More than likely I will put vertical plates on the front and rear faces of the tubing and box it in from the top of the frame to the crossmember tubing. If that makes sense without me drawing it. I have a fourth of a sheet of 3/16" that should do the trick.

Sounds like it will work. Not sure if you will understand this either without a drawing but 2 bolts attachment wise (bolts laying horizontal - running front to back of truck) can be stronger & keep the rigidity better than 1.

Think similar to my motor mounts but with 2 bolt connection points each side for the x-member.


Oh and actual update - did some more welding last night and some more work on the shock mount. I hope to get some time in this weekend too so maybe we'll have a decent update on Monday...

This is basicaly what I am getting at. I will box the frame in and put in tubing for support of the bolts. I'll have to work in some clearance for the AC pump etc. I would more than likely plate in the top too across the two fish plates. Should be plenty strong made out of 3/16".

http://i877.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps6c5d6e33.png

Not the way I was thinking of but I'm too lazy to take the time to draw mine up. That should work.



I had a semi productive weekend while the wife was stuck at home on the couch with the flu. Gave me a good excuse to get the heck outta there for a bit!

So aside from trying to sell some stuff, fix some shop equipment & generally clean house I was able to pretty much wrap up my rear shock hoop! Actual shock mount tabs are just tacked for now til I can get the lower shock mounts laser cut & pinion angle set so I can weld the rear end.

The tube on this started as a 1.75" dia., .120" wall tube. I was slightly concerned about it bending under a hard stuff, so I figured I'd add a little beef & then a little bling to help make that beef functional. I sleeved it with a 1.5" x .120" wall DOM tube.
http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/q...ion/x425-1.jpg
http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/q...nsion/x430.jpg


It's currently in temporary paint to keep the rust off til I can get the other stuff done to come back & finish this.

I've made a little progress this week. Not a ton, but I'll take what I can get...
I've spent more time selling stuff on craigslist & trying to get the shop cleaned out a bit than I have actually working, but oh well. I was able to get to my uncle's on lunch for the last 2 days & did the milling I needed to get done though - which is good.

Last night I spent pretty much my entire night at the shop figuring out getting this "new" welder I bought about 2 years ago running. It had some issues when I 1st got it & set it up so I stuffed it in a corner & forgot about it. Now I may be moving & need the space so 1 welder has to go. Finally got this one squared away & was able to test it FINALLY.

Steel test was quick & easy. For the aluminum test I had the perfect candidate... Part of what I needed to machine were these angled "spacers" for the gas tank & where the frame starts to kick up at the rear end. The red "spacer" at the rear of the tank is what I machined, and one side is what I used to test the welder. I'll use it again on lunch to weld the other side hopefully!
http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/q...20Cab/x431.jpg

Here's the other thing I needed to machine = my pitman arm
http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/q...wap/x417-1.jpg


Based on the shift to the 7" CL to CL length I had to slightly re-design how I was going to do the arm. You can kind of see the drawing in the pic. It shows how I had to remove some material from the bottom of the stock pitman arm. With this done I was able to look at mocking up the pitman arm. I saw a couple changes I needed to make & am adjusting my files for laser cut. Soon this should be steel vs. just cardboard!
http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/q...0swap/x421.jpg

Why don't you build a crossmember like this, instead of having it mount to the bottom of the frame, mount it to the center.

ORD Heavy Duty Chevy-GM Engine Crossmember, High Clearance

because then the top of the frame will fold inward based on the weight & torque of the motor. There is a reason the stock cross members cover the full vertical height of the frame.

Still - I could make one, but it would be a lot more re-doing than just the clearance & re-patch I'm doing.

Should I have done one like that from the start - yes. Hind sight is 20/20 though.

Still love this idea

what idea is that?

That pitman arm is going to be real cool. I like the idea of having support on top and bottom of the hiem joint. I'm interested in how its all going to look when its done.

Pitmans in double shear design is a desert guy thing I guess. We do it to support the other side of the heim which we often use instead of a TRE.

Will look kinda sorta remotely like this:
https://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:...hyIuEwzKK5SSiA

Alot of guys are using hiems now instead of the tie rod ends how do the hiems hold up to street use? I know you can get greasable hiems too but those are spendy.

Steve will that shock mount dealio fit between the bed and frame?

Quality heims that will last are spendy too though! I was going back & forth on TRE vs. heims due to the longevity question, but in talking to a buddy who has heims on the steering on his '75 which is his DD i decided I'm gonig for it. His heims have been on there fore years & are still tight. Just be careful if you live where it snows & they salt or sand the roads. That will eat the things up quick.


Of course redneck. You think I'd design & build something that doesn't work...:p
Fits perfect!

[QUOTE=ChaseTruck754;12799429]Quality heims that will last are spendy too though! I was going back & forth on TRE vs. heims due to the longevity question, but in talking to a buddy who has heims on the steering on his '75 which is his DD i decided I'm gonig for it. His heims have been on there fore years & are still tight. Just be careful if you live where it snows & they salt or sand the roads. That will eat the things up



No snow here. Eventually I'll move out of California though. As far as tre vs heim
It'll probably come back to cost. Then again I wonder if the heims have a more positive steering feel. I've never liked how tre's mount only on one side. At least a heim can be mounted with the double shear like your pitman arm.