Carwash Crawler - Build Thread... again.

[carwash]

yes, utter genius.

[KargoMaster]

wanna scare the **** out of yourself... youTube "BLEVE"


As much as I hate to say it, I wanna see some protection around the tops of those tanks. "Not in harms way" my ass, I remember how you drive.

[Hybrid]

That is crazy!

[carwash]

only thing hanging out will be the handles... i think that's ok...

[carwash]

progress progress progress... my 5 gallon bucket is overflowing into a stinky puddle on the floor....

shots of my 1997 GenV block...





Out with the small, anemic 350, and in with the 454. Did this swap alone, and it sucked. Really should have waited til i had some help. My Mexican shop monkey Coby was on vacation in gulf shores... bastard. Had to remove the tires and lower the axles to get the small block out, then i had to remove the oil pan to get the big block in... ****er is high.

[carwash]

My biggest concern was the headers clearing all the necessary parts... motor mounts, frame rails, etc... All went in well, .25" here and there is the tightest there is.













Going to run the pass exhaust across the bottom of oil pan and tie into the driver side, and run 3" all the way back on the one sight. Should be enough. Wold love to run straight duals back, but no room on the pass side.

[carwash]

Driveshaft mockup and final install...

When you dont have straps, use duct tape. Black is made specifically for holding the u-joints into a yoke.



With the pillow block sitting directly on the mounting plate, i got an angle of almost 14 degrees, maybe even more than that with the upward tilt of the t-case front output.



What stinks about the whole thing is that i can't get more than 12" of drop out of the passenger side air shock right now before the yoke at the axle binds. Jess at High Angle says i can do a little massaging there, but not much. But with a center limit strap, that will help a little as well... may get up to 16" out of it, who knows... ugh.

[carwash]

With the front yoke in the other phase of rotation, it's a little better.







Had to remake my mount plate to account for raising the block. With it up 1 inch, i get the angle down below 11 degrees, which is much better. i will run it like this unless i get intolerable vibration, then i will switch to CV at the output if necessary.

Got some 80 durometer and 95 durometer bushings from MasterCarr. Ran then on each side of the pillow with washers etc. Will have to get some lock nuts for here. Also, anyone know how much to pre-load something like this. how much should i squash them on install?

[94Dodge Truggy]

Why not lengthen your upper links a bit to get the axle to rotate in your favor? You must be waiting to put the finish weld on everything when electricity is on a blue light special and the outside temperature is 90+ degrees I guess. I am getting impatient on the completion of your rig and want to see how it stacks up to my samurai.

[carwash]

Took delivery on my propane parts...

MM450x and all the fixin's....









It has now come to my attention that i will need a low rise intake for my 454... the hood wont clear with the mixer on it. Well, it clears barely, but no room for an air cleaner. And sure would be susceptible to some serious damage in a rollover.

Serpentine belt system i got off ebay...



paid way too much for it, in fact, more than i paid for my 1997 GenV motor which had the serp setup still on it. ugh.

[carwash]

Tank mounts finalized... mounted the two clamps together in between to a bar coming from the rear of the chassis. welded tubing nubs to the bottom tube where they sit to hold them side to side. They fit tight, but i can still get them in and out. The more i do it, the better they will move, as the paint gets worn off the clamps, etc.

Still may do a clamp off the back top to hold the tanks down better, just for peace of mind.









took delivery on my see-thru tanks... not happy with them, may not run them. The plastic shell on the outside is super chincy and feels very brittle. Not sure if iwill even put them in to test fit them. Might make someone a good deal on trades.

[carwash]

So, reading the directions on my Derale coolers, it says they are made with more than enough air gab to be mounted against a flat area. So, i decided to put mine on the fenderwells, up by the firewall. The fans are pullers. Then thinking that they might be pulling hot air only, i decided to drill a ton of perforation type holes in the fender top steel where they sit. That way they can get some cooler air.











I have decided to not use the radiator to do any trans cooling at all, and only use this auxiliary one. If it needs more, i will add another cooler, but i have serious fears of my radiator not doing its job with this big block.

[carwash]

I am going to lengthen the uppers slightly, but the only way i can do it is by mounting location, so it adjust my suspension as well, and for the worse in that direction. Good suggestion tho, wish i could... my links have no adjustment.

[Coby]

Valve covers gain you 2 cool points.
Lookin good.

[carwash]

i know you miss the flames already coby... if you get a big block for your tank i will donate them to you.