My '77 K-30/V3500 Monster Truck Build

[Jason S]

I know how much these machines cost and prefer to pay even if it is a token amount....... I just don't see the need to go to the extreme the other way. Lol!

In a perfect world I'd buy whatever I need when I need it. I passed on a Bridgeport for $2,000.00 a few years ago. I kick myself constantly for doing it.

I very much understand and agree with what you're saying.  Whichever route you do choose, I'm sure looking forward to more posts...

[Engineer]

Here is my latest update.

The weather has been outstanding lately and I haven't passed up the opportunity to work on the rig. Last weekend I made a last minute, or spur of the moment decision to sandblast, and paint. Even though this weekend was warmer last weekend was drier and all worked out really well.

Sandblasted goodness:







Everything got the basic black with epoxy primer underwear except for the transmission and I chose to use a grey cast iron engine paint over the epoxy on it.


Here is the massive M-54 pintle hitch. I wasn't at the point where I was going to paint this but since I had my sandblaster out I took the opportunity to get this as well. Sorry if the picture is bad but my lighting wasn't up to par. Eventually all of the bolt heads will be black as well.



And then after the transmission paint dried it was time to put all of the goodies together and drop them into the frame:





Because my engine hoist would just barely raise the engine high enough I elected to use the old military wheels as shop roll-arounds. So, now we officially have a rolling chassis. Why I did this was so I could lift the engine then roll the frame up to it instead of trying not to topple my shop hoist with the engine 6 feet off of the ground.


Here is a good view of my barenaked bell housing and the cast iron painted transmission. I have sort of failed in taking step x step detail photos but I was more focused on getting to this point while the weather is still good.



A good view of the engine with many of the detail parts added on:



Also, and I can post pictures later on of this, but I have been working on the brake lines, and I have the clutch linkage mounted. I have started making custom aluminum brackets to hold the brake line to the frame. I just couldn't find anything presentable that would do the trick and be affordable, so I will make my own. More on that later.



So, now, I am at the point I can set the body on. However, I am going to wait to do that until later. The reason being is that I have changed my mind yet again........call it what you will.....hehe. As mentioned earlier in this thread I was planning on going with a 4x4 modified class type puller transfer case. Well I am not going that direction any longer. Instead I am using a Rockwell T-136-27 transfer case that came in the M-35 2 1/2 ton military 6x6s. This is the predominate transfer case the original monster trucks used back in the day.

This isn't my case, but it is an exact model of the one I have bought. I don't have a picture of mine per se because I still need to go pick mine up.



The main reasons for doing this are because I wanted to be able to select 4x2. The puller case doesn't allow the user to do this. The -27 model is an air shift type. It allows you to shift into 4x4 and back to 4x2 with the flip of a switch. I'll have on-board air so this will work out excellent for me. The T-136 also has a high, and a 2:1 low range. As I said earlier this case will keep me in the old school class. And the final, and another BIG reason is the price. I bought my Rockwell case for about $2,500.00 less than what I would have spent on the 4x4 sled puller transfer case.

Now the drawbacks..... 1) My frame was set up to accomodate the sled puller case. I'll have to modify the frame slightly. That is the main reason I am holding off mounting the body. It will make mounting the transfer case a bit easier if the body is not in the way. 2) The sled puller cases typically drop the driveline centers around 12". The Rockwell only drops 10.5". Still not a big deal. The 5-ton axles are "top loaders" so this inherently reduces drive line angle just by their design. 3) Weight. The Rockwell case is about 400# more than any of the aluminum case sled puller models.

Yokes will have to be bought for either case so that is a wash.



Jason S-

A guy I work with has an uncle with a lathe who lives about 1 mile from me. I will be building my caliper piston spacers myself. This isn't really a priority right now. I have the brakes all done except for that and I am wanting to focus on the tranfer case so I can finally get the body mounted. And who knows, I understand the lathe may be for sale so my caliper piston spacers may be a "test drive".

'Til next time,
Eng

[werewolfx13]

Looks like you're making great progress! Its a shame that you've got that much trouble finding a good machine shop there, I've got a few of them to choose from in close proximity. The biggest problem is, the ones that are open for business at the moment close at 4-4:30, and I'm usually in my shop sometime between 7 pm and 3 am.

[Captkaos]

I love this build!

[Engineer]

As I alluded to in a previous post I was able to secure an M-35 2 1/2 ton army 6x6 transfer case. The transfer case that I have is a Rockwell T-136-27. It is the preferred air shift type.

Sorry for the delay in updating this thread. I have had the transfer case for about a month now. Other things have "cut the line" so to speak, but hopefully I can get back to this project.

These are pics as I bought it.





This is it after I removed all of the "for shipping purposes only" junk that a monster truck transfer case doesn't need.





On the rear output shaft is a driveline drum parking brake. (see top most photograph) I gave it an honorable discharge and set about removing the bracket from the rear output shaft bearing retainer. Probably won't go through the trouble of removing the 1/2" alignment dowel but the bracket is gone and the bearing retainer is cleaned up.



Now my focus is rebuilding the transfer case crossmember, and building mounts.

Frame prior to modification:





Frame post modification.

I had to remove the rear cab mount crossmember. No worries. This part of the frame was massively overbuilt so the crossmember being removed has not weakend the frame in any way.



In the above view you can see that I added two holes in the square tubing. These are for bolts that will go directly into the top of the transfer case. I have made a new, flat plate to go on top of the transfer case that will allow me to bolt the top of the transfer case directly to the frame crossmember.

The next view shows the spot on the transfer case where this is. The two bolts closest to the shift rail goes in the spot for the two holes in the square tubing:



The hole in the rear is for the shift rail poppet ball, follower, and spring. I'm eliminating the poppet mechanisim. Instead I will be locking the transfer case into low range by using just a 7/16" bolt sharpened, and cut to length to lock into the poppet groove on the high/low range shift rail. Low range is 1.96:1 in this transfer case and is just a smidgen too high for my tastes, but not too high that I can't live with it. However high range is WAY too high so I'll lock it into low range so no reliability issues can arise from it jumping out of gear.

The following photograph is the additional bracket added to the rear of the square tube that will serve as the location of the two rear bolts in the top of the transfer case.



Sorry for the poor lighting. The two smaller holes are for the mount. The larger hole in the center is to give access to the top of the transfer case so a breather line can be added to vent the transfer case. Not yet added in the above photograph will be 1/4" flat strut bracing to further stiffen up the mounting bracket.


The next picture shows all of the bracketry I have fabricated so far. These will be added down low on the transfer case to fully secure it into the frame by using the center support that the anchored ends of the suspension torque bars will mount to.



The top of the transfer case only uses 4) 3/8" bolts. Even using grade 8 hardware these are woefully inadequate for nothing more than to hold the transfer case in the truck while the real mounts are bolted into place.

In the above photo the flat plate, the angle, the tube and the three hole square blocks will be used to make the real mounts. The factory mounts for the transfer case provided provisions for 2) 5/8" bolts on the righthand side of the transfer case, and 4) 5/8" bolts on the left. If you refer to the top 4 photographs in this post you can see these holes. These will be used with the stronger hardware shown here to firmly mount the transfer case. More bracing needs to be built, but I'll have to wait until the transfer case is in the truck to do the final fitment.


Again I have changed my mind. Originally I was planning on using 2) 1610 series driveshafts between the puller transfer case and the axles. The plan was for two equal length driveshafts. Instead I'll be using one of the 1610 shafts I have in the front, and the lone 1710 shaft I have in the rear. Since I am now going to have a "part time" 4x4 the heavier shaft will work better in the rear when 4x2 is selected and all of the driving load is placed on it.

The following picture shows my three driveshafts. The miniscule 1350 will be updated to 1410 on the transfer case end. The upper green driveshaft is the 1610, the lower is the 1710.



As I alluded to in my previous post, I can set the body on at any time, but I decided to wait so as to keep the body from interfering with the transfer case fab. My finding the transfer case, and deciding to use it at this moment in time was sort of an accident. However in the end it will all work out for the better. The transfer case was the final piece of the puzzle. I now have everything I need to complete this truck. Well, that is aside from small incidentals like wiring, plumbing, a fuel cell, and the like. But the major (and most costly) components are here so the finishing of this build is mostly about finding the time to do it.



Updates as I get a chance.

Check back often.

-Eng

[Engineer]

Here is the latest sub-project I have been working on.

One of the things that any ground up build will need is custom wiring and plumbing. I decided to mount the brake lines, fuel lines, wiring, and all of the air brake tubing that will serve to vent the gearboxes on the outside of the frame to avoid exposing each of them to the heat from the exhaust that will be present on the inside of the frame.

Here is what I came up with to run my brake lines. The brake lines theirselves have some sort of greenish anti-corrosion coating on them so no need to paint. I didn't like the idea of using those flat metal clamps much like the factory uses, and since the plumbing is going to be visible I needed something acceptable to the eye. So, after some thought I came up with this. I took .25"x1" flat aluminum stock and cut it into several 1.5" lengths. I stacked two of these to make a clamp and then drilled a hole through the side that runs parallel with the pairs of flat stock so the brake line has a path to run through. Next was the mounting hole that comes through from the face of the bracket. I then 45'd the top corners so the brackets would match my spring hangers and the front cab mounts. Then it was sanding, and sanding, and filing, and sanding, and polishing, and sheesh.......

But in the end I think they look pretty good. Sort of gives it an aerospace look. I guess. In some way.....



And as with the rest of this build eventually the bolt heads will be painted black.


In this view is the front brake plumbing. The brass T will be supplied brake fluid from the master cylinder from here. Plumbing this will be done after the cab is set on. The line from the master cylinder will enter the T from the right as it is viewed in this picture.



To keep things clean I drilled and tapped the frame to bolt the brackets to. My tap was getting dull and I got a little forceful. So, I set about braking off my tap in the hole just in front of the center support. DAS MACHEN SIE!!!!! $#@&!!!. $#@&!!!. $#@&!!!. Ok, jump back, eat a salad. Lets work the problem. Luckily I was using a 2 flute tap and the chunk broke right out with only a center punch and the help from our good friend, Mr. Flogging Iron, with no damage to the threads. I then used my other 5/16"-18 tap to finish. But it was dull as well, so I will wait until the tool fairy brings me another new tap to finish running the rest of the rear brake line.

The brake line will be the only thing on the left hand side of the frame. I will do something similar to the right hand side with the battery cable, fuel line, wiring, and the 1/4" air brake tubing that I plan to use to vent the rear axle, front axle, transmission, and transfer case. The one thing I have to consider is keeping the positive battery cable away from the fuel line. In the event of a massive starter failure that would cause the positive battery cable to ignite (I already had this happen to my '77 right after I bought it waaay back when....) I don't want the fire from the cable to be in the vicinity of the fuel line.

We will see what tomorrow brings but I have plans at this point to put the transfer case in and start on the mounting brackets for it.

Guten Tag er, um, guten Abend mein damen, und herren.
-Eng

[LTZ C20]

Looks good. That was a great idea. Your swearing in German made me laugh so hard I started coughing!

[Engineer]

I was able to finish running my rear brake line on Saturday. I also accomplished installing the transfer case. As of right now I do not have any of the mounts built. It is only being held in by the 4) 3/8" bolts on the top that held the top cover in place.

Here is a couple good views of the case setting in it's proper place in the middle of the frame.





Here is a good rear view. You can see the place where it mounts at the top. Also visible is the hole for the transfer case vent:



I put the transmission driveshaft in it to see where we were with our angles. We are right at the limit, but this isn't a street truck so I am confident we are good to go.



The lower (transfer case) u-joint, and yoke will be cut off and replaced with a 1410 series unit. I can find 1410 input yokes for the Rockwell T-136 but the 1350s have been discontinued.



A better view of the top mount:





Here is a good view of the left hand side. In the coming days I hope to build the mount for this side.



On the center support there are visible three pilot holes for the transfer case mount. (the two lower ones are for the torque bars) I'll drill these out to 21/32" to accept 5/8" bolts that will thread into the blocks seen in the photo below:



Also in the above photo is the flat plate, and 3"x3" square tube that I will use along with several braces to build the mount for the left side.


Stay tuned. Hopefully I can have this part done in a couple of weeks.

-Eng

[Engineer]

The red letter warning in my thread is reminding me that it has been too long since my last update. My excuse this time is my daily driver. I finally had to put an engine in my 22 year old steed. Can't complain. Only gave $1,000 for this truck when I dragged it out of the weeds.

This is it:



Not bad for a grand? Eh?

This is a view of the engine I dropped in it. Yes, Virginia Santa Claus gave us an engine with a factory 4-bolt main, and a windage tray.



So if you are wondering why this update has been delayed, this is why. Took about 1 month, and $1,500.00 from the monster truck's budget in the process. Oh well, no worries. Truck's worth it in my opinion. Cheaper than a new one.

Didn't really have a choice. I have been driving it around for the last two years with a blown head gasket. There was a bad spot in the block that prevented the engine from holding a good head seal. Then the other head cracked and would pour water all over the starter. And finally the water pump checked out. In the end it took me 1 gallon of water to go about 20 miles.........which can get really expensive in freezing weather.




But now back to our regularly scheduled monster truck thread.

I have been working on the mounts for the transfer case. Almost completed the left hand side mounts. This is a view of the 4) 5/8-11 mounting holes I am going to use:



Plates and tubing that will make up the left hand side mount:



Another view of the tubing with the plate welded on that the bolts through the center support fasten to:



A view of the center support where the tubing bolts in at:



Looking inside the center support:



The large plate and tubing prior to weld up:



Different view:



The bracket with the three holes in it underneath the tubing is for a brace that will extend over to the bolts on the front cover of the transfer case. Opposite side will have this as well so as to "cradle" the transfer case.

More tubing and gussets:



The rest of the support tubing tacked in:



Another view:



The gussets on the large plate:



The following photographs are the right hand side mount. There is quite a bit left to do here. On top of the tube you may see a line scratched. This will indicate where I will cut a groove to weld in a large plate similar to the plate on the left hand side. Said plate will have 5 holes bored to match the ones in the angle on the right hand side to give support to this side.

Most importantly is the fact that since the left side mount will be basically permenant the right hand side will need to be able to be disassembled to facilitate removal of the transfer case for service/repair.







This is a good view of the transfer case which shows all three mounts. Should keep it mounted pretty solid:



I have to take all of this back out. Then I can clean up a lot of the crudeness of these brackets. Most of these mounts is left over stock from other projects. Had I planned to use the Rockwell case from the start I could have made a much cleaner mounting set up.

When I take it out I'll sandblast it all, then the epoxy primer and the black paint. Can't wait.

This represents the final large scale fabrication. After this is complete I can start setting the body on. After that I will still have to fabricate the mounts for the small chunk of factory frame I'll use for the radiator support, and bumper mount. The other fab will be a frame to set the bed on so it will tilt.



Updates when I can.
-Eng

[frotosride]

Still looks good despite the impromptu planning. I sure wish I had a need for a beastly transfer case like that!

[Engineer]

There are trucks everywhere running 2 1/2 ton axles. You would think there should be one transfer case for every steer axle. After I found this one I went looking for more in hopes of finding a cheaper one. No such luck. As a matter of fact I found very few 2 1/2 ton transfer cases available. I know of very few that even in the big mud/mega trucks. Almost without fail the mud trucks that run 2 1/2 ton axles use a 205 or similar.

The Rockwell T-136-27 is about 400#. That is mainly why many guys probably scrap them like I did the huge Rockwell that came in the M-54 I took my axles from.

When you look at the gears in the T-136-27 you know there is no chance you'll ever break a gear in one with a normal automotive based engine.

[1967KaiserM715]

Most 2-1/2 transfers are put into use replacing the early sprague cases. The air shift cases demand more money, because parts for the sprague cases are basically non-existent, so when they stop going into 6 wheel, it's the end of the line


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Engineer]

My case is one of the air shift variety. If they are in that much demand then maybe I should keep it under my hat how much I paid for the one I have. Wouldn't want to be accused of being part of a scandal. Hehe.

But yeah, I would never have bought this transfer case if it wasn't an air shift unit.

[Engineer]

This update will be kinda lame, mostly because I haven't had much time to devote to my build. Just the same, I have been working on little details such as finishing projects that I have started. I finally finished the pintle hook. I needed to tighten all of the bolts and paint the bolt heads. Same for the bolt heads on the brake line brackets.

The big reason I haven't been working on the monster lately is because I just returned from a week and a half tour of Florida so I could watch my youngest son play baseball. While in Florida I learned from my oldest son that there was a big mud party going on in the panhandle. I must have seen a hundred mud trucks of all shapes, and sizes. I took the time to photograph one that I recognized from a magazine cover that we have laying around:





So here is the update on my rig.

I made this plate from the accompanying template. (Please don't dwell on this horrible example of how not to use a torch. I'm a little out of practice.) It is the rest of the right hand transfer case mount. Since the left hand mount is essentially a one piece assembly, I had to make the right hand side a two piece so as to be able to disassemble it in order to install/remove the transfer case.
 


There will be 5) 1/2" holes drilled to match the exisiting holes in the mount that bolts to the transfer case. I chose to make the right hand side the two piece. Due to prevailing engine torque the right hand mount should have less stress on it than the left hand does.

The groove cut in the square tube will accept the plate and will be the part that bolts to the angle bracket on the transfer case to the frame center support. The plate will be welded to the square tube.
 




Here we see my 2/0 battery cable. I designed the battery box to accept a group 31 battery in the rear of the truck. The cable will run along the top of the frame where it will be kept away from the fuel line. (safety, safety, safety, fire prevention) The heater hose will be sectioned to fit under the one hole clamps to aid in protecting the cable from metal abrasion by the clamps or the frame.



This next view is a carry over from my pull truck. The solenoid on the frame is the actual starter solenoid. The only time the red cable will have power is when the starter is actually cranking the engine. There is a jumper between the "B+" terminal on the starter itself, and the "S" terminal on the starter solenoid. The wire from my ignition switch goes to the hot side of the frame mounted solenoid which then operates the circut to spin the engine starter. The reason I did this was if I ever had an emergency and needed to change the starter at a pull, say between the light and heavy classes, I didn't have to spend time unhooking the battery. The little metal shield is to keep the header heat from the solenoid.



The next photo shows my resolution to a problem I had concerning my wheel attachment hardware. The 5-ton military trucks use the standard OTR truck taper seat, or "stud pilot" wheel lug nuts.



The shorter stud is the standard 5-ton military piece. These are rare, and expensive through a heavy truck supplier. The longer stud is for a Kenworth truck with aluminum hubs. Both are the same 3/4" thread. The Kenworth piece is less than half the price of the military unit, and can be bought singly whereas the military stud could only be ordered in multiples of 10. The machine bushing off to the right of the Kenworth stud is necessary under the head of the stud to make the longer serrated shoulder work in the cast iron military hub. The 3/4" grade 8 tall nut and u-bolt washer will be my lug nuts. An actual 3/4" flange style lug nut is about $5 a piece whereas the 3/4" tall nut and hardened u-bolt washer is a little over $1 for the set.

And finally, this is a picture of the 5-ton hub in the stud replacement phase. I am having trouble getting any work from my hired hands. All they want to do is stand around in the shop blasting Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me". It gets kinda old after a while.........







And a bonus posting (because I do this from time to time)..........

It has taken me almost a half a century, and 4 trips to the Kennedy Space Center, but I finally was able to see a real live, honest to goodness, space shuttle, albeit in retirement. Several times I just missed seeing these things in previous visits, on two occasions by ONLY ONE DAY......









I'm not too proud to admit, I got a little emotional finally seeing that big, beautiful angel after fruitlessly chasing it mutiple times since my first trip to the Space Coast in January of 1980.......I had so much pride, and faith in the shuttle program, I was the guy who would have immediately volunteered to ride any one of the shuttles the day after we lost the Challenger.

Also displayed with the Atlantis are pieces of the Challenger, and Columbia. I was so overcome with memories, I couldn't bring myself to take photographs of those.

If you have never been to the Kennedy Space Center I could blubber for hours about the epoch size, and how massive these things are that we rode into space, but unless you have seen it for yourself you just couldn't really appreciate it. Like seeing the Grand Canyon, words don't do it justice.

'Til next time,
Eng

[LTZ C20]

Gobs and gobs of neat-o beneat-o super uber cool stuffs. Great update.