rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[softailgarage]

Love the live edge desk and workbench. Next time or even now try a 2 part epoxy resin. In fact, if you have some wood left over use it to practice on, I think you will like the outcome. Pros: Leaves a great protective coating that will last forever. Brings out the color and natural beauty of the wood, especially if you use something like redwood or walnut, no need for stains. Cons: Epoxy isn't cheap, can be messy and difficult to work with, but once you've got it down you'll be addicted.

 

[Ohmthis]

Justin the furniture turned out beautifully!

 

[rattle_snake]

The truck looks AWESOME outside in her element Justin.

Glad the trip was a success.

Thanks Mike. Was happy to enjoy driving it instead of working on it.

Although the trans doesn't want to shift to 1st after a stop

Love it with the camper shell. Looks like a fun trip!

Well...Ultraflows come in a 24" case also...or there is always the 5x11x22 magnaflow/mag knockoffs.

After that, you're down to using the big case Super Turbos if you want quieter...Maybe the chambered Magnaflows?

Going to deal with noise for now as it sound so good otherwise. I have a pair of round magnaflows that I can play with for free.

Desk and workbench turned out great, Justin!

LOVE that Punch driving the RF sub!

Thanks. The little RF amp does the job. It gets hot but will run for many hours at a decent volume level on the dedicated motorcycle battery.

Love the live edge desk and workbench. Next time or even now try a 2 part epoxy resin. In fact, if you have some wood left over use it to practice on, I think you will like the outcome. Pros: Leaves a great protective coating that will last forever. Brings out the color and natural beauty of the wood, especially if you use something like redwood or walnut, no need for stains. Cons: Epoxy isn't cheap, can be messy and difficult to work with, but once you've got it down you'll be addicted.

I wanted to do epoxy but cheaped out. Would have taken over $100 (or more) to do it. So I used what I had on hand for free. Damn it there is that word again, guess I need to buy some tools..

Justin the furniture turned out beautifully!

Thanks Ohm! trying to figure out what to do with the rest

 

[rattle_snake]

Now that it has finally cooled off, I got the dirt bike out this weekend and did a fairly intensive ride in the usual area. Explored some smaller 2 track trails and some steep, nasty, rocky stuff. I do OK for an old man, going to gym regularly keeping weight in check helps a lot. After the ride we broke out the RC crawlers and had fun with them out in the desert terrain.

 

[ntsqd]

Rekluse?

 

[rattle_snake]

No the 450 chugs along and compression braking is handy compared to the CR my buddy rides.

Had hell getting CR250 to start and had to tow start it with my bike. I like the magic button on the handle bars

 

[rattle_snake]

Now that weather is really nice for the next 8 months back to some backyard projects. The outdoor BBQ/bar has a counter height and bar height areas. We had 6 stools for it that were all uncomfortable. 2 saddle stools, 2 tractor seat (*** heat sink) and the 2 auto themed one that the tops keep cracking on.

Couldn't find any chairs that came in different heights, so to accommodate my plan was to modify as needed. Bought 4 stamped/tube type construction stools at 27" seat height. I assembled one and discovered it is right in between what I need. 3" to high for counter, 3" to short for bar.

So I started chopping up the legs. remove 3" from one, graft drop back on another. Easy enough


Little welding and paint and now I have matching stools at custom heights.


4 seemed a bit sparse for the area so I added 2 more to end up with 6 total, 3 tall and 3 short.


Knowing once this lot is gone I won't find them again, I picked up 4 more to replace an existing 4-chair/table set. Just need to build a custom table....

 

[rattle_snake]

What to do with the old stools? Well the saddle style ones are NOT shaped to fit a man, so just need to go away. I like the base of the custom ones, but wood top was lacking. I stole just the seat off the tractor seats stools and adapted to the other base. The rusty rotor leaves a rust ring so I prepped and put a clear coat on them to mitigate. Also some adhesive feet on the bottom.


For now they are going to live in the shop where they don't get cold enough to freeze your ****

 

[rattle_snake]

Diagnosing trans issue on 72 Ford. I had really bad luck with last auto in my old bronco. So this is painful to deal with.

Drained some fluid out of transmission pan temp sensor hole (there is no drain plug). Clean and smells fine. Fluid level is full.
Checked modulator hose, upshifts are fine so it is working. I had cranked the adjuster screw all the way in to get later shifts at part throttle. I backed it out one full turn to see if that was related. no change.
Kickdown is properly adjusted.
Assuming it is the governor which is accessible without removal of whole trans. But have to pull transfer case and tail shaft. Guess I need to buy a tall trans jack for use on lift.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

More tools is good, but trans repair is no fun.

What are you using for fluid?

 

[ntsqd]

I probably could learn how to build auto trans', but I won't. I leave those to the guys who do them all of the time figuring that they're going to stay much more current than I can. When the 47RH behind the Cummins went tango uniform mid-state on I-5 (had first gear, but none other) I took the truck to the trans guy and told him that if the trans went south it could quite literally kill us (we had just gotten back from a solo trip out and back on Hole in the Rock Rd.). Once his color returned we discussed what needed to happen with the trans.

 

[rattle_snake]

More tools is good, but trans repair is no fun.

What are you using for fluid?

No, it is not. Still scarred from last fiasco.
Running Dex/Merc per builder.

I probably could learn how to build auto trans', but I won't. I leave those to the guys who do them all of the time figuring that they're going to stay much more current than I can. When the 47RH behind the Cummins went tango uniform mid-state on I-5 (had first gear, but none other) I took the truck to the trans guy and told him that if the trans went south it could quite literally kill us (we had just gotten back from a solo trip out and back on Hole in the Rock Rd.). Once his color returned we discussed what needed to happen with the trans.

I have avoid autos as well. Other than windshield install I did everything on the truck myself except the trans.

Kicking around the idea of a 6R80 swap. This would address a few shortcoming of the truck, mainly noise due to higher rpm cruise and lack of gearing when crawling.

C6 has 2.4, 1.4, 1:1 ratio with total spread of 2.4:1.
6R has 4.2:1 1st and 0.69 OD for a total gear range of 6:1.

Deep first of 6R would be similar to adding doubler t-case system, and would incur about same amount of rework for drivetrain length difference. 0.69 OD would lower 75 MPH RPM from 3000 to 2000. Maybe 2000 is too low to lug a brick of a truck at 75. 5th is 0.86 = 2600. Else a gear change to 4.88 would further improve both situations another 20%. Lock up converter would help fuel consumption. Would really light up the tires from a stop. Just time and money...

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Mike runs the GM version of that trans in his Jeep. If memory serves, neither has a true 1:1 ratio gear.

I can see the positive side of it for sure, $$ being the down side. Surely the BBF would keep the tires moving @ 75mph in 6th?

 

[ntsqd]

I like to gear so that my cruise RPM is right at or a little under the torque peak. I know that part throttle skews exactly where torque peak is (vs. WOT where it's usually measured). My reasoning is that peak torque is the engine's BSFC so it makes sense to gear to where the engine is making the most for consuming the least. Given that, 2k doesn't seem unreasonable unless the cam is particularly large and "thumpy."

 

[Blt2Lst]

Had hell getting CR250 to start and had to tow start it with my bike. I like the magic button on the handle bars

Love my old 2 stroke dirt bikes but there are times when I wish they had the Magic Button...

Keep on Roostin!!

 

[rattle_snake]

I like to gear so that my cruise RPM is right at or a little under the torque peak. I know that part throttle skews exactly where torque peak is (vs. WOT where it's usually measured). My reasoning is that peak torque is the engine's BSFC so it makes sense to gear to where the engine is making the most for consuming the least. Given that, 2k doesn't seem unreasonable unless the cam is particularly large and "thumpy."

Makes sense. Cam is 'truck' grind for lower RPM operation, 213/227. WOT TQ peak is 3400.

Love my old 2 stroke dirt bikes but there are times when I wish they had the Magic Button...

Keep on Roostin!!

I will brother you too!

 

[zmotorsports]

My two cents Justin, you will love the wider gear choices of the six-speed auto vs. the three-speed C6.

Don't get me wrong, the C6 is a good transmission but the newer options allow a deeper low gear and a taller top gear for the best of both worlds. That 4.2:1 first gear will really be nice to get the larger tires rolling and the 31% overdrive will aid in cruising speeds.

My GM 6L80 does not have a 1:1 ratio in the transmission but I'm not sure if the Ford 6R80 does or not. The GM has a fourth gear of 1.15:1 and then fifth gear jumps to the first overdrive ratio of .85:1 (15% overdriven) and then sixth gear goes to .67:1 (33% overdriven) which will be very similar to the Ford's .69:1 final gear.

 

[ntsqd]

More gears is better. Added a GV unit to our 12 Valve's 4 spd auto effectively making it a 7 speed trans. Nice to have more options.

There's no magic in having a 1:1 gear, but I wonder if there's something about not having one that is a benefit? Now that I think about it, none of the Europeon manuals that I've owned or driven extensively since 1980 had a 1:1 gear in them. That is primarily VW's but does include a Saab.

 

[Monza Harry]

A 1:1 gear typically has the lowest parasitic drag and is the easiest [and can be the most robust], to incorporate to the transmission. There was (is?)a move to non overdrive transmissions in class 8 & 9 trucks for awhile, citing lower fuel usages as their reasoning. Harry

 

[ntsqd]

If you look at it superficially a 1:1 top gear makes the most sense. Lowest operating friction in the gear presumably used the most. I used to wonder why this wasn't done.

However you still need the same sets of effective drive ratios. Bicyclists call this "gear-inches", i.e. how many inches traveled per one revolution of the crankshaft. Looking it it this way allows different drive ratio, trans ratio, and tire size combos to be compared equally.
If 1:1 is going to be your top gear then you need a final drive ratio that is tall enough to offset not having an OD gear or gears. That's a move in the right direction too because lower numeric ratio final drives have less internal friction than do higher numeric ratio final drive ratios. Win-Win.

Except that now we need to come up with a first gear ratio that equals what we used to get with the higher numeric final drive, but using this lower numeric final drive. Which is to say that each gear needs to have the same "gear-inches" as before, only now with a lower numeric final drive ratio. Which means that first gear's ratio has to go even deeper. And all of the other ratios between first and top gear need to be deeper as well. Doesn't seem like that would be a problem except that it is easy to make low numeric ratio gears strong and as the ratio increases it gets harder and harder to maintain that same strength because fewer and fewer teeth are engaged as the ratio numerically increases.

The parasitic losses are proportional to the ratio and the power applied. With a deep ratio the looses are high, and when using first gear you're usually pulling away from a stop so the power applied is much more than when just cruising down a flat highway. With the higher numeric drive and the lower numeric ratio intermediate gear each has it's own loss that is combined to be the sum of the losses, but by choosing two ratios with intermediate loss that the sum will be lower than in choosing a gear with a low loos and combining that with a gear that has a high loss. I think that since parasitic losses are proportional to both the ratio and the amount of power going thru the gears that when just cruising down a flat section of freeway you're not using much power and that means that the losses are also small. Going without OD gears results in weaker gear sets in the transmission for negligible gains in reducing the friction losses.

 

[Monza Harry]

NTSQD, agreed on all counts. However planetary gearset can increase tooth contact easily despite numerical count by adding more pinions to the plant carrier, not free but, also especially in auto trans deeper ratios is accomplished through compounding gears [2:1 x 2.5:1 = 5:1] I realize there is no easy answers but we do need to keep looking. Harry

 

[rattle_snake]

Finished out the nitrous system with a window switch. Not really needed with a manual trans but more or less required for launching an auto with a WOT switch. Torque converter stalls around 2300 and need to hold off nitrous until ~3000 RPM. Window switch allows going WOT from idle/stop. EFI is crisp and no bog/hesitation.
I tested with bottle off to make sure activation RPM was correct. Took my dad for a test drive and did a few launches. After purge the system comes on as expected and feels more like step function I expect, as throttle plates are already fully open. My dad commented on how much the truck leans/pulls left front up from torque, and then even more when nitrous kicks in. Good times.

Went with a Lingenfelter box as it had a positive N/O output, simple and priced reasonably.

 

[rattle_snake]

Farting around with some rock lights for the old Ford. My neighbor bought a set of Lux lights and when configured just so on their site, the price was way off, low. So he bought me a set as a gift.

Off Road LED Lighting Products - LED Rock Lights for Jeep Rock Crawler

NOT made in China! High power LED rock lights and lighting products for Jeeps, trucks, rock crawling, accent lighting, under glow for ATV/ UTV trucks, motorcycles, camping, and marine.

luxlightingsystems.com

Made in USA
They fixed the 'glitch' it seems...

They attach with magnets so I have been trying some different placement options. Of the 8 lights, the 2 behind rear wheels will be on a separate circuit to use as general lighting when camping. Planning to make a switch panel for the inside of the ash tray to keep everything hidden, and a switch by the tailgate for the rear pair.

Have also been planning the auxiliary battery system, wiring and controls. I threw in what I had but want to make changes and everything modular with connectors.

And further complicating things with plans for an air compressor (ARB dual). Wiring, plumbing, mounting and so on.

Ideally, I would have a predetermined master plan for all three above before starting any of them. Maybe another harness of even pull factory one along frame rail and integrate everything.

 

[ntsqd]

FWIW I use a Blue Sea Systems marine battery switch combined with one of their Automatic Charge Relays (ACR). Can buy them together in an "Add-A-Battery" kit, the switch supplied in the kit with the 120A ACR is the big unit and I prefer to use the smaller switch on ground vehicles. If the big switch works then: https://www.westmarine.com/blue-sea-systems-mini-“add-a-battery-system-14152565.html is one source. The small kit's ACR is only good for 65A. https://www.westmarine.com/blue-sea-systems-mini-“add-a-battery-system-14152565.html Can no doubt do better than WM's prices.

I place the two of them close to each other so that I can just connect the two battery wires from the ACR to the switch with a minimum of wire length. I leave the selector set on #1 and I put all of the OEM draws on the supply stud and all of my house demands (stereo, race radio, Nav, Fridge, power points, etc.) are wired directly to the #2 battery. That makes a self jump-start is just a twist of the switch away (always cautious to NEVER cycle that switch through the 'OFF' position when running or even IGN turned on), and when winching I can combine both batteries.

I had issues in the past with an OEM GM dual battery wiring scheme so now I bring the ground cables from both batteries to the same bolt or stud - where ever the OEM ground point was for the original battery. That GM system had both grounded to the engine block, but on opposite sides of the block. That proved to not be good enough, too much resistance, and it set up a mutally destructive self-discharge cycle.

I've been using Carolprene welding cable for the high amperage cables for about 15 years. I've had none of the issues that the Chicken Littles' of one forum predicted that I'd have. Hex die crimped lugs with adhesive lined heat-shrink bridging from the insulation to the lug body. I'm on my third project vehicle wired this way (still own two of them).

ACR & Marine switch on the Blanc-Oh!:


Articulated second battery mount as I wasn't sure how much the C-channel frame was going to flex. Turns out that it moves a LOT! the Harley strap is a secondary hold-down that also holds the positive post's emergency insulator (part of a Delo 400 jug - hey it's free LDPE) in place.

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks for sharing. I like the battery mount.
I'm using an automatic relay to charge aux battery. It's a small 30AH motorcycle unit so no intent to use a starting/main battery. Going to permanently mount instead of only using with camper shell/bed platform.

 

[rattle_snake]

Picked up a taller 4" air filter for the BBF. After shorter intake plate and lowering cleaner base the assembly looked a bit short. Lid is back were it was. Would like to build a filter enclosure/hood seal that pulls from cowl at some point.

 

[rattle_snake]

Light mock-up. Still pondering exactly how to physically wire system so bed, cab and so on are remoable without cutting wires, zip ties or having to remove a bunch of p-clamps. Connectorize, sub harnesses

 

[rattle_snake]

Dune season is approaching so time to address bike maintenance and some issues. Had to get a new paddle last season and it has a larger diameter and rips off the mud flap even with axle at the back of the block. Could see wear marks on a few paddles so hit them with flap wheel. It appears that 2 paddles are taller than the rest and I suspect this is the problem. Going to mount on bike and spin to get a better idea of what to do.

Bought a new chain for sand use only. It doesn't take that many trips to stretch a chain. I run a non o-ring chain with minimal lube.

Not sure I should admit this, but my OCD took control and tire got some turd polishing. It had a lot of dried on petroleum based goo from manufacturing process, so cleaned it all up. Then I somehow convinced myself it was worth my time to remove all the mold injection ******* for a cleaner look.


Even steel sprockets get trashed from extensive use of near or at WOT in the sand. Can see that the leading edge of all the teeth are worn down. To keep axle block all the way back, I run whatever size rear sprocket I need to. Probably go back to a 51 with new chain that is not stretched out yet. As chain stretches, go down one tooth to maintain tire clearance issue the Honda swing arm has.


Next is engine and trans oil changes and further paddle clearancing. BIL picked up a Razor so hoping to get whole family to the dunes this year.

 

[ntsqd]

Late 80's 3/4t & 1t GM trucks have a nice, tall enclosed filter element with a large flat-ish oval snorkle on the lower part of the enclosure. I may even still have one that I could send you. The bottom part is common to all of the trucks, but only some got the extra tall top part. The diesels are usally a better bet to have the tall top, but some of the carbs got them too. They all have a curious "inner filter" looking part that is actually an air straightener as best as I can figure. Those don't seal to the lid, so they're not a filter. And some of the TBI trucks had tall tops with two stud holes, so be careful of those. If you find such a truck that is complete they have a nice duct that attaches to a assembly in the core support to create a ram-air system. The assembly in the core support has a baffle in it to deflect water. All in all I like the whole system.

What MISF did with his latest project for cowl induction was to extend the snorkle slightly thru the hole in the cowl, and then lined the hole with the Trim-lok that has a sealing lip on it. Like this: https://www.mcmaster.com/trim-seals...stant-rubber-push-on-seals-with-rubber-wiper/

FWTW....

 

[rattle_snake]

Popped the paddle on the bike to check swing arm/mud flap clearance. Used a square to check cup height and massaged as needed. The lower end of the mud flap had a lip to it that spaced it away from swingarm, so I cut that off to gain some more room. Between the mods I think I got another 1/4" or so. Hopefully this is enough to not have mud flap rip off, again.


Cut a standard 120 link chain to 114 and test fit on bike. Swapped on a 48 tooth sprocket to get axle back as far as possible and still have room to tighten a bit. Once chain stretches and axle is out of adjustment, will swap back to 49.

Getting excited to go back out into the dunes and play. So fun to be able to use all the power the 450 has.

 

[zmotorsports]

Looks awesome Justin. I must admit, there are times I miss our sand toys. We had a lot of great times while duning as a family.

 

[rattle_snake]

Sand toys (or boats, ect) are great when you have time to enjoy, and they aren't broken/needing money

Finished up bike oil change and popped in a clean air filter. Ordered some more oil filters and pre air filters as I used up the last of my stash. Put the dirt tire back on, may go out and test sand tire in a local wash to see if it clears the mud flap. My buddy also has a new paddle/tire combo that he should test before driving all the way out to the dunes.

 

[zmotorsports]

Sand toys (or boats, ect) are great when you have time to enjoy, and they aren't broken/needing money

Agreed Justin.

It seems like when I was duning, I was also working full-time plus running my speed shop and time was even more tight than now. I would spend about 3 days getting the toys cleaned up, loaded in the trailer, strapped down, coach hooked up and then the night before we left I would wash the coach and race trailer. I enjoyed the dunes and the rush while rig-shitting around the dunes was indescribable to anyone who hasn't experienced it.

Then upon returning home it was another 3-4 nights of unloading the trailer, cleaning the inside of the trailer, parking the coach and trailer and then addressing any items, hopefully small, on any of the toys. Common tasks were cleaning of air filters, carbs after every few trips, servicing the engine/transmissions and anything else that popped up during the trip and hopefully they weren't bit items ($$$$).

When we sold all of the sand toys and just kept the Jeep I told the wife that we hit the lottery as there was so much more money left over at the end of the month.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

When we sold all of the sand toys and just kept the Jeep I told the wife that we hit the lottery as there was so much more money left over at the end of the month.

It's wild how much these toys cost; I can't even count how many times I've seen grown *** men look like they're going to cry after their car burns down, or they ball it up, or a brand new motor pops, or a $.50 part costs them a race and the associated logistics costs. There becomes a point where toys become a job and a burden. Cars/motorcycles/boats/airplanes.....they're all money pits, but we can't seem to ever fully walk away!

 

[zmotorsports]

It's wild how much these toys cost; I can't even count how many times I've seen grown *** men look like they're going to cry after their car burns down, or they ball it up, or a brand new motor pops, or a $.50 part costs them a race and the associated logistics costs. There becomes a point where toys become a job and a burden. Cars/motorcycles/boats/airplanes.....they're all money pits, but we can't seem to ever fully walk away!

Amen Ryan, Amen.

As much as I loved racing, duning and snowmobiling, my bank account is so much more grateful now that I gave them up. There were times I had just made a pass of a lifetime and the next one put me back in the trailer curled up in the fetal position because I was afraid to tell the wife OR I just knew how many nights I would be working until midnight to make up what it was going to cost me.

When I was racing I had a guy once tell me I could make a small fortune racing. I was all ears and excited, until he told me that I had to start with a large fortune.

 

[ntsqd]

When I was racing I had a guy once tell me I could make a small fortune racing. I was all ears and excited, until he told me that I had to start with a large fortune.

That's a quote of Roger Penske's. "The way to make a small fortune in racing is to start with a large one." I think that he's quoted as having said that in "The Unfair Advantage", Mark Donohue's biography.* Penske worked with Donohue for most of his career.

*The Unfair Advantage is a book that I think every racer and most tech oriented racing fans should read. Right next to it on your book shelf should be a well-read copy of "The Stainless Steel Carrot." Just as informative, but not nearly as "tech-y".

 

[WoodsTruck]

I work by myself and live in a house full of women.

Snowmobiling is cheap therapy.

 

[rattle_snake]

Not a lot of shop projects this weekend. Now that weather has cooled getting back to some landscaping. Replaced a few plants that didn't survive. Trapped a gopher that was trying to move in.

Standardized my charging setup by rewiring my 2/10/15A battery charger and the boat wiring to SAE 2 pin.. I had originally cut the clamps off the charger to work with the disconnect terminals on the boat. Moving to SAE like all the float chargers, which most my **** is already hard wired for.

Yanked the old harness out of the boat. It also had a wire to allow bypassing the battery switch so the outdrive could be actuated without climbing in the boat to access switch. Don't need that functionality anymore, and the wiring did NOT prevent improper use, which I believe is cause of intermittent crowbar shorts that still happen. Inadvertently hooked charger GND to the battery bypass which reverse biased the entire electrical system with a current source in series with a battery (that is not good).

So I bought a pair of SAE extensions and cut off the unneeded ends, and put the 1990s split loom back on.


Left the automatic breakers in place (although they are too big) and connected harness. Dropped a fastener down in bilge.


Harness exits in same location as before but now SAEs. Also rewired charger for SAE 2 pin, so it and all my float chargers work on everything. Also built a SAE to battery clamp adapter to use on raw terminals.

Still nice warm boating weather plan to ski/board/chair day after thanksgiving as usual.

 

[rattle_snake]

Still doing some background mental engineering on the 72's isolated electrical system physical design. Trying to find a permanent home for the 30Ah MC battery. Contemplating under the hood now as well, and just a panel in the bed.

In an attempt to move things along, I chopped up the platform, shorted it from 7' 2'' to 6' 6'' for additional room at the back. I think a cooler will fit now. Removed all the old provisions for supports, and started building new specific to the 72 bed. With spare tire to support 40" of the front, not much more is needed. May use a hinge on the one longer leg for more compact storage.

 

[ntsqd]

If it is going to be permanent why not put it under the bed? There's lots of room under there, a battery that small should have multiple locations where it will fit and be protected.