45swb project - 2short (3 Viewers)

[Gumby]

Finally got the Baleigh Ironworker wired up last night. District electricians are some slow mofos.

I made the plates for the cage front legs upper and lower in no more than 10 minutes, including figuring out the machine. The electricians wired it wrong.

1 - layout
2 - shear to length
3 - punch holes
4 - notch
5 - done

 

[Gumby]

in truck with a chunk of tube for reference.

 

[tucker74]

Finally got the Baleigh Ironworker wired up last night.

Those are bad ass, they've an Edwards up at TechShop that punches 5/8" steel ... makes holes so much easier than drilling.

Tucker

 

[Gumby]

finish welded, feet on and painted on Wednesday.
Installed yesterday.
The fronts are sandwiched between plates. The rears will be after I cut open the boxed part of the tub to install the plates and nuts.

Looks and works well.
Pic 1 - window latch locked
Pic 2 - window latch open
Pic 3 - pretty close to the wiper motors
Pic 4 - turned the feet to go back instead of in for better strength and no lump in the middle of the floor.

 

[Gumby]

Finally have a week of nice weather in Chiberia. Been driving the SWB all over. Took the doors off yesterday and the top off today. The cage is a little tight to get my feet between it and the under seat toolbox, but otherwise it's good. Fits the bikini top well, but I miss the pickup truck profile of the hard top. Definitely like driving it better with no top. I just like looking at it more with the top on.

Hooked up the OBD2 dongle to use the torque app. One code. Idle speed not as expected.The VSS signal isn't getting to the PCM. I bought a Marlin VSS. Something isn't working somewhere. It wouldn't work with the analog speedo anyway, so I've been using either the Torque app or the Ulysses app for GPS speed. It'd be good if the PCM was getting a signal though. Eventually I would get a digital speedo then.

The app can't calculate HP, torque or fuel mileage without a VSS either.

 

[Gumby]

First big road trip of any significant length. 114 miles round trip. Out on two lane roads, back on the expressway. No drama at all. Lot of fun, in fact.

 

[Gumby]

New motor is all torn down and in the machine shop. I hope to get it line bored Wednesday and in the boring machine for a .030 bore. 317 Aluminum heads are all clean and ready for machining. a few parts showed up today.

 

[Gumby]

bought a header tube set too. I hope to assemble a custom header that will work in the tight confines of a 45 engine bay.

 

[FJ40Jim]

Wait, I thought you were driving and enjoying?
Did engine blowed up?
Exhaust manifolds not fitting?

 

[Gumby]

I would be driving and enjoying, except for the snow and salt on the roads. I bought another 6.0L that I'm building a bit. It will go in the SWB, the current 6.0 is going in the pig.

300hp seems like a lot when you first get it, then not so much. I'm hoping for about 400/400 out of the rebuild.

 

[Golgo13]

This looks awesome.

I have ZERO experience with cages, so please excuse my ignorance with this question...

What does the cage bolt to at the underside?
I see you are bolting a plate to the floor, but what is under the floor where you are attaching?

Thanks

 

[Gumby]

Two years later -

I just put the cab back on after having off for the winter addressing Golgo's question.

The cage was bolted to the floor with plates on both sides, the rational being that any crash that would rip out 16 square inches of floor per cage leg would be pretty much it for any occupants with lap belts, no doors and a steel dash.

However, I punched a rear body mount up through a rusty part of the floor while wheeling so I needed to pull the cab.

I added 1/4 braces inside the rear boxed section and replaced the rusty sheet with 14g. The braces carry the load from the cage to the body mount. I added 16g boxed sections longitudinally from the rear to the mid transverse stock boxed sections that have the mid body mounts. I also added .25 longitudinal sections between the front and mid body mounts that pass over the front cage mount, connecting the cage to the body mounts.

All of that significantly strengthens the cage mounting and the tub rigidity.

And hopefully insures my battered corpse will at least not be crushed by the cage in an accident.

 

[Gumby]

The motor I ended up with is a LQ4 bumped up to a 6.2 with flat top 10.5:1 pistons and an upgraded cam and 317 milled aluminum heads. 1997 corvette headers with the right side cut and turned 90 degrees. Bought HP tuners software and got it dialed in.

It's just stupid now. Just retarded.

Motors down the road very nice. Gets about 8-9 mpg. Would do better if I drove it with any sanity.

 

[woytovich]

Sweet stuff.