More inspiration for under armor. This was built by Dave Gore many years ago.
Builds The Clustertruck Rides Again - Refurbishing a 1975 Chevota (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter RWBeringer4x4
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- #1,682
Also @Stumpalama and @Cdaniel - what kind of clearance do you run between the skid plate and the trans/transfer? I imagine the assembly moves a bit under torque and I also suspect there would be some deflection of the plate under a big hit.
I couldn't say exactly the space, but its minimal. Maybe 3/8 at the closest. With as much abuse this has had overs the I would say deflection is zero.
Is there somewhere I could see some pictures?
forum.ih8mud.com
starting on post 73 or so
Builds - Lynchburg Lemonade, matzell's STW
I looked around on the Google search. (after making the second set) These look like the ones Mark sells @65swb45 I think they are stronger than the ones others are selling due to the fact the angles of the mounting points, both at about a 45 deg angle so they keep from bending back. Others...
forum.ih8mud.com
starting on post 73 or so
- Thread starter
- #1,686
Awesome - I might be taking the week of the 11th off if you’re around.
Is there somewhere I could see some pictures?
Builds - Lynchburg Lemonade, matzell's STW
I looked around on the Google search. (after making the second set) These look like the ones Mark sells @65swb45 I think they are stronger than the ones others are selling due to the fact the angles of the mounting points, both at about a 45 deg angle so they keep from bending back. Others...
starting on post 73 or so
Funny I’ve been following the Lynchburg Lemonade thread but didn’t put two and two together. 3” longer axle doesn’t stick out as far as I thought...
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- #1,687
Very nice - I guess maybe things move less than I expect... did Dave use .120 or .250?
Not sure, but I would expect its .120 wall tube.
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- #1,689
Wow, it is really hard to believe almost an entire year has gone by since I've updated this thread. Progress on the Clustertruck has continued, but it has definitely been limited. A toddler and house projects have really been cramping my garage time, but more importantly, I've actually just been driving it - which is always a good time.
As a recap - last year I'd busted off a fender flare. I wheeled it with the cracked flare at Fall Crawl last year. The trip out to Fall Crawl really started to set the stage for the next string of upgrades but it really wasn't until the speedometer cable at a recent wheeling trip at Rausch in June that I got the impetous to get back to work on this thing.
Knowing I needed new flares, I scoured the web for options and stumbled across some flares Dave Gore at 4Plus (lcwizard) used to make. He doesn't sell them completed but he was kind enough to cut me the flats and ship them out to me. I figured, while I was at it, I'd order a dual swing-out bumper.
Bumper installation was pretty straightforward. I used a drill bit as a centering punch to locate where new holes would need to be drilled in the back, and went to work boring holes in the rear cross member. From there, it's a pretty straightforward, bolt-together assembly.
Removed the old tube bumper:
After a few test fits I bored new holes in the cross member for the swingouts. Bolted it up, dropped on the tire carrier
And the basket - I ordered a Yeti 50 size as that dimension fits my Orca 45 cooler almost perfectly.
Then wired in the license plate light, taped up a mini harness and zip-tied it to the basket.
As a recap - last year I'd busted off a fender flare. I wheeled it with the cracked flare at Fall Crawl last year. The trip out to Fall Crawl really started to set the stage for the next string of upgrades but it really wasn't until the speedometer cable at a recent wheeling trip at Rausch in June that I got the impetous to get back to work on this thing.
Knowing I needed new flares, I scoured the web for options and stumbled across some flares Dave Gore at 4Plus (lcwizard) used to make. He doesn't sell them completed but he was kind enough to cut me the flats and ship them out to me. I figured, while I was at it, I'd order a dual swing-out bumper.
Bumper installation was pretty straightforward. I used a drill bit as a centering punch to locate where new holes would need to be drilled in the back, and went to work boring holes in the rear cross member. From there, it's a pretty straightforward, bolt-together assembly.
Removed the old tube bumper:
After a few test fits I bored new holes in the cross member for the swingouts. Bolted it up, dropped on the tire carrier
And the basket - I ordered a Yeti 50 size as that dimension fits my Orca 45 cooler almost perfectly.
Then wired in the license plate light, taped up a mini harness and zip-tied it to the basket.
- Thread starter
- #1,690
I've been digging (by hand) a 25X20 foundation that will ultimately house a large shed - because I way underestimated how much dirt I would actually have to move.
But the 40 ferried in a lot of materials, rocks, and building supplies.
But the 40 ferried in a lot of materials, rocks, and building supplies.
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- #1,691
In June I hit Rausch Creek with Keystone Cruisers for another green/blue trail day, which, as always, was an awesome time. On the way (actually about 10 miles from the house, my speedometer cable snapped - lost speedometer and Odometer gauages.
Shortly after making it home, my low beam headlights started to get intermittent, and a few weeks later, failed altogether, so I knew it was time for another series of maintenance items.
Shortly after making it home, my low beam headlights started to get intermittent, and a few weeks later, failed altogether, so I knew it was time for another series of maintenance items.
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- #1,692
The cable had broken right at the dash, so it was a pretty easy diagnosis:
I figured while the dash was out, I would order up some LED lights from Super Bright LED's to help remedy the super weak dash lights that made driving at night a bit too much of an adventure.
I also discovered that my "Lights" knob was supposed to light up (it never has) so I ordered a blue LED to mount there as well:
Dramatically improved:
If anyone is wondering, here are the LED part numbers I used from Superbright LED's (there are threads on this but several part numbers are now obsolete):
Headlight knob light: BA7S-B - BA7 Mini Bayonet Base
Turn Signals; 2X: 194-G-90: Green 90 Degree cone angle 194 mini wedge base
High Beam Light: 1X 194-B-90: Blue 90 Degree cone angle 194 mini wedge base
Gauge Cluster backlights: 2X 194-WHP6: Cool White - Dimable 6000K 194 Mini Wedge Base LED*
*Dimmable is highly suspect. They dim slightly but far more binary than the standard bulbs, basically 3 settings - bright, slightly less bright, and off.
I figured while the dash was out, I would order up some LED lights from Super Bright LED's to help remedy the super weak dash lights that made driving at night a bit too much of an adventure.
I also discovered that my "Lights" knob was supposed to light up (it never has) so I ordered a blue LED to mount there as well:
Dramatically improved:
If anyone is wondering, here are the LED part numbers I used from Superbright LED's (there are threads on this but several part numbers are now obsolete):
Headlight knob light: BA7S-B - BA7 Mini Bayonet Base
Turn Signals; 2X: 194-G-90: Green 90 Degree cone angle 194 mini wedge base
High Beam Light: 1X 194-B-90: Blue 90 Degree cone angle 194 mini wedge base
Gauge Cluster backlights: 2X 194-WHP6: Cool White - Dimable 6000K 194 Mini Wedge Base LED*
*Dimmable is highly suspect. They dim slightly but far more binary than the standard bulbs, basically 3 settings - bright, slightly less bright, and off.
Nice to see its still making progress.
- Thread starter
- #1,694
Naturally, 1975 is one of a couple of "transition year" vehicles when everyone was figuring out how to deal with new emissions requirements. The truck has a 2-piece speedometer cable that connects to either side of a "speed marker" box on the firewall. Inside this box is a second odometer connected to a switch that would trigger the EGR idiot light at certain mileage intervals so you knew to service your EGR.
Disconnected the cables from the box. Naturally I guessed wrong, pulled the lower cable first and found the cable completely intact. So that led me to pulling the dash, per above, and discovering it had snapped right at the gauge.
A call to Cruiser Outfitters had a Japanese-made speedometer cable shipped to my door. This cable was a 85" long one piece cable, so I had to re-route it a bit. My EGR system is long gone/completely missing, so I bypassed the speedmarker.
Lubed up the cable with some "Kable-Ease" lubricant prior to install. It's a graphite impregnated thin oil, so hopefully wont pump it's way into my speedometer housing as grease is known to do:
Routed it as best I could to avoid the exhaust manifold
Under the truck I removed the stock parking brake cable mount to a double-cable mount I made myself with some 1/8" steel flat bar and a couple of cable ties and bolts. Again, the main objective here is keeping the cables off the exhaust.
After that was a wild goose chase of voltmeter testing around the headlight system to figure out why my high beams worked, but my low beams didn't. I finally narrowed it down to the headlight relays on my IPF harness. It uses 3 Australian relays that don't readily cross reference to any US-available relays, so I had to use the wiring diagram on the relays and some google-foo to educate myself on how relays work and figure out what I needed:
Disconnected the cables from the box. Naturally I guessed wrong, pulled the lower cable first and found the cable completely intact. So that led me to pulling the dash, per above, and discovering it had snapped right at the gauge.
A call to Cruiser Outfitters had a Japanese-made speedometer cable shipped to my door. This cable was a 85" long one piece cable, so I had to re-route it a bit. My EGR system is long gone/completely missing, so I bypassed the speedmarker.
Lubed up the cable with some "Kable-Ease" lubricant prior to install. It's a graphite impregnated thin oil, so hopefully wont pump it's way into my speedometer housing as grease is known to do:
Routed it as best I could to avoid the exhaust manifold
Under the truck I removed the stock parking brake cable mount to a double-cable mount I made myself with some 1/8" steel flat bar and a couple of cable ties and bolts. Again, the main objective here is keeping the cables off the exhaust.
After that was a wild goose chase of voltmeter testing around the headlight system to figure out why my high beams worked, but my low beams didn't. I finally narrowed it down to the headlight relays on my IPF harness. It uses 3 Australian relays that don't readily cross reference to any US-available relays, so I had to use the wiring diagram on the relays and some google-foo to educate myself on how relays work and figure out what I needed:
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- #1,695
I wound up using some Hella Relays to replace them. As it turns out, the P1512X relay above had failed (literally completely disintegrated inside as confirmed but vigorous shaking). This particular relay is a "Normally Opened" style, which closes when it receives voltage. It has two prongs that both receive voltage when it closes, as illustrated by the wiring diagram:
Sorry for the blurry photo, but basically that little "gate" before the 87 terminals closes, and sends voltage to both terminals at once:
On the ARB/IPF headlight wiring, one of the 87 terminals on each of the two 1512X relays is completely unused (no wire to the terminal). So I replaced it with a 4-pront, normally open Hella unit.
The third relay in the harness is the "brain" - a 2512X relay called a changeover relay. Instead of having both sides of the relay disconnected like the normally open relay, this relay has an 87a terminal that is normally closed (ie: receiving voltage) and a second that is open. When you switch to high beams, this relay moves from 87a to 87 terminal, shuts off your low beams and transfers voltage to the high beams:
Even though this relay was fine, I replaced it with a Hella unit as well. One, because it was sealed (less likely to get water or dirt in it and break) and second because it's good to have this kind of stuff in the spares bin.
I'm a slow learner. It took forever for me to understand this, and nobody at any parts store counter really understood it either, so in case anyone stumbles across this in the future, these Hella part numbers work great:
2X Hella 007791011 - Normally Open Relay
1X Hella 931680011 - Sealed changeover Relay
Sorry for the blurry photo, but basically that little "gate" before the 87 terminals closes, and sends voltage to both terminals at once:
On the ARB/IPF headlight wiring, one of the 87 terminals on each of the two 1512X relays is completely unused (no wire to the terminal). So I replaced it with a 4-pront, normally open Hella unit.
The third relay in the harness is the "brain" - a 2512X relay called a changeover relay. Instead of having both sides of the relay disconnected like the normally open relay, this relay has an 87a terminal that is normally closed (ie: receiving voltage) and a second that is open. When you switch to high beams, this relay moves from 87a to 87 terminal, shuts off your low beams and transfers voltage to the high beams:
Even though this relay was fine, I replaced it with a Hella unit as well. One, because it was sealed (less likely to get water or dirt in it and break) and second because it's good to have this kind of stuff in the spares bin.
I'm a slow learner. It took forever for me to understand this, and nobody at any parts store counter really understood it either, so in case anyone stumbles across this in the future, these Hella part numbers work great:
2X Hella 007791011 - Normally Open Relay
1X Hella 931680011 - Sealed changeover Relay
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- #1,696
Around the time I got this wrapped up, I got the great news from @Stumpalama that Fall Crawl was going to be about the only offroad event not canceled this year thanks to Covid-19. It booked up in something like 72 hours and I was one of the last to get a spot. While this was awesome news, it came with the realization that I was going to need to wrap up getting those 4-Plus flares mounted to the truck, so in early September, I decided that now would also be a great time to give Cruiser Outfitters a call and order a lift kit, and grab a U-bolt flip kit from 4 Plus. So began a sprint to get the truck together for Fall Crawl.
It may sound ridiculous to some that it would take a month to bend/weld/paint some flares and install a lift - but when you get less than an hour a day in the garage, this task ended up pretty daunting. All these projects were worked on in parallel but I'll try to break them out here in some semblance of order:
The flares ship as 2 flat panels per side - the backing plate, and the flare, which has angular cuts where you're supposed to bend:
So basically (in theory) you just fold on the lines:
It includes little triangular stand-offs that set the flare angle and provide reinforcement. It's critical to get the backing plate clamped down as flat as possible as you start welding things to prevent a potato-chipped flare. Even with use of copious clamps, my end product was still pretty warped, but nothing some fender welting wouldn't cover up.
Copious test fitting and tweaking. the biggest challenge was the bends - no matter how I tried, I couldn't get all the bolt holes to line up. One "leg" was always out of wack, so I wound up cutting, grinding, and re-welding to fit.
It may sound ridiculous to some that it would take a month to bend/weld/paint some flares and install a lift - but when you get less than an hour a day in the garage, this task ended up pretty daunting. All these projects were worked on in parallel but I'll try to break them out here in some semblance of order:
The flares ship as 2 flat panels per side - the backing plate, and the flare, which has angular cuts where you're supposed to bend:
So basically (in theory) you just fold on the lines:
It includes little triangular stand-offs that set the flare angle and provide reinforcement. It's critical to get the backing plate clamped down as flat as possible as you start welding things to prevent a potato-chipped flare. Even with use of copious clamps, my end product was still pretty warped, but nothing some fender welting wouldn't cover up.
Copious test fitting and tweaking. the biggest challenge was the bends - no matter how I tried, I couldn't get all the bolt holes to line up. One "leg" was always out of wack, so I wound up cutting, grinding, and re-welding to fit.
- Thread starter
- #1,697
Once I had the two sides tacked the way I liked them, I bolted them "back to back" so they could use eachother for flatness and rigidity.
Then welded everything up as best I could. Naturally compared to anyone who knows what the heck they're doing, my welds look like garbage, but they are strong, and they'll get the job done.
Even with all my efforts to keep things flat they still wound up a smidge warped - but I also discovered how NOT flat my quarter panels are!
After that, I spent some quality time with abrasives - flap discs, rolloc discs, and a dual action sander:
Then welded everything up as best I could. Naturally compared to anyone who knows what the heck they're doing, my welds look like garbage, but they are strong, and they'll get the job done.
Even with all my efforts to keep things flat they still wound up a smidge warped - but I also discovered how NOT flat my quarter panels are!
After that, I spent some quality time with abrasives - flap discs, rolloc discs, and a dual action sander:
- Thread starter
- #1,698
Then came my least favorite part...My flares had already been (badly) cut by a previous owner, but I still hate cutting and drilling original sheet metal.
I chopped out the extra "kick" in the new flares, and drilled a bunch of 3/8 holes for the new bolts to go through.
There is one blind hole on the 40 as the bolt hole lines up with the inner fender/tub cross brace. So I got to play with my new Rivnut tool:
I chopped out the extra "kick" in the new flares, and drilled a bunch of 3/8 holes for the new bolts to go through.
There is one blind hole on the 40 as the bolt hole lines up with the inner fender/tub cross brace. So I got to play with my new Rivnut tool:
- Thread starter
- #1,699
A tiny bit of filler to get rid of some deeper sanding scratches:
Paint and cutting some 3/16" fender welting that I forgot to take pictures of, but here is how they turned out:
Paint and cutting some 3/16" fender welting that I forgot to take pictures of, but here is how they turned out:
I really like those. For now TJ flares will have to do.
