Wish I knew a guy like you over here on the east coast I wanted to ask ya a question, I want to build a air cleaner setup kind of like the 6637 mod that the powerstroke guys do.
But the 4.9 six in my half ton has two inlets

So I need to make a "Y", I figured I'd make it out of exahust pipe my question is how would I flare the ends of the pipe so it won't just slide out of the jointed areas (I plan on putting a turbo on the motor)

 

Have a look here for a beading tool - Bead Form Tools at Van Sant Enterprises, Inc form hose beads on tubing
Expensive but they work well. My uncle has one and it makes it easy to put a bead in the end of the tube so the hose won't slide off when held on with a hose clamp.

I can also do that with my larger bead roller, but the dies on my bead roller are big and won't fit inside anything under like 2" dia. The one I linked to that my uncle has works awesome for making radiator lines and smaller dia. stuff like that. I think it can bead something as small as like 3/4" dia.




So I got back to messing with the crew finally last night. I didn't spend too long, but long enough to remember why I got frustrated messing with this before - haha

The radiator and intercooler will be a TIGHT fit between the stock fan and grill. The grill shell and insert look like they will need to be trimmed a bit (ok - a lot) which kinda sucks because they are both hard to find in good shape in a junk yard or expensive to replace if I mess up.

It is also looking more and more like I will have to put the engine in to figure out the radiator/intercooler mounting location and that means I have to put the motor in and pull it another time. I had thought I was done with that portion - I guess not

I guess it's worth the time now to do it right so I don't end up with issues down the road...

Here's a few pics from last night. I am still trying to see if I can make this 19x31 radiator I bought fit (it's VERY close) and then looking at the design of the tubular core support still as well.

The blue lines on the grill shell show just the beginnings of what will need to be trimmed.

Looking at intercooler clearance on hood and grill


Holding grill shell up to intercooler and looking down - trying to figure out what all needs to be trimmed (still not sure what I will use to cut this)


The markings on the grill shell of where the trimming will begin...

 

why dont you use electric fans and move everything back a couple of inches??

 

because electric fans blow, or suck - depending on how you look at it

They don't pull the cfm like a stock fan does and any electric fan that's worth while (OEM Taurus fan comes to mind) takes up as much room as my stock fan.

 

lol. i hear ya there. so theres no way you could do a multi fan set up or anything? like two smaller fans or whatever?

 

eh - they still suck.

 

lol. well, when your pressed for room, what can ya do? just an idea anyways. knowin you, youd figure out a way to make a carnival fit in there WITH everything else anyways... lol.

 

I'll make everything fit - that's for dang sure. I just gotta see how tricky/creative I need to get.

Having to put the motor back in to check clearances isn't helping. I thought I was done with the "motor goes in, motor comes out, motor goes in, motor comes out" BS.

 

lol. yeah, that sucks. but what can ya do?

 

Not much - so in a couple days the motor will go back in...

 

Hey Chase, lookin good. I know you are planning on building a tube core support, but I thought I'd share my plan to fit a rad, i/c, and a/c condenser all in front of my stock mech fan. I wound up cutting the factory spot welds off of my core to remove the orig rad mount flange and mounting the rad flush with the engine side of it. I then built standoffs for the i/c that place them about 1" apart. It seems to be working well so far
(5000 miles since thanksgiving). Eventually I'll recut the core so the i/c will pass completely thru and mount it almost touching the rad, then mount the condenser in front of that (had that 1" in mind), then gusset to regain lost ridgidity. I did wind up cutting my grilles and shell, but planned on it. I think I'll have plenty of room in there for it all to fit and still have 3/4" of space between the fan and rad. A bit of advice, consider your hood latch carefully, my i/c fits just barely under mine (after modification) using every bit of space, looks like it was meant to go there.
I cant remember for sure but I think my engine is lower and farther to the rear of the truck, as I had to modify all three c-members. But if you dont need a condenser it aughta be easier.
Nice stems ha ha.

 

do you have a nibbler for trimming the sheet metal?
the ones with a motor are pretty pricey, I got one that chucks to a drill and is easy to control and cuts extremely fast, and is not to bulky to fit into tight places
try the link
Bad Dog Tools - Bad Dog Biter

 

Cool thanks! I had seen others like the one you have and like you said I didn't think the small pipes would fit. And at $500 maybe I'll have to see if one of the welding shops around has one

With your grille what if you shimmed it out with a filler panel? maybe with your fiberglass fenders create a fiberglass shim thing to push it forward a tad. Then paint the grill to match the truck to hide the fact it's shimmed. Have you seen Joe's Trucks? His trucks was the first time I'd seen them painted and they don't look half bad. www.joestrucks.com
Just an idea,
Justin

 

I think I remember seeing your pics in the past but you got a link to pics of the grill shell/insert cutting and/or final product?

I was planning on trying to fit an AC condensor at a later date, but at this point I'm not so sure

As for the hood latch - I won't have one. I'll be running 2 hood pins in the front with this fiberglass hood, so that's 1 less thing to mess with.


I don't have a nibbler as I have all sorts of other ways to cut metal and have never really needed one. The only times one would come in handy for me are also time shere the sheet metal is .125" or thicker so a nibbler wouldn't do it. That thing does look pretty cool though


Not big on shimming the grill as I want to keep this as stock looking as possible. I will make this work within the stock dimensions for sure.

As for Joes trucks - I've seen them. As of recently black grill shells are growing on me and I am considering getting mine hard black anodized! The grill inserts for the crew are already black so I am thinking I might go all black out front


And for the update...
I had s short night in the shop last night as I had to help Suzy move a couch out of her house (the one thing I HATE about owning a truck), but I did get the mill stand wrapped up. Crappy picture but you get the point.



I did also think some more on my radiator situation and I think I'm just gonna order a 19x28" dual pass radiator. Should cool just as well as my 19x31" (if not better) and will be easier to fit. The downside is I'm spending more $$ on something I already bought twice...:doh:

 

nice work on the stand!