Biodiesel Piggie #2 Buildup (was Sad Sad day...)

[andrew.fletcher]

Andre-
Have you figured out your A/C yet? I found a factory 55 set-up in a junkyard yesterday (check the for sale section for details) and got most of the parts but was wondering what condensor and compressor you were going to use?

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Well I have been holding my public thoughts on this but began to start thinking more towards sacking out on this and maybe not doing AC. But again it would be nice, something I might regret maybe.. Here is my thread on it on 4BTswaps..
http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showthread.php?t=474

I was thinking a bling Vintage Air system.. I have the condensor from the 80 series which may work, a factory 55 AC system might work but I would be temped more towards new or lightly used mostly for reliability.. I might still maybe pull something out of a junkyard too, that would be a neat option. Otherwise holding out for the $$ for the Vintage Air...

This has been something I have been thinking about a lot lately, as I'm near the firewall now and have some crazy ideas to maybe cut it out completely and replace with new steel..

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

More updates.. Was down at the shop till about 1AM last night.. Pretty spent all day today.. Anyway, tried to get everything done and bolted in but spent some time helping my buddy get is Isuzu 4BD1T (which is also a killer diesel) running to put in his FJ62 which we'll do in a couple months.. I also forgot my camera but he had his... Took a bunch of trippy art like pics also that turned out pretty well IMO! I'm wearing a shirt that Mark Hawley from Metal Tech gave me...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Anywhoo, here is a little more progress on the rear cross member.. The factory '04 Dodge isolator sits on it. Bolts into the cross member, I drilled holes on the other side with a hole saw to get access to the nuts.. I will take better pics of it all later and post...

There was a section where I wanted to drop the cross member about an inch to clear the t case a little better (not necessary but preferred), so I took out a couple measured sections for the drop and bent the cross member accordingly...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Cut allowed me to bend the metal to the desired bend length.. Goal was as seen...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

More...

Also it got a little harder to bend as I had more bends (less leverage) so I used a backhoe out back for leverage...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

And here is basically final product.. Sort of hard to see... But turned out well. We also got a couple of the tabs on the frame tacked in but I started turning into a walking zombie (long long day) so called it quits, will finish up shortly...

 

[72cruiser]

lookin great andre

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Couple more / better pics of the crossmember.. Got everything welded in so the motor/trans/t case are now mounted to the frame

Anyway, crossmember is pretty good, not as 'clean' as the other stuff but I am happy with it...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

So big thing was the clearances.. If I didn't put the 1" bend in, there are good odds the front output shaft would have come close to hitting the cross member.. So I needed slight recession (1" or so), so that is what I did via those bends.. The bends sort of mimic the placement and shape of the t-case... Also, pretty neat but it protects the front output shaft from rocks, etc... I was thinking of building a slider plate into the cross member but honestly don't think I'll need it..

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Side tabs tacked then fully welded in. I was able to use some holes in the frame for reference to keep the cross member perpendicular to frame...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Mounting plate for trans mount (factory Dodge Cummins '04) to trans...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

1) Holes & mounting pattern in trans..
2) Holes in bottom of crossmember to access the transmission mount...
3) Welded in nuts to keep in place, make slightly easier to remove.. This will be galvanized at some point...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Close ups of the cross member.. This will be galvanized too.. Some water will get and stay in there probably, will be nice to not have it rust out.. I have to drill some holes at the low-side recession to drain out water...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Final Product...

 

[fernandol]

hey Andre, great progress, everything looking awsome.

Please remember you will have to drill some 3/8" holes on both ends of the cross member before galvanizing, otherwise the piece will float on the zinc pool.

Again very cool work.

regards

Fernando

 

[n2666s]

Andre, awsome work........have fantasies about a diesel 55 BUT am scared about the cost .......your work is inspiring me to try to get up the nerve!

Lou

 

[LC_Hamma]

I like the way you are modifying things to fit or make it from scratch. I know how long allota this stuff takes to make. And, you ain't gotta problem with beefy guages of steel for brackets & such. I do wish you luck with those LC axles & that D300 case, IMO way too light duty for the rest of the drivetrain You need to post up that pic of you in the engine bay during your first 4BT transplant

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

That is a funny pic, see if I can dig it up somewhere..

RE Axles, I sort of agree but only to an extent.. But I ran the 60 axle up front last time, and sort of as a "temporary" setup before I had an axle built (that I never got rid of ) I ran a rear IFS mini truck rear, with a Tacoma V6 locked 3rd in the rear.. So both locked, with power steering, and only thing I ever broke was... birfield, and that's it.. I only had it a year, but I did beat the snot out of it whenever possible I also didn't have bump stops either, so that probably helped break the birfields easier too... And the second one borke because I was still pulling people outo f ditches, etc, when I had one already broken in the housing...

I did torque out the rear housing, so when I built a new one, I beefed up and trussed the rear housing also... The motor does have some power to it, but honestly I don't think it will be too bad.. The 80 series basically has a 'torsion bar' built in by design.. And I have the rubber isolators there, so it should hold up fine I think...

RE: Dana 300, I agree but luckily this one has the 32 spline heavy duty shafts.. So it should hold up fine.. A lot of guys throw a lot more power at dana 300s and they seem to hold up fine.. If/once I get the super beefy 4:1 kits as well, that should strengthen things up pretty well too..


Plus I like to wheel but this isn't going to be a real hardcore rig.. 35's and that's it.. A/T tires, mostly for the street, camping, I will wheel it but that is secondary and less than 1% of what it will really be doing.. I wheel Pritchett and some of the harder runs at Moab but that's it I think... And honestly seeing all those 80 series out there.. They are a little gentler with their trucks because of the auto.. But they weigh more and a lot of them get after it, and seldomly have axle issues as far as I can tell.. If some shafts come out for them at some point, I imagine I'll probably get them at some point too...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

hey Andre, great progress, everything looking awsome.

Please remember you will have to drill some 3/8" holes on both ends of the cross member before galvanizing, otherwise the piece will float on the zinc pool.

Again very cool work.

regards

Fernando

Thanks Fernando, will do... I figured it would sink fine because it's 1/4", weighs a lot actually...

Andre, awsome work........have fantasies about a diesel 55 BUT am scared about the cost .......your work is inspiring me to try to get up the nerve!

Lou

And thank you Lou.. Yes a lot of time, and honestly a lot of money.. But I imagine/hope it will all be worth it in the end..