Builds The Clustertruck Rides Again - Refurbishing a 1975 Chevota (1 Viewer)

[RWBeringer4x4]

In parallel to building the flares, I had ordered a U-Bolt flip from 4Plus, and a Heavy/Heavy OME lift kit from Curt at Cruiser outfitters. So while I was waiting for paint to dry and welds to cool, I was working on getting this set up. As always, there were hurdles...

The kit I ordered from Kurt was essentially a set of shackles, shocks, and springs. The rest I'd re-use my existing suspension components (or replace with 4Plus stuff).

Things started out simply enough - jack up the truck, drop the old springs, U-Bolts, and retainer plates:

The next step was to mock-up the U-Bolt flip kit. The 4Plus kit comes provisioned to allow you to bore a new hole in your spring perch, and shift the axle back about an inch. Given that I still have tiny 31" tires and a HUGE cut-out in the rear with the new flares, I figured centering the tires in the well would be a good way to go.

Mock-up of the kit for drilling the perch revealed a litany of new problems. The brake tabs I'd welded on during the disk brake conversion were just a tiny bit too short, so now the soft lines to the caliper would be rubbing on the U-Bolt plate once fully installed.

Likewise, this loop in the brake line would no longer fit, so I'd need to re-route the rear hard lines as well.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Any information on that riv-nut tool?

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

So new brake lines were created, the old tabs were cut off and replaced with new, longer tabs

And now they just barely squeak by:

This was an outrageously tight bend to get and still be able to twist the flare not. Once again, I LOVE nickel copper alloy...

Next up, the springs got slid under the axle and mounted up:

And the Nitrocharger shocks mercifully replaced the old load levelers.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

The front springs didn't cooperate much better. At first glance, this seemed like the "easy" side of the truck, BUT:

The old U-Bolt plates and nuts had become one after being dragged over copious rocks, so I had to take an aggressive removal approach:

The good news was, it seemed like I wasn't going to need to move any brake lines up front too significantly. A quick twist of the existing tab would rotate the lines out of the way. It turns out, I'd been having a bad welding day when I put those tabs on - Apparently for the last 4 years I'd been driving around with this tab "living on a prayer" and when I tried to twist it, it just surrendered entirely. Literally like 1% adhesion to the axle.

Up next, the keeper bolts on the spring pins had completely stripped, and one bolt on each side was just rotating in the hole - so they had to be cut off and knocked out.

From there, all the holes were welded up, re-drilled, and retapped

Using the spring pin as a centering guide to start the hole in the spring perch:

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Much better:

From there, the springs could go underneath. But my saginaw box is mounted too low. The anti-inversion shackle wouldn't even have room to go vertical before hitting the steering box mount, let along invert.

So I decided to re-use the bar shackle (which, luckily, was the exact same length). the spring still shouldn't invert, because the bar shackle will contact the steering box mounting plate before it can invert anyway. Not my favorite solution, but this was all going down basically at midnight a day before fall crawl, so executive decisions were made...

After that, the shocks could go in:

At with the wife's help at 11:30pm the night before fall crawl, we bled the brakes, starting with a full bench bleed of the master:

And my shakedown run for the whole new suspension was a 350 mile round trip ticket to Gore Virginia for Fall Crawl 2020.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Nice to see its still making progress.

Thanks! Glad you’re still around I hadn’t seen you post anything lately. Still wheeling the 40?

I really like those. For now TJ flares will have to do.

Yeah they were a lot of work to assemble. Probably partially due to my own inexperience but TJ flares would have been easier. In the end though, I’m really happy with the results - and the fact that they are HEAVY, 3/16 steel. This has already been of great benefit which I’ll get into when I get to talking about this year’s Fall Crawl.

Any information on that riv-nut tool?

They come in a lot of varieties and sizes - larger tools tend to provide more leverage to handle larger riv-nuts but don’t fit in tight spaces. They are all essentially the same design.

They include a set of arbors threaded to the size nut you want to use. The riv-nut itself has a threaded section and a knurled section designed to collapse when you squeeze the handles on the tool.

So you bore a hole in the metal you’re riv-nutting to match the outside diameter of the nut you’re installing. You thread the nut onto the tool, expand the arms, above the nut in the hole and squeeze. The nut collapses and punches the metal between the outside lip of the nut and the section that collapses, and the knurls in the collapsing section help add friction to keep it from spinning in the hole. Once installed, you use the crank in the middle to unthread the arbor.

Riv-nut tool with riv nut ready to go.

Shove in hole, squeeze handles

Use center crank to dethread:

Nut installed

You now have a threaded nut in a blind hole

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Which brings us up to Fall Crawl this weekend, which essentially outlined the next couple projects for the truck. This always serves as a really solid shakedown run because it combines a 330+ mile round trip out to Gore, VA surrounding a weekend of wheeling. If I’m going to break something, it will be here - and break stuff I did.

A few shots from the weekend - unfortunately I’m never good about taking pictures, and most of what I take are from the driver’s seat, so some of these I stole.

I rolled into camp around 11am on Friday after a 4 and a half hour drive down backroad across western MD. It was an awesome drive, lots of horse country (Forest Hill, Hunt Valley), old towns (Frederick, Harpers Ferry) and scenery. Last year I’d slogged it down interstates and while it got me there an hour faster, I liked this route a lot more. Essentially it was 1 full tank of gas, door-to-door each direction. Despite all the added weight of new armor, coolers, camping gear, etc, the truck returned 12.5mpg on the way out, and 11.8 on the way home. Pretty much exactly what it always has.

As soon as I arrived, I jumped in line with Andy and Greg from Keystone and a bunch of other folks. Within a half hour, we hit a section I wasn’t comfortable with, so I decided to bypass it after watching Ryan Bascom rip every panel off his 80 series trying to get up a hill.

I overestimated my clearance on the new lift and plowed into a rock on the bypass. Backed up, tried to go around it, lost traction trying to climb it and wound up sliding the back end of the truck into a tree. New flares thoroughly tested. The flare literally cut into the tree like an axe. Zero damage to flare beyond some scratched paint.

The basket swing-out also took part of the hit without noticeable carnage. The only casualty was the side reflector I’d already mangled last time I messed up a flare.

Between a rock and a tree with no traction at the back wheels and no locker up front, I had to be winched out sideways, embarrassingly, to get up a bypass of all things.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Not 20 minutes after that, a bit further down the trail, someone radio’d “Rick you have smoke under the truck - something’s burning...”

I checked the gauges, wasn’t overheating, so I grabbed a fire extinguisher and jumped out. I wish I had pictures of what transpired, but I was too busy de-escalating the situation to take photos.

The battery holddown had snapped, and, because there is no lip on my battery tray, the battery had slid off onto my hot exhaust manifold, melted, and was dumping acid all over the engine bay.

We threw the battery in a plastic bucket, dumped water over the components that were covered in acid to neutralize it as best we could. Luckily, Ryan Bascom was carrying a jumper box, so we jumped the truck from the battery terminals and started it from the alternator to get it running. From there, I had to crawl out to a main road and back to camp without stalling, escorted by Andy M.

Gary lent me his Subaru and I took the drive of shame to Walmart back in Winchester for a new battery and some ratchet straps. That concluded wheeling day 1 for me, with this as the end result to get me through day 2 and home again:

Day 2 was less eventful, at the beginning - some light green-trail wheeling that, right at the end of the day devolved into a blue-trail rock garden.

There was one particularly tough turn where the truck almost started to roll. I felt both wheels on the passenger side come up, then (luckily) lose momentum and the truck fell back down.

No sooner had we traversed the rock garden then we found ourselves in a super dicey mud pit. I never made it in but this 200-series should paint the picture:

After winching off a tree that proceed to fall entirely, the back six trucks in the convoy of 10 decided to turn around and go back through the rocks to get around to the other side of the mud pit and try to winch from a different angle.

Ironically, help had already been radioed in and the stranded group actually beat us back to camp.

All in all it was still an awesome weekend, but I spent way more time outside my comfort zone than anticipated.

Next projects - a new battery tray and hold down, and a skid plate.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Forgot one small piece to the puzzle that I wanted to get completed before Fall Crawl. Since OEM tail lights are basically unobtainium now, and the 4 plus bumper doesn’t guard them from impact like the tube bumper did, I decided to make some tail light guards. These were a blatant copy of the 4Plus design but by this point I was too broke to just buy them, so I made a sad bastardization from scratch. Quite honestly I can’t think of a way to do it better.

Really, they turned out pretty OK given that I basically just have grinders and a drill press to make the cuts. I used the rear frame and tail lights as templates and just worked as carefully as I could.

Used my Swag offroad press brake for the bends. Corners not as sharp as I wanted but not too upset about them.

 

[reddingcruiser]

Heck, at this rate you'll be ready for Rubithon next June

You know I'm gonna keep after you until you show up.

 

[Cdaniel]

Thanks! Glad you’re still around I hadn’t seen you post anything lately. Still wheeling the 40?

Not much wheelin lately, but hope to change that with cooler weather. The sandrail then classic mustang has soaked up the time. So Cruiser has been on the bench.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Heck, at this rate you'll be ready for Rubithon next June

You know I'm gonna keep after you until you show up.

Honestly I should be able to fit 33’s now, maybe even 35’s with the cut quarters, but I’m still not a competent enough driver to tackle the rubicon. I feel like I’d win the iron butt award for driving a 40 2825 miles to the trail head, then back again, though!

That’s 235 GALLONS of fuel one way... assuming my truck can get over the Rockies. even at today’s gas prices that’s a tough pill to swallow.

really the hardest concept for me to grasp right now offroad is how far the truck can “tip” before I need to worry. I’m getting better at picking my lines but the off camber stuff has a serious pucker factor as I really just don’t know how much lean is too much.

Rubithon is 100% a bucket list trip for me but the logistics of actually getting there, at least in a 40, are daunting.

Not much wheelin lately, but hope to change that with cooler weather. The sandrail then classic mustang has soaked up the time. So Cruiser has been on the bench.

I’ve seen the sandrail but is the Mustang new? Only a fastback is an acceptable excuse to not drive the 40.

 

[reddingcruiser]

Honestly I should be able to fit 33’s now, maybe even 35’s with the cut quarters, but I’m still not a competent enough driver to tackle the rubicon. I feel like I’d win the iron butt award for driving a 40 2825 miles to the trail head, then back again, though!

Rubithon has plenty of novices every year. Trail leaders and their committee members are patient and gentle . We had a guy bring his largely stock FJ Cruiser last year to fulfill his bucket list.

You would definitely be in the running for the Iron Butt award.

 

[Cdaniel]

A fastback it is! I restored it 19 year's ago. Been taking care of updates, upgrades, etc.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

A fastback it is! I restored it 19 year's ago. Been taking care of updates, upgrades, etc.View attachment 2478086

Nice! High on my list of future cars.

 

[Honger]

The cable had broken right at the dash, so it was a pretty easy diagnosis:

View attachment 2477336

View attachment 2477337

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.

View attachment 2477333

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:

View attachment 2477334

Dramatically improved:
View attachment 2477335

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.

Love the LED lights. They did well. Does the high beam light really illuminate that blue lens well now?

A tiny bit of filler to get rid of some deeper sanding scratches:

View attachment 2477485

Paint and cutting some 3/16" fender welting that I forgot to take pictures of, but here is how they turned out:

View attachment 2477486

View attachment 2477487

I actually like those flares. You did a great job on them and they are hands down the only flare I'd ever entertain.

Really good to see you updating this! Love how your using the 40...

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

The other thing I still need to figure out is why my short wheel base FJ40 has a wider turning radius than many of the 100’s and 80’s I frequently wheel with.

The steering stops are set such that I’m using all 4.25 turns from the steering box (just over two full turns lock to lock on either side) so the box can’t physically turn the wheels any farther - the stops just keep me from overextending the box. That being said, I really only have about another 1/4” I can adjust out of the stops before they bottom out so maybe I’m chasing a phantom problem, or maybe 1/4” makes a world of difference...

I THINK the issue lies in the 5 and 1/4” pitman arm. Realistically I think something longer would be more ideal, but it seems like most of the drop arms I can find are this short. A drop pitman arm probably isn’t even critical with this setup but the 1.5” drop has the tie rod and drag link almost perfectly parallel.

As for tires, I have a solid 5-6” before they hit the side of the truck or the fenders, so I’m not super concerned with clearance there.

Anyone with a Saginaw setup have experience on this front? There seems to be a lot of discussions here on Mud about wanting longer arms but haven’t seen any that really point to a source for one. I’m also not sure which SAE taper Cruiser Outfitters supplies so that’s something else I need to figure out.

In the grand scheme probably a minor issue but a little frustrating on the trail. That or I’m just really bad at picking my lines - but I feel like I’m ALWAYS at full lock and ALWAYS want a little bit more to get pointed where I want to go.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Love the LED lights. They did well. Does the high beam light really illuminate that blue lens well now?

I actually like those flares. You did a great job on them and they are hands down the only flare I'd ever entertain.

Really good to see you updating this! Love how your using the 40...

The sun was already coming up when I took this picture this morning but yes, it’s an improvement. Not super dramatic but I used to actually miss that the light was even on - now it gets your attention.

The turn signals are almost obnoxiously bright.

I’m glad to still be making some progress, and that I have an extremely understanding wife. The two weeks before Fall Crawl I basically went into the garage after dinner and came out at 11 or 12 most nights - leaving her to wrangle the kiddo. I love working on this truck but I hate working against a deadline.

 

[bikersmurf]

The other thing I still need to figure out is why my short wheel base FJ40 has a wider turning radius than many of the 100’s and 80’s I frequently wheel with.

The steering stops are set such that I’m using all 4.25 turns from the steering box (just over two full turns lock to lock on either side) so the box can’t physically turn the wheels any farther - the stops just keep me from overextending the box. That being said, I really only have about another 1/4” I can adjust out of the stops before they bottom out so maybe I’m chasing a phantom problem, or maybe 1/4” makes a world of difference...

View attachment 2478305

View attachment 2478308

I THINK the issue lies in the 5 and 1/4” pitman arm. Realistically I think something longer would be more ideal, but it seems like most of the drop arms I can find are this short. A drop pitman arm probably isn’t even critical with this setup but the 1.5” drop has the tie rod and drag link almost perfectly parallel.

View attachment 2478310

As for tires, I have a solid 5-6” before they hit the side of the truck or the fenders, so I’m not super concerned with clearance there.

Anyone with a Saginaw setup have experience on this front? There seems to be a lot of discussions here on Mud about wanting longer arms but haven’t seen any that really point to a source for one. I’m also not sure which SAE taper Cruiser Outfitters supplies so that’s something else I need to figure out.

In the grand scheme probably a minor issue but a little frustrating on the trail. That or I’m just really bad at picking my lines - but I feel like I’m ALWAYS at full lock and ALWAYS want a little bit more to get pointed where I want to go.

Above you indicate just over two turns lock to lock on each side. ‘Lock to lock’ equals full left to full right which would indicate a serious issue if a 4.25 turn box is 2.1 lock to lock.

I believe you’re saying 2.1 to centre and 2.1 to the other side. 4.2 total wouldn’t leave much in a 4.25 box. Have you compared your stop adjustment to another 40 axle? I’ve not looked at mine for a long time, but they do look long to me. Have you tried opening them up 1/8” each? I don’t know if it’s better for the box to hit end range before, after, or at the stop. I’d guess at, but I’m at the learning/design stage... only starting fab so far.

5.25” seems really short. Unfortunately, I’ve read, a lot of dropped pitman arms get shorter with the drop because they started with the same length. I’ve got a stock Jeep arm on my Scout II box. It’s got a similar drop... but I’ll have to measure its length and get back to you. The Scout arm was about 50% longer... something like 8-9” but I’d also need to measure to be sure.

Ideally you wouldn’t want to be hitting the stops all the time... I can’t see it being good for TREs etc.

Keep us posted

 

[bikersmurf]

I’m thinking you’re likely on the right path on the pitman arm length being “less than ideal”.