Progress, slow but sure.

The new intermediate shaft - ain't it cute.



Shot of the angles between the rear diff and the t-case - any problems?



roof rack, industrial strength and home-made.  Not finished but shows more or less what it's going to be when done - just an additional place to throw stuff, including a canoe

The crossmember came with the t-case when I found it in the bone yard - came from a 73 (I think) power wagon.  I don't have any other ones but I'll keep my eyes open for one - there's a bunch of 4x4's out here in the yards - I'm 'in' with a couple local yards so I'll ping them if they have any older PWagons.  Want me to grab one if I find it?  I'll toss it in the BBT (big brown truck) no sweat.

On the joints I'm going to have to go big on the rear to match the d70 and I want to do the same for the t-case output to match the CV joint - might be the 1410 joints, I'll have to ask.  I was looking at the rear diff angle and maybe I should remove the shim to make its angle more equal/opposed to the t-case - that should cancel the dangle issues?

Hey Sam Looks like your coming right along!! Looking sharp bud!

Hey check out my new Trailduster in the TD section

Jimbo

Got ya covered on the next volley amigo   Safari rack has almost two full weeks of fabrication in it and I'm hopin to have it done in two days, maybe tonight, then it's back to the chassis and bodywork.  Hoping to have it painted by the end of this month and together by the end of May, and debut the beastie at CampFest 05 the night prior to the Pikes Peak Hill Climb on 25 June  .  Should have some good pics here as soon as I can chip the welding slag off the camera lens...
- Max

totally diggin the roof rack.  love it.

Love the roof rack and grab handle idea{cool}

...some pics of the bodywork...the right side looks nearly identical  

left quarter cancer -



inner wheel well was toast too....



POR-15 everywhere - standard practice



fitting new panels

Thanks bud   - Being single with no kids (yet) gives me lots of free time to work on it.......which is probably why I'm single with no kids....yet.  But, if my wife calls.......get her number for me  .

that is the most bad ass roof rack i have ever seen. cant wait to see the finished product

Damn boy, I am going to call you up to build me some material handling equipment when I get my shop...you got some real ingenuity going on over there...

While I'm doing the bodywork I decided to incorporate a cool feature I saw on a Power Wagon at the Vegas show a couple weeks ago.  Here's some pics of some custom fab stuff I've been working on over the last couple weeks.  Anyone guess what it's gonna be   ?



This should give it away...



This is where the support will come from....



...and this is how the supports will keep from getting all bent all to hell....

I have seen those before its a step in the side of the truck. Nice idea those are rare to see!

...slight improvement to the ride quality....
The leafs conveniently locate everything until the control arms and bags are installed, then the leafs come out for good.

I'll be a'ridin' on air - (AiRock bags, 14" of articulation)



Bridge mount for upper wishbone (JohnnyJoint in center) and sway bar mounts



View from side -



...just tack welded for now as we're waiting to build the control arms, then it all gets MIG'd to death...

i'm not understanding the Johnny Joint location, seems to me it would be at the end of link arm and not incorporated into the truss. please explain.

slick as a eels ass!

Thanks Spoon, Mike, Glenn - I really appreciate the compliments, and it's relieving to see that y-all think it'll be good n strong.  Sucker aught to ride like a dream - won't bounce up off bumps now...at least that's what the physics scribble says.
Spoon, you going to Bandimere?  We'll be there Sunday, and I'm racing the Demon - shooting for 12's this time out.  We're doing a BBQ at the trailer in the pits.  Big black toy box pulled by Trevor's maroon/silver 99 CTD.  Grille's gonna be hot, adult beverages in the cooler, and food galore.  Hope to see you there dude.
Laters,
- Sam

...so I've been trying to figure out the best way to do the exhaust system for the 'Nacho...and after searching and reading the threads in here, plus talking with the guys on the Big Block Dart website and my local Mopar club fellers, plus talking with the tech bubbas at Gibson and Flowmaster, I've come to this conclusion - A single 3" exhaust system will be ideal for a big block.  

Major considerations:  Exhaust manifold design, tube diameter, and how the tubes are bent.  Here's what I've gleaned from it all:

The manifolds/headers are critical to the performance of the whole system, and especially critical to the scavenging properties of the exhaust flow out of the heads.  The big deal is the exhaust pulses through the manifolds and plumbing and the sequencing of each.  I've become a rabid fan of building a system from multiple components (usually from different manufactrers) that 'works' in concert with each other; and I want a system that works well, across the rpm range, and is designed for maximum efficiency, which will result in maximum fuel mileage (I'm always concerned about mileage, mainly because if you have good mileage then you have a good drivetrain combination, and that adds up to a long-lasting system that will perform equally well).  Because there isn't really a whole 'kit' for our older rigs you have to piece a system together anyway.

The key to making an exhaust system 'work' well, and therefore give you maximum effeciency (mileage), is the tubing diameters.  The factory pretty much got it right up front.  Ever notice the actual shape and design of the factory exhaust manifolds?  They're actually pretty darned good.  They have small-ish inlets that match the factory heads, and those dump into a bigger, but not huge, collector, and every mating surface is very thick.  Because of the sequence of the firing order the exhaust pulses actually pick up speed and 'push' the previous pulses out the tubes.  When it comes to headers, I want mine to as closely mirror the factory manifolds as possible while at the same time smoothing out the flow characteristics as possible.  That's why I like the shorty tri-Y style headers with the super thick 3/8" or better flanges.  There are very few makers of headers that do it this way...mainly because it ain't cheap, but some do.  

(Damn - I can write a book, eh?)  

Okay, here's the parts list for my exhaust system:
- Schumacher big block headers (tri-y design, shorty style)
  -- 1 5/8" primary tube, 2" secondary, 2 1/2" collector (3" is too big)
- 2 1/2" exhaust tubes up to the y-pipe with mandrel bends as needed - not crush bends (big difference)
- Y-pipe:  2 1/2" inlets, 3" single outlet
- Flex pipe:  3" tube (4" flex pipe) x 10" long - this allows the front half of the system to shift with the engine, and the rear half to remain 'stationary' and hard (rubber isolators) mounted.
- 3" straight through muffler, in my case a 24" long Flowpro diesel muffler (no insulation, only noise-cancelling baffels)
- 3" tubing all the way out the back with 90* and 45* mandrel bends throughout.

I ordered a couple sections of mandrel bent 180* 2 1/2" and 3" tubing from Summit Racing - they make them for any application and you cut and weld to suit.  So, when it all comes in I'm going to weld the entire system in palce, and by going with the sizes of tubing that I am and by sticking with 3" tubing on the back side of the headers the exhaust flow will travel straight through the tubes without bouncing up and down within the tubes slowing down the flow (a result of too big a pipe, like 4", etc), and that will keep the velocity up, and that will make the exhaust system actually scavenge the exhaust out of the heads.  So that's the theory, and I'm hoping it all adds up to mileage in the teens and a boat load of useable torque.  

If I were doing duals I'd run 2 1/2" pipes off the headers all the way out the back, with an H or X-pipe directly after the header collectors (this equalizes the pulses and sound), with matching mufflers.  X-pipes are cool but they're used more for big rpm applications (racing, etc).

If it was a small block with a single exhaust, the headers would have to be no bigger than 2 1/2" at the collector, preferrably 2 1/4".  Final tubing ona single pipe would be 2 1/2" maximum.  

Small block with duals, I'd run no bigger than 2" pipe.

Engines are just big air pumps - you make 'em breathe right and that will free up power that otherwise would be needed to push the exhaust stroke up, and that adds up to more inherant power going to the tires and that adds up to lots of these   .
So, that's my theory and I'm stickin' to it  .  
- Max

maybe its my computer but im not seeing any of the pics on either page...

Man, you got some way cool ingenuity going on there...wanna build my garage when I get a house??

.....a bunch of us went 4-wheelin' last weekend up here in the Rockies, at 10,000 ft altitude and snow (it was awesome - I was a passenger).....and I, well, let's just say my RC will be a bit delayed as I gained a ton of insight and saw what worked and what doesn't.  I took a bunch of mental notes, and I've decided that as far as major components I'm about half way to where I want my rig to be.  
For 95% of our off-roading most any truck would be okay...it's just that other 5% that I do not want to visit and it's that 5% that some very well placed components will make 100% of the difference.
To make a long day's story short, I've decided the 'Nacho is going to get EFI, better brakes, bigger tires, and armor - lots of armor.  So, the debut of the rig will be slightly delayed, but I'm hoping it's all worth it.  
I have the rear leafs off and the rear suspension nearly done, and the front is right after that.  No new pics but should have some here soon.  More to follow.
- S

Sam. Hey there. Sorry I've missed the last few events. Call me or IM me about the disc conversion. I have some info for you, if you are interested.
Andrew

.....that.....

              .....................is just awesome.

....I'm drooling on my keyboard here....(yuck...)...

....and I'm doing my crew cab next..........Mike yer a baaaaaad influence on me bro...

yup   - here's how.  The upper 2-link you're referring to is a 'wishbone' design, and is technically a single link, meaning there is just one place where the wishbone attaches to the axle.  
There will be two independent lower control arms, one on each lower side of the axle - I just haven't got them jigged up yet.  The upper wishbone has two mounting points on the frame/crossmember, and one on the diff, in this case on the bridge mount.  The wishbone will also have a cross tube to reinforce the mounting areas on the crossmenber (also not completed yet).  At the center of the bridge is what's called a johnny joint (JJ) - it is essentially a very heavy duty pivot joint that acts just the way a heim joint does, only a lot bigger.  Most times you'll see a JJ attached either above or below, but in my case I have it attaching both above and below.  The JJ is a big steel pivot joint encased inside two halves of a polyurethane bushing, held together by a greasable 5/8 bolt.  
When, for example, the right rear is climbing up a rock and the left is on level ground, the right lower control arm and right side of the axle will go straight up, and the entire wishbone will also go up (staying level across-ways) symmetrical to the frame, but, the JJ will pivot allowing the axle to tilt under it, all the while the left rear stays on the ground, and the left rear tire will just conform with the slant of the axle.  
When we're 4-wheeling that hard the tires will be deflated down to, oh say 20 psi, so the tires will conform to the tilt, and over the rock you go.  Once I get the control arms all jigged up I'm going to take the axle to full articulation and snap some pics, and the articulation itself will be limited by the airbags and shocks, but the bags are going to be mounted directly under the frame, so the 7" of articulation that the bags will go, both up and down (14" total) will translate to about a foot each way when measured at the tires.  Not bad for an airbag setup.  
I'm hoping the axle will achieve a left to right difference of over 2 feet (1 foot in each opposing direction, measured at the tire), and that aught to do it.  In the case where the right is tipped up and the left is dropped down, the JJ will be at full tilt, the lower control arms will be also at full tilt, but the wishbone will barely move at all.  It's cool as hell, and the main benefit of the wishbone is while on the road the rear end cannot shift side to side at all, so towing and street driving will be a pleasure, especially with 35's, 3:55 gears, and an injected 440.  Sonovagun I can't wait to drive this rig....
- Max

can i come over to play my mommy said it was alright.


this is awesome the patience and excellence shows

...the fabricator formerly known as SamsRams...is now the crazy dude known as Mad Max.

A while back the guys at work started calling me the road warrior, but that is too friggin' long to type in....

- Max