Off Roading Look what came in today

[Todd T]

What rim width does the tire mfg recommend for the 13. 5" wide tire?



Brian

As far as I'm concerned that is all subjective. I have our Magnum running 285/50/18 in the rear on a 7" rim. It's just bulging off the rim and the staggered look is my favorite (225/55/18 on front).



One shop told me it wouldn't fit and they wouldn't sell me the tires. Well, I have them on the car and it looks awesome. will it corner like stock? probably not. do I care? nope!



It's more about realizing your limits and agreeing to live with the compromises.



He's not a hotshotter or commercial carrier. I'd be more worried about the 18 year old car that costs $500 and has one brake amungst its four wheels that works and a cracked windshield.

 

[NVR FNSH]

As far as I'm concerned that is all subjective.

Sorry but safety is not subjective. I don't care what you do to yourself but when you make a modification that has the potential for affecting somebody else then I have an issue.

One shop told me it wouldn't fit and they wouldn't sell me the tires.

Good for the shop.

Well, I have them on the car and it looks awesome. will it corner like stock? probably not. do I care? nope!

Hopefully you'll never be in a situation where your desire to look cool causes injury/death to someone else. I can see insurance dropping you like a hot potatoe and a shark lawyer going after everything you own.

It's more about realizing your limits and agreeing to live with the compromises.



He's not a hotshotter or commercial carrier. I'd be more worried about the 18 year old car that costs $500 and has one brake amungst its four wheels that works and a cracked windshield.

Unsafe vehicles come in all shapes, sizes and conditions.



Sorry about the hi-jack - wasn't intended to be one.



Brian

 

[y-knot]

Sorry for not posting soner, I'll try to keep you inform better.



Well looks like the most of you guy's are split right down the middle on my new project. I will amitt, I'm alittle worried about a few things myself, but nothing I don't think we cant resolve. I never got around to mounting up any of the tires. I looked them over and compared the aluminum outside wheels to the steel inside ones, boy those steel wheels are heavy. There is alot of tire there, but Like I said I have seen bigger tires mounted on the same small wheels, so... .



What I did get done was the new hitch. I started with a new Class V hitch from Hidden hitch, and added a new reciver to it, just some 10" lower. It turned out nice, I used 2-1/2" square tube which is the same size matterial the hitch is made from, built the reciver part and then welded it in with all it's braceing. The worst part was the toxic smoke, the hitch was powder coated in a epoxy resin, that really burned your noise and mouth when it got heated. I cleaned the surfaces that were to be welded, but with so much welding, it got very hot and the smoke couldn't be helped.



I started my "PROJECT 33" which is the resoration of my 1933 Ford, but it won't go back stock instead it will be more hot rod looking. I bought a Ford 4. 6L 2v enging w/auto trany off E-bay to use for mock-up of the frame. My father and I went to Indianapolis, IN to pick that up, with my small enclosed trailer. Everything went smoothly, except the rolling of the heavy thing up the ramp door, so when we got home I had another quick project to knock out. I welded up a plate to anchor to the front of the trailer and hold a small winch, so nect time we need a hand we will have it. Not a bad project, add a marine type battery, winch and while I was at it I added a electric tonque jack. The trailer is much nicer to hook-up now.



The engine is actually pretty nice now that I cleaned it up, I wont be keeping it, just using it for the deminsions, thats all. I did however order most all the pieces for the frame. We got new frame rails, crosmembers, cener-section, and an assortment of tab, gussets and weld-anuts. For the front end, I bought a Heidt Super ride IFS, and went with the polished SS A-arms, Tie-rods, Stabilizer bar, Etc. It uses a rack and pinion rear stear, setup, and will come with Willwood brakes. In the rear I bought Hiedt, Polished SS triagalated 4-bar set-up. I also got all the SS brake lines, clamps, fitting and brackets. On the fuel system, I got a new gas tank, bought all the new lines, fittingsand clamps. There is still a ton of stuff to get just to get the chassis done, so I'll be ordering so much each mounth.



Well thats where I am now, this week should be busy with several large shipments comming in. Doubght if I will get anything done.

 

[biggy238]

I was just wondering if coverting to a disc equiped 10 lug rear axle would have been more beneficial for your newest mod? You have always been very critical of the projects you felt were questionable, so i'm sure you are making logical and safe choices with this. I just think a wider, stonger axle would be more appropriate, along with a set of wheels.

 

[y-knot]

Who knows?? All I can say is that if I find myself in a position where that Dana 80 can't keep up, then I'm done with it. I can not count how many truck shows I have been too and seen 1/2 ton trucks lifted 12-16 inches and sporting 38" tires. All this with there punny little 10 bolt and 3. 55 or 3. 73 gears!!

This installation shouldn't really be a problem. I rolled the tires over in front of the truck today to get a ideal of what they will look like. It's going to look nice, the big 18" rims up front was definitely the way to go, they look awesome. And two 37" tires side by side look pretty cool too, this thing will rock when I finally get it installed.

I might have been off on that last mod thing too?





Project "33" is moving right along, but it has since changed to project " Cobra 33". I have decided to build this car on the web, so all that care to can follow along and watch it's progress. They will also get to vote on things like exterior color, enterior colors-styles and so forth. I have been putting the pieces together, and seeking sponsorship, it's early but things are looking good.

Right now we are trying to finish the office space in the garage, it's not that big, only 16' x 24' but it takes time doing the many little things. We installed a ceiling (8'), insulated it and finished the walls. It is looking nice and should be none by the weekend. It will be used for admen purposses mainly, but we do have two work benches in there for clean stuf.

All the packages came in that we ordered from Hortons, I had to get two extra shelving units to store the stuf on. The biggest news is that I went out and bought a brand new crate engine for project "Cobra 33". The name might have givin it away, it's a new 4. 6L Ford DOHC Supercharged 450HP engine, it is due to arive this Thursday or Friday. Next on the purchase list is a new Quick change rear end and a performace transmission.

 

[y-knot]

Well it's been awhile since I up-dated this section, my how time flies by. I did get around to mounting 3 of the 4 rear dually tires onto their prospective wheels. The steel wheels were pretty easy, if mounting 37" tires can be considered easy. Before the big tires I mounted up 4 new tires and wheels (Dick Cepek DC1's) that are show tires for my smaller enclosed trailer. They were a challenge, I had small narrow trailer tires going on a 7" rim. We had to use a 3" ratchet strap to pucker the tire up so it would inflate. This is why I quit before I finished with the 4th dually tire, I was tired.

The big 37's were very tough to get that last 1/3 on the rim. They are built with a very thick side wall and rib. No problem though getting them to seat, the narrow 6" rims made sure of that. After installing the 3 out of 4 tires, I lined the inside rear up against the outside rear and measured the amount of spacer I would need to run the two tire together on the rear axle. Looks like 3" is the minimum amount of rear spacer needed. Since no-one sellers a spacer larger then 2" I will have to combine two to make it work. Most likely go with a 2" and 1-1/2" rear spacer, that will give me a cushion between the two rear tires. No pictures right now, but latter this week I promise to get a few. Man these things will really look awesome on the truck.

I have been working on several projects getting ready for the project "Cobra'33". I built a rolling gantry with dual push trolley's and electric lifts. This will save my back as we start putting together the frame for project "Cobra'33". I also got several other pieces done for the frame jig and we had our first large steel delivery since the shop was built. Now the place looks much better with steel in the racks. I also got around to hanging the door to the office, it took awhile to get everything fitting just right, but the end result was worth the time.

 

[Todd T]

Unsafe vehicles come in all shapes, sizes and conditions.

Brian

Yes, as do unsafe drivers



Three letters for ya there, Johnny safe-co... ... E. S. P. (Electronic Stability Package)



Carry on LOL

 

[y-knot]

Wow, I can't believe the Safety Police is still on my back! I thought we covered the issuses pretty completely several post back. I have never done anything un-safe nor do I expect to do anything un-safe in the future or on this project.

If you have a problem with my latest project, then just stay away from my post and leave us alone. It's that simple, no-one is bending your arm to read them. Your point was well taken back when you originally posted it, now it's just old news and starting to get on my nerves. Like I said, if it bothers you so much that I am changing my truck from 255-85-16 tires to the bigger 37-13. 50-18 front and 37-13. 50-16 rear, then just don't read my thread.

 

[y-knot]

Quick up-date:

Finally got the 37" tires mounted, it wasn't to bad on the steel wheels, but the Aluminum wheels was a bear. The tires are just so thick around the bead area, it makes it very tough. Must have learned something, because the 2nd one went on better? I had my dad and my son helping, good thing because these are just too big and heavy to mount by yourself.

Good news is that they look much better mounted then what I or most others here thought they would. I was fearing that the small 6" wide rims would be just too small, but as the pictures show they look right at home mounted up.

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With the tires mount up, I was also able to check how much spacer I need to run the wheels side by side on my dually. I mounted the 2-1/2" wheel spacer I had and sat the wheels side by side and then measured the distance to see what I would need. As the pictures show, I need a little more then the 2-1/2" spacers I now have. 3-1/2" would be perfect, giving me right at 1" space between tires, but since I can only get the spacers in 3 or 4" widths when they get that big, I will get a set of 4" wheel spacers to do the job. This will give me over 1-1/2" between the tires which is plenty of room.



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Tires with 2-1/2" spacer

Check out those tires, my son is 6'-2" tall and they daraf him!



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This is the 2-1/2" spacer mounted up to the inside of the outside rear wheel. This is a shot of the inside rear wheel , which is steel, and the spacer mounted to it.

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I'll be starting the suspension system make-over soon, and sometime I need to mock-up two of the rear tires to the axle so I can see if there is going to be any clearance problems between the tires and the frame. I'll post the news as soon as I get a chance to do it, till then...

 

[d90boy]

By the way, I wish you were my next door neighbor with that shop!

I know, I'd be over there just to use the tire machines. Mounting 45" Michelin XM47s by hand is no fun!

 

[y-knot]

It's been way longer then It should have been, so I thought I would drop in and let everyone know what has been going on.



To tell the truth, I haven't done anything with the truck. I haven't even put the trailer up for sale (36' Gooseneck).



What I have been doing is slowly working on my Project COBRA'33. Most (60%) of the frame is done(Rear 4-bar installed, Anti-Roll bar Installed, Mid-cross bars installed, shock mounts installed) and I have a good portion of the engine and it's wiring done.

1. Fuel Rails and injectors (46lb/Hr) are installed

2. Blower has been ported and polished

3. EGR system has been eliminated

4. Front mount painted, and new MotoBlue pulleys installed

5. Modifiyed Blower tensioner pulley installed.

6. New Blower manifold gaskets installed, both upper and lower.

7. Blower installed.

8. New Valve covers and Coil Covers installed.

9. New Accufab Throttle Body and Intake installed and polished.

10. New C&L Cold Air intake installed W/mew Mass air Sensor and new Intake Air Temp Sensor installed.

11. New Oil Separator installed.

12. Removed the Factory Wiring Harness and started installing the custom wiring harness 70+ wires

13. Installed the wiring needed for the Innovate Motorsports Data Logging System. 36+ wires

14. Installed the wiring needed for the Dakota Digital Gauge System. 15+ wires

15. Installed the new fuel lines, fuel regulator and return lines.

16. Installed the digital selector switch on the new performance 4R70W transmission

17. Installed the Lokar 23" shifter and it's mounting hardware.

18. Installed the Dakota Digital Selector Switch on the trany.

19. Installed the lokar Emergency Brake Handle on the Trany.

20. New Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS)

21. Installed most Weather-PAC fittings

22. Installed the BBK long tube headers, braided dip-stick tube, & lock bolts.

23. Figured out how much the rear fuel tank has to be modified and it's out being done.

24. Torque converter is home, and so is the engine Separator plate, still waiting on the drive plate.

25. Build a set of traction bars that really work, on and off road.



For more information on what is happening go to www.proweldperformanceparts.com and click on project cobra

 

[cojhl2]

As far as I'm concerned that is all subjective. I have our Magnum running 285/50/18 in the rear on a 7" rim. It's just bulging off the rim and the staggered look is my favorite (225/55/18 on front).

When a tire is wider than for which the wheel is designed, too much force is put on the rim. What can happen,, (it did to me) the rim will split out.

 

[Russknh]

I guess we won't be seeing any posts from you about GREAT fuel mileage !!

 

[y-knot]

Why the comment about the mileage?? Are you referring to the truck?? If so I would not be so quick to conclude that the mileage would suffer. I have 4. 10 rear gears and while they cost me some mileage using normal size tires I would think they might just be the ticket running the larger tires. I get around 14-16 MPG now, so we will just have to wait and see, but I don't expect to see my mileage drop.

 

[y-knot]

Wow has time flown by! What should have taken a week or two ended up taking almost a year... ... But I have no time table to follow and no one to report to, so time is mine for the taking.



I finally got around to working on the truck, I have been so busy working on Project COBRA'33, that I just had no time or energy left for the truck. But we finally got the frame portion of the Ford done and we are in a good spot now to quit for a few weeks and divert our attention to the truck.

Since I had such a long time to think about all the stuff I wanted to do to the truck, The list has grown considerably.

1. Replace the factory Hitch with a Class V hitch and modify for drop receiver and winch



2. Remove the on-board air system and all supporting hardware and over-haul everything, new lines, senders, switches, valves and cable.



3. Remove front shocks and modify the front double shock mount for use with Skyjacker system. Install twin Fox shocks with reservoirs.



4. Install Skyjacker Lift



5. Remove rear leaf springs and Install new Skyjacker springs, Keeping BFG Velvet ride shackles.



6. Remove air bags and refurbish, re-install with bag spacers, new lines and control system.



7. Wash, scrub and remove all dirt, grease, undercoating from the frame... . paint frame with Eastwood Chassis Black paint.



8. Remove old Super Cooler and replace with new brackets and mounting hardware, wiring.



9. Remove old winch power cables and replace with new cable, junction blocks, copper lugs and new quick connect ends.



10. Remove all trailer cable, ends and connections and replace with new trailer cable, junction blocks and ends.



11. Install new 50A service-fuse block under truck, mid-ship and re-supply local accessories.



12. Remove old front differential cover and drain gear oil, replace with new cover, gear oil and re-finish the rock guard cover plate.



13. Remove current truck lighting, and replace with new LED lights, both sides and rear of truck. Incorporate turning , brake and marker signals.



14. Remove old clearance lights and replace with new Reckon tinted lens covers



15. remove old third brake light cover and replace with new unit.



16. Remove front and rear buck Stop bumpers and add pull post and re-finish with new automotive type paint.



17. Under hood: add new powder coated valve covers, dip stick handles, battery hold downs, clean and re-finish engine compartment.



18. Interior: Add new tank,bag and air horn pressure gages. Also add additional switches and control for new air operated items. Remove old warning lights and control for oil cooler, rear end and transmission temp senders and install new control and indicator lighting.



19. Install new polyurethane bushings on front sway bar, and new end links. On rear install new sway bar bushings and end links also.



20. Get new set of rear wheel spacers, 4" to separate the rear tires. Also get a set of 1-1/4" spacer to move the inner rear tire out away from the frame.



21. Need new bead locking rings for front wheels, 2-blue and 2-gold rings.



22. Get new center caps for rear outside duals.



23. Install new front bumper corner lights, LED.



24. Get 4-new d-style rings for front and rear bumpers, also need new winch straps (3). Also find new roller fair lead for new rear winch.



25. Build a set of traction bars that really work, on and off road.



This and maybe a few other small items made up my new list of things to do with the truck. Like I said, I had some time to think about all the changes and maybe I thought to much about it all????

 

[y-knot]

Because the post was to long for one reply I had to take two replies to get it all in..... so heres the rest;;;



TO START:



I put the truck up on the lift and removed everything associated with the air system, all bags, supports, compressor, lines and control system. I spent 2-days washing and cleaning the under side of the truck with mineral spirits, and got the frame and all it's cross-members very clean. I re-painted the front and rear sections with three coats of Eastwood chassis black frame paint. I really like the way it can out so smooth and completely clean. As we removed the front and rear suspension pieces, I also cleaned and re-painted anything I could not get to before.

Up front the control bars and coil spring came out, like I stated earlier we are installing a Skyjacker 4-5. 5" lift kit. While the components in the kit are very well made and engineered, the instructions that came along with the lift need some serious over-hauling. We removed the pitman arm, but the one that came in the kit is the same size drop??? I also choose this time to install a new Skyjacker track bar. This piece seems very stout and lowers the attachment point far enough to improve the trucks handling. What I didn't like was the close proximity of the securement bolts to the engine oil pan, the set-up the kit came with would not work, so we fab'd up our own mounting system, and managed to get the necessary clearance between the bolts and the engine oil pan.

The new coil spring went right in with the use of our new hydraulic spring compressor. I have removed several without the compressor and all I can say is the money spent for the compressor was well worth every penny, get yourself one before you remove the springs. Same goes for the pitman arm remover, buy a quality unit and you will be OK.

The control arms were no problem to install, just assemble them on a table and in they go. The kit does not include and lube for the bushings, all told I went through 2-containers of polyurethane lubricant in my grease gun. Buy several tubes, and no normal grease will not work, I made that mistake once and found out the hard way. Use only Energy Suspension or Pro thane grease.

For me the hardest part about the front end was the work necessary to keep my Fabtech dual shock mount and make it work with the Skyjacker kit. There was an area where I needed to cut a portion off the bracket and then I had to make shock extenders for my front and rear shocks. Why?? because I did not order the correct length back when I bought them. I made a guess, based on my present lift and what I thought would work, but that was incorrect, and I had to make new shock extenders or buy new shocks (at over $200 a piece x 6, I made the extenders) It all worked out just fine, the front needed a roughly 4-3/4" extension, and the rear a 3-1/2" extension. I built them out of 1-1/2" x 1/4" thick steel flat stock. My shocks are all eye to eye so the mounting system was pretty simple, just raise the existing brackets up the appropriate distance. Right now they are bolted in place, but if need be I can weld them in later, we will just have to see. I also decided not to use any shock boots front or back, and with the shock extenders my axle limiting straps worked as well.

This about did it for the front, just remember to lengthen the axle vent tube, and install the brake hose/ABS sensor wire support extension provided in the kit. The electrical connection is fine, but be carefull of it when the front end is allowed to hang down at full extension.

About here I re-built the on-board air system. I cleaned and re-painted the frame mounted box that keeps everything tighty and protected, I used a quality epoxy paint. After taking everything apart, I was very surprised how much water was in the air tank. It had a manual drain valve, but I guess I didn't use it enough. To battle that happening again, I installed a automatic drain valve, so it only takes a quick push of a button to drain the tank now. I installed all new controls, air valves, solenoids and hoses on the system, now it should perform better and I have much more control over it then in the past.

In the rear we removed the two rear leaf springs, the drivers side required the lowering of the fuel tank to access the front spring bolt. To lower the tank you need to UN-bolt the tank fill and vent hose, remove the front and rear hanger, and guide the tank down and away from the frame rail. We used a transmission jack to lower the fuel tank and had no problems. If you don't have a lift and trany jack, I would make sure the tank was empty before the lowering. The rear leaf spring went right on, only had to transfer the velvet ride shackles to the new leaf springs. It is very important to have several supports for the rear axle housing, this thing is very heavy and needs support while all this is going on, make sure you have adequate support before beginning to loosen anything on the rear axle.



We reassembled the rear axle and installed the air bags, and there new extended supports. Even with the 4" spacers the bags were alittle short when the axle was at full drop. Now that I have something to measure by, I will get a set of rear limiting straps to hold up the rear axle while lifted. The new rear shocks bolted right up with the new shock mount extenders we made. Also, on the shocks I choose to remove the built-in bearings at each end, while my mounting bolts were 1/2", the same as the bearing s, I decided to remove them and install durbin bushings with metal selves. We did this front and back, why? The bearings are great for race type vehicles, but not for on-road vehicles, I like the truck to be more quite and removing them will keep it quite without squeaks.

This brings us too where we presently are, I did mount the front wheels and found I had to remove the front mud flaps to clear the tires when turned full right or left. The rear wheels needed the 1-1/4" spacer to clear the frame/air bags, and I had to also shorten the rear lugs a little more then before the lift. In between the rear wheels I inserted a 4' spacer to separate the tires, this worked very well and they have plenty of room. All this did make the rear tires and wheels stick out past the fenders several inches, maybe more like 6-7"?? Also I found out my front Centramatic wheel balancers won't work with the front dually adapter removed, bummer. The one issue I was UN-sure of was the front wheels without the dully adapter in place, but they work without hitting anything and look good on the truck. To date this is where we are, I have some pictures and will post them as time permits, and of-coarse will post some of the finished project, which will take several weeks to finish. If I had a dollar for every time I hit my head while working under the truck I could buy another winch..... watch your head it's the only one you got.



Also, I checked out my brake pads, ball joints and tie rod ends, everything was in good shape, I had budgeted en ought to replace everything so that was a nice surprise. Last night I just finished mounting the air supply system and Begin work on the new wiring for everything, this will take some time maybe a day or tow to finish. I also removed the front diff cover and replaced it with a new one, the gear oil looked as fresh as the day I installed it, so that was a waste. I replaced it with more Am soil 75-90 gear oil. I'll keep you up-dated as I go.

 

[Dodge-Tech]

Yes, the Skyjacker pitman arm is the same amount of drop, but the difference is the tie-rod end on the drag link now attatches from the bottom of the pitman arm. The stock arm had it attatched from the top. Just loosen the clamp and spin it half of a turn.

 

[Bodie]

That is a very clean shop you got there y-not.



I would love to see that truck when you get the tires on it! hint hint

 

[y-knot]

Wow, I've been working on this truck for the last 2-3 weeks, this job is taking much longer then I thought it would. But, Then again I am doing alot of work.



So far:

1. Got the lift on and everything looks good, will take the truck to the frame shop for alignment after everything else is done



2. Got all the tires on an everything fits, just had to remove the front mud flaps.



3. Shocks are on and I had to build front and rear shock extensions for them to fit.



4. The air system has been re-furbished and is back on the truck



5. Air horns are on



6. Refurbished the transmission cooler bracket and re-wired it.



7. Have run all the main high amp wiring (#1 cable), and have all the terminations done.



8. Have run all the control wiring and 80% is terminated and done.



9. Have wired and installed the passenger side clearance lights, waiting on the drivers side lights to come in, same for fire & Ice lights. (they were damaged in transit)



10. Finished the new rear class V hitch, installed the rear winch mount and roller fair lead mount. Installed the new 12K winch and finished the wiring.



The new blue and gold bead lock rings are here as is the rock bumpers, will be installed tomorrow.



Bumper lights in and will be installed tomorrow.



So this is what is done and by tomorrow I will take some pictures and up-date the site.

 

[y-knot]

Hey things are looking up and I have a few pictures to share with you... ... . Mind you that I am not finished but roughly 75% there... ... . Enjoy!





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These are the front wheels, they are MT Classic locks. Front wheels are 18x10--8-on 6-1/2' lug... ... ... Tires are 325-18-75 DC FC-II's

I still have several trim items for the wheels, including my Rock Bumps from ORV. These are gold rings, i removed the polished ones for now... . sort of like the different look.



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Tis is the truck from behind... ... . most of the work back there is finished, we added the Custom double reciever Class V Hitch W/ 10" drop. It also serves as the winch mount and roller fair lead mounting surface. The winch is a MileMarker 12K, electronic unit (newwer style) W/remote. The truck now sports 2 Fox shocks W/resivors, Air Lift bags and Air Concepts 4" Mounting pads. The Led light stick is not on at this time, nor are several other small items.



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Here's the front while we were still installing the lift.





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And here's another one of the front with most of the lift finished.



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Just a side shot while up on the lift.



I'll get some nice shots once I get everything done and clean the truck up a bit.