Ricks Bronco: 1and 1/2

[rookieshooter]

Now to find me a ratcheting handle for the cable end that will fit between seats.
Of coarse I'll need two.
And to think I had one the whole time, just had to unbolt from side of cab.
I'm just so glad that it's not a direct bolt in...what fun is that
Trimming unnecessary metal. And no I'm not leaving the foot peddle, you know how hard it would be to try to get my foot up in that position

If this works I'll need another one of these brake peddles Hint Hint.

 

[rookieshooter]

Need find out what size the hole is in the back where the cable end connects to that has the fastener that spreads out after inserting thru hole.
A spider type looking thing
I need to weld a bracket for the cab mounted levers that must have same size hole to secure cable.

This is what I came up with. The 9/16" hole that I drilled to secure the cable is on the left side of the angle frame that the modified lever mechanism is secured to.

Here you can see where it's basically going.
I like the fact that the T-handle used to release rear brakes winds up in a good location.
The handle will lay down when not engaging the rear brakes. This in fact is higher up then it will be when pulled on.
The angle piece will bolt to the tubed cage part that supports the seats.
After installing then the handle will be cut shorter if necessary along with a grip installed.
I'm thinking also that there might be some circumstances that I don't won't the locking ratchet to engage, just pull up and let the spring return handle so brake disengages.

I also made template of how I cut this contraption so I can get a mirror copy on the other one. Just need to find another one.
The cab is starting to look like a tractor with all these sticks coming thru the floor board ha ha.

Hope the idea of using the original foot peddle works, being it is period correct even if it's not placement correct LOL.

 

[rookieshooter]

One of two handles done. Better then paying $90 for an aftermarket one.
If there could be a picture of the word Utilitarian I think this would be it.

Adjective
1. pertaining to or consisting in utility.
2. having regard to utility or usefulness rather than beauty, ornamentation, etc.

This is when there is no brake applied.
I've reshaped the handle so I can really apply some pressure on the handle.
When there was no dog leg my arm was not at the right angle as it came further up.

And here it is locked. Now at that angle I can really pull up on it.
It really does a nice job of locking the rear so now to find another foot/hand peddle for the other wheel.

Just added these two pics. Once I find a rubber grip I'll cut the handle shorter at the end that i grab.
Also it would be no big deal to attach a release lever at the handle end instead of the pull handle at the bottom.

But that's not the good news...Good news is that the Aussie lockers for the front D44 finally came in and the one earmarked for this truck will be shipped out very soon
As usual a full write up with plenty of pics and some trail vids will be posted.
So far my 2011 list is getting fullfilled. Problem is that the list of mods just keep growing with no end in site.

 

[janderson4010]

how neat is that? pretty neat

 

[rookieshooter]

how neat is that? pretty neat

Thanks Anderson.
I think it will look a whole lot neater once the other brake assembly is in and the bicycle hand brakes are mounted on the 3/4" tube for a quick release gizmo.
Sometime you don't want the brake lever locked, just a quick bump.

I was going thru some old pic for an album when I came across this one, which reminded me that I have to get in touch with Polyperformance about my back ordered coilover part.

Took Samson out for a little work out this morning, nothing serious, just to my old hunting spot to look for some arrows I lost during the last season. Just too much snow to find them. Did find the one you see next to tire that I layed there for pic.
Perfect time while the snow is gone and the spring foliage is not in bloom.
Now this raises a serious question, did I miss or was it a pass through?

With a little luck I may just have my front locker installed this weekend, that is if the UPS truck comes soon.

 

[rookieshooter]

Old bikes around my neighbor hood are a dime a dozen. Found one no more then 2 blocks from house. Plus if these kids want me to keep welding up their old bikes, they better let me have some of the junk ones ha ha.
So now going to make my "Slam-O-Matic" emergency stick.
No more having to move hand to un-lock which I don't want to do on certain trail applications. Plus I can pull up now and at same time depress the lever and it won't lock at all. Fun in the mud.

And there you have it. Just had to cut cable and weld up some small hardware goodies that I cut off the bikie and it was done.
May even cut off the old tee handle and associated hardware.

 

[MrQ]

That's another thing I want for the explorer. I was thinking exactly along those lines but couldn't quite picture it. If you could post up some drawings and a quick and dirty how-to I'm sure that it would become an instant classic.

 

[rookieshooter]

That's another thing I want for the explorer. I was thinking exactly along those lines but couldn't quite picture it. If you could post up some drawings and a quick and dirty how-to I'm sure that it would become an instant classic.

May just have to do that later.

But now I'm getting ready for the much anticipated front locker install which will be a bullet proof Aussie Locker.
I'm supposed to receive it today via UPS. I know that dealing with Torg Masters has been top shelf. They have returned all correspondence in a timely fashion and shipped the same day payment was received.
Might as well get the front axle ready. After removing the allen screws that hold the hub cover on I need to take out the guts of the Hub. I have a set of these little pick tools that really come in handy for this. Here I'm taking out a snap ring.

Then parts put in order as I took them out.

Now if you think your going to find these two allen screws on your hub, you won't. When I first got this HP Dana 44 the hardest part of rebuilding it was removing the rusted spindle. I never want to go thru that again. So what I did after doing a cleaning job was to drill and tap those two allen bolts in.
Less then a full turn in you can see the spindle flange pushing out. This was one of the most time worthy things I have done on this whole build.
And then after the drill and tap I anti seized around the flange.

The rubber flanges and the steel oil slinger look fine...ought to be, I bought a kit and redid them when I shortened the axle housing.

 

[rookieshooter]

Hard to believe that such a small item can reap such excellent benefits.
My first impression other then size was the excellence of quality in the manufacturing process.
And one cool decal also.

After examining the parts and cleaning up drool ha ha. I coated up the axle gear, this helps greatly in keeping all the parts together which I had to take out a few times.
I also kept a roll of paper towels handy so I could keep wiping my gloved hands clean. Do not want any dirt on these parts.

I reused the two large thrust washers after checking for wear.

Side gears and spacers installed.

Nest was to slid pinion shaft in and then use screwdriver between shaft and spacers to compress grease out.

Then a feeler gauge is inserted between spacers and shaft.
It's supposed to be between .006 and .020. Mine was right at .006"

Next was to install the two cam gears. On the other side are the teeth that will engage and disengage the side gears. Don't forget the grease.

If there was any problem with this install it was when I tried to install the right cam gear. You can see the conflicting area on the top right hand side of the gear. But this is covered in the instructions when doing a D 44 front axle.
This may or may not happen all the time. Just a few minutes with a high speed cutting bit to remove some cast flashings and problem solved.
When i did the cutting I removed all parts, crammed with greased paper towels to catch the shavings and then did a complete wipe down.

After installing the cam gears it was time to install the 4 round rods and springs.
On one end of each rod is a small bump, make sure it faces the right way so it engages springs. Be careful it would be very easy to loose spring during this part of the install. Once I got one end of spring in hole, the other end I compressed with a razor knife and pushed down into hole. Also I inserted a screwdriver between cams to give me as much space as possible to compress the spring into.

Done in no time at all.
You can see the grinding marks in the upper left hand side of carrier.

Also another important measurment is the gap between the gears. Has to be between .145 and .170 mine was again on the tight side with .145

Well, at this time it's not installed in the axle yet, so I ought to go back out and do that part.
And if all this goes well, out it goes for a testing with pics/video today or tomorrow. My plan is to get someone to video the exact same hills where the front wheels had the open carrier and one wheel only was spinning.
I just love these testing sessions.

 

[rookieshooter]

Could have not asked for better conditions to test the new Aussie Locker.
We had torrential rains yesterday so out we go to play up on that mountain a few miles away you see in the background.
I have not seen rain like we had yesterday in years.

Once I got off the county paved roads the dirt roads were a mess, well I mean they were great for seeing how this locker does.
The hubs were locked the entire trip with the Atlas in rear wheel drive until we hit the dirt roads. Before we hit the dirt roads there was no indication that I ever installed the locker as far as handling. Now when I engaged the front axle then it was a different feel altogether. It took no time at all to get used to it.

The best way i can explain it is... it feels like the front wants to straighten itself out when making turns. But it was smooth not jerky at all. Or maybe I should say it felt like the steering wheel wanted to turn towards the outside of the curve. Actually once I got used to it, it was reassuring knowing that it was working. Now on sharp turns that feeling went away and it felt like a normal 2 wheel truck and then hooking up as soon as the tires were getting straight.

Now in the instructions they tell you to do a spin test while jacking up truck before taking out... i must admit i must not have seen this part cause I thought I would do my own spin test in the mud to see if both tires do in fact hook-up. There was no doubt they hooked up when I went back further in the seat when I took off. Now I did not floor it cause I really like taking care of my stuff...well in a nice sort of way.
Click on pic.

This is the first time the truck made it to the top and touched the pine tree.
And this is a slow creep up the hill my friend not some Banzi charge were the momentum got you there but by unadulterated traction.
CSI tells you that there was no slipping judging by the tracks.

Now last week when I went up this incline the front wheels started doing their on again off again traction thing.
But now notice the complete lack of spin and just idled right on up. Also note that when i backed down, i started back up and stopped about halfway and then started again with no spinning at all.

Again last week when there was no Aussie i could not make it up this side of the hill, but now it's just chump change.
The traction provided by this fine piece of equipment is just Insane.
To me this locker is The best of both worlds. I mean just leave the front hubs locked and then I just shift on the fly to 4 x 4 and then don't even have to get out an unlock the hubs when making sharp turns...are you kidding me, this is like having your cake and eating it to,I love this thing.

Here's Samson in your face LOL Seeing both front tires turning the same is just so cool.

On a different note, I picked up two seats that one or both my go in back for some guests.
The seats are Full Race type which are figerglass with removable padding that can be left off it it gets to wet or muddy.
I mentioned to a friend about how I'd like to put some seats/seat in the back and he knew someone that has an 8 second drag car that had some stuff up for sale and he picked them up for me for $50 bucks for both and they are Top Shelf quality.

 

[gmanpaint]

Very nice. Front locker changes the playing field. Your rig needs a Moab trip.

 

[rookieshooter]

Very nice. Front locker changes the playing field. Your rig needs a Moab trip.

That might just be in the cards next year.
Your %100 about the playing field.

Just testing the front axle out with the new Aussie. So far it does exactly what it's designed for.
The left front axle climbed right on up those rocks. A few days ago it was dirt and mud, now while it's raining it is rocks.
Before the Aussie the tire down in the grass would have spun but now that's a moot subject. Now it's the diff that's getting in the way, always something ha ha.

The grip of these BFG KM2s coupled with the Atlas, Aussie locker and solid axle = Traction +

Here are the two seats my buddy picked up for.
They're just sitting there to see if in fact two seats will fit. Don't see a problem, just have to come up with a quick release design.

 

[rookieshooter]

Went to my steel mill and picked up a stick of 1.25 x 1.25 x .125 wall x 24' long tubing to start the rear seating mod. First piece is over the wheel well with angle finder on top of it.
Like so many other things, it will be easy to remove.
Wife, kids and friends are all happy about this one.
There's no rush on the 3 point rear, more flex is not a priority any more, there's plenty now but will get going on it, if no more then to see what it does. Like said before, it will be easy to switch back and forth from 3pt. to wristed radius arm.

Oh ya, one other thing, Mike from Polyperformance called and my rebuild for my rear busted
Fox coilover came in and should be shipped today.
I'll do a write up on the rebuild of the shock.

 

[rookieshooter]

Here's the way I did the frame under seats. What you see here will all be removable.

Here it is being located where it will attache to the side pieces.

Those tac welds will not be there when finished. I'm just locating the two parallel tubes on the side support. The temp. welds are there to hold the L brackets in place during drilling. Could not get the drill in the small space so I'll take the seat support out, drill it with
the L brackets spot welded to the supports. Then break welds and install bolts. Later the bolts will be replaced with quick release pins. Then the other end of the L bracket will be welded to the piece going over wheel well.

It's not %100 but very close. Have to clean up the sharp corners, paint and then put on seat covers that snap on.
Seat belts will be installed also. There will be no interstate travel with passengers in back mainly wooded trails and some local streets.

So there you have it, a chopped top 4 seater. Be neat to make a removable bar that rotates down from the roll cage that stops at the passangers mid section, just like a Carnaval ride ha ha.
Also one good rifle rest during Deer Season Hmm. Just make sure I don't blow a hole in my spare.

 

[MrQ]

Always something with you, huh, rookie? And its always something cool.

 

[black91EB]

So there you have it, a chopped top 4 seater. Be neat to make a removable bar that rotates down from the roll cage that stops at the passangers mid section, just like a Carnaval ride ha ha.
Also one good rifle rest during Deer Season Hmm. Just make sure I don't blow a hole in my spare.

is that legal up there? I know some states won't let you use a vehicle as a blind.

 

[Maniak]

It looks like the rear passengers will be putting their legs on the fuel cell for a foot/leg rest.. or is that just an illusion from the pic?

Mark

 

[rookieshooter]

is that legal up there? I know some states won't let you use a vehicle as a blind.

I just checked my Class Q license for use of a cross bow due to a disability and found out that No I can not hunt out of a motor vehicle. Found out that there are two class Q license and the other one is for lower extremities where you need the aid of a wheel chair. Good question, glad you asked.

It looks like the rear passengers will be putting their legs on the fuel cell for a foot/leg rest.. or is that just an illusion from the pic?

One part of the fuel cell will have a cover over it for sure where the fuel vent and sending wires come out. The tank itself is made out of 16 ga. steel so it wont' get hurt, but since I'm covering the other area might as well cover it all.
I would not want to sit back there on any long trips but on easy trails it should be fun. Especially the many miles of forested trails we have in the area.
I'm already planning a trip where my wife, her daughter and mine will do some trails on a 20,000 acre wildlife area. My wife will drive her car there to meet me and then we all jump in the Bronco and do some wheeling. This is also the place where I took the latest videos of it.
Just added: I went out and put the padded covers on and even sat in them for the first time.
Thought this might be a good thing to do LOL. Found out that the bar behind the spare tire that the tire lays up against makes a perfect foot rest on one side and the other seat your feet can even be placed on the bed. Not bad at all.

In fact I think I need to do a preliminary trail ride up there just to make sure the seats do in fact stay put. Don't need to see the seats bouncing down the interstate ha ha.
Plus I don't need much of an excuse to do some wheeling anyway. Hey, the Wild Morel Mushrooms and Ramps may need picking anyway.

Plus I need to start getting the ratio between working on the truck and wheeling the truck more on an equilibrium. Right now the scale is tipped heavily toward the working side, but that is slowly changing.
Something on the lines of a 1:2 instead of a 2:1 ratio like it is now. There was a time when it was a 10:1 But that heavy work sided ratio is now starting to pay off big dividends.
And I mean that literally. Take it for what it's worth my friend.

 

[rookieshooter]

This is typical of 4 quick release fasteners I used to secure seats. Less then 60 seconds I can have seats out.
Could have done a better job of cleaning up those spot welds after I knocked them loose after drilling.
But sometimes you just have to stop manicuring the job and just Get R Done and wheel the Darn Thing.

Like I said earlier, need to take out and test drive. Don't need seats flying out and hitting the general populace :

Both the Atlas and the Aussie state that you need to spend time offroading to get used to these...so far I'm not used to them so that means more offroading trips Do you like my reasoning?

Just had another vision...Getting ready this June for a trip to the ocean for a week. And I like to fish more then to breath. Don't take to much imagination to visualize Samson backed up to the surf and the spare tire/gate swung open with two quick release Surf Rod holders mounted in the back.
With you know who sitting in those Lazy boy fighting seats with a cool drink getting ready to set the hook
And if Jaws takes the bait...well then we'll see who pulls who with those lockers during the ensuing battle.

The more I think of it, a pull over tube that you grab to pull over you and locks, coupled with the seat belts which i have yet to do would be just too cool as far as safety.
Not mentioning couple of cup holders added to the hoop. Just get the ones they sell at boating stores that swivel from side to side depending on the waves. Need a place to set the cup when setting the hook.
And the way my legs are, who knows I might just have to get one of those special handicap hunting tags one day and might as well be comfortable back there sipping my coffee.
Also the color of the seat covers will go good with all Black.

Now here is the real reason I was out riding miles of forested trails all locked up which did fantastic in the muddy logging roads.
Needed to scout for Wild Turkeys and build a blind. The season comes in this Monday and that was all the catalyst I needed in getting so many mods done so quick.
This truck won't see Jack stand for the next 30 some days...I hope.
Now If I get the DOM tubing for the 3pt, well that might be another thing.

 

[gmanpaint]

Here is the perfect spill proof cup holder for you

Works like a gyroscope, made for rough waters on a boat.

http://www.basspro.com/BoatMates-Sw...uct/10202180/-1539345?cmCat=CROSSSELL_PRODUCT