Fatman, TCI, or Scotts IFS/Chassis on 49 AD

[jocww]

That would be awesome, as I am not sure if I would have to do stock manifolds or something. What kind of gas tank do most use? I was hoping to put the ride tech tank behind the axle, and then the gas tank behind that if possible. The ride tech is a 5 gallon tank.

[slow4dr]

Originally Posted by jocww

That would be awesome, as I am not sure if I would have to do stock manifolds or something. What kind of gas tank do most use? I was hoping to put the ride tech tank behind the axle, and then the gas tank behind that if possible. The ride tech is a 5 gallon tank.

Ricks Tanks is your best bet. Tanks also has some universal ones though.

There might be enough room to put both tanks back there. I'd put the gas tank up close to the rearend and then wedge the air tank behind and slightly above it.

-J

[jocww]

J, I bought some hedman husler headers, but I am running into the brake pedal issue. Is there a reason on the length of the bend? As can I cut 3 in off or will it hit the floor pan? Do you think I could bend the pedal more towards the tranny by 2 inches and then bend it back on the upper part by the actual pedal?

Passenger side fit perfect

[solidaxel]

We had to bend ours in 2 spots
I would not cut it off until you have the the brakes operating to see how much travel
you have in the arm

[jocww]

Sounds like a smart man. Could you send me some pics please. What type of exhaust did you do?

[dsraven]

when completed make sure the pedal travel matches the master cylinder travel. the full pedal stroke should equal or slightly exceed the pushrod stroke required to bottom the master cylinder. also ensure there is some slack in the pedal so the master cylinder is allowed to fully retract back to the resting position, otherwise the brakes can be slightly applied and cannot recieve more fluid to the cylinder as the brakes wear or the fluid heats/expands or cools/contracts. the heat/expand is the one you will have trouble with right away because the brakes end up not releasing when they get hot. ensure the spring on the pedal return is strong enough to fully retract the pedal.
I know, you have this figured out. some other readers may get a tip from it though.
have fun, post pics. we all love the pics, especially of a classy looking project like this one.

[solidaxel]

Real estate between the exhaust frame and steering column is at a premium
with the brake arm
Mock up your steering column that ended up beingour biggest problem

[jocww]

I was looking at our steering shaft, it just has 2 u joints, but it doesnt connect to the frame at all. I would think this would bind... J am I suppose to weld in a hanger to the frame of some sort to stiffen it up a bit?

[solidaxel]

We had to use 3 U joints and a support
I don't think you will with just 2

[slow4dr]

With two u-joints you won't need a center support. The shorter Ididit column allows for the double joint vs. 3.

Like what has already been mentioned. You don't want to change the pedal ratio. If you remove height that is exactly what will happen. Moving it to the side won't affect the ratio.

-J

[jocww]

J. How did your talk with Magnaflow go? I'm going to return these Hedmans as they sit just a tad to low as well.

[slow4dr]

Originally Posted by jocww

J. How did your talk with Magnaflow go? I'm going to return these Hedmans as they sit just a tad to low as well.

Rich was busy all week so I didn't get a chance to talk to him. I messaged him though. Crossing my fingers.

-J

[jocww]

Im going to pick up some stock manifolds from my old rig partner tomorrow. Ill let you know how they fit.

[jocww]

Well stock ctsv ones don't work with the steering rod, im sure I could clearance the collector bolt. Really hope magnaflow comes through.

[jocww]

Does anybody have the part numbers to the sanderson or hooker manifold or headers?? My dad is going up to Summit tomorrow, and was hoping to snag up another pair to try out.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by jocww

Does anybody have the part numbers to the sanderson or hooker manifold or headers?? My dad is going up to Summit tomorrow, and was hoping to snag up another pair to try out.

I used HOK-8501HKR. These are the Hooker cast finish LS headers.

Marc

[jocww]

Thanks Marc, back ordered for until March. I hope they fit, I can start working on something else next.

[jocww]

Hookers cast manifolds did not fit either. But the fine people at Sanderson's gave me 2 pairs of headers to try out, big shout out to Donna. They fit with lots of space!!

[Scott2]

Jonathan -

Nice looking chassis! I got my TCI chassis in August of 2015. Looks almost the same as yours except mine has smooth bends over the rear axle and yours is cut and welded sections. Mine is also a Ridetech coil-over chassis and I have two inch drop spindles up front and set the coil-overs at the lowest setting out back. My truck is now running and close to driving so I can offer a few thoughts and experiences for you:

- I also ordered the chassis mount brake booster but had issues with the brake pedal. It hit the left head, got in the way of a shifter cable for my auto (I used a Flaming River column with a Lokar cable shift kit mounted to the bottom of the column), looked like it would interfere with headers, and every time I bumped the cab it would rub on the sheetmetal where it passed thru the floor. Plus I knew it would be a pain to service the master even with a remote reservoir. I swapped it for a POL firewall mounted unit with a hanging brake pedal and I am much happier.

- The chassis mounted booster left very little room for exhaust and you can either squeeze it in or drop it under the trans to the pass side. I decided I didn't like either and added this to list of reasons to change the pedal and booster location. If you go this route, make sure to cut off the frame brackets for the booster before powder coat.

- Once the booster was gone there was a big gap in the brake lines and I needed them re-routed to the firewall. I talked with Evan and Mario in TCI Tech but never found an easy way so I bought a roll of 3/16" SS brake line from Eastwood and a Rigid 37 degree flare tool and made new lines to extend to and from the relocated booster/master. This is much easier without the motor/trans installed!!

- Not specific to the TCI chassis I also used a generic Delco foot pedal park brake - and should have drilled holes for the cable mounts before assembling nearly everything else. My advice is to mock up everything you can and drill holes for mounts and weld brackets early on, then powder coat or paint the frame. I used Wilwood rear cables to connect to the Ford internal brakes and had Control Cables make me a custom front cable and provide hardware to mount and connect them all.

- Tires, tubs, rear end - I bought the nine inch rear from TCI with my chassis and it came at 60" wide. I bought Foose Legend wheels in 20x8.5 w/5" BS, and 20x10 w/5.5" BS, and Nitto 245/35-R20 front with 305/30-R20 tires. The back tires are awesome at ~12" wide but the wheel wells and rear axle were sadly not up to the task of handling them (note: there is no such thing as too wide rear tires!). I trimmed out the bedsides and used '60-'66 Chevy truck inner wheel wells cut down to 3 or 4" and then had the rear narrowed 1" each side. I found that I could get the housing cut this amount and keep the axles with no change. Fits great now. One note - since I haven't driven it yet the front tires could always rub somewhere. I got the truck on the ground and ran the steering lock-to-lock and so far it's all good.

- Headers and clearance - used Hooker cast headers (8501's in silver) and they fit pretty good. You do have to use three joints and a frame support to get the steering shaft around the drivers side but not a big deal. You may also need a clearance notch for the pass side header flange. I cut a several inch wide slot out of the frame rail and welded in a section cut from a 5" or 6" diameter pipe.

- trans cooler - I copied another guy on here and mounted a Derale stacked plate cooler on the pass side outside the frame rail and behind the running board. It's a tight fit but it would be putting it anywhere.

- Stuff to weld on the frame - someone asked early on why I didn't have the frame coated straight from TCI or just after receiving it. Good thing I didn't!! I had to weld the steering support, the header clearance notch, and supports for the rear mounted gas tank. Other than that I just had to drill holes here and there. Some were for mounting stuff I forgot, several were for ground wires.

- If i were doing it again - I would fit a trailer hitch and drill holes before powder coat. Not necessarily to haul stuff but to add an extra crossmember out back in case I get hit. Two crossmembers to go thru to get to the tank should be better than one.

- Problems - very few that were a big deal. Almost every welded-in nut had buggered up threads. I ran thread chasers or taps thru them all and had to do them more than once. There must be a lot of metal trash knocking around in the frame? Even after that I have a bolt stuck in one of the frame holes for the rear cab mount. It went in tight, started to bind and as I backed it out it locked solid.

Also - the access slots for the bed mounting bolts - it's a pain getting washers and nuts on them and then getting any tool in there to hold them while tightening. If you drop anything in there I think it's gone forever - a magnet just sticks everywhere. There must be a trick? I need to call the tech guys again.

Good luck with your build. Let me know if you have questions. Most of the notes above are covered in my build thread with pics.

[jocww]

I am about to take off the cab, front fenders, and hood. Hopefully all in one piece as I have read its a chore to get the gaps back. I have taken off 6 bolts. 2 rear that are shackle looking ones, 2 a pillar ones and 2 below the radiator. Is this all the bolts that need to be undone? I have undone all the pedals, and steering wheel. I believe I have gotten all the wiring done as well. Everybody seems to wrap the roof with webbing by going through the doors. I figure it would be safer to just have straps go underneath the whole cab and then have the 2 straps go through my clevis loop. Is this not a good idea?

[jocww]

Pictures are normally helpful arent they.

[Scott2]

Originally Posted by jocww

I am about to take off the cab, front fenders, and hood. Hopefully all in one piece as I have read its a chore to get the gaps back. I have taken off 6 bolts. 2 rear that are shackle looking ones, 2 a pillar ones and 2 below the radiator. Is this all the bolts that need to be undone? I have undone all the pedals, and steering wheel. I believe I have gotten all the wiring done as well. Everybody seems to wrap the roof with webbing by going through the doors. I figure it would be safer to just have straps go underneath the whole cab and then have the 2 straps go through my clevis loop. Is this not a good idea?

Regarding the cab lift - low probability but if the straps are under the cab bottom they could shift and the cab could roll, if the strap is under the roof that can’t happen. Only the paranoid survive!

I use my engine lift with a long 4x4 and lift internally and roll it around but it would be better I think to have a gantry.

Making good progress - keep it up!

[dsraven]

lifting under the cab may bend/dostort the edge of the cab since that is a spot prone to rust. maybe better to lift under the top of the door with a spreader bar that is cab width. less chance the cab will roll that way too since youre picking it up from the top.
here is a pic of how I lifted mine with an engine hoise, you could easily adapt that theory to a gantry

[Scott2]

Originally Posted by dsraven

lifting under the cab may bend/dostort the edge of the cab since that is a spot prone to rust. maybe better to lift under the top of the door with a spreader bar that is cab width. less chance the cab will roll that way too since youre picking it up from the top.
here is a pic of how I lifted mine with an engine hoise, you could easily adapt that theory to a gantry

My setup is exactly like ravens and works great.

[rgunlock]

I had issues lifting the cab using straps. It would pinch in the edge of the roof leaving dents. I made a jig that works similar to those just shown, but could be used with your gantry rather than an engine hoist. 2x4's in the doorway spread the load and can be adjusted for cab width. The top bar can also be adjusted for higher crown roofs. Worked like a charm and no damage.