Free Candy Inside: 63 Long Panel Build

[joedoh]

haha love the hangers!

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Got my Michigan Metal Works control arms on one side today.

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Got way more fender gape now. Pretty happy with them.

[Mjminino]

what all did these do for you? did they just bring the tire closer to the frame, or is there other purposes for them?

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Yes, they brought the wheels in toward the frame which gives me more fender clearance so I should be able to turn further at a lower stance. I also think they correct some of the camber but I won't know that for sure until I get the other side done and get it back on the ground. I also think it looks like it centers the bag better so it lifts straighter if that makes sense which may give me more lift. We shall see once it's back on the ground.

[Mjminino]

Do your students know you're building this bada$$ truck?

[65sub]

That front suspension is looking good

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Originally Posted by Mjminino

Do your students know you're building this bada$$ truck?

Yeah because I use it as an example all the time. Last week we worked on setting goals so I used myself and the truck as examples. I've been trying to get them to take on a hobby or something tangible instead of playing online/on their phones. Literally yesterday my classes unamously agreed they spend between 6-8 hours playing on their phones or online each day. That was mind blowing to me!

They also know me as the guy who drives old stuff like my 52 Packard or my Harley chopper. I got the Packard back in the fall in a trade.

[Mjminino]

Yeah of course I love the Internet/technology, but it has ruined today's youth.

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Good and bad news tonight. Tried tightening down the cross shafts on the Michigan Metal Works control arms and as soon as I put the slightest bit of pressure on it, it stripped out. Awesome.

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Other kind of bad news is that after tightening the other side and airing it up, I only seem to have between 2-2.5" clearance from the lowest point of the LCA. I don't see how I'm going to get over anything. Is this normal? How much clearance do the rest of you get?

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About the only good news I got tonight was that at full lift I can turn fully without any rubbing issues.

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And full clock the other way

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So I was doing some thinking and I don't think I'm getting full lift out of the bags on the front but spacing out the bag won't help me any with my LCA ground clearance. I'm running 3" drop spindles so I'm going to try and dig out the factory spindles and install them. That should help with my LCA ground clearance and improve the lift. Hopefully I won't find out that I need to order a different set. If that's the case I'll have some already cupped LCA's, energy suspension bushings, and 3" drop spindles on Craiglist in the near future. Lol

[Mjminino]

send them my way

[joedoh]

those arms are set up for much larger tires and wheels, they have the geometry of dropped lower control arms. so you are probably right that you are not squashing the bag enough, there should be 3" between your upper mount and lower mount when laid out. To find out how off you are, put a 2x4 under the tire and lay the truck out, if it still lays out, put another 2x4 on top of it and try to lay out. this will help tell you how much more tire you will need. If you dont want bigger tires, you can put a cup on the lower arm to squish the bag more but it will never improve the arm to ground clearance. usually that is not a big issue, because the tire will roll over an obstacle and the arm goes up too.

you will want to fix it not only for lift but also because your bag pressures will be much higher if you dont have it squished down to 3", you want every single psi to contribute to lift, not have an empty volume that has to fill before it can start lifting.

good luck.

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Originally Posted by joedoh

those arms are set up for much larger tires and wheels, they have the geometry of dropped lower control arms. so you are probably right that you are not squashing the bag enough, there should be 3" between your upper mount and lower mount when laid out. To find out how off you are, put a 2x4 under the tire and lay the truck out, if it still lays out, put another 2x4 on top of it and try to lay out. this will help tell you how much more tire you will need. If you dont want bigger tires, you can put a cup on the lower arm to squish the bag more but it will never improve the arm to ground clearance. usually that is not a big issue, because the tire will roll over an obstacle and the arm goes up too.

you will want to fix it not only for lift but also because your bag pressures will be much higher if you dont have it squished down to 3", you want every single psi to contribute to lift, not have an empty volume that has to fill before it can start lifting.

good luck.

You are correct and that's exactly what I was thinking. I may try your 2x4 trick before I go bolting the factory spindles back on. I was able to run a die on the thread and get the nut to tighten down.

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I measured the bag and found out it wasn't compressed enough so I jacked up the truck and put 3" tubing I had laying around. It stills lays out and compressed the bag fully so I need to put the factory spindles on it. That will also increase my LCA clearance. I now have almost 6" of clearance and roughly 11" of lift.

[joedoh]

haha your air system will be happy not running 200 psi for 3 inches of lift. good idea using the stock spindles too!

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Threw the factory spindles back on and got the results I was looking for.

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So the truck gets good lift, has over 5"s of clearance at the lowest point on the LCA's. I fired it up, drove it outside, layed it out and then put it back in the garage. Lol. On to the next task. Here's a pic of it back in the garage laid out on factory spindles. Only bad news is that the hood hinges won't work now.

[amueller454]

lovin this thing man. wicked ride. the loooonnnggg panel makes it even cooler i think

[Mjminino]

Check this out here

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Originally Posted by amueller454

lovin this thing man. wicked ride. the loooonnnggg panel makes it even cooler i think

Thanks! It's def a boat. I almost gave up on it before I got going. Saw a shorter panel at a show and hated everything about it. Bout quit right then. But now I love this freak machine. The extra legthn makes it that much more crazy. Lol

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Originally Posted by Mjminino

Check this out here

That rocks. Thanks!