build thread from the wind tunnel

[ZOSO]

I've really been eyeballing that heater but in the 45k btu range.

Glad to see some progress.

[Gunnibronco]

I've really been eyeballing that heater but in the 45k btu range.

Glad to see some progress.

Seems good so far. No complaints.

[Gunnibronco]

If you cut enough, you can get an Atlas & ZF into a truck with no body lift. Its not clocked flat, but only 1 hole off. Its hanging a couple inches under the frame, but no lower than my link brackets. Much better than I expected. My front driveshaft looks to be about 36" and my rear shaft about 26". But I'm going to move the rear axle back 1" or 2" whatever is possible without hitting my gas tank, before taking final measurements. I'm going to do a little more trimming to the floor, a little more on the frame, and hopefully it will sit no lower than where its at now.

The notch in the frame is larger than I'd like, and its over the end of my radius arm link bracket. I'm thinking to box the notch, and plate the frame to reinforce it. I have a bunch of 3/16" around and don't mind using it up. Any advice is appreciated. I'll pull the t-case again and take a pic of the notch, probably tomorrow.

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[Digger]

Looking good.

[Jesus_man]

Solid work Chad!! I'm sure you know, but make sure there is no contact of the body and the tranny-tcase. Besides the rubbing, the body will reverberate drivetrain noises like ! The Atlas isn't known for it's quite operation!

As for the frame notch, I'd try to lay some plate internally in the frame and plug weld it in as well as fillet in the corners. Along the bottom and outside looks to be the best option. Don't add plate to the outside like I did. I just don't like knowing it's not symmetrical if I ever decide to change up my front suspension mounts or make frame mounted rock sliders.

The only thing stopping you from going flat is the body correct? That's still tucked up in there pretty good!

Yeah, push that rear axle back as far as possible. I know I had to take some material off the ball socket and the ears on my CV for fear it might bind up at full droop. I think it still may, but I didn't feel comfortable going any further. As long as one tire is stuffed, I'm fine.

[Gunnibronco]

Thanks,

Yes the t-case is sitting on the frame & hitting the floor. That will all get adjusted out. The floor under the driver's seat is what would prevent me from clocking the Atlas flat. I can cut a little more out, without putting things up into my seat, we'll see how much room is left. Looks like the front output flange is clearing the floor, so hopefully I won't have to cut much, if at all there.

[Dirtheadz]

Looking good.

LOL... awesome!!!!

[Digger]

Are you using an oxygen bottle for an air tank?

I ask because I have two sitting around I was going to do the same thing with.

[Gunnibronco]

Looking good.

Thanks,

Feeling good about my Bronco for the first time in a while.

This is like the Rambo of transfer cases.

[Kinder]

Plate away! You've seen what I did to my frame and it hasn't cracked yet. You could tie in a top & bottom plate along with the outer, a external channel type setup.

[Gunnibronco]

Are you using an oxygen bottle for an air tank?

I ask because I have two sitting around I was going to do the same thing with.

Sorry, I missed your post.

Yes it is a small O2 tank I use for my OBA. Got it free because it was out of date/certification. I'm not sure how much air it really holds, and I'll probably replace it with my rock sliders. Since I'm probably not going to do a body lift in the forseeable future, I think I'm going to go ahead & add them to this build. I've had the materials for a while, just didn't want to do it again if I did a BL.

I've cut a little more and it fits a little better.

I'm starting to consider how high to push the t-case. It is already higher than my link brackets. Now, my concern is that the higher I push the t-case, the steeper my drive shaft angle gets. I will probably remove & remount my leaf spring brackets on the rear axle instead of screwing around with axle shims. I have a feeling I'm going to need a major correction.

How far can I turn my 9" before causing problems?

I'm also considering what sort of angle should my motor sit at. Its EFI so its probably not crucial.

Floor jack decided it doesn't like the cold and puked a bunch of oil out. So I've got to tear into it and fix that before much more can happen.

Sorry, no pics. Even with heat, working in this cold sucks. Remind me of this when I'm being lazy in the summer and don't want to work on my rig. We've had a rough 10 days or so. The only thing good about 10 days at -25*, is that it will make the rest of the winter feel tropical. On the bright side, it was only -20* this morning, and it got up to +10* today. Hasn't been above 0* much lately.

[mickphatmac]

I'm starting to consider how high to push the t-case. It is already higher than my link brackets. Now, my concern is that the higher I push the t-case, the steeper my drive shaft angle gets. I will probably remove & remount my leaf spring brackets on the rear axle instead of screwing around with axle shims. I have a feeling I'm going to need a major correction.

How far can I turn my 9" before causing problems?
[/quote]

1 word... "Multiple Double Cardan Joint!"
Well, you get the idea.
Don't mind me, I'm just on this whole MDCJ kick!

Your rig looks badass, the bottom of it reminds me of the mad Max car with all the explosives and switches and such !

[Jesus_man]

What's the diameter and length of the bottle? We could figure out capacity roughly. I do like that idea tho. But as you mention - they take up some real estate!

I doubt you would need to turn the 9" enough to affect oiling. I think I ended up shimming mine slightly.

[Gunnibronco]

1 word... "Multiple Double Cardan Joint!"
Well, you get the idea.
Don't mind me, I'm just on this whole MDCJ kick!

Your rig looks badass, the bottom of it reminds me of the mad Max car with all the explosives and switches and such !

LOL, I'm watching the Multiple Double Cardan Joint thread.

Thanks for the Mad Max comparison. I'll take that as a compliment. I asked my girlfriend if it was weird that I have 2 Broncos. One I'm making unrecognizable, and one I'm looking for 50 year old original parts. I feel its a healthy balance.

What's the diameter and length of the bottle? We could figure out capacity roughly. I do like that idea tho. But as you mention - they take up some real estate!

I doubt you would need to turn the 9" enough to affect oiling. I think I ended up shimming mine slightly.

The air tank just doesn't hold enough air. Any time I'm using the OBA, its constantly running. It's nice because it doesn't take up much room.

Once everything is set, I'll take some measurements and see what kind of shim would work. Right now it seems like a lot of correction, but that is just 'eyeballing' it.

[Gunnibronco]

Holy crap its +3* at 7:30 in the morning. Heat wave!

[Rox Crusher]

I asked my girlfriend if it was weird that I have 2 Broncos. One I'm making unrecognizable, and one I'm looking for 50 year old original parts. I feel its a healthy balance.

I like the way you roll

[Jesus_man]

To keep that even keel, make sure you get the offroad rig finished and put it to the test. That's cheap therapy!

[Gunnibronco]

Some more cutting & I have a pretty good fit. I'm going to take a little more off the frame wall where its too close to the t-case (it won't take much) . Because I've cut out so much floor support, the floor has some sag to it right now. I think when I restructure it, it will lift up a little, and make a little more room. Everything has 1/8" minimum clearance right now. I started cutting & prepping some of the frame plate too.

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[Justin]

Nice! If I ever custom build a frame for a Bronco it's going to be 3" wider than stock. The narrow frame is a PITA.

[xfalcon]

[Gunnibronco]

Time for an update. I've been pushing along, slowly.

I plated the frame, around the outside, and added fillers to box the inside, all with 3/16" plate. It is not pretty, but it's stuck. It took a few tries, but I was able to get mostly contamination free welds. The outside of the frame that used to be against the auxiliary tank was the worst. I'm planning to add a couple pieces to fill the cut out (like JD's pics above). But I wanted to wait till I had the t-case set in it's final location first.

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Also got the t-case mount tacked together. I'm somewhat concerned with the driveline angles. I'll leave it tacked until I can finalize the rear axle location, leaf spring shims, & rear driveshaft measurements. I might end up with an expensive high-angle driveshaft. I still want to maintain highway driveablilty. We'll see.

I installed the front driveshaft on the rear to check the c.v. clearance (and some perspective). It's too short, and my angles are way off. Also, if I hadn't trapped the ratchet strap handle I could have pulled the trans jack, but I didn't have the time to remove & reinstall the t-case (again).

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[Jesus_man]

Good work! Great to see progress! Hopefully, you can get your driveshaft angles to work.

[Gunnibronco]

Thanks, I think it will all work out. I'm hoping to push the rear axle back 2" so that will help some. Also, it seems like its sitting pretty high in the back right now. The weight of the gas tank and other stuff I carry should lower the rear a little.

[Justin]

Hate to say it, but I suspect you're in for a custom driveline. Even with that you're potentially going to need a center limiting strap on the diff to prevent binding when the rear is heavily flexed.

[Gunnibronco]

It will be interesting how it all comes together. Moving the axle back & relocating the shocks is my next step. It might have to be really stretched & linked to get a long enough driveshaft. But I really don't want a fuel cell yet. Thats still a few years away.

[Justin]

Makes sense. Didn't you have a tank made that allowed a little more room?

[Colorado75bronc]

With a stock or aerotank and a 9" you should be able to relocate the axle back 3 1/2 - 4"s without an issue. I moved my d60 back 3 1/2.

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[Justin]

The kicker is that if you're going to link it the upper link mounts will interfere with the crossmember under very heavy compression if you go more than about 2" back. You could probably engineer around it, but it'd be a pain.

[Gunnibronco]

With a stock or aerotank and a 9" you should be able to relocate the axle back 3 1/2 - 4"s without an issue. I moved my d60 back 3 1/2.

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How did you move it that far? Did you cut the spring hangers off and move them?

I am at the stock location now. I was going to use the 1" offset built into my Ruffstuff spring perch & maybe drill the #1 leaf for 1" set back, or maybe have spring shims built with 1" offset. Trying to squeeze 3"-4" out without relocating the springs sounds like a lot. But I'd love to get that much. Suggestions please!

The kicker is that if you're going to link it the upper link mounts will interfere with the crossmember under very heavy compression if you go more than about 2" back. You could probably engineer around it, but it'd be a pain.

I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Maybe just push the tires out behind the truck. LOL.

My tank does not extend under the crossmember, like many big tanks. I didn't buy it because of that, or plan for this, just lucky I suppose. I had it built a little shallower than their standard 23 gallon tank (12" vs 14.5"), so I only lost a couple inches of clearance vs the stock tank. I didn't like how far the BCB & NWF tanks hang, so I made it a little smaller. I could probably adjust it a little higher since I just added new body mounts. I installed it with 2" spacers, expecting a body lift. I can cut them shorter, and suck the tank a little higher.

[Colorado75bronc]

I relocated all 4 hangers. If I were going to do it over, I'd leave the front hangers, have new longer leafs built like rjlougee did, and only relocate the shackle hangers.

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