rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[Bigblue&Goldie]

It's a ford cooler for a 6L power stroke. bolt in for your 7.3, did it to my 7.3 some time ago.

That's what I thought. I went with the TrueCool based on John Wood's recommendation after I had him do up a valve body. He was saying the TrueCool was his preference even though he installs tons of 6.0 coolers for customers. The TrueCool is essentially a bolt in also, and it will be run inline with the OEM cooler. Either way, it's got to be an upgrade.

 

[C91x]

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]

They make cutters for the flare,you could have used your lathe and made one... tisk tisk


All joking aside, I sometimes end up spending far too much time making something on my lathe that i could have just bought. I imagine its only going to get worse now that I have a bridgeport to go along with it.

As always everything looks great and is coming along nicely.

 

[rattle_snake]

They make cutters for the flare,you could have used your lathe and made one... tisk tisk


All joking aside, I sometimes end up spending far too much time making something on my lathe that i could have just bought. I imagine its only going to get worse now that I have a bridgeport to go along with it.

As always everything looks great and is coming along nicely.

Yes, the rabbit hole can go deep. I went down that path for a bit. I would have just made a -5 to -8 coupler and been 'done'.

but sometimes it's fun to make stuff.

 

[rattle_snake]

Finally got around to front shock reservoir mount. I wanted to get the inner fenders done before committing to a mounting scheme. Loosely copied Ruff Stuff's mount but used a piece of pipe that already had the right radius for the saddle.

Decided to mount directly to tower, simple weld-on with piece of 1" flat bar for spacing.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

That should do the trick and keep it pretty well protected. Makes for a nice clean install!

 

[csp]

Although it has traveled a lot of miles, I have never used this jack, or needed to, in a off road situation in 20 years. I gave up lugging it around some time ago. It does work well for fencing, bending gate posts and other odd jobs.

I think there are a lot of us who have come to the same realization. I tell people now that the best place to mount a hi lift is against the wall near the shovels and rakes. Mine has had more use on non-vehicle projects than it ever had four wheeling.

 

[nsula_country]

Now I know how to "spread" the frame ends on my F250. Tweaked similar to yours. Need to drag out the Hi-Lift jack!

CT

 

[WoodsTruck]

Used the Hi-Lift more often in the snow so you could dig out under the frame or install chains.

 

[rattle_snake]

Some better pics of shock reservoir mount

 

[BMWBOB]

We always used a block & tackle rope setup for stretching fences.

.

The trailer ball on my pickup has more than one use...

 

[BMWBOB]

Rolled the truck outside for a few pics now that it looks like a truck again.

Nice crawler!

 

[rattle_snake]

The trailer ball on my pickup has more than one use...

yes a versatile instrument. Sometimes can't get pickup in the right spot.

Nice crawler!

Thanks, It's not really a crawler though. The drivetrain yes, but its a full size long bed which is not a good fit for most trails in AZ. But I want it to hold together when the skinny pedal is down. 40s are hard on moving parts.

 

[PugetDude]

I don't own any auto body tools (or have any skills), so I made some dollies and other tools to make dents. Note the cheap claw hammer (gasp, oh my)... I was able to get 90% of the damage out of lip. good enough. Didn't do much to the dent above the 'bump' line as I have no paint for it Finished the lower edge with a roll like factory

Justin, I have a full set of body hammers and dollies gathering dust in a drawer.
I'm not far from you; PM me if you have any more bodywork.

Maybe Cam can swing by and show you how to make a hand-hammered wok out of a fender.

 

[rattle_snake]

Justin, I have a full set of body hammers and dollies gathering dust in a drawer.
I'm not far from you; PM me if you have any more bodywork.

Maybe Cam can swing by and show you how to make a hand-hammered wok out of a fender.

Thanks for the offer, I appreciate it. I used the event to justify a tool purchase, and bought a cheap set.

If I attach fenders with quick release cam locks I could also use them as a wok for camp cooking. No need to wash just reattach and go. Bacon grease will preserve the metal.

 

[C91x]

Thanks for the offer, I appreciate it. I used the event to justify a tool purchase, and bought a cheap set.

If I attach fenders with quick release cam locks I could also use them as a wok for camp cooking. No need to wash just reattach and go. Bacon grease will preserve the metal.

Do it!. I've got a dimple die for a Dzus fastener you can borrow.

 

[rattle_snake]

Made bump stop spacers for front suspension. The bumps compress so made the spacer 0.75 longer than projected full compression. Sch40 pipe and a few washers to keep it simple, may have to modify length.

Used lathe to reduce washer OD to get them to fit properly. Welded 3/8 USS washing inside of 7/8. I wanted a 3/8 hole on both ends so the spacers cannot move laterally on impact.

I had previous welded captive nuts in cross member to attach. This scheme looks kind of odd, I don't like how it looks but good enough for now, moving on to other items. Would rather have spacer or spacer+bump on axle.

 

[rattle_snake]

Decided to ream pitman arm and knuckles instead of over drilling and using sleeves. Started with removal of pitman arm, it was a pain as expected. Tightened puller to 110% and beat with BFH until it accelerated quickly off the sector shaft at me.
The high angle TRE on drag link needed deeper taper than the rest. Why not use the mill in background? Because hand drill is way quicker & easier and can't get knuckles in the mill. Key is lots of lube on all flutes at all times. Bough a socket for pitman arm nut and torqued back to 200+ ft*lb instead of guessing with BFW.

Knuckles were reamed in opposite direction for tie rod over configuration, so no existing taper to guide reamer. Went slow and observed the cut to keep aligned. Since GM TRE have larger minor and major diameters, the reverse ream operation didn't result in hour glass shape, but cut new taper almost all the way through.

After reaming was done I mocked up TRE and DOM. I had a left over that was perfect length for drag link. I checked for center of steering gear and found that pitman arm was not straight forward at 'center', so remnant was to short. Tacked ends on DOM, jacked up front end and checked fitment lock to lock before any final welding.

Tie rod and drag link complete

Tie rod clears diff cover with 1/2" to spare. The pitman arm needed to be centered as it takes the entire range of steering box (4 turns) to reach axle steering stops.

Track bar and drag link are almost the same length and angle, aka similar vertical and horizontal offsets. Bump steer should be minimal, have 4 track bar positions to try.

Had I not moved the steering box and track bar frame mount, results would not have been good at all. Some times you have to accept failure and try again.

Front end almost done. Need driveshaft. Maybe stabilizer/dampner, or just right to hydraulic ram.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Thanks for getting that done, much easier to look at the front end pics now

 

[rattle_snake]

I put that last pic in there just for you Marc.
I mean, I like Krylon and all, buy lots of it, but I just couldn't bring myself to clean and paint a temporary piece just for cosmetics. Probably because I have done just that too many times and I'm finally getting old/lazy/smart or whatever you call it.

 

[rattle_snake]

​Went to junk yard to look at fan clutch setups. Need something compact, CW rotation and preferable 4 bolt attachment to water pump. After wondering around with the yard ghouls in 111 & humid, I found an 89 F250 w/ 460. Serpentine setup but all 460 water pumps are CW like crank. It's a 20" 5 blade, Al blades, steel hub.

Test fit revealed 1" from clutch to radiator, which is OK. Motor sits up higher than stock due to cross member location for max up-travel and lowest ride height. So blades are close to upper tank. Doable and may be able to shim and fart with placement of things. Could also use smaller fan or thinner radiator but avoiding those options.
Also checked fitment of A/C compressor, gets more complicated. blades will be very close to or hit comp clutch. Rock and a hard place. I'll deffer this debacle for now.
​

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Are you opposed to running an electric fan, do to the nature/use of the vehicle?

A Taurus/Mark VIII fan would keep with factory serviceable parts, and the move A LOT of air.

 

[nsula_country]

Interesting note.

My 1975 F250 FE 390 (originally 360) has a fixed fan, no clutch, factory AC. My 1979 Chevy C20 has a fan clutch, factory AC. Dad had a 1964 Pontiac Catalina and a 1968 Pontiac Grand Prix, both had fan clutches, factory AC (from what he remembers).

CT

 

[Monza Harry]

Had I not moved the steering box and track bar frame mount, results would not have been good at all. Some times you have to accept failure and try again. I wish my failures looked/turned out that well!

Front end almost done.Need driveshaft. Maybe stabilizer/dampener, or just right to hydraulic ram. YES (X2)

​After wondering around with the yard ghouls in 111 & humid, it's a 20" 5 blade, Al blades, steel hub. Other than the Hades like conditions Win-Win

Test fit revealed 1" from clutch to radiator, which is OK. Motor sits up higher than stock due to cross member location for max up-travel and lowest ride height. So blades are close to upper tank. Doable and may be able to shim and fart with placement of things. Could also use smaller fan or thinner radiator but avoiding those options. Neither sounds Ideal to me
Also checked fitment of A/C compressor, gets more complicated. blades will be very close to or hit comp clutch. Rock and a hard place.I'll deffer this debacle for now. Just move the A/C compressor where that will not be an issue, it is an old FULL SIZE truck your not dealing with a '70's compact car and a V8 like some other demented nameless types here! Colour me self inflicted embarrassed
​

Justin if that Tr. Bar/Drag Link is a failure I need you to get on a plane and get to work helping me fail with my projects! NOW! Please Harry

 

[rattle_snake]

Are you opposed to running an electric fan, do to the nature/use of the vehicle?

A Taurus/Mark VIII fan would keep with factory serviceable parts, and the move A LOT of air.

Yes, mostly convinced myself against electric for this application. For a car yes, e-fan like all oems. New trucks still use mech fans, as the cooling needs vary a lot with load. A buggy or crawler would be OK too, no towing, no load variation.
Mechanical is more reliable and doesn't have to convert energy twice (mech->elec->mech). There are dual fan setups that run at high RPM that move a lot of air, but really loud and use 50+ amps all the time. If alternator dies, your done. 1 hp is about 750 watts. Fan drawing 50 A at 14 v is 700 w. Mech system can deliver way more than 1hp to fan.

I did install a 230 A alternator if I change my mind.

Interesting note.

My 1975 F250 FE 390 (originally 360) has a fixed fan, no clutch, factory AC. My 1979 Chevy C20 has a fan clutch, factory AC. Dad had a 1964 Pontiac Catalina and a 1968 Pontiac Grand Prix, both had fan clutches, factory AC (from what he remembers).

CT

This 72 w/ A/C had fixed fan no shroud. Did OK. I'm hoping the newer setup (newer to me is 1990s) will perform better, more flow when needed. Can try some different clutches, they are cheap.

 

[nsula_country]

Sanden style compressor I got has 2 groove pulley. Adapter bracket for FE has slotted holes and can mount compressor on either side of stand offs.

CT

 

[WoodsTruck]

Wouldn't you gain some cooling efficiency if you had a shroud around the fan?

 

[rattle_snake]

Sanden style compressor I got has 2 groove pulley. Adapter bracket for FE has slotted holes and can mount compressor on either side of stand offs.

CT

I've got the same bracket. 390 had same issue, I had to get a looong spacer to move the fan forward to keep the blades from hitting the pulley/clutch. 385 series has wider bore spacing and overall length so can't move fan forward.
Not shown well in this pic but spacing from crank pulley to fan is less than A/C pumps forward pulley groove to clutch face. Modifying crank pulley may be easiest.

Wouldn't you gain some cooling efficiency if you had a shroud around the fan?

Yes for sure. Plan to custom fab one from sheet metal once I decide on fan and clearance solution. May use some type of soft gasket to reduce fan/shroud gap that is critical for efficiency. Shroud needs vert/horz adjustability in relation to radiator to fit fan well.

 

[rattle_snake]

Built another table for the shop. Guess I'm calling this the 'fab' table. I already had all the materials except some more 2x2 tube. So I guess I wanted to use up some remnants and have a mobile table. 36x48, 34" tall.

It's easier to build a flat/square table if you already have a flat/square table to build it on. The corner squares are also a huge improvement. I cut lengths carefully and just clamped/tacked and verified measurements. Much more precise and hence quicker than clamping the whole shape together with pipe clamps, which then move with weld heat, and need to be corrected.


Got the cube tacked, verified all cross measurements, and final welded. All within 1/16" without corrections. No twist, a miracle for me. Made some mounts for casters. All four caster swivel. I added a cross brace to support top after this pic.


I learned form my welding table build how easily 0.25" plate deflects with weld heat contraction. I was going to use a tab-and-slot design, but realized I needed a lot of them to correct the surface to the frame, as the plate was not flat to start with. So I just used a minimal amount of small tack welds in only the right places, using a straight edge as I went. Had one corner that was a problem to correct.

Made a bottom shelf out of reinforced plywood and a rubber mat. Not ideal for welding, as they are flammable. I can make something better if needed out of 18ga sheet metal. Need a 48" pan break...

I positioned near tool boxes like a kitchen island. More horizontal surfaces to pile stuff on.

I found myself placing large heavy objects on my light service cart. bumper, fender and so on. So I realized I needed a similar portable table for heavy objects. Can wheel outside to paint, clean, sand or just move stuff to heavy to lift out of truck bed into shop. Can also use to drop transmission, axle or whatever in conjunction with 2 post lift.


I waffled on paint colors and decided to paint frame black like the others. Red would have been a bit much and getting away from it being an accent color.

 

[rattle_snake]

I lifted my welding table, we because everything is better lifted. Made caster spacers out of 3" pipe and used longer bolts.
I built it low (32.5") figuring I could raise it if needed. My back hurts after extended grinding/welding so I raised it 2". Much better now.


Ok so some things are better lowered. I lowered my vice stand 4" to improve ergonomics. Just cut a slice out of the riser pipe. Now it is 32" with jaws at 38". Much more comfortable.


I'm forced to modify the suspension on everything I own. Some day I'll grow up.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Nice work, Justin. That turned out great, when should I expect delivery on mine?

 

[rattle_snake]

Justin if that Tr. Bar/Drag Link is a failure I need you to get on a plane and get to work helping me fail with my projects! NOW! Please Harry

Harry, sorry I missed your post. Thanks for the kind words. The steering came out fine, it was the old steering box and track bar location that I had to cut out and start over with. A lot of work to re-do but saved time in the end.

 

[StormcrowAz]

Justin – The new rolling table should come in handy, as you say another flat space in the shop. Should be a handy place to put those cold beverages. And speaking of cold…looks like you’ve been taking full advantage of the mini-split A/C’s (I’m super jealous). The truck is looking pretty darn nice, too. Good work!

 

[rattle_snake]

Hey Todd,
It's already a welcomed addition to my shop, and yes it spaces my beverage up off the floor at a convenient height. The table also works well enough as a desk. Too tall, but with adjustable chair it's fine for a quick sketch, schematic or todo list.

Needed a break from the truck so made the table. I think I am 80-90% of 'phase 1' but it still feels like a lot of things need to be sorted out. It's right at 1 year since I pulled motor and got to work on chassis. About 2 years since start of the 4WD conversion, 5 since purchase and initial fixes.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

It's the fine finish details that take the longest.

Voodoo Ranger?...good stuff!

 

[86turbodsl]

Truck is looking good. Nice move on the Sag pump. WAY less issues than the Ford pump or Thomson pump.

 

[rattle_snake]

It's the fine finish details that take the longest.

Voodoo Ranger?...good stuff!

Yes, getting into those issues now....
Correct Sir. Lots of variations of the ranger/voodoo rangers out there now. I liked the OG ranger the best and now just the plain voodoo.

Truck is looking good. Nice move on the Sag pump. WAY less issues than the Ford pump or Thomson pump.

Thanks. Just need to get an oil cooler for it and steering system will be 'done'.

 

[rattle_snake]

I was able to install the front drive shaft, but I failed to do basic engineering and due diligence regarding angles. I did the math on the rear and decided to run a double cardan given the angles, and just assumed that since that was already the plan on the front it would be OK.

Well it's not. I have onset of drive line bind at ride height. Angles are extreme, 26 at TC and 18 at pinion. There are a few things I can do to mitigate but the axle really needs the 'C's cut off and clocked about 8-10* to bring pinion up. This would require complete disassembly of axle and affects the position of all the brackets. Poo. Doable but a major pain.
The other option is to lower ride height and give up some up travel, and use limit straps to limit down travel. Coilover springs are already too long so I can't lower it any further at this time. I guess 'smaller' tires (38/39s) could be an option as I got these 40s used/cheap mainly for mock up purposes.

I set caster at 6*, so I can back that down to 4, and use a set of 2* ball joint sleeves to further move pinion up. This gets TC to 23 and pinion to 10* but only allows for 1.5" of down travel. Even if I lower ride height, down travel is limited.

Another option is a bluetooth front driveshaft like you see on Bro bling trucks at SEMA. A decent solution for the mall parking lot though.

Along those line the front shaft isn't needed to get motor started or first lap around the block so it's not really a blocking item. Just irritating and depressing, but that is how custom fab goes. Adapt and overcome.

The cross member does clear at ride height so it could be worse. May have to clearance at full droop.

ouch

There is also a horizontal offset that further eats into angles

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Justin, bummer on the driveshaft, and I agree this comes with the territory. Just when you think you've got everything accounted for, you "finish" and realize you didn't. Hopefully some time spent elsewhere a solid solution that is agreeable in your mind will show itself.

I had something similar happen on the Z28 when I built the hybrid 8.8 rear for it. All my angles were perfect, a truing rod was used to keep everything square, I didn't however, consider that my new LCA brackets would move the rear back 1". Cost me a recut on a brand new PST driveshaft, new weld-on LCA brackets, trimming on the torque arm, and some seriously bruised pride. Oh yeah, I drove it with the axle set too far back for like 8+ months....pissed!

 

[LXCam]

As always J, that's some kickass work. But I feel your pain with the driveshaft angle, been there - fixed that before.

Your comment about the table build base, I've got a 48" break that works fine on 18ga at full length. If you want to use it, no issues bud just say the word.

 

[nsula_country]

Truck is looking good. Nice move on the Sag pump. WAY less issues than the Ford pump or Thomson pump.

I may be an exception... Stock Ford pump on 1975 F250 is still on truck. It was one of few things that HAVE NOT given issues. Works and doesn't leak after 45 years. It is the stock pump. PO of truck says odometer has turned 3x and 3rd engine. 22k on clock.

I am a GM fan by birthright. Sag pumps can be adapted to ANYTHING with enough fab skills. Sag pump is a good product.

CT