Nice work, keep the pictures coming. I love it when someone photo documents ever mod on their truck and shares the pictures.
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Nice work, keep the pictures coming. I love it when someone photo documents ever mod on their truck and shares the pictures.
For the engine supports, are you going to finish welding around them, or are they strong enough just tack welded like that?
I need to get a bigger tube bender. Just think of all the things I could make....
Zach
I will definately keep the photos coming.
I will weld them fully when i know for sure its all where i want it and its all right. i hate welding stuff only to find out that i want to change something.
Ryan
Proof positive, todays progress was to cut the stands off and move the engine over an 1/8th of an inch. Turns out the bolt holes i was using to measure from on the block were not symetrical as i supposed they were.Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanroo
All is well now and the engine is centered. tomorrow is firewood cutting day, so doubtfull anything will happen till thursday
Ryan
no M715 progress, but the wood pile did grow 2 more cord.
i got these dandy units from my buddy
cooler dated 1968. perfect vintage for the truck
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...oo/m715052.jpg
and a mostly watertight ammo can/chest
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...oo/m715053.jpg
Nice truck. You sound like you are having fun. I am impressed with your talent. I am completely ashamed of what I have done to mine
thanks! no reason to be ashamed, eveyone starts somewhere and has to learn. I work in an offroad/custom fab shop, so i get paid to practice. not to mention i have tools at my disposal that most people probably dont.
Ryan
some progress after what seems like months of doing nothing to the 715.
Been busy helping drew with his f-150, and his step son with his derby car. i also have been fighting with the idea of using a smal block instead of the BBC. i think that is the route i am headed, and eventually the big block will happen as everything i built was mocked with a big block. I also have a line on a NV4500 and i think i am going to get it this coming friday. i would have built my tranny crossmembers but i didn't want to make them for a 465 only to replace it a week later.
showing some fitment of stuff
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715058.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715061.jpg
as anyone who has done any welding/fab can tell you fitment is what makes is happen
the begining of the engine stand gussets
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715062.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715063.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715064.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715065.jpg
all boxed in
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715066.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715067.jpg
a few more coming
primer. forgot to shoot the post weld pics
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715068.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715069.jpg
paint
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715070.jpg
int the truck
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715071.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715072.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715073.jpg
holding a SBC
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715078.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715077.jpg
plenty of room for a mech. fan now. lookes like there will be at least 2.5 inches between the clutch and the rad.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715076.jpg
there are a few spots on the gussets where i could have spent a little more time with the grinder and made them look better, but it was hot, and i was ready to get that grinder out of my hands. so it is what it is
Ryan
Ryan, that is some really nice fab work. Makes me a bit jealous now....Think I will go out and practice my welds some more this afternoon!:D
I like that engine mount setup as it provides some great support across the frame rails as well as a place for the engine to sit.
That should be a well put together truck when you are finished.
Excellent work..great design...
Thanks guys.
i wanted an additional crossmember from the start, and there was enough room for it thankfully. i noticed when i was pushing the truck around that the frame would move the slightest amount when turning the wheel with the crossmember out, and after it was bolted in the movement was gone. that made me feel better. hopefully the NV4500 happens this week as i have planned. then i can start working that direction.
Ryan
Looking really good Ryan. Since I have a NV4500 in my M715, I can tell you this from experience. Go with a Duece 3053A. Stronger gears, real metal shims, no 5th gear walking off the shaft, no special $35/qt oil and they are a lot cheaper. You do lose some OD though. The NV4500 is .72 I think and the 3053A is .80 if I remember it all correctly.
Plus, the 3053A was driven for half a century by guys who didn't care how long it lasted and they survived. I have 3 years and 12K miles on my new NV4500 and a few of the gears are starting to complain about being used.
Just my opinion.
i agree with you Tim, but i guess i am lazy. the 4500 i found is in the scrapyard just up the road, and i get advance adapters at cost through work. so finding the tranny, the bell and all the associated stuff and then making it work just isn't worth it for me. and rebuilding the 4500s is pretty easy. I built a 72 GMC a few years ago with a 4500 and i was pleased by the nice smooth shifts and the cruise gear. I am sure that i will be wishing i had heeded your advice in a few years when the syncros get crunchy and i've bought my umpteenth quart of synchromesh. one other thing is that the more wife friendly i make the truck, the more she gets into it. so a nice smooth tranny she can drive with a familiar shift pattern is good for that too.
ryan
the victim...
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715079.jpg
the score...
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715081.jpg
went to the scrapyard today and yanked this out of the truck. took me about 3 hours of rolling around in the dirt and cussing to get it done. i have several new wounds to show for it, including one skinned knuckle that is all the way to the bone. i am pretty excited to get this in the truck
Ryan
Nice score...I think you gave too much blood for it though...OUCH!
Wow! Lots of great new pic's!! Looking really good Ryan. You do good quality work. Thats going to be a nice functional truck when you get done. People want quality fab work like that. It's cool that not only did a good truck get saved, it's getting hopped up and reworked nicely and to what you want.
Sweet man! Keep up the pic's.
thanks guys. as for blood, i did leave alot there. the amount of broken glass shards was crazy.
Al, thanks for the compliment, and the truck was pretty nice, but just messed up enough that i don't feel to bad torching it all up and making a bunch of custom non reversible mods to it. i already have the itch for a stocker, and i think i know where one is....
off to the shop for a power washing and maybe take a look inside the thing
Ryan
washed it off and cracked the cover. the inside is CLEAN. not nasty stuff, and best of all, the oil doesn't smell like 80w90. hopefully this thing had synchromesh in it its whole life and the snychros are not all crunchy. also verified with the input/output count that it is the early 6.34:1 version
:yes:
Some steps in the right direction today
tranny in, and tailhousing modified for round pattern 205, or lomax. i guess i am comitted now
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715084.jpg
what do ya know, we happen to have a lomax for a project, and i borrowed it so i can make the crossmember/skid accurately
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715085.jpg
looking at the frame rails level across the bottom. barely any hang down. not sure if i am gonna push up the t-case and modify the floor, or if i am going to live with the < 2" of lost clearance.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715087.jpg
some other random shots
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715088.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715089.jpg
on the rack, derby car underneath
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715090.jpg
another derby car 715 shot parked in over/under fashion
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715092.jpg
hopefully there will be crossmember progress in the next few days. derby is this weekend, so that is getting priority righ now
Ryan
Is that Drew with the hat on backwards???
Nice pics and nice work!!
That it is. his step son is driving the derby car, so we have been doing alot of after hours work to it lately
Thanks
ryan
I *REALLY* like your tubework for the engine mount... super-clean... Looking forward to the x-member and other tube-work.
thank you sir for the compliment. still mulling the crossmember over in my head. havent decided what my attack will be just yet. i think i am ok with the transfer hanging down a little, but i may just make it be a flat bottom.
Ryan
some more small steps
i fabbed up the tabs and bushing tubes for the belly pan/crossmember. tomorrow i will bend some tube and likely stare at it some more with the same confused look i have been for the last few days
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715100.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715101.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715103.jpg
ryan
So i filed the bushing tubes idea in the circular file cabinet and with the help of my buddy drew bouncing ideas back and forth this idea came and i went with it.
sleeved the frame and fishplated it
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715104.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715105.jpg
added these little peices that like to slice scalp skin open
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715106.jpg
a tube copes in as seen, and they are bolted on via the washer welded on the inside of the tube. done this way so the entire thing will be rigid, and still be removable.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715107.jpg
the tubes run along the frame for about 3 feet. they also follow the contour of the frame
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715108.jpg
overall of the side tube
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715111.jpg
fake transfer case for front driveline location
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715112.jpg
front drive mocked up with the cross tube in
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715115.jpg
ryan
last one
the square tube is 2" the 1.75 DOM is just a fuzz lower than that. maybe .1875
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715117.jpg
Love it!!!!
Were it me, I'd just build a Heavy Duty skid plate and leave the transfer down like it is. Not much worse than what the factory did with the crossmembers below the frame.....
Wow, I just got caught up on this thread. That has to be one of the nicest, cleanest, well thought out mod/install I've ever seen. That easily rivals anything on Saturday morning TV like "Truckin'" and the like.
That drivetrain bracketry will be bulletproof! You oughta' call JP magazine and get them to do a story on it after you're done.
After I built Frankenstein and all was said and done I always felt like the engine mounts I used were just a little flimsy. I used the spicer plate method and orig. frame horns, boy nothing like this one.
Just tell us tho' that when all the cutting and grinding is done you're going to sand blast the whole thing and shoot it with some space age tech polytitanium-based-hermetically sealed ceramic coating kind of stuff or siomething really cool like that to make the truck last another 40 years.
You sir are an artist!!!!
Looking great Ryan.
thanks for the kind words gentlemen
got the back tube in the belly pan thingy done, but i am cutting both cross tubes out tomorrow and trimming them a little because i am not completely happy with them. anyhow, here is a picture
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715122.jpg
ryan
got the x tubes installed today
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715126.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715129.jpg
the transfer case will hang down into the structure as planned, but still remain high enough to be protected by the skid plate
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715128.jpg
ryan
since a lomax is expensive, and i get bored easily, i came up with something to do in the mean time.
Power Steering.
swapped in this sweety today
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715130.jpg
found the box in a bucket of scrap. no clue where it came from, but it fits great
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715131.jpg
the stock steering shaft would not fit due to length/spline count issues. this was the solution
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715132.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715134.jpg
ryan
no real additions for today. dissasembled the steering shaft u joints and welded the yokes to the shaft. re-installed it all and welded the yoke to the m715 steering column.
gonna have to find a wagoneer or some other FSJ pitman arm now, as the stock one is the wrong sector shaft size, and all of the pitmans we have laying around at the shop are incorrect. i was going to build one but its to easy to find a waggy pitman.
Ryan
I went to the local scrap yard today and paid dearly for a grand wagoneer pitman arm to get the truck so it could steer itself around the yard again.
on the way home i stopped by a local self employed mechanic fellow who is a friend of the shop. He also happens to be a junk collector. he has a '94 chevy 3500 cab and chassis with a 454/nv4500 in it that i was interested in as a donor for the M715. anyway, his price was fair, but more than i have. just in conversation i told him that i was looking for a hydroboost set up. we poke around in his piles of stuff and found a late 80's chevy hydroboost/master set up. he said i'm sure ill need some welding done sometime so you can just have it.
i was happy. as of thisafternoon the truck can steer itself again(pitman needs reamed, but thats no biggie) and i have a hydroboost to install
Ryan
Sounds like a win/win deal!
some progress. i got the hydroboost on last week sometime.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715135.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715136.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715137.jpg
i also made a new shifter for the NV4500 since the stock shifter hit the steering wheel in second, and it was uncomfortable to get into first.
just some .875" .120" wall tube and a little time with the lathe to make the stock shifter threads fit the tube and had to make a bolt to fit the top as well
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715138.jpg
the good news is that i found and bought a round pattern NP205 off of ebay and it should be here next week. it was alot cheaper than the LoMax so i can put some money towards the engine now. LoMax will still happen in the future if i feel like i need more low range.
Ryan
Santa in the big brown truck dropped a 149 pound box for me yesterday...
unfortunately, i am unable to not take anything apart so here it is
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715140.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715141.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...15/m715139.jpg
Napa has a seal kit on the way to me. i wouldn't have needed to completely dissasemble the case but i wanted to remove as much of the new england that was all over it as i could. plus this gave me the opportunity to gently caress the shift rails so it will shift buttery and smooth. i chased all of the threaded holes tto because i hate gritty threads.
i also have an advance adapters spacer on its way to accomodate the longer input that comes with the round pattern 205s.
ryan
the brackets in your pics is for your TROOP SEATS