rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[phred]

Justin your level of detail is awe inspiring. Thanks for posting all the little things. Most people never notice or see them but those are the things I seek to find on peoples builds.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Nice work on that steering column, Justin. I approve!

They can be very tedious to work on.

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks Phred!
I make thing more difficult for myself, but I'm just enjoying my hobby. Or so I tell myself.

Hi Marc,
Yes, but much easier out of the vehicle and vertical. T-bolts just drop in. I was hoping for improved steering, but not really. as bad as the old rag joint looked, it didn't really have slop, which I knew going into the job.

 

[stinkity stoink]

I am really enjoying your posts and the level of detail is fantastic. It’s all the things and more that I say I will do when I’m working on a project ,but than realize how tedious and difficult it is and than I stop

 

[rattle_snake]

Thank you, there is a name for the condition, so I am told.

Some of the details have to be done in order and some don't. Understanding that is important. If I can come back and improve upon something that is fine. But if a specific detail blocks the whole job, so be it and do it right the first time.

 

[rattle_snake]

Wasted an evening on a battery hold down. Lots of ways to do it, has to pass tech inspection. Considered a bottom wedge, j-hooks and others. Ended up doing a cross design that ties into the core and the fender in 2 places, and not just the lower box itself. Hold battery in place in all three axis. Could have added a long bolt to make it four, but that seemed excessive.


The design uses 3 fasteners with one part of each captive.


Test fit with wet paint.


The hook on the inside prevents the battery from sliding over and shorting + terminal to the hold-down. Moved the horn down out of sight.


I'm glad I wasted a few hours on the recessed box, I think it looks better not sticking up and being a focal point.

 

[fouckhest]

That looks great! If you wanted to do a v2.0 some dimple dies or speed holes would be cool.

 

[zmotorsports]

Having the battery sunken down a bit definitely keeps is less in your face when the hood is open. I like it Justin.

 

[Mr.zippy]

Having the battery sunken down a bit definitely keeps is less in your face when the hood is open. I like it Justin.

Agreed, but it was mentioned how dimple dies will dress it up....wait for it....wait for version 2, .

 

[rattle_snake]

v2.0, you know me too well. I've since sanded and repainted twice for a better finish. I considered doing a round ring with four legs instead of an 'x'.

The material is 1/8" cold roll so I think dimples would be difficult. Maybe a custom vinyl sticker.

v2 would be aluminum. I need another welder to leave a spool gun connected to. And a TIG machine. So only two more welders.

 

[ntsqd]

I've pushed Ø1.50"-Ø1.75" dimples into .125" steel sheet. Used the hyd press and the portapower at different times. It didn't feel like I was abusing the Temco dimple dies in doing so.

hum.......

1957-1979 Ford F-100 Bolt-In Crown Victoria Front Suspension Kit

This bolt in kit is designed to mount the 2003-2011 Crown Victoria front suspension to trucks with 34” outside to outside frame rails. It does not require welding, only drilling holes. It stiffens the factory frame where the crossmember mounts and ties the Crown Victoria suspension securely to...

range-industries.com

i was under the impression that such things were lots more expensive, I guess it might be once you buy all of the CV parts?

 

[rattle_snake]

No, the CV stuff is cheap, plentiful. but too wide. That kit is just for those who cannot fab or have not time/equipment to do so, bolt on.

I've been shopping wheels. Any type of adapter that adds track width put me into high offset wheels, which I don't like. I want the opposite, deep dish/deep lip type wheel. The CV is even worse width wise, it was designed for high offset wheels in a wide vehicle.

I've looked farther into modding the beams, drop beams. Making my own is not hard. The steering becomes janky with BJ spacers, so I think those solutions are not for me.

$800


So I've come full circle to a custom setup. Probably SN95. Move forward a few inches to stretch wheelbase, shrink the rear of fender. Maybe same to rear, push axle back, shrink front of wheel opening.

 

[zmotorsports]

v2.0, you know me too well. I've since sanded and repainted twice for a better finish. I considered doing a round ring with four legs instead of an 'x'.

The material is 1/8" cold roll so I think dimples would be difficult. Maybe a custom vinyl sticker.

v2 would be aluminum. I need another welder to leave a spool gun connected to. And a TIG machine. So only two more welders.

Justin, with the fact that you have machining capabilities in your shop, have you given any thought to a stainless steel spreader bar across the top of the battery, then bolt it down, similar to what you've already done? I have done a few with pieces of stainless plus is less prone to being attacked by acid.

 

[ntsqd]

Is yours of the forged beams or the stamped beams design? I'm guessing forged, so uses king pins rather than ball-joints. I'm under the impression that the forged beams are also longer, a good thing. Doesn't rule out using b-j knuckles. Could even use TTB outer assemblies to get decently sized wheel bearings and a much stouter/stiffer spindle.
Once into b-j's fabbing the beam gets pretty simple in concept. A friend up in Canada built a set of widened beams using some 1" plywood for his fixture base. Set the KPI, then move the pivot location as appropriate.

 

[Boosted1]

Recessed box not only looks good / better, but offers lower center of gravity

 

[phred]

Justin, not sure if Mor-drop is still in business but they used to take stock beams and reforge them with 2 and 3” drops. I looked at them for a project years ago. Keeps geometry very close and still uses stock parts. The beams I’ve seen lately are built up from plate and look like garbage. I just did a cradle and arm conversation on the 66 I’m building. It’s a lot of work but allow you to run the same factory wheels

 

[Ohmthis]

I've pushed Ø1.50"-Ø1.75" dimples into .125" steel sheet. Used the hyd press and the portapower at different times. It didn't feel like I was abusing the Temco dimple dies in doing so.

hum.......

1957-1979 Ford F-100 Bolt-In Crown Victoria Front Suspension Kit

This bolt in kit is designed to mount the 2003-2011 Crown Victoria front suspension to trucks with 34” outside to outside frame rails. It does not require welding, only drilling holes. It stiffens the factory frame where the crossmember mounts and ties the Crown Victoria suspension securely to...

range-industries.com

i was under the impression that such things were lots more expensive, I guess it might be once you buy all of the CV parts?

I used the Range Industries rear mounts for the lower control arms. While fab work doesn’t bother me at all, the look factor is so much better (my opinion, not fact) than anything I’ve seen fabbed.

Justin, not sure if Mor-drop is still in business but they used to take stock beams and reforge them with 2 and 3” drops. I looked at them for a project years ago. Keeps geometry very close and still uses stock parts. The beams I’ve seen lately are built up from plate and look like garbage. I just did a cradle and arm conversation on the 66 I’m building. It’s a lot of work but allow you to run the same factory wheels

Wow! This looks awesome! Do I hey have a weld in version? I did the CV swap on my 66. I’d do it again, but I know its limitations. What you have will really out perform a factory swap any day.

 

[rattle_snake]

My issue with any drop beam is that the tie rod has to be spaced down. Really need a drop spindle to do it right.

 

[rattle_snake]

Well my 'new' nitrous bottle is empty. It must have a slow leak as it should have been 80% full. There is still 600 psi in it so I guess I'll try to see what happened. My other two bottles are full.

 

[ntsqd]

My issue with any drop beam is that the tie rod has to be spaced down. Really need a drop spindle to do it right.

Happen to have a pic of the front suspension that would show why? I'm assuming something is in the way.
Fabricate a bolt-on steering arm that allows you to improve the Ackerman and the bump-steer?

 

[rattle_snake]

Starting a new job role this week. Been 13 years in same place, lots of changes in the other business units over that time, but largely untouched for my group. Same management chain the whole time. Downside is that I have to support my old role for 6 months, in addition to the new role. I'm transferring to a slightly different group and since transfer there is no replacement req for me leaving, hence the handcuffs. I've been in a management role with 5-10 engineers. New deal is purely technical, no reports. Deep technical, complex algorithms, horrendous math. Stuff blows up when things go wrong. Hardware, software, mathematical modeling.
My new gig is digital power applications, that is, power supplies that run a digital control loop and filtering instead of analog. ADC takes measurements, math, and adjust PWM output. Can be AC/DC, DC/DC, inverters, solar panels, Battery back up. Main market is server power supplies which is what powers data centers, AI.

 

[rattle_snake]

Happen to have a pic of the front suspension that would show why? I'm assuming something is in the way.
Fabricate a bolt-on steering arm that allows you to improve the Ackerman and the bump-steer?

There is a pic a few posts up of the spacer/adapter for the tie rod. Single shear, leverage arm. Not for me.

 

[fouckhest]

Main market is server power supplies which is what powers data centers, AI.

That's a wild spot/market to be in right now! I work in fiber optics, I deal in the passives side (cabling), but, the amount of power scales the amount of my product needed. Its crazy to see that people are putting 1MW in a single bay and now all the sudden, campus speak is in the Gigawatt range. I was in a 40MW facility a couple weeks ago looking at the install, that same customer is currently in process with 1GW plus over a couple campuses

Sorry....also, Congrats on the new role, sounds great not having people to report to you, been there done that myself.

 

[ntsqd]

There is a pic a few posts up of the spacer/adapter for the tie rod. Single shear, leverage arm. Not for me.

No, I wouldn't either. Single shear itself has never bothered me if the parts are designed correctly, but when pushed out so that there's leverage between the force and the 'anchor' it just shouldn't be done w/o a lot engineering that a disappointing few fabricators are capable of.
I was just interested to see what the tie-rod might run into (I'm assuming that's the problem with a drop beam). I'm sure that it's a solvable problem, Whether it's a problem that you want to solve is a whole different question.

 

[rattle_snake]

The tie rod goes through a hole in the radius arm, they have to move together at fixed spacing.

 

[rattle_snake]

Shifter mount v2.0.


Spacers on bottom of baseplate to get it to sit level.


I extended the 'park' position stop to lock out the deeper GM Rev to Park spread


Too tall cut it down.


Mount is quite level needs more work.

 

[ntsqd]

The tie rod goes through a hole in the radius arm, they have to move together at fixed spacing.

OH! Rear steer. Had thought this truck to be new enough to be front steer.

 

[phred]

With all the dropped beams done in the past you would have thought someone would have made a dropped spindle/knuckle with the correction for the draglink.
Congrats on the new position at work.

 

[ntsqd]

Or maybe just a bolt-on steering arm, like how GM did them on the early 70's Nova spindles, that corrects the problem.

 

[SilverJimmy]

Saw this @ SEMA 2022…

But like a ******* I didn’t take any other pictures, like who was making it! Sorry, sometimes even with pictures it doesn’t happen!

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice job on the floor shifter Justin. I've used several of the TCI flavor over the years, but back in the day I used many more of the B&M shifters, specifically the Pro Ratchet in racing applications and the Star Shifter and Quick Silvers in many of the street strip cars.

My senior year of High School when I purchased my wrecked 1984 shortbed it was equipped with a manual transmission and after the rebuild and getting it on the road, I realized that all my days on the farm and with my first two trucks, I was tired of manuals and wanted to try my hand at owning automatics, so I swapped my shortbed over to a TH400 when I swapped out the 305cid to my 400 cubic inch engine. I used a B&M Quick Silver at that time to ease the swap which was my first floor shifter for an automatic application. I ran it like that for a few years until I wanted to remove much of the accessories on my truck and give it more of a "sleeper" look, so I sourced a column from a wrecking yard that had tilt, auto shifter and cruise controls to give it more of an OE appearance and feel, but I did like having a floor shifter in it as a daily driver for the first few years.

 

[ntsqd]

@SilverJimmy Judging by the pictures I think that is a Ridetech kit that you took pics of. Rear kit is ~$2600, front starts at $4k

1965-79 Ford Truck F-100 and F-150 Suspension Kits - Ridetech

Upgrade your Ford F-100 & F-150 truck with our wide selection of high-performance suspension components. Designed for improved ride quality and handling.

ridetech.com

For their pin spindle version they're using a GM spindle with the bolt-on steering arms:

 

[rattle_snake]

Shifter version 2.1. Boxed base.


Shortened by 1.5"

 

[rattle_snake]

Added a coolant catch can for NHRA rules. Made my own bracket out of 3" exhaust pipe.

 

[rattle_snake]

Finished out the re-wiring job for moving battery back under the hood. Extended the pigtail from the ignition box to hide the connector.


Moved from a cheap mega fuse and holder to a Buss 120A auto breaker for the audio system.

 

[plain2car]

Hey Justin nice catch can... I am a bit partial as I have the exact one on my '86!! would you elaborate on the bracket setup? IE: anything at the bottom? I am wondering if you notice alot of "wobble" with it? Mine seems to have a bit of "wobble" to it and have been wondering if I should "beef" up the bracket I made. it works fine & do not have any spillage... but.... . Overall really liking the build!! nice job!

 

[SMOKEYBEAR]

If you care to share, what connector are you using under the black rubber cover for the four cables to the positive battery terminal? Something like that would significantly sanitize the battery box on my bass boat.

 

[ntsqd]

I'm curious about that cover itself. Under it I suspect is a "military battery terminal" like the '-' post has on it.

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice job on the shifter box 2.0 Justin. I found that no two were alike in height as each driver has a specific "comfort" level of where they want the shifter know to be for their personal preference. I for one, don't like to reach for it, but I don't want it up too high either, so I understand the picky positioning.

Also, great job on the surge tank. NHRA rule or not, I am an advocate for having a surge tank in the cooling system whether the vehicle came with one or not, I like to install them and have them part of the system.

 

[rattle_snake]

Hey Justin nice catch can... I am a bit partial as I have the exact one on my '86!! would you elaborate on the bracket setup? IE: anything at the bottom? I am wondering if you notice alot of "wobble" with it? Mine seems to have a bit of "wobble" to it and have been wondering if I should "beef" up the bracket I made. it works fine & do not have any spillage... but.... . Overall really liking the build!! nice job!

The bracket is a 1" slice of 16 ga 3" SS pipe, then cut open into a 'C' to make an adjustable clamp. I welded a nut on one side of cut, and a barrel on the other to make a clamp with a bolt. The slice is welded to another piece of steel bent in a 'J' shape to make the mounting provisions. It can clamp very tight so no need for a bottom support. It uses a single 1/4-20 bolt into a riv-nut on core support.

The intent was to reuse the riv-nut from the horn, but it was off an inch or so so I drilled it out and put one in the right location. I plan to go back and add a smooth stud to the bracket to lock into the old hole. This way force applied to the can won't loosen the bolt. I assume there is an engineering term for this. double pin?

If you care to share, what connector are you using under the black rubber cover for the four cables to the positive battery terminal? Something like that would significantly sanitize the battery box on my bass boat.

The battery terminals are military type. I toss the metric HW and use 'Merican bolts. Machine a pocket, but can also space with washers to achieve the offset nut.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JJKVHD1?tag=atomicindus08-20

I'm curious about that cover itself. Under it I suspect is a "military battery terminal" like the '-' post has on it.

Yes, these are the Mil style covers.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01068FSJI?tag=atomicindus08-20

Nice job on the shifter box 2.0 Justin. I found that no two were alike in height as each driver has a specific "comfort" level of where they want the shifter know to be for their personal preference. I for one, don't like to reach for it, but I don't want it up too high either, so I understand the picky positioning.

Also, great job on the surge tank. NHRA rule or not, I am an advocate for having a surge tank in the cooling system whether the vehicle came with one or not, I like to install them and have them part of the system.

I don't mind leaning forward to reach park or reverse but wanted to have 1,2,D within comfortable reach while driving. What did you do to make a auto floor shifter work on your '84 square body?

I initially though that tilting it back would help with reach to R, P, but it didn't really and looked goofy. I don't think I posted v1.0

I agree. Catch can can prevent getting burned with coolant. Burping the system can spray your feet, or it can vent itself at any time. It can also act as an memory element, providing evidence of an event that pushed coolant out.