|
Yeah yeah... I made these out of my scraps when I was building the axles, I actually built them more with the intent to protect the stock diff covers, and keep from peeling the lips back than protecting the pumpkin itself, and did so without spending any more money at the time. At the same time they gave a smooth surface to help push and pull the diffs over rocks without worries or hanging up. To be honest, I actually still like them, and they have worked great and taken a lot of abuse.
BUT... with that said, and lessons learned. I do happen to already have a new Ruffstuff cover sitting in the garage right now for the new front axle I am getting ready to build
Just got the 35's in place. Rears are actually in (minus final adjustments), but the front is just rolled into place. I put just enough of the axle together to slide everything in place to finalize measurements before i started welding on the brackets.
Here's a few pics with the new 35's. Still have to finish getting everything lined up.
Looks great, keep up the good work.
looks great!
Getting close to finishing the fab work on mounting my 44 for the front. Here are a few pics...
I thought the ballistic fab brackets for the lower CA, shock mount, and coil spring/retainer were a pretty decent deal so I got those as a starting point and am then fabbing up everything else from plate. Just finished welding up the tube for the steering tonight, and have now have to make the trackbar work, so I can flex it around and see exactly where I want the axle and my lower spring perches to be.
the work is lookin damn clean man! I have the same bracket kit on my front 44, I was pretty happy with mine but the cuts werent very clean or exact on it, i think they have upgraded their cutting process since I got mine though.
Actually, I think it was your's that I first saw the Ballistic Brackets, and got me to check them out. Yes, these were obviously laser cut and very clean. I really like them because they are easy to adapt to your use, since they come in pieces. I've got my lower arms outboard of the uppers, so I had to cut the brackets to install to match the angle, had to cut the shock brackets to fit a slightly wider CA, and am moving the spring perch from where they had it, etc. All easy stuff with this setup.
Well, I'm waiting on a bushing to get here to be able to shorten the front trackbar and finish the axle, so I did a little work on the sliders today. I'm keeping them the same as originally built, except that I cut away some of the rocker to raise them up about 1 1/2" to increase clearance and protect the entire area under the door. Just need to recut the ends to fit the new configuration, weld them in and strengthen the mounts.
While, they're off, I think I might also weld on the half tube to match the fenders. I haven't done the rear yet, but plan to, so If I add it to the sliders, it would be a continuous line from front bumper to rear bumper, and I think it would look pretty good.
Still waiting to finish the axle, but it has given me the time to finish one of the sliders. I started into this after looking at the way many have done it on here, but once i cut the rocker and took a look at what is in there, I ended up going in a slightly different direction than most. Since I already had the outer slider built, and wanted to keep it, I shifted my focues on the mount and stengthening what was already there. All in all, I think it came out great, and am amazed at how much of a difference raising the sliders made to the overall look. Here's a few pics:
Very nice work right there. Good job
Any close up pics of the slider in the front and rear fenderwells? how about the top cut where you made of the stock rockers?
These may be in my near future, just looking for ideas.
Derek
Thanks, Here's about the best I've got:
I finally got some time to get a few things done. I'm really wanting to get this thing wrapped up by the end of the month so I can get a snow trip in before its too late, but work has been killer lately. Anyway, Got a few thing done recently:
I've always hate dthe pitch of the upper mounts and the way it makes the springs bow, so I cut them out and made them actually line up with the lower mount a bit better:
I finally got all of the mounts built except for the swaybar stuff. Unfortunately I ran out of welding gas this weekend, so I couldn't quite get them done, but decided I was close enough to pull the axle, and start tearing it down to install the locker and gears. And yes, the end link I have used for the trackbar is WAY overkill, but it was the cheapest and easist way to shorten my trackbar to work in this situation:
are you building an axle or a robot???
what in the..
that is the weirdest looking front axle ever!
whats the reasoning behind the way youre building it? sorry if you already said it, i kinda skipped around
I guess it is just personal preference. Doesn't look weird from here. I know some of the brackets are overkill, but that is what I came up with to get all of the upper mounts in the right location, without wanting to have a worry of failure, or spending the several hundred dollars for a bracket kit.
sweet build, like it alot eh
Finally got a weekend to get some work done and finished the D44 enough to bolt in a take a spin. Didn't get to push too hard as I still need to get the front driveshaft shortened, and the rear lengthened. Luckily the rear was long enough to bolt up and take a spin, but it is stretched so i didn't want to go more than around the block. Of course I couldn't resist kicking the Atlas into low. WOW, what a difference the 4.3 makes. I was backing it up the driveway and just tapped the gas pedal and chirped the 35's.
I've still got to do the passenger side slider, and shorten my swaybar links, but other than that and a few other misc tweaks, it is almost ready to roll (plus some paint work at some point). I'm hoping to get it wrapped up in time to catch a snow trip in the next few weeks before it all melts away.
Here's a few pics of the axle all painted up:
And a comparison of slider vs. no slider since it was out:
And of course, I had to take a few minutes to update the ever important stickers. Just wish I would have thought of this before using up so many on my toolboxes.
Lookin pretty fuckin sweet!
Hope we can get together soon and test it out, your going to love the new atlas.
Could your rig get any beefier?? The thing looks freakin sweet, can't wait to see it in action!
When are you going to replace that steering stabilizer with a hydraulic ram?
And, just curious, but is the way you designed the rocker, just as strong as a slider? I'm not doubting the design, i'm just curious. Would you beat it up the way these guys beat up these sliders and feel confident? The design is awsome either way!
Thanks guys,
Yeah they should hold up. I've banged them hard for the last 3 years with them on the outside of the rocker and when I took them off I only had a few small scratches/dents on the rockers themselves. What you can't totally see is that the outer rocker/slider that I reused is actually a 2x2x3/16's tube that is bent to match the curve of the rocker (the in and out curve from front to back) with a 1/4" x 5" plate welded on to match the up and down angle. They have taken some major hits without even flinching, and I think the new mounting may actually be stronger than my original mounting.
Well, I'm not going to get the wiring all finished up before heading to the mountains this weekend, but I did get the mounts made for a 2nd battery and the compressor. I wanted to at least make sure I had air hooked up before heading out.
Of course, after building this one and looking around, I think I now want to rebuild the stock one and spin that battery in the same direction as well. I'm also thinking that when I get around to removing the ABS pump, it would leave a nice little spot to build a small storage box between the battery and the brake assembly. Looks like it would at least be big enough to hold the air hose and maybe some fluids.
Hopefully, I'll get a chance to get the batteries all wired in, between this trip and the next, and then I am almost down to having to stop procrastinating and give in and start painting.
Well just finished up the last of the major mods for the year, and have everything ready for the trail. I've still got a few more bolt-in type things to get done and some painting to do, but that has all been shelved so that I can hit some trails.
Here's a few pics of the finished dual battery trays that I just finished:
Here's where I opted to put the switch/lights for the controls:
Oh yeah, and here is one reason I turned the main battery. It created a spot big enough to stash a couple quarts of fluid and stuff:
« Previous Thread | Next Thread » |
Thread Information |
Users Browsing this ThreadThere are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests) |