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New guy, new project: 1988 BII wheeler


leumas12

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Extreme Bronco II build

Hey guys im new around here and figure that i might as well introduce me and my project!

The project is a 1988 Bronco II with the 2.9L v6 5 speed that i picked up for $700. Its gonna be a hardcore trail rig (all info you probably already got from the profile on the left :derisive:) The plan is a relatively cheap trail rig with custom double transfer case, front and rear 4 linked Dana 60s, 39.5" Iroks, beadlocks, chopped top, roll cage, HD bumpers, and maybe even some tube doors for the cool factor :cool: So thats the plan! I already have the tires, which are 39.5x13.50R16 Iroks. I also had the double transfer case pretty much done with a Dana 300 setup for passenger side drop with a Dodge D60 front but a buddy is giving me a great deal on a ford HP 60 so now im in the process of changing it to a drivers side drop setup for that.

Here are the pics I have as of now:

The truck (already been rolled on its drivers side):







The bead locks:





I welded the nuts on so that i dont have to use 2 wrenches every time:




The double transfer cases:

The BW1350 complete with filler fitting and vent tube/oil level sight tube


The Dana 300 also with sight tube, but will be modified for drivers side drop


And the intermediate shaft. It will break most likely but im gonna make spares. Can make a lot of these before it costs more that making a new one piece shaft!


And heres my SolidWorks model of my custom bumper. Its 1/4" wall 2.5" tubing with a 1/2" thick winch plate. Only weighs 90 pounds :icon_thumby:



Anyway thats it! Thanks for looking everyone and comments/questions are always appreciated! :D

Sam
 
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Fusion

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Hey, nice project you have started on ! Looks like you already have alot of skill at this sort of thing. The Solidworks modeling is sweet. I used to dabble in AutoCAD a little for 3D but never got to play with the nice add on's or any other software dedicated for 3D. I use AutoCAD map for work but it's all civil stuff and not very in depth.

Thanks for the pics and hope you get time to keep updating.
 
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leumas12

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Yeah i use AutoCAD at work, it is great for the arch/civil stuff. Thanks for the comment :)

Some small updates: Got one beadlock inner ring welded on:







Next come Chassis Saver to stop rust then olive drab green to give it character ;)

So things aren't looking great for the HP 60 front, guy hasn't been returning my messages or anything so looks like im sticking to the original plan. No biggie.

Also redesigned the bumper. Since the tires will sit out past the bumper i figured it needed to be narrower. Also, since its gonna be doing some rock crawling i figure that a stinger bar would be good to have. So heres version 2.0. First is the working model and then second is the model rendering with black powdercoat (the bumper will actually be painted with bedliner but this looks really similar. Here it is:





Well thats the update! Next will be getting all the wheels done, double t case installed, and upgrading the dodge d60 front axle :headbang: :) Thanks guys!

Sam
 

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I like the redesigned bumper, I'm working on something similar

How much torque ar you putting on the welded on nuts?
If it were me, I wouldn't trust those tack welds to hold those nuts on there, but I do have big muscles:D
 

leumas12

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Beadlock wheel bolts are only supposed to be torqued to 15 lbs/ft. They definitely arent high torque rated but i think they will serve their purpose :cool: If the welds break, i will just be using 2 wrenches i guess. I will definitely let everyone know when one breaks :) Thanks for the comment :icon_cheers:

Sam
 

Boggin

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where do you get solidworks?
is it downloadable?
 

leumas12

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Extreme Bronco II build: 1 tons, doubler, one-link suspension

Im taking classes with it at the local community college so i get a student version. I think there are some "frowned upon" downloads (cracks) somewhere out there, but im not sure where to find em. Google search could probably point you in the right direction :)

Also, might as well let you guys know about my new suspension idea. I was planning on using a 4 link, but after some research ive decided to use a one-link. Its cheap, beefy, and has articulation only limited by your springs, shocks, and frame. Here is the joint that will be holding the suspension together:



That will be coming soon, first comes getting the doubler in, finishing the wheels, and upgrading the axles :cool:

Sam
 
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Branman

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What keeps the axle from doing this / ? Like it moving sideways? Thanks Brandon B.
 

leumas12

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What keeps the axle from doing this / ? Like it moving sideways? Thanks Brandon B.
It will have a panhard bar to keep it from moving side to side. I guess you could call it a two link cuz of that. I will put up pictures when i begin designing it.

Got both sides of the axle disassembled today to inspect the kingpins. Looks like i am going to need to replace them both. I dont think they should look like this:





That is gonna be quite a pain. Those things were threaded in from the factory at 600 lb/ft of torque! :icon_surprised: It has a 7/8" allen head to remove it. So im gonna need a huge allen wrench and breaker bar unless i can get ahold of a 3/4" drive impact wrench. We'll find out, better get the torch ready! :icon_welder: Thanks guys

Sam
 

leumas12

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Hey guys! Well i had another pretty good weekend on the project!

First things first. I once again put my dad's machining knowledge to work. Since im getting 4340 35 spline outer shafts that are machined for full circle clips, i figured we would do the stock inners to match. My dad said it would be easy, so to the shop we went!

Before:


And here is the setup we used to mill out the ears:


Cutting em down:


And after the machining:


Picked up the full circle clips today at Home Depot. $6 for 8 1 3/8" full circle snap rings and im good to go when i get the joints 8) Those are gonna be ordered along with all the bearings and seals when i get paid next week ;D

And here are the double transfer case pics. First is my adapter plate, all painted and pretty :)





And heres the Dana 300 with the adapter plate and spacer bolted on:









And heres where i made my mistake for the weekend: Didnt make sure ALL my fasteners fit and were correct before i put the sealant on the BW1350 case (one was too short, the other didnt have enough clearance). So i had to hold it down with clamps while it set up. BUT ignoring that, here is my completed double transfer case! 8)







Well thats the update, its coming along! Thanks for checking it out :)

Sam
 

leumas12

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Thank you very much :D

Got a few more things done. First of all, the kingpins are out!!! B) It was definitely not an easy job. Heres my first attempt at breaking these things loose:







That’s a hardened 4140 7/8” hex bar cut down and slipped into a 7/8” impact socket. I put it on my dads breaker bar with some tubing and a stake for extra leverage. BTW my axle was laying on the ground, diff cover down, so I could get a lot of leverage. Anyway I heated up the C pretty good, leaned on it as hard as I could and SNAP! The kingpin snapped the breaker bar at the ½” drive without even budging. So after a trip to sears to get a new breaker bar (craftsman has free replacement :)), I decided to order the right tool for the job. Logged onto McMaster-Carr (my new favorite shopping site) and ordered this puppy:



For some scale, that’s my 4” angle grinder sitting next to it. This thing was a monster! Only $21 from them, $5 shipping and if I order in the morning/early afternoon, stuff gets to me next day. Anyway, fit the monster Allen in some tubing and then topped in off with stake again:



I think it was about 5 feet long, here it is in the kingpin (once again, this pic is just to show what it looked like, I actually had the axle diff cover in the dirt when trying this)





Anyway, I decided to enlist my dads help since the first time it didn’t budge. I heated it up quite a bit this time and with my dad and me leaning on it, it finally broke loose! It made quite a pop when it broke free, I thought we broke the allen key. Anyway once it broke loose I stuck my Dewalt cordless impact driver (which is awesome) and got it out.

Now it was time for the other side! This was a little more awkward. The first time, the extension was going back over the top of the axle so when we leaned on it, the axle stayed in place (like this, with the bottom line being the axle __\.). This time, the extension was coming off the axle (like this \___). So my dad stuck around for me to help some more.

We got the extension all set up so that it was horizontal enough to stand on. I heated it up, my dad stood on the other side of the axle as a counterweight, and I stood on the extension. I bounced on it a few times and it didn’t do a thing. Keep in mind, im 6’7” and 230 pounds, my dad is 6’9” and about the same weight. So, I was standing on a 5’ extension at 230lbs and the kingpin didn’t move! If my math is right, means that over 1000lb/ft couldn’t break it loose! SO we decided to try again. I heated the C up even hotter (but being careful not to distort it) and this time I stood on the axle with my big tool chest (another 60lbs or so) and my dad got on the extension. Didn’t go at first but after a few good bounces it broke free. Impact driver again and they were out! Here’s the evidence of my victory! :):





It didn’t go down without a fight though, I busted a knuckle when the breaker bar broke and one time the tubing slid when the kingpin broke free and really got my dads finger. All in all though, we didn’t do too bad :D.

So after that adventure I took a break and decided to finish the job on the axle. I rotated it back to normal to get to the diff cover, popped it off and went for the carrier. The cordless impact driver made short work of the bearing caps in the diff. Then I got out the big prybar and popped out the carrier. Im going to weld it up since im running hydro assist, plus a locker is too expensive for now (though I do see an OX locker in this things future B)). Any tips on welding up spiders would be appreciated!

Heres the bare housing! Axle is now completely torn down except for the pinion:



And heres something I found and didn’t like. The normal axle vent is this fitting with a little crimped cover over it. Lets it breathe, but certainly doesn’t keep debris/water out of the diff:



So that thing will be coming off and replaced with one of the 90* tube fittings that I used on the transfer cases. It will vent with the cases, probably to somewhere in the cab. I will be figuring all that out soon.

Well that’s enough typing for now! Thanks for checking it out everybody :)

Sam
 
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leumas12

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Before I get into the Bronco project, ive got a quick little mini-project to share. I found an old lantern in the glove box of the ’58 I had a while ago. I thought it was pretty cool when I found it so its been sitting in my room. Well I decided to see what it would take to make it work again. Since its 50 years old, you can bet on 2 things: 1) it’s a simple design and 2) its well made.

I found out that it’s a calcium carbide miners lantern. It even has a little hook on it that hooked onto your helmet. It uses a tank of water and a tank of calcium carbide. When the 2 mix together, it creates acetylene. So I started out by disassembling it and cleaning it. It needed a new O-ring that seal off the calcium carbide tank and a new flint. So after replacing those, cleaning it, polishing the reflector, and getting my hands on some calcium carbide (gotta love ebay!), I decided to give it a try. I turned the crank and could hear the reaction creating acetylene. When I started to smell it, I figured it was about time to try and light it. I flicked the lighter and it fired up! It was really a cool thing to see. I took it into a dark room and was really impressed with how well it worked as a flash light. Would have definitely done the job in a pitch black coal mine! Here it is (you can see the flame, it actually got to be about ¾” long when the gas kicked in fully):



The top part is filled with water and the bottom with calcium carbide. When you turn the lever on top (the little hook by the dish), the water drips onto the calcium carbide. The gas forms and goes through a small passage to the middle of the dish, where its lit. Simple and effective. Its really a cool thing to see, especially since the last time it was lit was at least 40 years ago. That’s all, just figured I would show that to everyone.


Well i got a few things done today on the project too! Its finals week for school and of course rather than studying and finishing my final projects, i work on the project ;D Its finally a decent temperature around here so i couldnt waste it!

I got the axle pressure washed (hub/brake assembly and the housing) and the inside of the tubes cleaned out. Heres all the parts I sprayed down:



And heres how I cleaned out the inside of the tubes. The inside diameter of the housing is 2.125” so I cut out some sheet metal with a radius of about 2” and welded it to some threaded rod I had laying around. Heres what it looks like:



The sheetmetal warped a little from the welding but it didn’t matter. This actually worked better than I could have ever expected. I welded it on and took it straight to the axle and started scraping. Since the sheet metal was so hot from welding, the grease and dirt just melted off the tube and came right out. Heres some of what came out:



And heres about half of the total amount of junk that came out. I’d guess I got about a pound and a half of dirt and grease out of the tubes.



And during all of this cleaning, I also juggled my other task. I welded up the spider gears for the front axle. I plan on getting an OX locker for this project eventually, but the Lincoln locker will do just fine for the time being, especially since its free! I know that some people think that a welded diff is not as good as a spool, but I really think its completely superior if done the right way. Theres no way a welded diff is going to flex like spools have a tendency to, it costs less, and you don’t have to set up your gears again. Its simple but theres certainly things to watch out for that could really screw you up! Anyway, here’s how I did it:

Started with 2 pieces of .25” plate. I think its 2.25”x1.5”. Heres the plate:



I set it in place and tacked it in after coating the shaft splines with anti-spatter spray (IMPORTANT: You need to have you axle shafts full installed in the carrier or else your plate might block them from going in fully. If you weld up the diff with the shafts being interfered with, you will likely have to buy a new carrier.)







Once its tacked in, I started filling it in. When there was a big gap between teeth on the gears (it the corners between the spider gears and side gears) I put one of these little slugs. Its 1/4” diameter rod cut to about ½” long.



Took about 8 hours to weld up the whole thing because I had to weld it then let it cool so that I wouldn’t warp the cast iron carrier or overheat and damage the bearings. However, since I was pressure washing the axle as well, I let it cool while I sprayed it and did other stuff. After all that, heres what I ended up with:



Im going to have to clean it up a bit. I want to get all the spatter out of there because if it breaks loose in the housing it could ruin my bearings or worse, the ring and pinion. Basically I made sure that I got good welds between the gears in the corners and also between the plates and the gears. Once I got the base welds done, I just started welding it all together. I filled up everything I could to make it as strong as possible. If I break this loose, I will be pretty impressed with myself! Every once in a while between welds I pulled the shafts and re-sprayed them. A few times, they got a little spatter on them that prevented them from pulling out at first but it broke loose easily by standing the carrier up on its end and pulling on the shaft while standing on the ring gear mounting flange. At first I thought my weld had actually hit the shaft, that wouldn’t have been good!

So that’s what I did today! I will post up pics once its cleaned up as well. Thanks everyone!

Sam
 

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