Something w/ rabbits. 72.5 pages of BS

So seeing as spring is just around the corner, I thought I'd start a thread on the future undertaking of swapping in the Dana 60.

The axle is from a 1986 "Fawwd" F-threee "fitty", sporting some kingpins and a whole lot of rust. I took this axle apart a few months ago (except stupid me didnt remove the pinion nut before breakdown ) and had it hot tanked. I wanted it sandblasted, but the machine shop owner smirked and said "naaah yo, that junx is too big for my blasting cabinet" .. okay except he didn't really say that cauz he's old and a really cool guy. ANyways *twirls blonde hair*, this is my plaannn:

- WMS-WMS this axle is just a bit over 69" wide so I'm going to cut the passenger's side down a few inches to match 'ye ol General Motors 14-bolt axle. So this is going to require custom axle shafts and I think I'm going to go Chromos and 35-spline outers off the bat from the most awesome guys at Complete Off Road.

- Drive flange or lockouts? They are about the same in price and its a dedicated trail rig so I'm leaning towards the drive flanges. Right now, the cheapest flanges I found are the Teraflexes at $180 for a pair. If anyone knows of a better deal, please let me know !!

- High-steer arms and a double-ended hydroponics goodness ("cylinder").

- Opposite-ended panhard bar! The idea is to mount the chassis end of the panhard on the passenger's side frame rail and the axle end on the driver's side. Doing so should allow a more simple and cleaner design since the axle-mount can be mounted on top of or near the differential housing, instead of a tower on the passenger's side (like in my current D44 setup). I also plan to boost the panhard as far up as possible to increase the roll center of the front suspension. Yeah the concept is a little strange but I'm hoping it'll work and won't have any issues (no drag-link to factor into the design). But if anyone knows of any problem running this config, please chime in!

*EDIT*
- Detoit Locker for the carrier. I'm please with how the Detroit in the 14-bolt has performed so I figured I'd run the same in the front. Of course 5.13s to match the 14-bolt.


So here's the little guy, he's been in this position for the past few months just collecting dust:

 

[section525]

IZ what did you change up in your welding technique?

 

[IZwack]

IZ what did you change up in your welding technique?

Section, dear, I changed wire. For plating (which is usually 1/8" or every now and then a 3/16") I switched to 0.023" and for tubes, I've been using 0.030". The latter pretty much covers everything else including thicker stuff like the 14-bolt axle shave (1/2" plate to the housing). Everything else is the same (weave).

EDIT -- oh and maybe 4 months ago, I stopped using eye glasses for welding, using contact lenses now

 

[kert0307]

Out of curiosity, are those cross tubes of the "k" 2x2x 3/16, and the "k's legs" 2x2x11ish gauge? Welds look great btw.

 

[IZwack]

Out of curiosity, are those cross tubes of the "k" 2x2x 3/16, and the "k's legs" 2x2x11ish gauge? Welds look great btw.

THanks!!

You got the "Legs" right, but the perpendicular tubes are left over 1/4" I had laying around (yeah overkill it but oh well ).

The belly will have some sort of a removable plating under it - some aluminum and then some HDPE plastic under that to make it slippery over the rocks - same with the boat side part. And the aim is to have a belly height of mid 20s (inches).

 

[james t]

I tried 23 and it brought the suck. Tell me yur weldin secrits.

 

[IZwack]

I tried 23 and it brought the suck. Tell me yur weldin secrits.

What exactly was happening? Too much spattering/popping? Usually when "the suck" doeseth come means improper settings. I use the settings printed (on a sticker) on the welder as a baseline and adjust up or down depending on position and so on.

 

[95exploderboy]

Awesome work IZ, wish I had the patience to weld like that.

August run here we come!

 

[Dannyboy]

August of what year?

And IZ, I'm only seeing up close shots, and in these shots I'm not seeing any body parts in the rear quarter. Is the body completely gone yet? Cha mon, are you keeping secrets?

 

[IZwack]

August of this year! Its a self imposed goal we set at the last RC run cauz quite a bit of us didn't have a working trail vehicle.

As for the rear quarter, its all still there. Ill get around to modifying that in a little bit.
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[cybergasm]

so this is gonna be done in 60 days?

Good Luck Sir

 

[IZwack]

I know I know.. not much time.. however, I think I'll be able to get a rolling chassis by around 4th of July and then its just a matter of sorting out the accessories after that. This weekend is pretty much out cauz I'm going to do some downhill biking all day Saturday and then Sunday might be research time for a class project.

 

[Rick]

Found a helper for your project. Should we mail him over??

 

[IZwack]

Ahaha thats great! Are they native there?

 

[Rick]

Yep, and they've been breeding... well like rabbits in our backyard. They're our outdoor pets

 

[Maniak]

You can have some of the rabbits or jackrabbits from here.. the jackrabbits when sitting up (not standing) are about knee high.. I walk outside and they don't run.. Every morning I see 5-10 rabbits/jackrabbits combined..

~Mark

 

[95exploderboy]

Oops, my dog ate it. Can you please send IZ another??

 

[Turdle]

Oops, my dog ate it. Can you please send IZ another??

Oh wow, your dog looks like our dog, which by the way licked my computer screen, then sat here whining while looking at the bunny.

On the other hand, the picture is kinda sad--don't you think it kind of , well, kills for lack of better terms, this happy happy fun time thread?

 

[techieman33]

Oh wow, your dog looks like our dog, which by the way licked my computer screen, then sat here whining while looking at the bunny.

On the other hand, the picture is kinda sad--don't you think it kind of , well, kills for lack of better terms, this happy happy fun time thread?

I thought it was nigel too, then I looked and saw it wasn't your post and thought wtf

 

[95exploderboy]

Did I kill the thread?

 

[IZwack]

Ahah no I've had no update so trying to minimze the page count.
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