New guy, new project: 1988 BII wheeler

[BlackBII]

Press Breaks are nice huh

Lost some fingers to one a few years ago...

Your diff cover looks great!

 

[leumas12]

Yeah these things are awesome. They're from Great Lake Offroad, even have a trick little drain plug at the bottom (i will post a pic of one soon)

 

[redneckracerx]

It's nice to see you're not cobbling it together. It looks like a good idea, but not like this!

 

[leumas12]

Nope, definitely wont be like that!! Side loading a trailer ball is a bad idea especially when your entire axle depends on it haha. Im actually getting these joints for it: http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/XM-16-125-w-10-ball-CrMo-rod-end-w-kevlar-liner_p_82-1425.html# They are 1.25" shank and use a 1" bolt. I will post pics whenever i get them I also plan on putting some kind of safety chain or strap onto the tubes so that if the bolt or rod end happens to break, the axle wont fall out.

 

[leumas12]

Got 2 of the beadlocks assembled today. Man it takes a long time to get those things torqued down evenly! The beads are seated and everything and doesnt look like we have any leaks as of yet. Heres the pic (with the best dogs in the world )

My dad and i also got it up on the jack stands but i was too lazy to go get the camera for the pic. I will get it up soon. Thanks guys!

Sam

 

[mjonesjr]

Looks good!

How about another update?

 

[leumas12]

Looks good!

How about another update?

Thanks. Ask and you shall receive!

First of all, its up on jack stands (and cinder blocks….and wood ;missingteeth Here’s the setup:

On the jack stand its at the correct height for the new suspension. So heres how it will sit with the new suspension under it (and 39.5” tires):

the lowest part of the frame:

and the body between the tires:

Also, both axles are out, heres what the front looks like:

And here we have the joint I decided on to hold the suspension. Its got a 1” bore, 1.25” shank and is full chromoly. Ive talked to some other people running one links and they’ve had success with it so I am going to try it out. Here’s the pic:

That’s all for now. Since the axles are really useless as anything but anchors (and they probably wouldn’t even do that well) I am most likely going to be cutting them to pieces tomorrow just to get them out of the way. From there they will head to the recyclers. Thanks guys!

Sam

 

[leumas12]

Axles are gone and the brackets are off. Also was shaving down the 14 bolt rear and got a little careless with the cutoff wheel in my angle grinder. I paid the price too. Not too bad, about 1/2"-3/4" long and 1/8" deep cut on the top of my index finger. Here are the carnage pictures:

Last night when it happened:

and tonight before i taped it back up:

So there might not be a ton of updates for a bit, this thing is gonna take a while to heal

 

[Twitch57]

ouch...

 

[Big Red Ranger]

nice that sucks but will make for a cool scar

 

[leumas12]

Yeah its gonna be a cool scar, i just wish it would heal faster! I need to get back to work on the truck

 

[compleckz]

right on the knuckle, awful, shit like that takes forever to heal cuz u keep ripping it open when you bend your finger

 

[BlackBII]

Ouch, right on the knuckle! That thing will never heal.

 

[leumas12]

yeah i have my finger in a splint to keep it from bending and tearing it back open. Hopefully if i keep it on there long enough i wont break the skin again just bending the finger! Boy carelessness sure can kick your ass!

 

[leumas12]

Hey guys i finally am getting to another update! its not anything big, school and work are going full force these days (finals are this week). Anyway ive gotten some work done on the rear axle. The disc brake brackets are welded on and the truss has been made. Ive also gotten the truss mount on the diff cover. Here is the mockup pic before fully welding it.

BEEF

The piece welded to the cover is 1/2" plate and the piece welded to the truss is 3/4". The bolts are Grade 8 3/8-24 and the truss is 2"x.25" wall square tube. I need to get the truss welded to the housing, the spiders welded, and the gears put back in. I will update again whenever i can. Thanks for checking it out!

Sam

 

[leumas12]

Hey guys. Got a little done this weekend, made new spring perches for the rear axle. I could have bought em but thats $40 and i wouldnt get em for a week or so. So i decided to make em. I started with some 2.5"x3/16" square tube from the local scrap yard ($5).

I cut off two 5" pieces and used a torch to cut out a 3.25" diameter cirlce to fit the axle tube.

Cleaned it up with the grinder.

Checked my fit

Then used some 1/4" plate to cap off the ends

Cleaned it up again

And welded it in place

Now today im cleaning up and painting the bottom of the 14 bolt and putting the wheels and tires together. Thanks guys

Sam

 

[mjonesjr]

Looks good!

 

[97BlackBetty]

Very nice. Personally, I would have gone a little longer on the perch length (dont know how much material you had). Other than that it looks good, and your axle truss :icon_surprised:. I betcha dont break it! 1/2 and 3/4 inch plate, wow.

 

[BlackBII]

Mmmmmmm..... Beefy.

Looking good! :icon_thumby:

 

[leumas12]

Thanks guys! And BlackBetty I agree, i (sh)(c)oulda gone to 6" long rather than 5" but the factory perches are only about 4-4.5" i think so at least its an upgrade! The rear axle is all painted and has brakes and all the tires are done (fingers crossed that there are no leaks!) so now its time for tires to meet axles and all of them to go under the truck :icon_thumby: I will post more pics soon.

Sam

P.S. Im thinking about raising it a little more (about 1.5") to open up a little more uptravel on the axle, but dont want it to get too top heavy with a cage. Thoughts anyone?