They have been stored in the original box since. So it was exciting to finally unbox it and use the roller. I built a stand for it, put it on wheels so I can move around with ease. I even painted it Eastwood blue!

[Jesse49chevy]

I cut my metal, planned to use 16gauge because that's what I have. So when I go to roll it.... The $&@$!? Thing doesn't work!! Damn you Eastwood! The darn gears don't engage, the rear roller is stuck in place, the top roller won't spin.
Aaaaahh so disappointing and angry! I worked most of the day building the stand and for it not to work!! I even put my Harbor Freight metal roller on the same stand...
Well it's still under warranty, so guess I'll go through the exchange process.

[dsraven]

uuugghh. frickin frackin frockin dough headed#@%&*!
you gotta HATE that. it would drive me crazy.

[Jesse49chevy]

It did, I was looking forward to it... A new toy/tool... Like who doesn't get excited.... Then to find out it's broken or simply a POS. The darn gears are not aligned, I tried to adjust them but nothing worked. I'm no engineer but I believe it has the wrong gear setup, as soon as they come together it locks up.... Well I'll try something different today.

[Jesse49chevy]

This is what I did last weekend. I started working on the firewall, since I pushed the engine back I cut the firewall for clearance.
I used 16 gauge metal, bent it using a pipe I had laying around and trimmed it to fit.

[Jesse49chevy]

Kept it simple

[Jesse49chevy]

[Jesse49chevy]

[Jesse49chevy]

Well not a bad weekend after all. I looked in my pile of metal and found half a sheet of 18 guage metal. Not sure where it come from or what it was left over from, but I'm glad it was there and why I never throw left over material away. It had surface rust so I took a wire brush to it and cleaned it as much as I could. Still upset over my roller but determined not to let it stop me from accomplishing my weekend goal of installing the trans tunnel.
I clamped an old 4 wheeler break drum to my table and used it to form the tunnel. Between that and gentle massaging, I was able to shape it and mock it up before tack welding.

[Jesse49chevy]

Some adjusting here and there

[Jesse49chevy]

Once I trimmed it and was happy with it, I tack welded it in place.

[Jesse49chevy]

[dsraven]

nice. looks like a cutaway of a rocket. take care welding the seams so it doesn't warp.
keep posting those pics, we all love to see the progress.

[8man]

Nice work.

[joedoh]

perfect!

[edgeleycanuck]

Well done! That's another piece I have to complete myself. I like how you sectioned it to keep it as low as possible. Good work.

[Jesse49chevy]

It's been a bit since my last post. Been busy with work and very little time to work on my truck. But I have been working on it an hour here and there. Today I pulled the cab off and finished welding the firewall insert and trans tunnel. Not perfect but I say it gives the truck character... Lol.

[Jesse49chevy]