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Author Topic: SquareD Build Thread, Part 1: The beginning  (Read 140702 times)

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Offline Flyin6

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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #500 on: October 05, 2014, 10:01:24 AM »
These are factory and will get reused
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #501 on: October 05, 2014, 10:01:47 AM »
I will not be reusing the factory spring plates. Just like I did with the Chebby, I am flipping the U-Bolts with some cool Ruff-Stuff plates.

I will also be adding a traction/axle wrap bar from them, due in in a few days
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #502 on: October 05, 2014, 10:02:32 AM »
Quote:
Originally Posted by FBJR View Post
Those blocks look rough. WIll that pin clean up OK, er while the RC dries on the mounts 

Yep, they do

Luckily they are not a precision part or they would be going bye-bye.

Today. I'll grind off the rust and see what I have left to work with.

I have a couple days, since it was just yesterday that I decided to build the rear suspension instead of just putting it back near stock. I just don't want to do it a second time, later on...

Plus, I will be pulling the bed off any time now so it's a great time to have full access to everything under there.

While the bed is off, I plan to

drop and Re-plumb the fuel tank with bigger lines, a sump, renew all the defective stuff and make it all pretty.
Grind off the frame (Again) to really get it back to near new.
I am just not happy with the amount of dirt and rust I am still getting off parts of it. I guess I just can't stand that it's a pig with a paint job...Better just to be a new pig!
I can easily drop the anti-lock valve and run all new steel brake lines. No sense in keeping any of that rusty, problematic stuff in there
I can stand the bed up on end and take the underside down to metal, then properly recoat it and paint it and all the recesses olive drab.
I want this truck to look like it was produced by Dodge in OD, so there is some work to be done.
I can more easily install that anti wrap/traction bar thing. This will be a first run, as the Chevy will be getting the same treatment.
I'll more easily be able to fab in whatever mounts are necessary to mount that new rear sway bar.
Finally I can get a good look at things and renew/repair everything I find that is questionable.

I know this project is growing daily in breath and scope. But I guess I just can't stand to drive something that is half a$$ed and if I have something apart, why not just jump ahead in the interest of saving money to where I intend this build to be.
The way I see it, the Chebby is vastly capable right now with no backup. If I took the chebby down for the SAS and relied on my band aided square dodge...And then the bottom fell out of everything, well, all I'd have left would be this patched up truck.
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to dive into the Dodge and get it mostly right and able to go it on it's own for many years before tearing down my best vehicle.
When I say mostly there, I'm refereeing to things like the front suspension and the motor and trans.
For now the suspension is freshened up and brought back to near new specification. The leaf spring front suspension is known to ride harshly so I will definitely be replacing it with a radius arm/coil over or coil spring suspension in the future.
The engine will someday live in the 500+ HP range sporting a couple of turbos, but for now a good tune and upgrade to the near 400HP range is great.
The trans needs to be a much more capable unit, however for now a cleaned and tuned stocker will do.
That's the one over the world picture of the square D project for now...
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #503 on: October 05, 2014, 10:03:58 AM »
Originally Posted by nmeyer414 View Post
I can bet that your mechs probably didnt like you at first because they probably didnt like to do things right the first time.

When I owned my business, I had a buck sergeant, Apache crew chief working for me. He never knew whether to call me sir or Big Don...He settled on Big D.

He did do things right the first time, but did them too right!
Whenever he did anything the manual was out and open, there were torque wrenches about and notes on everything. He took twice as long on everything, but nothing he did ever failed.

We did things so well, business started coming in from all over, and I mean all over. I was in Clarksville TN, and one day a police officer from Atlanta brings his mustang in for a new engine! Another time I get this call from a sergeant major. He says he wants all this stuff done to his car. I ask him how he heard about me. He said one of the cars we built was terrorizing the drag strip. I knew we pretty much owned the local track with the mustangs we were turning out in droves. So I said, yep, we're all over the local and Nashville tracks. HE said he hadn't ever been there?
Well, he said he heard about us at the track and so forth. Then he said he was racing at a track in Hawaii!!!!!!!!!!
We had built a car for a soldier who got transferred to the big island, and when he started winning, he talked about my shop!
It is a small world...
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #504 on: October 05, 2014, 10:04:46 AM »
Quote:
Originally Posted by FBJR View Post
Since you mentioned dropping the tank, have you thought about a skid plate?

Would be terrible to have some korean kar put a hole in that plastic as you slide over it.

I am adding the composite plate to my titan. Then time for my manifolds and downpipe with faked egr pipe (blocked anyway and pvc justs dumps out)

JR

Yes I am considering that. But I am also considering another tank, as well as a couple of tanks.

This one is 30 gallons. THis truck routinely gets 20-22 MPG I was told by the previous owner. That means the truck gets 20 on the highway and 18 around town and country driving. So I have a range of something less than 600 miles.

My minimum requirement would be around 1000 miles, but possibly much farther.

I could keep the factory tank, then fab up a box to fit where the spare used to reside, then add in another tank in the side or front of the bed somewhere.

Since this is a slice and dice truck, no telling what I might do, so expect anything. I am subject to cut all over to get room to stick, store, and mount things.

I talked to a guy today about the Power-stroke intercooler I want which is double the size of the stocker. He has some F250's parted out with all sorts of fuel tanks. Let me see what I can come up with...
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #505 on: October 05, 2014, 10:05:10 AM »
Today, which is not over yet, was/is a parts sourcing day.
So far I have accumulated $145 worth of fender, frame, and other plated, stainless, and anodized bolts and nuts.

I picked up new parking brake cables to complete the Sterling rear axle build up.

I picked up a cool Harbor freight media blast cabinet at Duane's suggestion to blast the myriad of parts coming off that square truck.

In a moment I am calling the guy who sells all the performance parts for that engine. Plan to just jump in the deep end and get it straight to where it will lunch the transmission while parallel parking or idling over a kia with an Obama/Biden sticker that missed a green light because the driver was texting and not paying attention.
That will force me to upgrade the transmission straight away as well.

I was holding right under 10K, but this episode will surely push me over the top.
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #506 on: October 05, 2014, 10:06:11 AM »
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cudakidd53 View Post
With the OD Green paint, have you toyed with the idea of a canvas cover similar to a transport style? Light easy on/off and well within your theme; also remember your purchase of serious amounts of material for the original Tacticle Topper


Duane and I were over at Harbor freight checking out the 12K winch when the blast cabinet caught our attention and turned into the "Quest for the day"

The reason for the 12K winch lookin, is the fact that that gaudy front fat lower lip "bubba" lookin bumper and seat thing is coming off. I mentioned that I am upgrading to a much bigger intercooler, so that fat lip bumper thing (FLBT) is now going to get in the way. A shame really, since it makes for a great bench and welding table. All my wood and cardboard welding tables have mysteriously disappeared after, well, welding...

So since that bubba gump lookin FLBT is going the way of the great scrap heaps of the kintucky dynasty, I need to build up another bumper, wichins I's plan to do ricky tick!

Now I plan to make it more than a bumper, but include a wrap around feature. That would match up with the rear bumper hack apart project (RBHAP) where I apply excited electrons through the nozzle of Mr.' Hypertherm to make large sections of that go to the same scrap heaps. Then applying a friendly high energy flow of better and less angry electrons to a nice flat piece of 3/16" kintucky steal in various trapezoidal shapes which will become one with each other in some aggressive, yet, oddly pleasing shape on the back end of that square dinosaur.

Where am I going with all this??? Well, those bumper forms would then become the base for an exo-skeleton which would use the cab roof as the upper plane to extend aft all the way back.
Add in a couple ribs and you can both roll over successfully, and cover with a canvas shroud to get all Armee lookin for my more sentimental moments and Sunday church of course!
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #507 on: October 05, 2014, 10:07:14 AM »
Got some more cool parts headed this way.

That means I need a full court press on the BRI (Box Reduction Initiative)

Inbound is a tach, pillar mount with a Pyrometer and boost gage, fuel pin, 3800RPM gov spring, really cool mechanical lift pump, fuel tank sump and something else... I think

Anywho, Eric who owns a diesel performance operation and owns one of these square Dodges making significant HP and torque, is teaming up with me to get Square D right with all things performance
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #508 on: October 05, 2014, 10:08:16 AM »
Ok picture time

I did a bunch of things today, here's a pic of how it all started
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #509 on: October 05, 2014, 10:08:56 AM »
I used this
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #510 on: October 05, 2014, 10:09:44 AM »
After maybe 40 minutes of wasting my time, this was the result
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #511 on: October 05, 2014, 10:10:16 AM »
This is what I think about this cheap Chinaman POJ
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #512 on: October 05, 2014, 10:10:46 AM »
Same part
5 minutes
Horsepower and elbow
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #513 on: October 05, 2014, 10:11:35 AM »
15 minutes later both spacer blocks are finished and the rust converter is cooking away
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #514 on: October 05, 2014, 10:12:11 AM »
Next up the brake drum gets the treatment

They did a good job with cleaning the surface on the lathe. Cost of milling both was $30
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #515 on: October 05, 2014, 10:13:00 AM »
These are American made drums, circa 1991. I had to choose to either recondition them or buy the problematic chinaman junk...I thought about that 2.6 micro seconds...Old American part won!

I taped it up and sprayed the living snot out of it on the inside with that super duper primer. I certainly don't want any nasty rust dirtying up the works in what is to become the operating room clean drum assembly.
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #516 on: October 05, 2014, 10:13:43 AM »
Then I wire brushed down the axles themselves, and coated them with the rust converter stuff
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #517 on: October 05, 2014, 10:14:40 AM »
Then everything moved over to the hanging jungle
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #518 on: October 05, 2014, 10:15:25 AM »
like those axles will never see the light of day, but they will never rust either. Rust can and will accelerate wear on seals and bearings as well as gear teeth.

I had this quart of the Chrysler dark silver, which was the base color of the truck which was going to go to waste, so I decided to use it

Am I ever happy I did

That color is gorgeous! I mean just right of really, really pretty!

After spraying these parts, I was tempted to spray my hands and legs to see if it made me look any better, but the wife yelled at me about something and I forgot what I was doing...
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #520 on: October 05, 2014, 10:17:10 AM »
how nasty these looked?

So guess what I'm using that paint on next???
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #521 on: October 05, 2014, 03:08:43 PM »
Got some more stuff done today and set a personal best record today!

It was spring hanging time. I used new 9/16" fine thread hardware with nylock nuts. Reason is, I tighten the nut to where the surfaces just touch then back it off about an eighth of a turn. That prevents any binding and sometimes gets some more travel out of the suspension.

It's loose as a goose eating 4 day old pumpkin pie, but no rocking type play at all.
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #522 on: October 05, 2014, 03:10:07 PM »
I'm having custom U-bolts bent up tomorrow so I stacked the reconditioned block and new spring onto Shawn's spring pad and took some measurements.

I will need a 13" tall U-bolt measured from the bottom of the axle tube.
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #523 on: October 05, 2014, 03:13:00 PM »
Next I installed both springs with the brand new shackles and new bolts
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #524 on: October 05, 2014, 03:13:51 PM »
Sky-Jacker has added some wedges onto the spring pack to correct for the repositioned axle
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Re: SquareD Build Thread Part 3: The build gets more serious...
« Reply #525 on: October 05, 2014, 03:15:27 PM »
And now for my personal best:

I got my first shipment in today from Ruff Stuff, a double shear shock bracket(s). The box only sat idle a couple hours before the parts were used!

Not for one second did that box block my view of the Jap maple tree!

Here's the new shock bracket:
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Re: SquareD Build Thread, Part 1: The beginning
« Reply #526 on: May 03, 2016, 03:03:13 PM »
test
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