In these pages you will find some of the information that we have gathered from
our latest projects and adventures. I hope that you can find it useful. These
pages should grow considerably in the next few months as I am working on a major
re-vamp of my 76 Chevy.
Maiden Voyage is a Success!!
The four link works excellent IMHO. The rear axle can droop over 2 feet and the Driveshaft
only uses about 5/8" on the slip. The thing rides great, and flexes way
better than I expected for only using bushings. Not to mention that I needed to
raise my shock mounts another 2 or 3 inches. They were topping out all weekend,
but could barely feel it most of the time. When I really got on it in the bumpy
stuff, I could feel them top out occasionally. I am going to order 6"
longer springs from RE because after loading the truck and flexing it all
weekend I lost about 3" of ride height. If I modify my control arms so they
twist freely, I'm sure that I can easily top a 20* ramp. I am not sure that
other than the spring swap, I'm going to change anything on the rear till at
least after the first heavy snow fall. The cool thing about using bushings is
that they really control the body roll better than if they were Heims or Johnny's,
and eliminates the need for a sway bar. That might change once I four link the
front, but I will use bushings there as well, so maybe not.
The front needs to have the mounts raised as well, and the shackles
extended just slightly to prevent the spring eye from contacting the
frame. I bent one of the Avalanche Engineering Dana 60 Hy-Steer arms
before I even left the yard. I'm going to install Ram Assist to relieve
some stress from the frame around the steering box.
I'm happy so far with the Powerlock in the front axle. I don't think
I spun less than 4 tires all weekend, and the fact that it is a LSD will
probably keep me from twisting off axles when I get the 513 Caddy in.
The welded diff in the 14 bolt seems to be holding up just fine. I tried
to break it on my concrete pad by turning sharp and hammering the gas in
2wd, before I left for Hatchers.
The Doubler worked excellent. Even with 45's, and 4.10's in the
diff's I was never in need of a lower gear. Coming down the Church Road
trail I only had to use the brakes for a few seconds. "Got
Compression Braking?"
The rear Disc Brakes on the 14 Bolt work awesome. Going down nearly
any hill I can stop at will and remain in enough control to never slip a
tire. They never get hot, and don't fade much when they are wet. Unbelievable
difference over drums! and definitely worth the money and effort.
I really like having a flat bed, as it would have been a real PITA to
load gear if it was still the OEM bed. I still need to build a real fuel
cell, since the way I have the 2 OEM sidesaddle tanks is pretty hack.
I think I'm going to build or buy beadlocks before I go out again. I
want to order Rockstomper's, but I really should do them myself. I think
I'm also going to make a new engine cross member and motor mounts too.
As well as, a better cross member for the t-case's. I hit the Dana 60 on
a few rocks and the cover is leaking now, so I will be doing another
rock ring ASAP. I still need to finish up the shifters. I will also be
building a Boner Bar for the front as well as finishing the exo cage,
hopefully before August 20. Then Its moose season for a month, and back
to the Garage for the winter. 4link and coilovers' hopefully this
winter. ARB, 35 Spline axles, OBA, Cutting Brakes, and Skid Plates are
all on the list for this winter.
I don’t believe anyone in either club would have successfully
climbed over that rock with out having the ground on the creek side give
way.
If you have any questions feel free to post a thread on our 4x4 Web Forum.
Pages not hyper-linked are coming soon:
