My '77 K-30/V3500 Monster Truck Build

[Engineer]

I'll use the occasion of my 1,000th post to update my thread.

I bought the first of two required aerospace quality 3/4" female rod ends that I will use on my steering cylinders. The cheapest I have found these is $130.00/ea. At that price I have to wait for the budget to catch up before buying the second. The speed shop variety are much cheaper, but knowing the difference, and the margin of strength, and safety, I'll hold out until I can get the second of this part number.



Finally, the metal fabricating portion of this project is about to wind up, and come to an end.

Finished fabbing my leaf spring clamps/lower shock mounts:



The final step in this phase of the project is the layout of the steering cylinder center support.

The white soap stone mark indicates dead center of the axle. As you can see with the differential offset the bracket will have to wrap around the differential housing to be properly centered on the axle.

I hate to make mistakes, and since paint pens, and soap stones are cheap in relation to the expensive 1/2"x6" plate that I am fabricating, I make myself ample notes to prevent any folly.



Setting up the steering cylinders with full right and left steering travel meant placing the location of the anchor pin end of the cylinder on the center support with the cylinder in the fully retracted configuration.

This photo shows the set up dummy cylinder as it represents the pin, and rod end location if the cylinder was fully retracted. In this view the steering is placed straight ahead. By steering fully right I can locate the anchor pin hole on the center support. Then vice/versa for the left.



However, that had to wait because the steering stop for each side was located on opposite knuckles the toe had to first be adjusted as not to mislocate the pin hole by drilling it before adjusting the toe.

Since I am switching the axle around opposite as it set in the 5-ton what was toe in now became toe out.

In this blurry view you can see the bars I used to adjust my toe setting at 1/4" toe-in with what would be a 40" tall tire.



50 odd years of out-in-the-elements seasonal changes and dust, and dirt blowing around made that tie rod a bugger to adjust. I finally used (to my chagrin) a 4' pipe wrench to break it loose. Then I fully unscrewed it and completely cleaned the threads of all of the foreign matter. Problem now is that I have to dress the chew marks off the tie rod where the pipe wrench gnawed it all up.

With that complete I could continue with the fab of the center support.

Here are all of the pieces that will be the center support. From this angle you should be able to see the slight bend, or camber I added to the center support. Due to the kingpin axis inclination angle the cylinders will stroke slightly uphill. The bend is to minimize any binding of the anchor pins. The three marked pieces are the gussets that will brace the center support from deflecting up, or down. The two flat pieces will be drilled 3/4" the same as the center support for the anchor pins. The cylinder anchor clevises are wide enough to accept a 7/8" bracket. The 3/8" flat stock added to the 1/2" center support will give me the appropriate 7/8" thick mount. Not shown is an additional support gusset that will brace from below. May not need that. We'll see.



And, as soon as the center support is finished and on the front axle, all of the metal fab will be finished. Then the sandblasting will commence.

Here is some select junk that will get the clean up treatment.



I'll have to pull the knuckles, and tie rod off of the front axle to sandblast that. Even without the sandblast treatment the knuckles would have to come off to install the new knuckle boots. I bought the cleaner looking one piece knuckle boots, not the zipper type that are made for a complete vehicle. I am thinking I can reinstall the rear hubs and sandblast the whole rear axle as a unit. I am going to replace the hub seals anyway and a little sand intrusion will be cleaned out when I repack the wheel bearings. After the frame is sandblasted we can start painting, and then (woo hoo!) reassembly.

Hopefully I will have the center support on in a couple of days and can post pics of that. I'm really pumped that this part is almost complete.

Fun, fun. Stay tuned.

[fitz]

I'm enjoying the built.
What color will the truck be?

[Engineer]

fitz- if you look back to the last picture in post number 59 there is a photo of a 2011 SilveradoHD in blue granite metallic. That is the color I chose. I always have liked blue, and the blue granite metallic is the kind of color I can look at in 10~20 years and not say "what was I thinking" unlike some colors GM has used in the past. IMO it is a classy without being gaudy type of color.

Refer to post 87 & 97 for pics of my cab and front end with paint and trim installed.

Still have to paint the hood and bed. I need to restrip the hood and finish stripping the bed. Going bare metal on all the body panels. I want a fresh start to metal to eliminate any future issues with old paint.

[bd]

This thread never ceases to impress!!

[FearNoMan78k10]

I 2nd that opinion bd ...

This thread never ceases to impress!!

[Irish_Alley]

I 2nd that opinion bd ...

This thread never ceases to impress!!

opinion or fact?

[FearNoMan78k10]

Good point Irish.  It's a FACT... that truck is the definition of a monster.  Baffles me reading/looking at engineer's truck build,.... So thorough and detailed, unique , well put together doesn't do his work justice .... It's beyond that by far.... In my mind it's hard to put to words.... This truck is insane

I 2nd that opinion bd ...

This thread never ceases to impress!!

opinion or fact?

[Irish_Alley]

the screen name "Engineer" fits him GOOD (and he has to be one). cause i dont think most of use could do something on this level with this much detail

[FearNoMan78k10]

Yeah it does fit him well. Ha...... No way.....  Most of us are not highly skilled...... I am included in that category

[Engineer]

Hahaha.

I think it would probably surprise you guys how much I have learned from reading y'all's threads.

I do have a sheet of paper complete with transcripts that certifies that I was taught something........but the learning never stops.


I had a ton of things planned for this weekend but life happens. Going to try to get the center support on sometime. My oldest son went to TGW and left me behind (mostly because of------>). My youngest son is playing his first semi-pro baseball game this weekend (can't miss that). I have a 50th anniversary party to go to. I have a role in church this weekend that I can't miss, and after that is a family reunion on my mom's side.

I won't be sandblasting like I wanted but if I get the center support welded on I'll consider it a win.

[Don5]

Engineer, I don't know about the others on here but after looking through the first page I have already decided that nothing you do is going to surprise me. I was impressed early on and you have not disappointed! You have to be an engineer because you really have an eye for detail as well as a great plan for everything. I really like how you tell us what you are doing and then explain why you did it throughout this whole thread. It makes complete sense whenever you post anything. I keep thinking "Ok I see why he did that now" every time I read one of your posts.

There is no doubt in my mind that this truck is going to be first rate. I have seen no corners being cut so far in this thread. As a matter of fact I foresee you having very minimal maintenance to keep the truck going after it is completed. The reason I say this is due to the fact you are very thorough in both the planning and execution concerning your build. Job well done so far. I am impressed and so are others. 

[Engineer]

Since you guys have shown a peak interest in this thread I'll try to update it more often.

This update spans work done over two weekends, and this one isn't finished yet. May do some more tomorrow. We'll see.

Here is what I have for now.

I finally was able to mount the steering cylinder center support. Had to go back and add a little more camber. Took forever, but I want to get it as close as possible to neutral so the steering cylinder pins don't bind up as the cylinders operate. After I modify the mounting clevises on the steering cylinders to suit my tastes I will need to go back and mount them and cycle them with compressed air just to be sure that there is no binding of the pins, or the rod ends. This is critical for reliability, and long life. The cylinder rods, and pistons are not designed for side loading, and the rod ends only specify a slight amount of side loading for continuous operation. If the cylinder rod, and piston is side loaded it will wear at an extreme rate on one side, and could even bend the rod.

Last weekend, setting up to be even, and level:



Welded on with bracing:



A clear pic without the cylinder set up jig:



One evening this week in preparation for sand blasting the rear axle I experimented with polishing the rough off of the housing. I think it looks good. Going to do this to the front of the front axle housing.



Here is today. Going to do the bottom side:



Big, and cool, huh?



A close up of the underside:



Since this is the steering cylinder mount any failure of any of these components is a potential for a real disaster. So, to avoid any possible issue with a cavity, porosity, or a weak weld, I dug this water line trench down to the upper weld. I wanted total penetration for a complete and overlapping securement. (now I know what a dentist experiences when looking for the bottom of a tooth cavity.



After about 5 passes with a few extra amps just for good measure, I gave her a little dressing to make her shine.



Then I went about adding the 3/8" flat stock to bring the mounting points up to the 7/8" thickness the cylinders are made for.



Side on:



A pic of the cylinder set up jig. As I say, next will be to focus on getting the cylinders modified for 3/4" anchor pins. (currently is 5/8") then I will mount them up to see if any material will be needed to be removed to eliminate any binding.



After that it will be time to finish disassembly so I can sandblast it all. I can't wait.

Stay tuned.





Bonus posting!!!!!

Recently the TGW crew filmed a new epidsode at a mud park local to me. I really wanted to go, but as I alluded to in a prior post my son started his "next level" of baseball.

I was able to snap a few photos of a couple of rigs I seen in local gas stations. I problably seen 100+ trucks out driving around with work but was not able to photograph them all. Here are just a few:

[Engineer]

Steering cylinders are mounted.



The above view shows the camber, or angle built into the mount for the cylinders. I did things this way so that the cylinders operate in a level plane with the rotation axis of the steering knuckle as it rotates around the kingpins. This should result in a minimal angular change on the cylinder pivots. I say minimal because to put the cylinders in an exact right angle line would have meant dropping the center support an additional 2". I didn't want to go any lower and have the cylinders hanging down below the housing, so I can live with this slight compromise. The other option would to have been replacing the clevis on the anchor end of the cylinder with a ball type pivot, but this clevis set up is much more simple, and sometime KISS just works.

Another view:



The biggest issue here was to cycle the cylinders totally from steering stop to steering stop to check for any binding in the mounts. I  had to do a little adjustment of the left mount, about 1°, but at no point do the cylinders and their mounts bind up in any way. Binding would have caused side loading of the cylinder rod, and piston, not to mention the spherical rod ends are limited as to how much side loading they are designed for. So, free movement was essential to avoid premature wear of the steering components.

In the following view is the steering rotated in full lock to the right. To the viewer can be seen how the cross connected steering will function. As the left cylinder is extending the right will be contracting, and vice-versa. By connecting opposite chambers of the cylinder will give the approximate effect, or force, of a 2.5" double ended, double acting forklift type steering cylinder that is popular with the mud truck crowd.



This view shows the anchor ends of the cylinders, and the center support. The cylinders came with 5/8" clevis pins. I thought these to be barely adequate so I drilled the clevises out to accept 3/4" pins. In doing so I felt I may have left too little margin on the clevis around the clevis pin so I decided to reinforce the area to prevent a failure. The clevises are simply press formed 1.5"x.375" flat stock. So I added an additional 3/8x1 1/2 flat to the top and bottom. This extra reinforcement has the additional benefit of more surface area to support against pin wear. The bolts are hardened grade 8 3/4" hex bolts. I will use a standard lock nut to avoid loss of the nut because torque is not required to retain the bolt, and not possible without binding the pivot, the lock nut will prevent loss of the bolt.



During this time I sourced the -6 AN fittings that I will need to plumb all of this from the OE GM/Saginaw steering pump to the Eaton steering valve, through the 1991 Suburban's factory engine oil cooler, (the factory engine oil cooler was on my radiator support when I purchased it) to the cylinders.



Here they are on mock up. The 90° fittings will connect to the opposite cylinder's tee fitting:



I stripped all of the paint off because I intend to paint the cylinders white. The cylinders are pretty similar in body dimension to my shock absorbers. By painting them to match, and using black shock boots, it will give the impression of matching steering stabilizer shocks.



I also sourced all of the components to build my suspension torque rods. These will be made from 2"x2" square steel tubing. The round pipe will be welded across one end and the rubber bushing will be pressed into it. This will be the axle end. The ball socket will be welded to the opposite end and will be the frame end. Bolts are 7/8" grade 8.



In the coming days I plan on tearing the front axle the rest of the way down. I'll then polish the front of the housing. After that I'll be able to wash out the housing. I'll probably use diesel fuel, because the gear oil residue has collected copious amounts of grit, dust, and metal shavings from the fabrication process. After it is cleaned I'll drop the differential back in it so that the drive flanges are in the center, then I can sandblast it.

I was hoping to sandblast this stuff soon, but the humidity around here has already brought on the rust on some of the parts previously stripped. So I may wait to sandblast these things until I have my paint for the frame. (which shouldn't be too long) I'm going to use the same color GM metallic gold the puller frame was the only change will be to a fleet/industrial grade paint. I am not happy with the Centari. It chips with the slightest bump of anything sharp, or dull for that matter.

If I do have to pause the axles/frame phasen while waiting for paint there are still tons of other tasks that need to be completed so it is not like I am at a stopping point. We'll see, stay tuned.

Ta for now,
Engineer

[LTZ C20]

Excellent as usual. I like your thinking behind the steering setup. I'm no expert but that makes sense to me.

[454 Camper Special]

Nice! I have a 78 K20...aswell as a 87 1500 Sierra.. Folks tell me they like the 87 better..but I prefer the 78..! Loojs tougher!!

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