57 Panel "FAKMLC" build

[FAKKY]

Well ended up ordering a brand new 7" wheel to run a 8" tire 205/75/15

Was reading an article about wrapping exhaust and how ineffective it really is so for heat control so did a backyard test.



Basically heated without the wrap and measured the tempo on that aluminium
then repeated with the wrap.
I would absolutely say I could not really tell any difference in radiant heat ..... it was at least just as bad with the wrap.

[dsraven]

thats why I suggested a heat shield between pertinent (meltable) parts. shield with air gap is gonna make a difference. insulated shield, with air gap is gonna make a bigger difference. check out the underside of your current daily driver vehicle and you will likely see a heat shield under the floor above he catalytic converter. something like that. a lot of those are thin aluminum double sides with some sort of insulation (I think) sandwiched between. maybe a double walled cookie sheet could be used as a trial in your heat shielding tests. google air bake cookie sheets for info on how they do it, if interested.

[FAKKY]

Originally Posted by dsraven

thats why I suggested a heat shield between pertinent (meltable) parts. shield with air gap is gonna make a difference. insulated shield, with air gap is gonna make a bigger difference. check out the underside of your current daily driver vehicle and you will likely see a heat shield under the floor above he catalytic converter. something like that. a lot of those are thin aluminum double sides with some sort of insulation (I think) sandwiched between. maybe a double walled cookie sheet could be used as a trial in your heat shielding tests. google air bake cookie sheets for info on how they do it, if interested.

Yeha I think thats the next step. Going to wrap the exhaust in some ceramic heat fabric - like 1" thick , aluminium reflector ... and tie down with zip ties ....
Then place a heat shield in areas where its tight to absorb and reflect some radiant heat.

Just was suprised how "poor" the wraps were .......

[FAKKY]

Got the spare tire and had to order the wheel new to get the offset I wanted.
Went with 195/60/15 tire (used) a little shorter and a little cheaper.

[FAKKY]

Still a little unsure about fuel tank clearance ..... but not sure if Im overthinking it given much lower cars like sports cars. It looks like its the low point by about 1" .....



Distance from ground is 6 1/4" at very front of tank.

Distance at front cross member is close to 7"

Distance at rear diff is 8"

Not sure if I should try and put some sort of skid plate on it ...... I think the max legal speed bump is 6".

[FAKKY]

Pretty sure I got the axle aligned and pinion/driveshaft set with close to 0.5 degree operating angle. But pretty parallel.















The suck part of this is Im pretty sure Im going to have to pull the axle to weld to spring pads ....... has anyone done this in the truck ? Thinking Im not the best welder even though more effort probably best to pull.

[Black_Sheep]

I tacked the perches on the truck after setting the pinion angle, then pulled the axle to fully weld them. I planned to refinish the axle at the same time, which played a role in my decision.

[joedoh]

fully welded should be the goal but remember the u bolts provide the clamping force to keep everything together. i remember back when two link box tube rear suspensions were the rage, guys would unbolt the u bolts and the perches would be cracked off the axle tube (no articulation possible, think of an i beam sway bar). also be careful welding. i blew a small hole through an axle tube welding on a lower bar mount once and it wept/leaked slowly until i took it all apart and flipped it over to fix it.


looking super great!

[FAKKY]

Originally Posted by Black_Sheep

I tacked the perches on the truck after setting the pinion angle, then pulled the axle to fully weld them. I planned to refinish the axle at the same time, which played a role in my decision.

Think Im going to tack in place. Then raise the truck an pull the wheels anbd try and get it done with my TIG. Been outside practicing on scrap 1/4 plate ... ok ... but a bit harder when its rusty with porosity

Originally Posted by joedoh

fully welded should be the goal but remember the u bolts provide the clamping force to keep everything together. i remember back when two link box tube rear suspensions were the rage, guys would unbolt the u bolts and the perches would be cracked off the axle tube (no articulation possible, think of an i beam sway bar). also be careful welding. i blew a small hole through an axle tube welding on a lower bar mount once and it wept/leaked slowly until i took it all apart and flipped it over to fix it.


looking super great!

Dang - yeah I was thinking based on some comments that the perches themselves probably dont see that much force unless under huge torque .... my buddy who used to race diesel trucks said he mostly did three or four large tacks and called it a day.
Thats crazy about them being fully seperated tho.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by FAKKY

Think Im going to tack in place. Then raise the truck an pull the wheels anbd try and get it done with my TIG. Been outside practicing on scrap 1/4 plate ... ok ... but a bit harder when its rusty with porosity







Dang - yeah I was thinking based on some comments that the perches themselves probably dont see that much force unless under huge torque .... my buddy who used to race diesel trucks said he mostly did three or four large tacks and called it a day.
Thats crazy about them being fully seperated tho.

well that is a special case, using box tube as suspension links didnt allow for articulation. get three 2x4 and label one axle and the others links. nail the end of the links to the axle. now have two friends stand on the other ends of the links. lift the axle, up and down really smooth. now lift one side, oops both sides go up. now lift one side while holding the other down. you will hear the nails popping, there is no articulation. thats what broke the perches on those trucks. leafs will articulate!

[FAKKY]

Fixed the porosity issue.



Now just need to get better on my lines and technique (still)
But should be good enough to hold.

[FAKKY]

Well checked over my pinion/ujoint angles a 4th time last night and tacked the rear end. Pulled the wheels and started plasma cutting and grinding the old shock tabs off as they arent going to work for me and I need then to get access to weld.

Got me looking at my clearnace from axle to frame more. I didnt CNOTCH it knowing it would be an issue for bottoming out ....... and I still have no plans to do so yet .....
BUt what can I do to limit travel as smoothly as possible and bottoming out here.....

Airbags ?
Heavy Duty oversized rubber bumps ?
Oversized schocks ?

[mongocanfly]

How close is the diff to the floor?..even if you did c-notch it may be the 1st part to hit...
You could remove the bump stop and relocate it over and up to give you a little more travel...
You might also want to consider a mini c and boxing the frame around it...

[FAKKY]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

How close is the diff to the floor?..even if you did c-notch it may be the 1st part to hit...
You could remove the bump stop and relocate it over and up to give you a little more travel...
You might also want to consider a mini c and boxing the frame around it...

Right now .... full weight on jack .... the diff is round 3" from floor

The bumpstops are 2.5" tall. And they have about 0.25" before they start to make contact. Giving around 2.75" total from frame to axle if not bumpstop.

So wondering how to add a couple inches best. I dont mind a small rake.

2" lift blocks ?
Airbags.
New leafs - this says 2.5" lift https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/index...ducts_id=17900

etc

[mongocanfly]

If youve got room, the airbags are nice,,,you can adjust your ride height to whatever you want..
It also helps when your hauling a load..
I have a set on my gmc...a must have for newer trucks that arnt made to haul anything..

[FAKKY]

Dont have a lot of room each side of the springs...... Wheel on one side .... exhaust on the other.

Sport right style seems interesting if it would fit .... as rides on leaf themselves.

https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/fires...caAoJHEALw_wcB

[mongocanfly]

Those are the same ones I had on my 99 when I sold it 13yrs later..
I used the double bellows style on my 13gmc

[FAKKY]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Those are the same ones I had on my 99 when I sold it 13yrs later..
I used the double bellows style on my 13gmc

Looks like I only have 4" of clearance between frame nad leafs ... says it needs minimum 6".

[FAKKY]

Well..
welded the axle ....... straight as an arrow ...... at least the tires on rotation are

Took her for a block sping - rode awesome ....... even wiothout shocks ..... But I do have a power steering leak as well as a "gringing" sounds .... again PS ..... I thought I had addressed this ....... any ideas on how to track down issue/fix ....

Away for 3 weeks .....

[FAKKY]

[FAKKY]

One of my rookie mistakes - I want out and bought some bucket seats like 2 years baclk because I thought they were cheap ...... they werent and they also had the airbags removed.

So I bought some $100 covers from amazon. Really made all the differnece. Especially the front. (Best fit)

[FAKKY]

What do you guys recommend here.
Im going to end up raising the AC unit about 3" ......

but more currently its pinned by 1 bolt with saftey locknut ....... there is a hole at the bottom for the other. I just pinned in so I could test drive around the block. Now I am thinking I might just go ahead an pin in the other as trying to get a formed bit of steel behind that might be tricky and then I'd still need to weld that or bolt it in anway.

thoughts ?

[nvrdone]

first off, id recommend fasting the lower end of that throttle pedal down. id hate to see it turn sideways and get caught under the brake pedal. and i hope you have small feet. doesnt look like too much clearance under the a/c unit or between throttle & brake pedals.

[FAKKY]

Originally Posted by nvrdone

first off, id recommend fasting the lower end of that throttle pedal down. id hate to see it turn sideways and get caught under the brake pedal. and i hope you have small feet. doesnt look like too much clearance under the a/c unit or between throttle & brake pedals.

Mentioned most of that in paragraph above

1) Pinning the bottom nut and call it a day ?
2) Raising the AC unit.

Was just wondering if there were other ideas/suggestions on doing that ..... like welding the pedal bracket to a bracing plate first .... which is where I was originally going ....... but now just thinking to bolt it directly in .....

[joedoh]

II built a small stand, just a plate with some legs that I was able to bend into the right shape to move the pedal off the firewall.