68' M715 AKA "Smokey", 8.1 engine on links, coils and 40's

Rock40 said:
Finish the boxing.....then weld it. Which took a LONG time :sFun_hot:

This was extra fun since so much of it was overhead or really hard to get to. All done though. Again, not sure if this is the way to go about this but I'll be damned if it rips off the frame or tweaks

View attachment 358848
Click to expand...

Did you consider putting a drain hole on the bottom?
 
CalSgt said:
Did you consider putting a drain hole on the bottom?
Click to expand...

Yes, I probably will. The idea is to more or less seal up the entire frame so mud/water can't get in. But it's cheap insurance for the super low spot like that.

I'd be thinking a fairly good sized hole actually with a removable solid rubber plug
 
FFPulley77 said:
“Learning” to TIG weld... [emoji23][emoji23]

Impressive, wow!!


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE
Click to expand...

Hahah! I'm not kidding tho! I'd never struck a TIG arc before this build, just lots and lots of MIG. Took a LONG time to feel confident with it but forcing yourself to keep doing it over 3.5 years makes a big difference.
 
Rock40 said:
Hahah! I'm not kidding tho! I'd never struck a TIG arc before this build, just lots and lots of MIG. Took a LONG time to feel confident with it but forcing yourself to keep doing it over 3.5 years makes a big difference.
Click to expand...

Well shit I thought this was all present day.;) Just awesome work. Enjoy all the detail. :thumb:
 
Rock40 said:
Hahah! I'm not kidding tho! I'd never struck a TIG arc before this build, just lots and lots of MIG. Took a LONG time to feel confident with it but forcing yourself to keep doing it over 3.5 years makes a big difference.
Click to expand...

That’s wild. Still very impressive. Thank you for posting all these photos up. Love the build!


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE
 
Thanks all, more to follow.

Elroy231, I see you're in Traverse City, I spent 4 years up in Cheboygan on the Icebreaker over 20 years ago. Damned cold time.
 
Back to this mess, the passenger side firewall. Need to strengthen it and prepare a flat mounting surface

Passenger firewall.jpg

Passenger firewall(2).jpg

Weld it in...

Passenger firewall(3).jpg

Backside in the passenger footwell

Passenger firewall(4).jpg

So full of holes it looks like it got hit with a shotgun blast. :icon_crazy: Need to seal those all up

Passenger firewall(5).jpg
 
Welded nutserts in for the battery trays...these are Artec units for Odyssey 1500 batteries

Battery trays.jpg

And fit the trays up. Plenty of space from the header do as not to cook the battery

Battery trays(2).jpg

Battery trays(3).jpg
 
Working on finding permanent dry homes for a few things. Made a template for the bulkhead connector for heater and AC hoses. Keeps the hose routing nice and clean

AC Fittings.jpg

And it's in....

AC Fittings(2).jpg

AC Fittings(3).jpg

ECU mount. High and dry up under the dash. Easy routing of the wiring harness from the engine

ECU mount.jpg
 
Added the Gen 4.0 Power-Gate battery manager and the Switch Pros distribution block

Switch-Pro.jpg

Everything is tucked up above the Vintage Air heat and AC unit

Switch-Pro(2).jpg
 
Knocked out a few small machining projects too

1.5” 7075 aluminum tie rod tapped for 1 ton TRE’s

Tie rod.jpg

Tie rod(2).jpg

Sky Manufacturing high steer arm and a tapered TRE bushing from Ballistic. With how low this truck sits, I can’t actually run the high steer because the tie rod would nearly be in the frame and there'd by zero uptravel.

So, the plan is to attach the tie rod directly to the Reid Knuckles in "low steer" configuration ;) Then the draglink will attach to the passenger side high steer arm and the driver side arm will attach to the PSC ram

Tie rod(3).jpg

Had the arm drilled for a tolerance fit on the sleeve and also milled a bit so the sleeve fits down flush

This pic below is the under side of the arm since the draglink comes in from underneath. The beauty of the taper bushings is that you can install them either "up" or "down" in the high steer arm. In this case, I wanted the drag link to attach on the underside of the arm in order to run parallel to the panhard. Doing this will/should eliminate bump steer

Tie rod(4).jpg

Tie rod(5).jpg
 
Wrapping up the steering. Billet arm from some racing application with a 1/4” drop. Was drilled for a threaded 5/8” bolt

Box arm.jpg

Reamed for the 1 ton TRE

Box arm(2).jpg

Installed. Draglink to panhard angle is just about identical so there shouldn’t be any weird bump steer. Hopefully

Drag link.jpg
 
Just some great work done there. Can’t wait to see the rest of this project through completion. That is going to be one badass truck!


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE
 
Rock40 said:
Thanks all, more to follow.

Elroy231, I see you're in Traverse City, I spent 4 years up in Cheboygan on the Icebreaker over 20 years ago. Damned cold time.
Click to expand...
One of my kids went and seen the ice breakers during a school trip. He really enjoyed learning about them and the importance of what they do.
I agree its a cold area. I'd imagine out on the icebreaker it's really cold !!!
I've tried living in warmer climates and I have enjoy those places, but i was always drawn back here.

Sent from my SM-G965U using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom