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A little more progress on Ole Effay. I received the Ford poverty cap. I think I like it! I also think (hope) it will snap right into the US wheels clips.
I got the truck on the ground and out the door today, under it's own power, so I consider that a win for this summer. I haven't installed the air management, so it's fully aired up. Pics of it aired down will have to wait for another day....
Things slowed down for a bit, waiting on parts. I have really got to up my game on ordering parts ahead of my schedule.
I was able to trial run the front suspension. I tried a couple different combinations, but I think I am settling on on using Factory lower control arms. I took the time to strip them down, new pivot bearings and balljoints. For upper control arms, I am using Ridetech strong arms, as well as their bag mounts. Spindles are G-comp 2" drop, that are longer, which drastically changes the camber curve. I have mixed feelings about these. I like the added camber they will provide, for driveablity and performance reasons, but I am not 100% sure I am sold on the Tokyo drift Camber when the suspension is completely laid out. I might switch gears on that, after I get the truck back on the ground to really get a good look at it all laid out......I was also able to tidy things up a bit. The frame and suspension components were showing their age, with a nice layer of rust and grime. Luckily, nothing too serious at all. Now the the good news; It seems like there is going to be plenty of room to Tuck the 20x9" wheels and 265 wide tires. I still have to fab in shock mounts and cycle everything, but the intial mock up looks promising. I feel like that is a win....Now, pics
Ran into a little snag with my plan. It's TOOO low! I never thought I was going to have an issue with that. It appears my calcs were off somehow. At max inflation, the truck is about 2 inches lower than I expected, meaning that dropped spindles are going to have to be replaced with Standard height spindles. The math doesn't really add up, but the reality of the situation does. I am going to try the stock spindles and see how that works. Here is a pic with the front fully aired up, and the rear suspension at about 1/2 travel. This is about an inch lower than my intended ride height. My hopes are, that I will still be able to cycle enough suspension travel to still get it to lay frame. Crossing my fingers
I spent a little time playing with the Airlift 3P management, pretty cool stuff. I went with dual viaair 485 compressors and 3/8 line. Wow, it is a lot quicker than I expected. I will most likely try to slow down the exhaust. Here are a couple pics at full drop. Also a pic with the baby moons....
I spent a little time playing with the Airlift 3P management, pretty cool stuff. I went with dual viaair 485 compressors and 3/8 line. Wow, it is a lot quicker than I expected. I will most likely try to slow down the exhaust. Here are a couple pics at full drop. Also a pic with the baby moons....
Out with the new, and back with the old! I think I have things coming my way, in regards to spindles. I spoke with the guys at Ridetech, and after some back and forth questioning, they let me know that their cool ride setup, already factors in a 2" drop at ride height. Well, there is my missing math! I am not sure if I missed this key piece of info or what, but it definitely explains things. With that said, I swapped out the G-comp spindles for the factory stuff. The suspension now cycles and sits how I expected. I will be giving up the added positive camber that the longer spindles provided, but I am not sure that is will be of major concern. I'll know more once I get it on the road.
One problem I am encountering now, is tie rod clearance. At full drop, the tie rods will bind on the Chevelle subframe. This must be a common issue, given that these setups are widely used in chevelles. My intial thought was to do some slicing and dicing on the subframe, to clearance it a bit. Basically a C-notch for the Tie rods. I really don't see any other way around it, short of limiting the suspension travel. If anyone has ran into this, I would love some input, before I break out the cutoff wheel again.
I ran across a guy who had the same issues with tie rod clearance on a Chevelle Wagon. I am going to follow his lead and install a bump-steer kit, in hopes that I can space the outer tie rods down enough to clean up my clearance issuses. Hopefully I can do this WITHOUT inducing a lot of actual bumpsteer into the mix. I figured that would be the easiest approach, as it is a simple bolt in. If it doesn't work, then I will move forward with tunneling the frame rails.
A little more work on Effay. Unfortunately, the bump steer kit did not get me where I needed to be, so eventually I will tunnel out a section of the frame rails. After speaking with Ridetech, it boils down to the fact that I am just able to cycle considerably more travel, than this setup would in a chevelle. Go figure....
This is pretty much, the final combination on the front suspension.
I was able to get the truck outside, and get it around the block for the first time. It rides surprisingly well, considering the very low profile tires, and the fact the shocks have not been dialed in at all. I was SHOCKED at how low it can be driven, without scraping or rubbing of any kind....shocked! If I would have known, I probably would have done a static drop and put it on coilovers. ...Here is a pic, at what I believe will be my final ride height. How do you like my fancy wiring job, for the air ride controler, through the gas filler? Custom!
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
