JHTreyIII's Class 1 Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

[mjderstine]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

hey man, i have those leafs on my 2.2, yeah they might be a bit small, for a 2.2, but i run 2 traction bars per axle.

they help immensly. i would never be able to last more than 30 minutes without using one with the amount of torque you get on these things.

in this pic you see how i have the traction bar mounted. now imagine another on the other side, and now they are mounted on the outside of the leaf mounts. just dont have that pic taken yet.

same for the rear

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

That axle looks like a monster with those springs on it! Did your springs come with the ties on them or did you make those?

That looks exactly like what I have planned. I found another guy that made a bracket from aluminum angle that easily attached to the AX10 pumpkin bolts. I'm going to copy it. I've got a spare leaf shackle from my GCM chassis that I'm going to use up front. My rig is so small there isn't much room under it and the shackle will be shorter than two rod ends butted together. I'll make another bracket between the frame rails to mount the shackle to.

I was only planning to do one on the rear, I think that will be enough on this small rig. I also wasn't planning to do one up front. I may regret that down the road. I don't think it's needed up there as much but I guess time will tell.

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

So I got off from work a little early today and got a few things done. First thing I did was install my new chino63 Military Wrap leaf springs.

I did the chino mod to the end of them before installing them.

They turned out really nice. They look real as can be. They're a little stiffer than I expected but the upward flex is good, allowing some decent articulation. Once I add a little more weight to this guy with the body I think it will be in line with the TF2's I've been watching.

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

The next thing I did was install my sliders. These are DH Fabrication sliders for the honcho. They're almost too long but I think they'll end up fine.

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

The last item I worked on was the start of the rear bracket for the traction bar.

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

My plan is to rebuild the battery plate, you can see it in the slider photo above. I wasn't happy with the way it turned out anyway. The new one will have an arm that extends off the back and drops down where my shackle will attach for the front traction bar mount.

 

[mjderstine]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

yeah, they come with the tie! but i guess you figured that out.

looks good man. i didnt do the chino mod on mine yet. i want to see how they break in on the trail sometime soon

 

[Die-Laughing]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

Awesome!

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

Thanks, Rick!

So today I rebuilt the battery plate to incorporate the front traction bar mount. The old one bothered me anyway because I had it mounted crooked. This one has an arm that extends off and drops down where I've attached a spare leaf spring shackle I had. No, I didn't over cut it...that slit is for the velcro strap that holds the battery in place. It turned out pretty nice. Now I just need to give it a quick coat of paint.

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

So the more I sit and stare at this the more I worry about it bending. I should have brought the arm over from the driver side instead of the center of the plate. Then I could have avoided cutting a slit for the velcro to run through. Hmmm.

The thing is now I've got the chino military wraps that have two leafs attached at the front shackle AND the steel plate I used for the battery is pretty heavy gauge...I can't imagine it wouldn't be strong enough with all of that working in combination.

Maybe I should add a second bracket that runs over the top of the arm and goes from frame rail to frame rail. It wouldn't have to be much. Just a little reinforcement to prevent upward force.

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

So after I got home I took another look the plate and it's plenty solid. It's 16 ga steel plate, it shouldn't bend. So I started making the trac bar. This is the first time I've ever attempted brazing. It went pretty well I'd say...

I used stainless so I'm going to leave it unpainted. And after a little clean up...

And got it mounted up...

Hopefully now I won't have any issues with my springs bending under heavy torque!

 

[mrkrinkle]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

sweet, nice work! I'd say you'll be a skilled brazer in no time ha

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

Thanks! It looks like I need to repaint that plate. I don't think flat black was a very good choice. It just looks dirty...and junky.

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

So not much of an update today. I built myself a little photo box with white foam board and an LED light from Home Depot so my photos would be a little better (and easier to see). I think it turned out pretty good!

And I shot a little primer on the body so I could see the imperfections that need repair a little better.

It's getting there. I'm not going to spend too much time in the bed making it perfect because I'm just going to coat it with bed liner and put some rust in the corners. Besides, a bed on a 1981 pickup would be a little beat up at this point. Not to mention I'm going to put a tool box in it and cover the front portion.

I've also started thinking about a way to mount the body. I've got some brackets in mind that should act as a pivot point near the rear bumper. Its either that or hinges of some sort. That way I can just lift it up like a hood would open and the rear would stay attached. I don't want to see any body pins.

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

Today I got a little done. I built myself a little hinge system for the rear of the body that integrates with the bumper mount. Cut these brackets from 16 ga plate steel...

Mounted the the frame like so...

Attached the body to the rear bumper mount...

And ran some screws through the rear between the bumper mount and the new brackets...

It worked out perfect because the bottom of the bumper acts as a stop, I won't even need to find any sort of cable to keep it from over extending.

Here's a shot if it lifted about halfway up...

Rear bumper turned out sweet! I got it from RC Rock Armor. It even came with a little trailer hitch ball that slides into the hole.

Getting some good flex with the springs too now that the weight of the body is on it.

It's coming along! "thumbsup"

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

So last night I built this little setup to attach the front of my truck to the chassis. It's a couple brackets with some delrin between them and some magnets countersunk into it. There's a similar mount under the hood. You close the body and the magnets grab hold. I don't think I like it though...just seems a little too weak. I can see the body flipping up after a run in with a rock. I think it might be back to the drawing board.

 

[badhoopty]

nice work trey. im with rick, kinda jealous.

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

Ha, thanks Jason! I see the light at the end of the tunnel!

So I didn't get a whole lot done this weekend because I used most of the weekend to catch up on chores around the house. I decided to redo to front body mount. I was trying to avoid having to pull out the screwdriver every time I wanted to raise the body to turn the thing on but I didn't like the flimsy magnets. I decided to just build this bracket and glue it under the hood. It drops down and hits two of the servo mount plate screws. I'll have to pull those two out each time to get the body open. It's fine. I feel better knowing its solid and not going to lift up when I hit a rock. What's two screws anyway. It looks a little cheesy in this photo but once I shoot a little black paint under the hood you'll never notice it again.

While I had the black paint out I repainted the battery plate with gloss black, it looks better. I also painted the rear bumper mounts and hinge setup. You can see the rod I added between the two plates for a little added strength.

Next on the list the front bumper mount, pretty sure I've got that figured out...another bracket to fab, but a very simple one. I also need to build the inner wheel wells for the front before I start to paint anything. After that...it's just paint, fender flares and finishing touches (lights, toolbox, etc). The end is in sight!

I will eventually do an interior as well but at least I'll be able to drive it before then. I've got tinted glass to use until that point so you can't see inside. Badhoopty gave me a spare bench seat he had for the TF2 body...it fits nicely and is a start!

 

[JHTreyIII]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

So I recently pulled some white steelies of my class 2 because I went to some TSL cut and shuts and TSL's and RC4WD steel wheels don't like each other. I'm kinda thinking they might look good on this thing.

Here's a shot of my spare. It's not within 1/4" of the other tires so it's not going to count as a real spare in the scale points but pretty sure I can still use it as a scale accessory instead. So I scratched it up a little, rolled it in the mud and left it out in the back yard for a couple weeks. Maybe I should do the same my other steelies the rust looks pretty sweet! I'm planning to add a little fake rust to this truck here and there, the wheels might go well. My only issue with them is they're white. The truck is going to be white...I think that's too much white.

What I really need is a set of pro 10's to scratch up and let rust. That would look awesome! Hmmm...

 

[STANG KILLA SS]

Re: JHTreyIII's Clod Build - 1981 Chevy Pickup

man this thing is killer! that body looks great. and you know i LOVE rusty chevys