Project SVT

[railman]

and it only took me 5 days

don't worry Jay, I will get to pull him out of TB soon enough

l8r, John

 

[disciplerocks]

Hey Rick, Would it be a problem if I didn't drop that shaft off till the beginning of the year? I'm having a hard time getting anything accomplished before 7-8 at night with work right now. We are starting a new schedule the first of the year and I'll have lots of days off then.

 

[RangerSVT]

As long as you've been at this, maybe you should seriously consider getting Railman to show you how to stuff Tons under a Ranger! Y'all have the same year, wheelbase & even the paint matches! Only difference is you stuffed that exploder motor in there! Looks like he could definately save ya some downtime!

Jay, your one to talk about downtime! I haven't exactly been home to finish my swap, or have the unlimited time that John does...

and it only took me 5 days

don't worry Jay, I will get to pull him out of TB soon enough

l8r, John

John, anything can be done in 5 days when you have a lift and a couple hundred extra hands around!!
I just got done putting about 6000 miles on the road this week. I plan to be home the 2nd week of january to get some things done. I should have it rolling by then. Got a lot to do that week...
SVT

 

[railman]

and I can't wait til ya can get her goin

l8r, John

 

[RangerSVT]

Yeah, me too. I'm dying to go wheeling again...
SVT

 

[railman]

right now we are plannin' to goto TB on New Years Day.....if ya be around....you can ride with me

l8r, John

 

[RangerSVT]

Unfortunately, I won't be back til the 8th at the earliest...this year was a bad one, I missed thanksgiving, xmas, and new years with the family...
SVT

 

[Jay'94]

Unfortunately, I won't be back til the 8th at the earliest...this year was a bad one, I missed thanksgiving, xmas, and new years with the family...
SVT

I think I missed 18 yrs or so worth of Holidays (& I sure ain't taking about just the winter ones either). You'll be ok there grasshopper!

 

[RangerSVT]

I'm Back....
Finally
Updates!!!
So, I've been gone for about 3 months, glad to be back, and finally got some work done on SVT. A week before I got back home I ordered some parts for the rest of my front suspension. I ordered a pair of frame bushing mounts, a frame trac bar mount, and an axle trac bar mount. I got all but the axle trac bar mount on. I don't like the way the shocks are mounted, they are too wide at the top, and look uneven to me. But they will more than likely stay this way as sometime this summer I'll be building a new, stronger frame for SVT. On with the pics...
The frame bushing mounts...

The trac bar mounts...

Prepping the lower link bars for the frame bushing mounts...

Adding a little rust protection and bling the cheap way...

Had to do some cleaning, the bare metal has been sitting too long. Can you tell which one has not been prepped??

More rust protection and bling...

Trac bar frame mount, I also made a pass on the bottom of the plate to the frame for added strength, but didn't take pics of it...

Kind of hard to see, but it doesn't hit the steering, even though its close...

I had to do some work on the trac bar, the bushings wouldn't quite fit. I had to break out the air grinder with the burr bit and do some cleaning on the inside the trac bar...

I don't like the angle the axle trac bar mount is sitting at, would like it to sit a little more forward, but the angle of the trac bar will not allow it. As it sits there is slight bind on it. I may have to scoot the axle forward about an inch or so, so its not in a bind. I haven't got to moving it around and didn't weld it to the axle just yet so I can find a happy medium...

I'm heading up to meet with DiscipleRocks this weekend, and to help Skippper grab an explorer axle for his newly 302 powered 2000 TJ. Speaking of axles, thanks to Ben (Kage), I bought his 60U, so that will be going under SVT, and the 60 thats under there will be coming out and the brakes will be going to Railman's truck, which I will be doing when I get back with his truck monday...I should have it back on all four tires by next week. I got SVT, Railman's, and a buddies bike I got to fix. Guess which one has the least priority
SVT

 

[disciplerocks]

Are getting the whole axle, or just the gearing? My Ex axle will be out pretty soon if he needs the axle minus the carrier and gearing.

 

[RangerSVT]

The 60U?? I got the complete axle, if you look in the second pic, with the track bar mounts, you can see part of the axle lurking under the table...

SVT

 

[disciplerocks]

I'm heading up to meet with DiscipleRocks this weekend, and to help Skippper grab an explorer axle for his newly 302 powered 2000 TJ.

This

 

[RangerSVT]

Yeah, grabbing the whole axle. If its not disc, I will swap for discs in the yard...
SVT

 

[disciplerocks]

Ok. Just saying mine will be out soon. But the one I told you about has dics.

 

[RangerSVT]

UPDATE!!! Okay, its been a while since I've gotten back from Utah (Jan 13) and I've gotten some work done around the house, gotten some projects finished, and one more started. To follow the new project/build, go here. Onto the progress with SVT....
I have completed the front suspension, but I need to go back and redo the lower shock mount, its not far enough out on the axle end. I got my tires and rims and I mounted two of them. I started to mount them last week, but just as i started to drop the tire onto the rim I noticed no valve stems, so I had to run to town and pick up a set, I went with the bolt in style, 1" long. Enough chit chatting, on with the pics...
I moved the axle to get the tracbar mount to align with the axle better, and burned it in...

Burned on some bump stop brackets (Temporary til I get some better bumpstops, for now I just used what I had laying around)

And bumpstops in place....

Here is the rear axle, 60U. Soon it will get some upgrades in the form of shortened 35 spline shafts and a Yukon locker. SVT will be getting a new pair of axles, which I'm on the hunt for right now, so the 60's under SVT now will go to the ST...

Thanks to Ben, I got these beefy spring plates. 3/8" thick, slotted for extra thick axle tubes, pure sex...I also ordered a set of 5/8" thick U-bolts that are not only tempered, but also anodized for rust protection. Thanks to John for sending me the link, I got all 4 for $29 :shock: To get em at this price, go to Top Gun Customz...

Onto my tires...I've hinted once or twice what I was gonna get, well, here they are, Michelins...

They are a little tall @ 47"...

Here they are mocked up in place on the front. It will have only about 3" up travel, 12" down. I need to clearance the lower core support corners. I have raised the truck up 5" after this pic, but didn't take the final shot. The truck will have a little more than the 5" height to match the rear. I mounted the rear tires today and put them on the truck. With the truck sitting at ride height out back, the front will have to go up a little to match the back. I might decide to drop the rear, I don't know yet. First I got to empty the bed...

Here are the rims I got. I was going to go with Moto Metals 951's, but I these fell in my lap, CHEAP!! I got all 4 brand new, never mounted and still in the box for $300

I mounted them for now, but the rims will stay with the 60's when they get moved to ST. Here's how you mount a big rim in a bigger tire....

Here are bolt in valve stems I got....

Here they are mounted on the truck...

I went to mount the passenger side on, and this was in the way...

So, with a long pipe, I massaged it forward to give me some room. Later I will redo the exhaust. Havent decided if I want to run it out the back, dump it, or side exit...

With all the weight thats in the bed right now, here is how the truck sits with the tires at 7.5 psi. If you look closely, you can see the tire starting to buldge...

Thats about as far as I got today. Hope to get more done tomorrow, but right now Project ST has priority...
SVT