Topless Jimmy

[Itali83]

Well, got a deal on a nice used body from eBay. Kinda famous body at that. Seen it in many YouTube videos from the guys at spare time hobbies. Been looking to possibly build a scale truck with interior, driver, and some cage work.







My favorite style K5 is the GMC Jimmy. '87 model year mostly because that was my first truck but also because of the grill style, throttle body injection, and that's about it lol. I'd take any year K5 that was rust free so dont get me wrong, I love them all. I also love the '73-75 model because they had the full removable top like the first gens did. Always wanted to build a 1:1 '87 with full removable top but living in Maine with a summer lasting anywhere between 2 weeks and 2 months, not really feasible. I digress...

So, what better way to show off interior, driver, and cage work!? A topless Jimmy of course! I didn't hesitate one minute to start cutting and going topless.





Came with a pretty nice 3D printed dash so I don't have to make one!



Here it is just sitting on my 1.9 linked frame just for fun.




I'm thinking it's going to be another 1.55 truck. Leafs in the rear, links in the front. Gotta have motor up front for room for interior. Going to be a super slow build as this is all I've got. I don't want to change my other two truck as they work so well and I hate changing things that work. So, I'm going to keep my eyes open for dirt cheap parts to hopefully build something from this body someday. Mainly looking for a chassis to start so I can lay things out. I've got a spare transmission but may go another route for that. Hopefully the ascender 2.0 comes out soon so the OG parts will be cheap lol. Kinda want to do the full scale look with spare tires, sand ramps, crate on top junk hanging off from it etc. hopefully the lexan body will help with weight but I really don't care. The Rc4wd body was very tempting but it has its own visual problems that need addressing and it's not my favorite front end style and I didn't feel comfortable hacking up an expensive body to learn styrene skills on lol. Oh well, this thread will probably be very slow but figured I'd share my new body and cutting skills so far.

Ben


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[Shinchu]

YES!!! This is going to be awesome! Love it so far, and I see some orders from GCM in your future... well at least the forward motor kit?

I'm going to take some ah, "notes" on your rear leaf progress... ;)

Ohhhh man I can't wait to see this chassis build!

[Itali83]

Originally Posted by Shinchu

YES!!! This is going to be awesome! Love it so far, and I see some orders from GCM in your future... well at least the forward motor kit?

I'm going to take some ah, "notes" on your rear leaf progress... ;)

Ohhhh man I can't wait to see this chassis build!

Thanks! The guys at GCM are too rich for my blood. I'll be making as much as possible again on this truck too.

Ben

[SHOme]

Originally Posted by Itali83

Thanks! The guys at GCM are too rich for my blood. I'll be making as much as possible again on this truck too.

Ben

I really like my SSD scale trans. I think your truck is screaming for one.

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[Itali83]

Originally Posted by SHOme

I really like my SSD scale trans. I think your truck is screaming for one.

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I do love that transmission. I hear my bank account screaming too, oh wait, not for the same reason... lol. Unfortunately no super scale driveline, not going to pop open the hood to see it and not going to pay that much for one either.

Ben

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Itali83

Here it is just sitting on my 1.9 linked frame just for fun.

Which wheels are those?

[Itali83]

Rc4wd rally wheels with the trim rings left off. Got lucky and got a set from the first batch that came out.

Ben

[CODYBOY]

Hey Ben, your package is on its way. I put in some extra goodies for your T-case build. I also put in a sample of the drill stock I use for the shafts. The foams are tunable depending on how you mount them in your Ironsides. You'll see what I mean when you get them. I Also threw in some tuning rings if you need them.
I ran some numbers today to do what you were talking about with a T-case. With the Portal reduction and the T-case gearing I built I can get rid of my tranny. I would lose the 2 speed, but gain some weight loss and be able to get my motor down lower for better COG. So more engineering/R&D tomorrow!
Enjoy your package, and take care of those Babies!
Ernie

[Itali83]

Thanks Ernie!! Yeah, I'm thinking of making a transmission with some reduction but smaller than stock and then get the rest of the reduction in the transfer case too. Just to keep things small and light and make room for interior and electronics. The portal design is tempting for the extra reduction and hopefully loss of torque twist. But with leafs in the rear, I've found it really takes care of that. BUT, it is something I'll keep in mind before I make a decision. Thanks again Ernie!

Ben

[Itali83]

Got my chassis in today from a friend locally. Let the hours of staring and head scratching begin...




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[Itali83]

Got a little lathe time in this past weekend to build the front axle....





10mm offset to the ditch side. Wanted more like 15mm's but the link mount prevented that.



Got it in and am in the process of tweaking the upper link length, panhard and steering geometry.



Hoping for motor placement here...



Gone be tight for the driveshaft but doable I think.



That's all for now. Obviously have some mash up of parts but it's all going to work together with home made transmission and transfer case

Ben


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[CODYBOY]

Originally Posted by Itali83

Got a little lathe time in this past weekend to build the front axle....





10mm offset to the ditch side. Wanted more like 15mm's but the link mount prevented that.



Got it in and am in the process of tweaking the upper link length, panhard and steering geometry.



Hoping for motor placement here...



Gone be tight for the driveshaft but doable I think.



That's all for now. Obviously have some mash up of parts but it's all going to work together with home made transmission and transfer case

Ben


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Good progress Ben, if you can get it that low you'll be close to 1/4" lower than mine. Good luck.
Ernie

[Itali83]

I'm going to try Ernie. That's at full suspension compression, well, it's where the lower links hit the frame like on all the ascenders which is about 1mm from full shock compression. Never been a problem on my #1 ascender so I think I'll just leave it, plus it gives me a definitive spot to know where the links will be and how low I can mount things.

Thinking I may mount the upper link on the outside of the mount on the axle to free up some room for the driveshaft. I've still got to make the axle shafts and finish the steering links and pan hard so some more fabrication up from there before I start on the transmission.

Ben

[Natedog]

I like where this is going with offset front pumpkin, heavy axle housing, and that sweet motor placement!

[Itali83]

Got a little more work done on the truck. Made some spring perches out of aluminum stock I had. CNC’d by hand lol.







Made a jig to line everything up wheelbase wise and finding best positions for spring hangers and shackles.





The doll is my daughter’s lol. We build legos on this bench too and she always has a doll/baby with her haha.

Things are coming along very slowly but I’m happy with the layout so far. Fitting the driveline and making transmission and transfer cases will be a challenge but hopefully worth it. That’s all for now. Thanks for looking.

Ben


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[Rickleo]

Great job on the perches. I find sometimes the best computer and cnc or 3d printer is the brain and hands lol.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by Rickleo

Great job on the perches. I find sometimes the best computer and cnc or 3d printer is the brain and hands lol.

X2, dang that's looking great! I want to build leaf setup Ascender with hardbody and by making your own perches the springs can mount right outboard of the frame rails, no need to add on pieces like GCM kit does. That rear axle too....mmmmmm, nice!

Edit: Nice front jig shocks, set desired ride height and build. RC4WD U-bolts?

[JatoTheRipper]

I love it! I'm a big leaf spring fan.

[Itali83]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Edit: Nice front jig shocks, set desired ride height and build. RC4WD U-bolts?

Thanks Nate. Yeah, I wanted to set the full extension height so the frame will sit level. Hopefully���� having different spring rates front and rear may take some tinkering but I think it’ll work out. I had to take the wheelbase jig out because if I set the wheel base at full extension, the rear wheels are too far back in the wheel well when the leafs are compressed, so I got a baseline from the jig, then eyeballed it and moved the front mount forward about 5mm’s. That puts my wheels just ahead of center at full extension, just behind center at full compression and like Goldielocks said, JUST RIGHT at ride height. Gmade u-bolts and plate for the sawback. Jato took measurements for me and they’re a perfect fit.

Thanks Jato, I’m liking leaf springs too. Hopefully I’ll like this truck too lol.

Ben

[Itali83]

Just a quick picture of final placement of spring mounts. Not sure yet if I’m
Going to put the front hangers on the frame or not. I’d have to weld them to the frame or weld a plate to the of the frame to then bolt the hangers on. I drilled and threaded the frame for the front spring pin plus can thread a lock nut on the inside to lock it in place plus give it more strength. I’ll have the think about it some. I like the scale looks of the hangers but the placement of them and welding to the frame seem not needed. I’ll have to make some spacers so the springs don’t slide side to side so that’s work that needs to be considered too.

I did end up sliding the rear section of frame back on hole past the stock blazer wheelbase. It just ave me more
frame to work with for the rear shackles and not have to make frame extensions. The axle is still under the raised section of frame and looks good to the eye.






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