Skipped_Link
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Looks like just this morning Ibex off-road videos posted a video he has been working on.
Project: Midnight Panic
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Firstram
Well-known member
Happily following
WaterH
Well-known member
Happily following
X 2
reptillikus
ate lug
ConwayMuddy
Dis member
I dont remember seeing it, what kind of power are you aiming for with your engine?
Gunwalls_Buckthorne
American
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I agree, Bring the Pete!!
Arps
Well-known member
That truck is a thing of beauty. Great work!
Skipped_Link
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Thanks everyone for the interest in this project, I appreciate the feedback.
Last week I received my order of aluminum for the fuel tank, so I figured getting that pile cut, assembled & out of the way would be a good place to start,
For the fuel cell, the top, bottom, & sides are .188" 5056 aluminum, The best way I could cut that to size was using a carbide tipped blade on the skill saw & a strait edge, after laying out what I wanted all the parts were cut, then the top & front were put in the mill to drill the holes for a cap/filler, rollover vent valve, & bung for fuel pickup,
Speaking of fuel pickup, I really did not want to put a sump in the bottom of the tank, towards the rear like it should have, while accelerating it is good for fuel delivery, but when braking I could see it sucking air if the fuel level is low enough,
So instead I put the fuel pickup in the front wall of the tank, & extended the bung using 1.25"x.120" aluminum tube, which runs to the rear of the tank, (where all the fuel will be when on the throttle) Then in the event of being hard on the brakes, & the fuel sloshing forward, there will still be that small amount of fuel in the tube to run on, hopefully until the pickup is submerged again,
Of course if I keep the fuel topped off, there will probably never be an issue,
Here is the weld in bung with extension tube welded in place,
With the sides, top, & bottom tacked in place, the pickup tube was welded in the tank
Then the back slope was cut out of .120" 5056, cross broke & tacked in place.
After a couple hours of welding the fuel tank was pretty much complete aside from mounts. The fuel tank itself if 24.5" wide, & the inside of the chassis is 28" so another side plate was cut out of 1/8" 5056 along with a couple 3.25" strips of both 1/8" & 3/16", This was all used to extend the overall width of the tank to 27.5" & adding a second compartment for hydraulic/steering fluid.
Of course a couple more weld in bungs were spun up on the lathe & welded in for return, relief, & pickup, along with a cap & bung for the vent,
This was after everything was welded out.
.
Last week I received my order of aluminum for the fuel tank, so I figured getting that pile cut, assembled & out of the way would be a good place to start,
For the fuel cell, the top, bottom, & sides are .188" 5056 aluminum, The best way I could cut that to size was using a carbide tipped blade on the skill saw & a strait edge, after laying out what I wanted all the parts were cut, then the top & front were put in the mill to drill the holes for a cap/filler, rollover vent valve, & bung for fuel pickup,
Speaking of fuel pickup, I really did not want to put a sump in the bottom of the tank, towards the rear like it should have, while accelerating it is good for fuel delivery, but when braking I could see it sucking air if the fuel level is low enough,
So instead I put the fuel pickup in the front wall of the tank, & extended the bung using 1.25"x.120" aluminum tube, which runs to the rear of the tank, (where all the fuel will be when on the throttle) Then in the event of being hard on the brakes, & the fuel sloshing forward, there will still be that small amount of fuel in the tube to run on, hopefully until the pickup is submerged again,
Of course if I keep the fuel topped off, there will probably never be an issue,
Here is the weld in bung with extension tube welded in place,
With the sides, top, & bottom tacked in place, the pickup tube was welded in the tank
Then the back slope was cut out of .120" 5056, cross broke & tacked in place.
After a couple hours of welding the fuel tank was pretty much complete aside from mounts. The fuel tank itself if 24.5" wide, & the inside of the chassis is 28" so another side plate was cut out of 1/8" 5056 along with a couple 3.25" strips of both 1/8" & 3/16", This was all used to extend the overall width of the tank to 27.5" & adding a second compartment for hydraulic/steering fluid.
Of course a couple more weld in bungs were spun up on the lathe & welded in for return, relief, & pickup, along with a cap & bung for the vent,
This was after everything was welded out.
Skipped_Link
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A little over 39 gallon fuel capacity, & potentially almost 5 gallons of hydraulic oil capacity, (probably run closer to half of that)
Turns out it even fit in the chassis,
This size tank & material thickness was pretty taxing for my little Miller synchrowave 180SD, but it pulled through again only tripping the breaker a couple times,
I still have to decide on what to set the tank on & how to mount it, in the picks it's just sitting on some 1' x .120" square tube I notched to fit the chassis for testing purposes, I'll be getting back to that later,
For the remainder of days off I messed with a couple little shop projects & drive line stuff, Last week I had ordered a couple new slip yokes to go with the splined tube shafts I had machined, before they even got here I decided I wanted more than 2" of slip travel, so another pair of splined tube shafts were ordered along with longer/bigger slip yokes,
The yellow slip yoke was one of the used ones I was going to use, then decided to go new, (far right in the above pic). & the middle part is what I decided on, Hopefully I can return the parts I haven't machined on,
After assembling one of the slip yokes to a flange I headed under the truck to get some measurements, before I even got under the truck I knew I had hosed myself a little bit, Notice in the above pic how much longer the ears are on the yoke, & how much beefier the yoke is?
The yoke & guard are not actually touching, but they would if I tried running it like that. After looking at dozens of part number all last weekend I can't believe I did not think about the guard one time, but if you recall I mentioned right after building the guard I thought I could make it better, looks like I might be trying sooner than planned,
Next days off I will start by getting final driveline measurements now that I have everything I need, maybe decide if I want to just grind a little off this guard or build a whole new one, then continue on with fuel tank mounting.
Turns out it even fit in the chassis,
This size tank & material thickness was pretty taxing for my little Miller synchrowave 180SD, but it pulled through again only tripping the breaker a couple times,
I still have to decide on what to set the tank on & how to mount it, in the picks it's just sitting on some 1' x .120" square tube I notched to fit the chassis for testing purposes, I'll be getting back to that later,
For the remainder of days off I messed with a couple little shop projects & drive line stuff, Last week I had ordered a couple new slip yokes to go with the splined tube shafts I had machined, before they even got here I decided I wanted more than 2" of slip travel, so another pair of splined tube shafts were ordered along with longer/bigger slip yokes,
After assembling one of the slip yokes to a flange I headed under the truck to get some measurements, before I even got under the truck I knew I had hosed myself a little bit, Notice in the above pic how much longer the ears are on the yoke, & how much beefier the yoke is?
The yoke & guard are not actually touching, but they would if I tried running it like that. After looking at dozens of part number all last weekend I can't believe I did not think about the guard one time, but if you recall I mentioned right after building the guard I thought I could make it better, looks like I might be trying sooner than planned,
Next days off I will start by getting final driveline measurements now that I have everything I need, maybe decide if I want to just grind a little off this guard or build a whole new one, then continue on with fuel tank mounting.
WaterH
Well-known member
The pickup is cool, but have you experienced fuel starving during braking before? Would seem very likely since you would be off the throttle. But what do I know?
Any thought to the fuel heating up and the hydro fluid cooling in the duel tank. I guess it can't hurt the hydro, not sure if the fuel is any issue.
On the guard, is it solid mounted to the transfercase? If so, I would think you could just shave it alittle. If not, I suppose we get to see some more of your artwork.
Skipped_Link
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Most tanks that I have worked with or built are taller, so a little less likely to have an issue with fuel sloshing away from the pickup, this tank is as tall as it is long, so really it would have to be pretty low on fuel to have any issues.
I'm not concerned about it, it will longer to heat up a few gallons of hydraulic oil that it will to burn 40 gallons of methanol.
It just bolts to the belly pan, I'm still up in the air on that, I've got a few days at work to think about it yet.
rattle_snake
Fuckwits
Your creation is one bad Mofo. Problem is, the quality custom parts and fab make my work look like a hack. Anyhow, carry on.
Skipped_Link
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Started off the weekend with building something for the fuel cell to sit on, I wanted to support the entire bottom of the tank, so an x-brace was installed using 1.5" tube, along with a cross tube to support the lower front edge of the tank,
A tab on each main chassis rail, & rear cross tube was also added to help support the bottom edges of the tank,
Since there was no room between the tank & the shock hoops, any mounting on the sides was out, the way the tank installs any tabs on the rear of the tank would have need to work with low profile horizontal tabs on the chassis. & I wasn't really liking the though of using something directly on the bottom of the tank,
So I decide to use straps, I had a small roll of 3/4" banding material, after building a couple small bushings & cutting up a couple hose clamps to steal the T-bolts, all I had to do was figure out a length, & do a little welding on some very light material,
The end with a bushing goes in a bracket at the rear of the chassis, & is held in place with a through bolt, the strap loops over the top of the tank & the t-bolt runs through a tab at the bottom front edge of the tank, & is tightened to hold the tank down in place.
I'll be adding a bolt on "safety" basically a tab at the top of the shock mounts, when in place it will not actually touch the tank, but if both straps failed it could not physically come out of the chassis, .
A tab on each main chassis rail, & rear cross tube was also added to help support the bottom edges of the tank,
Since there was no room between the tank & the shock hoops, any mounting on the sides was out, the way the tank installs any tabs on the rear of the tank would have need to work with low profile horizontal tabs on the chassis. & I wasn't really liking the though of using something directly on the bottom of the tank,
So I decide to use straps, I had a small roll of 3/4" banding material, after building a couple small bushings & cutting up a couple hose clamps to steal the T-bolts, all I had to do was figure out a length, & do a little welding on some very light material,
The end with a bushing goes in a bracket at the rear of the chassis, & is held in place with a through bolt, the strap loops over the top of the tank & the t-bolt runs through a tab at the bottom front edge of the tank, & is tightened to hold the tank down in place.
I'll be adding a bolt on "safety" basically a tab at the top of the shock mounts, when in place it will not actually touch the tank, but if both straps failed it could not physically come out of the chassis, .
Skipped_Link
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Since the wife & kiddo were going to be flying into reno from vacation I took the opportunity to run the drive line parts & measurements down there & have them assembled/balanced so they would be ready for pickup when the family came home,
They got here yesterday, & I only took a few minutes to install the one u-joint & flange on the middle shaft, so I could put the whole rear assembly in the truck,
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They got here yesterday, & I only took a few minutes to install the one u-joint & flange on the middle shaft, so I could put the whole rear assembly in the truck,
Skipped_Link
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Clearance looks good everywhere so far.
That was really about it this week, besides some shop clean up, prior to fishing up the fuel cell mounting I did drag the project out of the shop, turn it around & back it back in so I could reach the back of the chassis with the TIG,
It was kind of odd seeing that bay open for the first time in over 6 months.
But the truck looked good out in the sunlight.
That was really about it this week, besides some shop clean up, prior to fishing up the fuel cell mounting I did drag the project out of the shop, turn it around & back it back in so I could reach the back of the chassis with the TIG,
It was kind of odd seeing that bay open for the first time in over 6 months.
But the truck looked good out in the sunlight.
HYDRODYNAMIC
Rock Stacker
Rolling them outside to take a look from far away helps put them into perspective rather than being up close and focusing on the details rather than the whole. Looks cool!
Firstram
Well-known member
Fantastic
I feel like a kid that's just learning to play guitar, watching Eddie Van Halen shred 
Your attention to detail is awe-inspiring, and I sincerely appreciate you documenting your build here
Your attention to detail is awe-inspiring, and I sincerely appreciate you documenting your build here
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I feel like a kid that's just learning to play guitar, watching Eddie Van Halen shred
Your attention to detail is awe-inspiring, and I sincerely appreciate you documenting your build here
This, so much this!
White Shark
Red Triangle
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This thing is so much nicer than a lot of the cobbled together shiny junk that shows up at SEMA. This is a truly hand built machine of the 1st order. Not only does it look good, it's built to survive the off-road apocalypse.
WaterH
Well-known member
yea, it does!
ConwayMuddy
Dis member
Impressive welding on the straps. I'd have cranked up the mig and burnt through one side clear to the other for a shitty spot weld lol.
gt1guy
Apparently a racist
Truck looks fantastic outside.
I would not want to be hit by the roost those tires will spit out.
I would not want to be hit by the roost those tires will spit out.
Skipped_Link
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I had considered drilling a hole through one side & doing a rosette type weld, but I figured I would try this first,
Not a lot of progress on the truck this days off, My dad retired last week & had a little party to celebrate over the weekend, in preparation for that he was cleaning his shop & asked if I want his old 19" LeBlond lathe, This is the machine that I pretty much grew up with, & until I got my own smaller lathe this was the one I had used for everything that last 25 years or so.
The only stipulation was, I had to get it out of his shop that day. So I spent the better part of a day making room for a 10 ft long machine, combine that with the party, a few friends coming from out of town, & a couple lazy days, I just didn't get around the project until my last couple days off, even then I just cleaned & tinkered with stuff,
I did manage to whip up a couple mounts for the engine oil accumulator, & get it hung in place,
I also spent a bit of time figuring out lateral links & mounts, (to keep the power train from having any fore/aft movement being mounted with front & mid motor plates)
Those parts are drawn up & ready to cut out next week, Maybe I'll get some header parts ordered so I can get started on those as well.
.
Skipped_Link
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The wife & kiddo were out of town last week, so I tinkered with a few little things an hour or so here & there after work, mostly mounts & tabs for lateral link bars that prevent fore/aft movement in the engine & transmission,
These mount to the engine where the factory motor mounts would have bolted on,
The chassis got a couple similar tabs cut & welded in place as well,
Some 7075 aluminum was cut to length, & machined,
The ends were drilled & tapped for 1/2" rod ends
Then everything was bolted in place,
2 links per side is overkill, 1 per side would have been fine, but I had all the stuff to double them up, so that's what it got.
.
These mount to the engine where the factory motor mounts would have bolted on,
The chassis got a couple similar tabs cut & welded in place as well,
Some 7075 aluminum was cut to length, & machined,
The ends were drilled & tapped for 1/2" rod ends
Then everything was bolted in place,
2 links per side is overkill, 1 per side would have been fine, but I had all the stuff to double them up, so that's what it got.
.