Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)

[dsraven]

the X bar under the hood gives stability to the hood so it doesn't flex so much and so it will fit between the fenders properly. maybe you can make a modified version. on my 57 it is in there but the brackets it attaches to are not actually attached to the hood. the hood can easily be twisted up on one of the front corners so closing the hood isn't just a "drop it and it latches" motion, it is more like a "close it slowly and adjust it to not smack one of the front fenders on the way down" motions. is your hood latch installed and does the hood close on it properly every time?
open the hood slightly so it's just above the fenders, grab each front corner and apply some torque, you'll see pretty quickly what i mean if the X brace is removed.

[dsraven]

curious, I always wonder on trucks like yours with big tires tucked under the front, what is your turning radius like?

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by dsraven

curious, I always wonder on trucks like yours with big tires tucked under the front, what is your turning radius like?

Turning is very overrated Ha ha. There is always a comprise between being really low with a large diameter wheel/tire. I can't turn lock to lock either but I'd rather have the right look proportions wise even if I lose some turning radius in the process.

My 2 cents (not that anyone asked).

Marc

[6DoF]

hood shuts amazing, fits nicely between the fenders. i'm also not worried about the paint

when dropped, the turning radius is absolute junk. at the 8" ride height when the tire pokes out from under the fender lip, she'll steer all day.

[dsraven]

nice your hood fits well. maybe check the cross braces where they attach as no X bar may put extra stresson them.
you have any pics at the ride height where turning is easy? are you measuring at the front of the rocker or the fender somewhere?

[6DoF]

post #699 shows the rocker slammed vs ride ... i'll get you a full truck picture here this weekend

[dsraven]

yeah, I seen that set of pics but I was wondering what it looks like with fenders on from a little way back, so a full side shot, just to see the whole thing in perspective. if you don't have one thats ok, sooner or later there will be one as you move along in your build.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by dsraven

yeah, I seen that set of pics but I was wondering what it looks like with fenders on from a little way back, so a full side shot, just to see the whole thing in perspective. if you don't have one thats ok, sooner or later there will be one as you move along in your build.

ok ... so i was not able to get the full height pic this weekend ... i couldn't bring myself to fake it i want it to be real and achieved, but my air system wasn't up to it. excuses: 1) air compressors aren't hooked up so i can only get 170psi from the shop air vs the 200psi i should get. 2) i had installed a psi regulator to set max height with, but it turned out to be 250psi capable and only a 125spi max output. only enough air to get me to 7". 3) the new air switches came and i was missing plumbing bits to ditch the reg and get it aired up. but they should be here today!

i finally broke down and bought myself the Aire Jax switches. the look and feel amazing, plus simplify the air lines in the truck 10x. they are mounted and ready, i just need the 3/8" npt to 3/8" tube straight fittings. no clue why i never thought about this orientation before either, but these are super easy to reach from outside the truck, or while driving.

[6DoF]

was toying with an idea while looking things over. pretty much "all the guys" were hating on it, but lets hear what you guys all think.

there's already an interesting dichotomy in this truck of new vs old, so why not with mechanical and electronic as well? i intend to push this engine, so for my own engineering entertainment and to really get it right, i really want/need full datalogging with a huge array of sensors. even just the basics are already too many gauge pods for this truck. the best way i think I've found is the Holley Pro dash. no way it'll fit behind the factory v-bezel, even if i wanted to be missing some screen. so what if i put the big screen for all the gauges and controls mid-dash? then i could do a phone mount in the factory cluster bezel for tunes/navigation.

thoughts?

[6DoF]

my friday did NOT go as planned either, my annual truck inspection found both front axle ujoints were TOAST. of the 8 total caps only 2 had what resembled grease left. only 2 others had what resembled needles left

the most awesome thing though was being able to DRIVE the '55 out of the shop! just fire it up, move it inside somewhere else, and free up the shop for emergency repairs.

[dsraven]

how much air does the system need to lift the unit to ride height? just curious because as a heavy duty mechanic i have worked on lots of highway haulers with air bags and their systems work fine on 120 psi. all the regular sized trucks I have worked on with air bag suspension also work on 125 psi. do you recall what size bags you're using?

[dsraven]

about your cluster/monitor. the nice thing is that smooth dash panel thats available could be welded in if you cut the hole and do mods for the monitor and then you decide it is too out of place and want to put it back to a more stock look. just first ensure the shifter isn't gonna be too close so you can't see the cluster or maybe it bumps when the driveline flexes etc. possibly the monitor could be recessed with a sliding cover so the sunlight doesn't make the screen hard to read. also, screens being the way they are, it may get pretty bright inside the cab on a dark night and become distracting. as a firefighter we had laptops mounted between the seats for the driver or rider to check notes and updates for calls and also for maps to show routing to calls. they were quite bright and could be distracting at night. a sliding cover, like a roll top desk, might be a cool cover that would be out of the way when open.

[6DoF]

Dominator D2600 bag, rated for 600psi max. it's the IFS that really messes with the load though, the leverage from being on the LCA greatly increases what it sees ... i forget what my exact load ratio ended up at. would be nice to have a larger dia bag in there, but i wasn't going to re-engineer it that much to start with. entirely possible future project though!

i'd cut the screen into the dash, so the "eyebrow" styling of the dash should make a nice sun reflection shade. i get the screen brightness at night thing, everything has crazy screens now and i am always turning down the backlight.

[dsraven]

is there a blackbackground mode on the screen maybe? that might help at night.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by dsraven

is there a blackbackground mode on the screen maybe? that might help at night.

oh yeah, it's fully customizable to anything you'd want.

[6DoF]

got the 'Aire Jax' switches hooked up last night and they are amazing. super easy proportional control for slower speed and fast as hell if you want. i dropped the front once hard enough i was worried about breaking something, but i can also easily take however long i want for it to drop. the new switch location is also money. highly recommend.

with the switches and no psi regulator, i was able to get 140psi in the front bags, the max on my tank regulator. but i got very little extra lift. i'm starting to get worried about making the 8-8.5" height i wanted.

after that i started hooking up the relay and fuse block to get the onboard pumps running. got them to run, now i just need to wire them thru the psi switch.

[dsraven]

get'er done. let us know how it goes.

[dsraven]

nice tidy work. good job you're doing. better than sone proffessional jobs I've seen.

[dsraven]

Ii remember back in the day with the square body trucks they used some air bags inside the coil springs. can't remember if that was a factory thing or an aftermarket thing. I always wondered how much they helped but never actually found out since i was the repair guy not the truck owner or driver. mostly I seen them on 1 ton trucks but the max engine size/weight would have been a big block or a 6.2 diesel. hopefully you can make your's work without having to rework the control arm.

[6DoF]

bag inside the coil spring or in place of the coil spring?

this is the second set of LCA's i've built to take a bag in place of the spring. these use an 8" dia bag, the first set was for a 9" dia bag. i could also go back and make another set for the higher capacity bag again.

[dsraven]

bag inside the coil. standard factory ride height. i think maybe the ride height was taller on the air bag assisted trucks but that was a long time ago.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by dsraven

bag inside the coil. standard factory ride height. i think maybe the ride height was taller on the air bag assisted trucks but that was a long time ago.

oh yeah, compensate for added weight or try a small lift by making things stiffer ... they still sell those, even seen ppl use footballs

[dsraven]

yup, stiffer comes to mind for sure

[6DoF]

got it! i was determined to get you that full height picture!

so i finished wiring up the dual OBA compressors with the tank psi switch and got actual good PSI to the bags. she went right up to height, and a weight off my shoulders.

8.5" front, 9" rear

[dsraven]

fewf, load off.
looks good for height there.
thanks for the pics.