rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[rattle_snake]

My buddy lives in Pine Dell by the fairgrounds, so we hike in from his house and the trail dumps us right into the Expo. Really couldn’t find where we were supposed to pay admission! Lol! We did spend a ton with all the food and drink vendors though!

Ya me neither but I did find the beer vendors some how.

Truck looks fantastic! It really flexes well too. There is a fair amount of frame flex I see based on bed vs cab alignment in those last few shots. Love seeing it put to use. Your work is impressive.

Yes the frame is twisted pretty good in the pics. Front sway bar puts more load on the frame now. Front end was not to limit straps yet so a bit more to go. Need to extend the rear bumps to protect the sheet metal better. Hate to loose uptravel but....

Looks like a fun trip Justin. The Sedona area is on our list of places to visit and wheel. We were going to head there this spring but with the anticipation of our grandson's birth we opted to push it off a year or so. Really looking forward to wheeling in the area and sightseeing.

Well if you come down next year let me know.

 

[rattle_snake]

One of the transfer case shifter bracket bolts fell out on the trip, 7/16-14 SHCS. Installed with lock-tite and torqued a bit more. Really hard to access upper bolt. Used a wobble head ratchet with cheater pipe. Should be good now. Have a list of things to fix/improve.

 

[rattle_snake]

Video didn't go well but snagged a shot out of it. Proof it made it out of the mall parking lot. haha

 

[Boosted1]

Wow, that pic looks like a lot of potential for bad things to happen. Glad they did not.

 

[rattle_snake]

Yes, don't fall in the crack. I used to avoid crack type obstacles for that reason. With patience and a good spotter they aren't that bad. If wheel drops in, you can get it back out. Steering gets difficult.

 

[rattle_snake]

Back from vacation in Hawaii, box of speakers waiting for me. I came to the conclusion that the 10" woofer/PA type driver was not the best choice, it ends up with a narrow bandwidth (effective F3 of box/driver is 72 Hz and low pass filter at 140). Hence not a lot of contribution.

I bought a set of 10" high excursion sub woofers on closeout for $50 each. F3 in box is 43 Hz, 11 mm travel, but less efficient at 87 db (vs 5 mm and 92 db). So can move 2x the air but needs ~3x the power.

Business end. double magnets for a longer magnetic gap to achieve the longer stroke.


Light vs heavy cone. Sub surround has a big roll of rubber, vs pleated/treated paper.


I mounted the subs magnet out, which was the original plan.


Gives a more industrial look. Abandoned the box terminals and wired the speaker 'hose' directly.


How does it sound? Haven't EQ'd it yet but basic setup and balancing yielded improved low end SPL as expected. 10s can use all that the USA1310 has at 4 ohm (vs 8). With more low output, the main/high speaker gain can be increased accordingly to maintain balance. More impressive with more SPL. The system is rated at 3000 watts, although amp power is not really that useful of a performance indicator. It shakes the building, tones are brutal.

 

[larry4406]

@rattle_snake - very nice!

Like that Sabbath Paranoid album as well. Fairies Wear Boots is my fav Sabbath tune.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

@rattle_snake - very nice!

Like that Sabbath Paranoid album as well. Fairies Wear Boots is my fav Sabbath tune.

I was digging the Beavis and Butthead and Schlitz wall art.....

Crazy setup! It definitely looks like an electrical engineer's shop!

 

[rattle_snake]

@rattle_snake - very nice!

Like that Sabbath Paranoid album as well. Fairies Wear Boots is my fav Sabbath tune.

Thanks Larry. A classic and very influential album to many metal band to come.

I was digging the Beavis and Butthead and Schlitz wall art.....

Crazy setup! It definitely looks like an electrical engineer's shop!

Slowly collecting so cool pieces. Schlitz sign is old, 1967 I think.
Audio and building speakers is how I got into electronics and my degree. I took apart a lot of stuff as a kid. but I was also able to put it back together, modified that is.

 

[rattle_snake]

Did some some more tuning on the audio system. Given the 10" subs are basket out, they should be 180* out of phase compared to installing them cone out. Couldn't easily tell just by turning one on/off, even with tone, so used a microphone and RTA apps to measure the SPL. Ends up the 10's needed to be wired 'normal'. Perhaps convention on speaker itself is backwards. Didn't do DC test (aka 9v bat).
The 10s reached mechanical limit first, before either amp clips, so I enabled the limiter and 30 Hz low pass to protect. A bit more balancing and EQ tune and it's back in business.

Unfortunately the hard mounting of the middle box transmits a lot of energy into the rail system, ceiling, lights and entire building. So lots of buzzing and rattles. Also the cover on the light fixture nearest speakers keeps falling off.

So need a different mounting solution, many ways to do it. At this point going to use chain like the 12" sub boxes. The chain links limit the surface area to transmit vibration. Mathematically the two curves touch only tangentially, with zero area. In reality there is a small amount at high PSI, and it can only transmit force in one direction (can't push a rope/chain).

 

[ntsqd]

Just for my own education, then using cables would be less desirable because they would have greater conductance? Next better than a chain might be something like this?

Walker Exhaust 35460 Walker Replacement Exhaust Insulators | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Walker Replacement Exhaust Insulators with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Exhaust Hangers at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

 

[LXCam]

Unfortunately the hard mounting of the middle box transmits a lot of energy into the rail system, ceiling, lights and entire building. So lots of buzzing and rattles. Also the cover on the light fixture nearest speakers keeps falling off.

Your neighbors must luv you

 

[rattle_snake]

Just for my own education, then using cables would be less desirable because they would have greater conductance? Next better than a chain might be something like this?

perhaps but compared to a large surface like one of the cabinet walls it would be good enough.

Your neighbors must luv you

I'm sure, yes.
However I'm on the corner of our 'county island', so adjacent properties are an elementary school field, and a HOA green belt. 1 acre+ lots put other neighbors far enough to not matter. I can turn it up a loud as I want at most any time. Master bedroom is 12' away so that is the limit when the Mrs. is sleeping.
Although I like to crank it up for a particular song, or part of a song, I don't listen at damaging levels for long. I wear ear plugs at concerts, and muffs for loud machinery, to protect my instruments.

Kind of like a fast hotrod. Yes I need 600 hp but can't use it at all times.

 

[rattle_snake]

Due to laziness I devised a plan with chain and shackles to replace only the links. This keeps all the existing Uni-strut and custom cabinet HW as-is. Swapped in the chains and issue solved for the most part. One chains is not as tight and vibrates like a guitar string at various frequencies and harmonics. Should be able to tweak with upper mount.

The light fixture(s) is still and issue, the acoustic coupling is the same and delivers a lot of energy to it. The bulbs flex and vibrate to the test tones or music.

 

[ntsqd]

Add mass somewhere strategic?

Flowmaster had me do that with the '67 Ranchero's exhaust when I talked to them about the 1800 RPM resonance that would drive you out of the cab. Hose-clamped a ~3 lbs hunk of lead on the tail-pipe's 1/2 way point and the resonance went away.

 

[rattle_snake]

Yes that would work well. lower resonance freq.

Interesting on the weight mid tailpipe. same effect.

The slight changes I made to my tail pipes (bend and lengthen 12") did make some difference. but now with 6 spd RPM range is way different.

 

[rattle_snake]

Set up the ladder and observed the support chains over a frequency sweep. I haphazardly added a few sliced surgical tubing chunks between the links, which lowered the resonance freq, so went back and did all the links and now it is subsonic.

The output at, and even below 25 Hz is damn impressive. Part of that is corner loading (aka speakers are in corner of building).

 

[ntsqd]

What the Flowmaster guy told me was that acoustically it made the tail-pipe two pieces, each half as long as the original tail-pipe. The system had some basic design flaws (head-pipe too short, tail-pipe too long, both too big for the displacement, etc.) and this was just a corrective action.

 

[WoodsTruck]

What the Flowmaster guy told me was that acoustically it made the tail-pipe two pieces, each half as long as the original tail-pipe. The system had some basic design flaws (head-pipe too short, tail-pipe too long, both too big for the displacement, etc.) and this was just a corrective action.

Does Flowmaster, or other exhaust vendors share system build tables to show desired tubing diameter at the various steps, versus length and placement of components and engine displacement/desired rpm range to reach the desired effect?

 

[rattle_snake]

After the 4 wheeling in Sedona I saw that I needed to adjust the rear bump stops so that the Tire doesn't contact the sheet metal as bad. The idea was to make the system easily adjustable for this purpose. Added a piece of 1/2 rubber mat and secured with a few screws from beneath, and reinstalled.


Installed some fast-deflate style valve stems from Apex. Remove cap and pull up on collar to vent the stem instead of schrader valve. Can also leave pressure gauge attached.


But also put in an aftermarket TPMS system, so should not need to use a tire gauge. Solar powered. Put it above the rear view mirror, isn't too obvious.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

What's the brand of the TPMS system Justin? That is pretty cool.

 

[rattle_snake]

Cheap CHICOM, 'Tomtop'

Robot or human?

 

[burger]

That tire pressure / temperature monitor above the mirror is slick! It’s a nice looking piece.

Edit: clicked your link for the gauge and sensors and poop that is cheap. Worried about longevity?

 

[rattle_snake]

Yes. There seems to be two kinds. Cheap offshore, and expensive offshore. Didn't find a receiver that can use OEM sensors.

Dakota digital makes a kit that would integrate into their newer instrument panels, only $400

Dakota Digital BIM-22-2 Dakota Digital Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Dakota Digital Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

 

[rattle_snake]

And the other half of the tire inflate/deflate/monitor system



Slight reconfiguration of wiring. One wire to switched ignition power.


Considering placement and mounting options.

 

[rattle_snake]

Tried some 78-79 upper door seals on my 72, as cab and door are essentially the same.


Some improvement, but still not like a modern vehicle.

 

[burger]

Not exactly your truck in the background, but close enough that it made me think of it..

 

[zmotorsports]

You'll like the dual ARB compressor Justin. You also appear to have enough space in the engine bay that heat shouldn't be an issue. Unfortunately I've seen several of these ARB as well as Viair compressors live a short life in the engine bay's of Jeeps due to underhood heat. I lost two myself early on until I installed my dual ARB's under the passengers seat back in 2016~ish and it's been working fine ever since.

 

[ntsqd]

A friend with an Early Bronco swears by his dual ARB. His is mounted under the hood, but the 408 hasn't had much opportunity, yet, to heat soak it.

Even less room under the hood of my '88 4rnnr so that was never an option. I went with the Puma PD1006 and split it from the tank. Both live under the truck and I've been extremely happy with it. Enough so that I'm putting one under the Full Size Bronco too. I'm using a Gigavac contractor and an Automation Direct adjustable pressure switch to control them.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Tried some 78-79 upper door seals on my 72, as cab and door are essentially the same.


Some improvement, but still not like a modern vehicle.

Justin, I've chased this same issue with older GM pickups. The wing window itself introduces a lot of the noise. I actually sealed them up with black RTV on my 1982 K5 after putting in new Precision weather stripping and still having wind noise.


Post #387 in this build shows one man's attempts to quell the noise. He basically took sheepskin material with strong magnets in them to stick against the A-pillar door gap area.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=706931&page=16

 

[rattle_snake]

You'll like the dual ARB compressor Justin. You also appear to have enough space in the engine bay that heat shouldn't be an issue. Unfortunately I've seen several of these ARB as well as Viair compressors live a short life in the engine bay's of Jeeps due to underhood heat. I lost two myself early on until I installed my dual ARB's under the passengers seat back in 2016~ish and it's been working fine ever since.

Yes heat is a killer. Not committed to under hood location quite yet. All places are somewhat of a compromise.
This truck gets less miles and heat that a typical DD Jeep I would imagine.

A friend with an Early Bronco swears by his dual ARB. His is mounted under the hood, but the 408 hasn't had much opportunity, yet, to heat soak it.

Even less room under the hood of my '88 4rnnr so that was never an option. I went with the Puma PD1006 and split it from the tank. Both live under the truck and I've been extremely happy with it. Enough so that I'm putting one under the Full Size Bronco too. I'm using a Gigavac contractor and an Automation Direct adjustable pressure switch to control them.

Interesting I didn't know that type existed in a 12V flavor. Appears around 6 cfm..

Justin, I've chased this same issue with older GM pickups. The wing window itself introduces a lot of the noise. I actually sealed them up with black RTV on my 1982 K5 after putting in new Precision weather stripping and still having wind noise.


Post #387 in this build shows one man's attempts to quell the noise. He basically took sheepskin material with strong magnets in them to stick against the A-pillar door gap area.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=706931&page=16

That's funny I used black RTV to seal driver side wing (plus a stack of change) before I replaced all the rubber. Now it's OK. Main window glass itself still leaks a bit in new channels.

 

[ntsqd]

......
Interesting I didn't know that type existed in a 12V flavor. Appears around 6 cfm..

Quiet it is not. My EB friend dislikes how noisy it is, but it powers the horn in the 4rnnr so it runs every morning when heading to work and it doesn't bother me. In discombobulating their control system to allow the compressor and the tank to be mounted separately I wanted to keep the unloader valve function. I used an ARB solenoid valve to do that. It runs in parallel with the motor contactor.

On OBA plumbing I'm trying something different. For years I've used the generic "Push-to-Connect" hose and fittings. Those systems all have peculiarities in how they leak down. One is fast to leak down in the cold and slow everywhere else. Another is fast in the hot and in the cold, but slow in moderate temperatures. On the FSB I decided to try the DOT air-brake fittings and hose. A little more expensive and they look promising, but I don't yet have a lot of time in use yet. Who'd have thought it? Air-brake fittings and hose not leaking down very fast. LOL

 

[rattle_snake]

Interesting. I have some left over DOT air line I was considering but no fittings.
Or hard line, 1/4" steel with AN4 fittings. Seems air exiting the ARB should be hot. considering a small cooler, or loops of steel line.

because, overengineering.

Pump for tire inflation, all 4 at once. Ordered one of these:

MORRFlate Air Hub Quad+ Hoses (4 Tire, 155" wheelbase) • MORRFlate

If you need to add more Stubby Modular Inflation Deflation Kit parts to your order, make sure to head back to the "Choose Your Adventure Page"! This purchase comes with the following: Quad+ 155 Hoses (4 Tire, 155" wheelbase) Round MORRFlate carrying bag LIFETIME Warranty on hoses!

morrflate.com

Plan to put a pair of quick connects in winch cavity, grill or someplace.

 

[ntsqd]

Because of the hot discharge I've always run the first several feet out of the compressor in copper tube. Even if it only needs to go a couple of inches, it gets a couple feet of copper tubing.
I am using these 3/8" hose fittings: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/a...-o-t-push-to-connect-tube-fittings-for-air-8/ and this 3/8" hose: https://www.mcmaster.com/5097T41/
Not likely the least expensive option, but Quality + Easy Button = Win!

For the QD's I use NPT bulkhead fittings (like these: https://www.mcmaster.com/50785K274/)with the QD screwed into one end and a tube X NPT adapter fitting in the other. I'll either use an existing bulkhead or make a tab. I've also found that a plugged QD male stuck in the QD's does a better job of keeping the junk out of the QD than anything short of the cap-plugs made for AR flash-hiders and they last a lot longer too. Bought a Nicopress crimper, ferrules, and a coil coated SS cable to make lanyards and this OBA install got the first bunch of those.

The first couple of OBA installs that I made I put the QD's at each end of the vehicle. Then I read someone questioning this on a forum and it got me to thinking so the FSB is plumbed with one on each side instead. Being on the sides I think these are going to be a bit easier to use. I built little "mudflaps" to keep the debris spray from the front tire off of them. They're really high tech parts carefully cut out of the side of a Delo 400 gallon jug and pop-riveted to a short piece of small square tube. I also put a QD on the manifold under the hood.


Had to take a trip with the install only partially complete, so that is why the green tube looks smooshed. It is, it is just plugging the fitting to keep junk out temporarily. The NPT plug is where the OX Locker's air shifter system regulator will soon be placed. Small line goes to an in-cab pressure gauge. The Automation Direct pressure switch and the safety pop-off valve are also on the manifold in the engine bay.
Primary horn is air and the OX locker uses air to lock when needed, so this system will also be kept at pressure all of the time. Fitted a Viair receiver tank under the truck with a simple bracket that picked up their mounting feet. I tried to use a truck air brake tank because those can be had for less than the Viair options and they typically are bigger too. No luck, none of the common sizes were small enough to fit. I used a Harbor Freight tire inflator tank for the receiver tank on my '91 Suburban.

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks for the info, good food for thought.

I'm stuck in deliberation, analysis paralysis, on the compressor location, mounting, plumbing and wiring. Otherwise I have it all figured out.

Did some sketches of interior locations, but space is really limited with audio equipment, and I want more tool storage. Really need the new seat before I commit to anything behind or under the seat. Don't really want to clutter the engine bay with unrelated stuff, plus heat issue.

Also considering the area under left front of bed. Would need some type of enclosure, vented, drain provisions. Which lead to resurrecting the idea of adding a 2nd bed side tool box like on the right side to house the compressor and gear. Grafting in the whole deal is a big job and would take awhile to find a complete setup, so why not just use the existing one on the right side now?

Right aka 'curb side' is actually preferred side when airing up along the road. There is 4 ga high current power wiring run to cab back wall already for audio, and a 10 ga run through cab floor out to bed battery. So easy to add the compressor wiring to existing distribution block. Frame has GND stud in right place, and frame is well grounded to battery and engine block.

So the tool box location makes the most sense. Put one or maybe both air chucks in toolbox, or 2nd chuck on left side.

I didn't put in nitrous heater wiring yet, and compressor needs same run, so plan to put in a 4 conductor harness for those and future needs.

Something like this


But what about the hitch and tools that lived there? Well they still fit as space was used poorly.


I reorganized my tools, recovery gear and random **** into some rollup bags. Stuff I won't use much in toolbox bags (that is locked), and the rest in the cab under the seat for now.

 

[zmotorsports]

I love my soft sided bags that I carry my tools in Justin. Much better than the steel rigid toolbox I carried for many years prior.

As for air chuck locations, when I had my onboard air tank I plumbed a coupler to the rear just inside the tailgate and another just under the front bumper. They worked well but after frying a couple of air compressors I removed and sold the onboard air system and went with the dual ARB's mounted under the passenger seat. Like you I preferred the right side for airing up alongside a roadway but I seldom ever do that as I prefer to find a wider and safer place. Now with my dual Powertanks, I just pull the coiled hose from the rear and it reaches the front tires without any issues. I still use my dual ARB compressor to blow the interior and engine bay out before getting back on the road so it gets exercised. Plus it warms and thaws the frozen CO2 hose just enough that it coils back up and allows me to put it back in the storage bag before we get back underway.

 

[XJSuperman]

I think I'd vote to put it in the bed where its higher up, you can add a chuck there for cleaning out the bed or blowing up an air mattress. Other chucks can be added up front if needed. Seems to work well for my XJ. If you really don't want it there, I would choose toolbox. Just add the enclosure or divider you mentioned earlier to keep the other gear off the compressor.

 

[ntsqd]

The tool box solution is tidy, but I am concerned about the heat generated and where it can go.

I debated including the pic of the 4rnnr's compressor install in the post above as I wasn't sure how relevant it might be. Since I didn't and you're considering under the truck I'll put it up in case it inspires an idea. This is one of the Puma PD1006's, and it has run everyday that the truck is driven for the past 2ish years:



With the muffler right there I was really worried that I was going to have to go to more exotic lengths to keep it cool, but this has not been a problem. Seemed like I checked it's temp several times a day for the first couple of weeks that it was there. The shielding aluminum sheet is actual heat shielding that was removed from Mandalay Beach Power Station during a planned outage.
The -12AN cap is the yet to be installed (at time of pic) intake air filter plumbing attachment point. I put it over to the side in a well screened area. I should probably take some pics of that.

My logic for multiple QD's is that now the air hose can be shorter. Less of a handling problem and less storage space required. With a QD on each side a 5' hose will reach all four tires. An important consideration with small trucks like the 4rnnr and to some extent the FSB too.


I'm with Mike on the tool rolls. Being using them for over a decade and can't see any reason to go to something else. One hard thing to solve was sockets. When I started out doing this there wasn't much available and those socket rolls with individual pockets were not appealing. How to keep them from rattling was a quandary until a good friend suggested all-thread. Tack-weld a nut on one end, stack the sockets in order by size, run a wing nut down to snug, mark with a little excess and then cut and deburr. #10-24 for the 1/4 drive sockets, and 1/4-20 for the 3/8 & 1/2 drive sockets. Even the deeps are handled this way. I used SS for all of it.

 

[rattle_snake]

I think I'd vote to put it in the bed where its higher up, you can add a chuck there for cleaning out the bed or blowing up an air mattress. Other chucks can be added up front if needed. Seems to work well for my XJ. If you really don't want it there, I would choose toolbox. Just add the enclosure or divider you mentioned earlier to keep the other gear off the compressor.

I'm avoiding the bed as the camper will come on and off. When off, concerned with theft. There are secure enclosures made specifically for this. The toolbox kinda already is just that.
Had not considered a QD in bed area, would be handy. I'm a foam pad guy after too many bad experiences with air mattresses.
Thanks for sharing.

The tool box solution is tidy, but I am concerned about the heat generated and where it can go.
....
My logic for multiple QD's is that now the air hose can be shorter. Less of a handling problem and less storage space required. With a QD on each side a 5' hose will reach all four tires. An important consideration with small trucks like the 4rnnr and to some extent the FSB too.
...
Tack-weld a nut on one end, stack the sockets in order by size, run a wing nut down to snug, mark with a little excess and then cut and deburr. #10-24 for the 1/4 drive sockets, and 1/4-20 for the 3/8 & 1/2 drive sockets. Even the deeps are handled this way. I used SS for all of it.

The compressor will only run when door is open, so heat can escape. Also the unit is force cooled.
I went with the '4 tires at once solution', so chuck locations are flexible. It is more hose, but head pressure is lower for higher low rate. Once QDs are finalized, I can optimize hoses.

Air-up plan is as follows
1 - connect hoses
2- turn on pump in cab.
3- watch TPMS until target reached.
4- shut of pump and stow hoses.

If it is brutally hot I can sit in the nice cool cab and monitor/control the system. Maybe another on/off switch at the compressor would be handy...

I tested air down time on the Apex valves. 40" tire 30 psi to 18 psi in a few 3-4 second bursts. Really fast.

For plumbing, I'm still on the fence. The ARB has a force cooled receiver/check after pump stage. Small, but something. The ARB locker manifold uses a hose directly out of the unit, never heard of any issues. PTFE hoses are rated from -450 to +500 F. Lots of AN hose assemblies to choose from. I also have 1/4 and 3/8 hard line for use with AN fittings.

Idea stolen for sockets, thanks!

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I do like those soft-sided bags, I may have to reconsider my current storage solutions in the 'burb and the Tundra.