One thing led to another. Build thread.

[Chris Tobin]

Originally Posted by jlibert

Thanks! Any idea what seth or micha's trucks weigh?
If i was going to try to compete in pro street, i'd have to go 2wd. Even if you were able to get to 4500 lbs, you still have aerodynamics and drivetrain losses stacked against you. For grudge racing, the 4x4 will be fun.




1/2" wall tubing? Wow!

I'll stick with the stitch welds for now. Thanks.

Ya it's beefy stuff, but I plan to jump the truck and run it VERY hard off road. Hopefully in some desert races once it is finally finished. And jumping with a 7000-pound truck would be real hard on the stock AAM11.5.

The axle tubes are pressed into the housing then basically riveted to secure them from twisting. I suggest welding the tubes to the housing to prevent any twisting from your torque and traction! The Dodge axle tubes seem to be about 4-inch diameter throughout where many of the GM tubes neck down from 4-inch at the housing to 3.5-inch the rest of the way and we didn't want to risk bending them in the desert. Since we were retubing them already it was a nobrainer to go 4-inch the whole way and beef it up by going from the factory 1/4-inch up to 1/2-inch wall tubes!

We also went with Branik Motorsports 300M double splined axle shafts to handle the abuse of landing with 37-inch tires and beadlock wheels spinning. They offer great products and can build shafts to fit any needs, AND they are VERY competitively priced. http://www.branikmotorsports.com/axle.htm A lot of pullers have swapped to their axles and have had great results. You should check them out if you haven't ordered your shafts yet.

[JQmile]

Originally Posted by jlibert

Thanks man. I wish i had an extra 10k laying around for axles. I'm going to way the front 9.25 and rear 11.5 pretty soon. It's killing me not to know exactly how heavy they are.

Have you asked Cole/Cory how much it would be to do a couple fab 9's? 10K seems steep, I was thinking more like half that.

[longhorn859]

I just ordered some for my truck. He is on track with price by the time you get brakes, wheels, brackets driveshafts etc.

[jlibert]

Originally Posted by JQmile

Have you asked Cole/Cory how much it would be to do a couple fab 9's? 10K seems steep, I was thinking more like half that.

$4000 in the two third members alone.
$1000 or better for axles.
$1500 or better for housings.
$1500 or so for brakes.

That doesn't include knuckles etc for front end, bearings, brake lines, brackets, tabs, etc. Also, that is assuming your aren't going with a full floater.

If you only go with the front, or the rear, you'll be severely limited to what gear you can run.

I'm assuming 9.5" strange ultra housings, 40 spline gun drilled axles, etc. You can probably do it for 8000 or so if you go with more basic components.

[jlibert]

I've been waiting to put the torque plate to use, and today was the day. I met up with the guys at the machine shop today. First we locked the block down in the honing machine.



Next, i installed the torque plate and torqued the 625's to 60,90,130, and finally 150. The torque plate and spacers fit and worked flawlessly, so shout out to keating machine for an excellent product.



This picture shows the cylinder bore after honing to within .003 of final bore size without a torque plate, and then an additional .001 with the torque plate. It took .0015 to get rid of all of the shadows. I settled on .008 piston to wall.



i didn't have any luck uploading the vid here, but you can check it out on instagram. Link in my signature.

[SmokeShow]

In the video you posted on IG, the gauge you stuck in the bore after honing... what purpose did that serve? Just a real general check? There's no way someone could check the tolerances you mentioned by hand like that. Just a little bit out of square would skew the numbers quite a bit. Or am I crazy?

[AHall]

Dial bore gauge. Standard practice. Notice the movement back and forth of the tool check for the low reading.

[jlibert]

Originally Posted by SmokeShow

In the video you posted on IG, the gauge you stuck in the bore after honing... what purpose did that serve? Just a real general check? There's no way someone could check the tolerances you mentioned by hand like that. Just a little bit out of square would skew the numbers quite a bit. Or am I crazy?

The machinist sets the gauge to the desired finished bore size. The gauge in the video was reading approximately .002 from reaching that bore size. The gauge also checks variation in bore as you move it up and down the cylinder wall. After the video he continued to hone the cylinder until the desired bore size was reached. The variation at that point might have been 2/10,000 from top to middle to bottom.

[jlibert]

My buddy Les reminded me that 2/10,000 = .0002

[2007 5.9]

Originally Posted by jlibert

My buddy Les reminded me that 2/10,000 = .0002

It's for the fractionally challenged 👌🏻

[SmokeShow]

Cool.

[jlibert]

[little6cylinder]

Looking good man!

[JQmile]

I forget, what kind of valvebody are you running in this monster? Normal or manual vb?

[rockjeep73]

Manual valve body

[jlibert]

Cory did a great job mounting the quick release grille.

[Toolman]

Originally Posted by jlibert

Thanks! Any idea what seth or micha's trucks weigh?
If i was going to try to compete in pro street, i'd have to go 2wd. Even if you were able to get to 4500 lbs, you still have aerodynamics and drivetrain losses stacked against you. For grudge racing, the 4x4 will be fun.




1/2" wall tubing? Wow!

I'll stick with the stitch welds for now. Thanks.

I am not sure what Seth and Micha's trucks weigh. I think Micha said his truck is around 5100 and Seth's is lighter then that. Brian Parkers truck is about 5100 . I think getting a 3rd gen truck if it starts as a 2500 would really be a stretch to get it to 5000 even changing the axles . It's just too heavy to start with. But it looks like you will probably be close to that mark.

[Runninlean]

I am betting it will be the lightest 3rd gen 4wd around when done..

[jlibert]

Originally Posted by Toolman

I am not sure what Seth and Micha's trucks weigh. I think Micha said his truck is around 5100 and Seth's is lighter then that. Brian Parkers truck is about 5100 . I think getting a 3rd gen truck if it starts as a 2500 would really be a stretch to get it to 5000 even changing the axles . It's just too heavy to start with. But it looks like you will probably be close to that mark.

GAW/parker truck has set the high mark from the trucks I've seen.
Darren morrison's second gen was around 4700. Not sure if that was with or without driver.

Originally Posted by Runninlean

I am betting it will be the lightest 3rd gen 4wd around when done..

Thanks for the vote of confidence! There are places I could have saved more weight, but aerodynamics and aesthetics won out in a couple areas.

[jlibert]

Door hardware got mounted today. I posted a quick video on instagram about it.





I'm working on widening my low deck trailer to 102", and making the fenders removable so I can load and unload the truck without a tire/wheel swap. Also makes it work for hauling business equipment.