Todd Build Thread

[ggdad1951]

8 hours ago, Jared Duramax said:

Looks great how much fighting did you have to do to get the doors to line up correctly after all the cutting?

 

thanks

 

Several issues will have to be dealt with.  I had doors on when welding up the the rear half of the cab to the front to keep the body line straight, so that is good.  The REAL issue is that standard cabs fall back at the rear of the door, extending the cab I had to widen it in the rear 6" to keep the roof lines happy.  This means I will have to flay out the bottom lower corner of the front doors (2"or so) to get them to line up nice.  Of course I will have to completely build the rear suicide doors from basically scratch for the skins.  And of course the constant battle in my head for the top intersection of the front and rear doors: square it off or keep the curves.

[Tooljunkie]

You need this. It takes welds off quickly,and with the various surfaces it gets into some tight spots. Im quite impressed with the longevity of the wheel as well. No abrasives in the air is a plus. The wheel chucks lots of metal bits everywhere and its noisy. 
i have been using 3” cutoff wheels to take the welds down,this by far beats anything i have used. $30 ish dollars off the snap-on truck. 

[ggdad1951]

Time to bag the beast.  

 

Thinking location #1 for the new shock mount.  Thoughts?

 

 

[Dave72dt]

Site #1 would be the preferred location.    Even with bags you'll want to retain the sway bar.  Have you checked Shockwaves (bags with shocks built in)?  What's the goal with the bags?  Up, down, ride quality?

[ggdad1951]

Ride quality for the most part.

[ggdad1951]

So I've found premade kits out there from Kelderman ($$$$) and X2Industries.  Both appear to be full predesigned kits that are bolt/weld on and would solve some some of issues I'd face if I piece things together.  Anyone have and experience with either company?  Kelderman looks super nice, but they are REALLY proud of their product.

[Merle Coggins]

As it usually the case... "You get what you pay for". 

[DJ194950]

My only advice from what I have read many, many times is only about the bag manufacturer only. That is Firestone bags always seem to be top of the line in quality. Not make in China cheapies that are every where but way cheaper.

 

DJ

[billrigsby]

FWIW,

On the Hyundai DM (2013-2019) LWB 7 Seater Models Forum, 

I have seen a lot of negative remarks about the Firestone Air Bags.

Most just upgrade the springs.

[48Dodger]

On 10/18/2020 at 5:44 PM, ggdad1951 said:

Ride quality for the most part.

Shocks dampen motion, springs (leaf/coil)  give you support.....bags for trucks are mostly an assist to the rear suspension for heavy loads. If you're talking about bagging it all round like a tuner car or racer......that's more difficult to set-up on a consistent bases. The technology on coil-overs is pretty impressive now a days, though more spendy then bags. I'm curious what you have in mind.

 

48D

[ggdad1951]

14 minutes ago, 48Dodger said:

Shocks dampen motion, springs (leaf/coil)  give you support.....bags for trucks are mostly an assist to the rear suspension for heavy loads. If you're talking about bagging it all round like a tuner car or racer......that's more difficult to set-up on a consistent bases. The technology on coil-overs is pretty impressive now a days, though more spendy then bags. I'm curious what you have in mind.

 

48D

 

looking at systems like these below.  I want to get rid of the stiff springs on a 1 ton truck that will ride like crap with no load.

 

https://kelderman.com/shop/1994-2002-ram-2500-3500-4x4-2-stage-front-air-suspension

 

https://kelderman.com/shop/1994-2002-ram-2500-3500-4-link-rear-air-suspension

 

I also want to looks the MONSTER shock/spring towers on the front end for more room under the hood.

[48Dodger]

Just did a quick YouTube search I found a "dude" type video, but he makes my point about adjustable coilover shocks.

Maybe you like them, maybe not, but it might be the ride you're looking for.

 

 

48D  

[ggdad1951]

I hear ya, but I have zero desire to lift the truck

[ggdad1951]

Been fighting my tractor rebuild project and not winning so I decided to take a day and get a win.  Donor clip and TODD clip after sections welded back in from where the PO had chopped out chunks.

[HotRodTractor]

On 10/27/2020 at 11:33 AM, ggdad1951 said:

I hear ya, but I have zero desire to lift the truck

 

You don't have to lift the truck to use coil overs. There are a ton of options on length, stroke, springs, valving etc.... and if you go with someplace like FOA - they are aren't that bad to buy. I had coil overs on the front of my Duramax (yes it was lifted) - that truck was probably the best riding truck I have ever owned.

 

The rear I had setup with Deaver lift springs and lowering shackles for years, long before the lift and coil overs up front. The Deaver spring packs use lots of thinner leaves to improve the ride - the longer length of the lower shackles also improve the ride. Net ride height increase was nothing. I did run a dedicated set of helper air bags with this setup and towing heavy as the setup was really too soft with much of any load. I routinely had 150psi in my bags with a 36' gooseneck and loads more than I would like to discuss. lol 

[48Dodger]

3 hours ago, HotRodTractor said:

 

You don't have to lift the truck to use coil overs....... 

 

Yep....made my next point. I wasn't pointing to the ride height so much as the ride quality.

 

48D

[HotRodTractor]

Oh and to answer your other question - I have never seen or heard of X2. I have been around Kelderman equipment for years. They are proud of their stuff - but it is top notch with fantastic support. If you just want to buy it and bolt it on and never have to worry about it, that is not a bad option. There is no doubt their bag setups ride well either. The last F550 I was around with that setup on it rode fantastic with a trailer on it. I was never around it empty.... but that whole truck with its setup was extra heavy - crew cab with an 11 foot gooseneck capable service bed on it. 

[Steve-L]

On 6/30/2020 at 4:10 AM, ggdad1951 said:

I will have to completely build the rear suicide doors from basically scratch for the skins.  And of course the constant battle in my head for the top intersection of the front and rear doors: square it off or keep the curves.

My thought would be to square off the intersection of the two doors. Otherwise when you open the rear suicide door, the top corner will sport the curved part creating a potential head banger of a protrusion. 
I’m sure you’ve thought of that, just thought I’d mention it. 
Great work!

[ggdad1951]

14 hours ago, Steve-L said:

My thought would be to square off the intersection of the two doors. Otherwise when you open the rear suicide door, the top corner will sport the curved part creating a potential head banger of a protrusion. 
I’m sure you’ve thought of that, just thought I’d mention it. 
Great work!

 

that was my original thought, but that will make it more "modern" so back to leaning towards the eye gougers.

[Steve-L]

I totally get that. It would be an awesome look not seeing a straight seam interrupting the flow of the side view. 

[ggdad1951]

Progress!  One fender done, just need to remark the holes and make some bolts to mimic the rivets!

 

 

 

[Radarsonwheels]

Bodywork is lookin good! 
 

Have you seen the setups where an airbag is positioned near the pivot of a trailing or leading arm? They seem to allow the chassis to put a lot more leverage on the bag making a softer ride while using more of the bag’s working psi. I have bags on my ‘54 right over the axle- they set ride height which would be close to the bumpstops without them. My bags get really rock hard above 30-35psi and I lose a ton of the bag’s operating range. They work fine but it’s something to think about.

[ggdad1951]

and fender #2

 

 

 

[ggdad1951]

and ready to build the support frame....wish me luck

 

Everything lines up REALLY well (at this point HAHA)

 

 

[ggdad1951]

progress from this weekend.