Kevlar7R's Registry - The Great White

Okay, I think I've waited long enough.

This is Kevin AKA Kevlar's registry.

So, I had an ex wife and a family. We bought a 94 2wd. It was an okay family vehice except it had an air conditioning gremlin. Ugh, it was always hot in that truck. And don't get me started on the transmission nightmares in that thing!

One afternoon, a Mercedes turned left in front of her. No body damage, but it ripped the I beams out of the suspension. Insurance totaled it.

I didnt't want an awd, too many moving parts. But the rich guy who owned it started low balling me... it was his wife's truck. He bought her a new BMW..... Well when I saw her, I was sold.

97, 5.0, awd. It's white over grey. 6 years later, here I am. The great white. Okay, so the shark is Grey over White...but thats the name.


Some time later, It's retired from daily driver duty. Thanks to this forum, I pulled off a 4406 swap, and a Torsion Twist. Plus Autozone Shackle, except I reinforced them with an extra bolt and an a piece of pipe. I also made sway bar disconnects, which I detailed in another thread.

So, it ends up with 31's on stock rims. With the 4406 and the factory LSD, it's surprsingly capable off road.

Then I decide it needs to carry more fuel, plus room for a bigger spare. When I do the body lift and go to 33's, I'll have to have someplace for the bigger tire. And that leads in to the swing out buld.


So, the old family hauler is now crawling up difficult trails, and it can carry an extra 15 gallons of fuel, for long trails. She'll be rolling over 250,000 miles here soon.

 

[bronchole]

OK, I wanna see the pics of your swing out. Hope you get the pics up soon.

 

[Kevlar7R]

So, more on the swing out.

I used a piece of 6 inch channel for the main center section. I used the EMS Offroad swingout kit for the hinge, latch, and plate the tire bolts to. That hinge is beefy!!

The swingout is 60" wide. I built it for a 33" tire, so I put the tire center at 16.5" up from the swingout arm, and about 15 inches from the edge. I am okay with the tire overhanging the brake light a bit. I had to guess a bit on how far to extend the tire bracket out from the frame. I spaced it out 4 inches at first, and that didn't work. Cut that apart and changed it to 6 inches. I think it will work well when I go to the larger tires.

On the other side, is a box to hold 3 Jerry cans. It's 22 inches by 14 inches, by 10 inches high. I'm going to put rubber bumpers on the cans so that they don't rub against each other while strapped in.

The next step is a mount for a highlift jack, however, I may do that on a roof basket instead.

 

[Rick]

Very cool running the 5.0 with the transfer case swap

 

[Kevlar7R]

Yea, I've had no problem with power, at all.

I recently had to replace the trans, so I spent a few extra bucks and had them put in the upgraded torque converter and shift kit. Definitely noticeable upgrades!

By the way, if anyone needs tranny work, go to Tempe Transmission Factory in Tempe (duh). Awesome guys, great prices, great work!!!!

 

[Kevlar7R]

Things I learned building the swingout. Some are a duh....some I'm still trying to solve.

1. 6inch x1/4inch channel is not as stiff as you might think. It's actually twisting under the weight of the swingout, allowing it to wiggle a little when closed. When open, you can actually see the channel twist. I am not worried about it breaking, but I am going to explore ways to stiffen it. I am considering x braces connecting the top and bottom lips of the channel on the back side. Open to suggestions!

2. There is actually a fair amount of play in the bolts and bolt holes where the bumper attaches to the frame. This has allowed the bumper to rotate rearward slightly. As soon as you release the latch, that thing goes swinging! I am considering an additional bracket attaching further up the side of the frame to the top of the c channel to resist this rotation. Also open to ideas!

3. The latch must be installed so that the hasp angles back towards the latch body when closed. This causes it to go over center and hold itself closed. If the hasp is 90 degrees or more to the latch body when latched, it won't hold itself closed. This could be a pretty intense accident on the freeway! This is a duh.... Don't know why I didn't realize that before I welded it on.

4. I initially spaced the tire out 4 inches from the frame, thinking this would be enough because of the backspacing of the rim. It wasn't. Used 6inches the second time. I'll update if this works when I get the 33's it's built for.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

nice mounty