B.U.D. - '78 M-350 (...got stainless...)

[blueduster]

congrats sam. i know you guys have to be ecstatic to get moved in.  here's hoping the weather cooperates for ya.  

not a lot lately - been tied up hard core gettin' our house finished, which we did!  Over past two weeks we've slammed down right around 1600 ft/sq of tile ourselves - saved over $15k vice the builder doing it , plus we wanted some personal sweat equity in the project.  

Closed on it and got 'da keys this past Tuesday - whoop!! .  My Mom and Dad flew in and will be here for a few weeks to help my wife and I both move in and break in the place.  Pretty fun time

[jungle]

congrats on the new house!!!!!! Do we get to see any pics?
Jim

[squads51]

Good deal!....after a few loose ends to tie up on the house....I imagine it'll be back to the shop?!....

[88_mopar]

Congrats on the house bud!

[Mad Max]

sorry for the delayed response(s) - we've been swamped moving in, etc etc.  Here's a couple pics of the new crib  -

 front -


 back -


the big room with all the windows on the top is our 'loft', a.k.a. the 'observation lounge' , and here is the stu-pid view from up there -



We took maximum advantage of the market as it is now and we were able to pull of a fresh house.  It's a pretty awesome feeling.  The big RV bay next to the 2-car is my shop for now - in a couple years when I retire from the service we're going to try to put up the actual shop across the way from the corner of the garage.  Cool beans

And yesterday, me and dad went back down to the JY and picked up Bud's frame.  Donor was a very picked over '92 diesel W250 -



...and the frame loaded on the flatbed for the journey to the 'meadow of misfit toys'...

[x1984dodge4x4]

nice house.also glad to see you got a frame for bud.good job.

[dhokey17]

The house is beautiful congrats!

[jungle]

Sam,
I can only say one word!!!
WOW
AWESOME house with the ultimate view!!
Thanks for sharing & a +1 for ya.

[88_mopar]

Sam that house is amazingly beautiful. The view is phenominal also. Now that the house is up hopfully these updates on bud become more frequent! 

[snoopy1964]

any chance of you adopting a 45yr old son???

[Blevinsracing]

That house is amazing! 

[blueduster]

house looks fantastic sam.  and the fun begins on bud. looking forward to this.

[Mojack]

Wow, that's a NICE house, big lot and a killer view. I love the observation room. Post more pics inside when you have time !

[MA$TER BLING!]

NICE house, congrats.

[NonTimeboMala]

Nice congrats on the house Sam.

[fal308]

Beautiful house! I second the observation room.

[bigdog440]

damn sam!  nice house, would love to see some inside pics.  this is getting off topic, waiting to see what happens with bud. 

[Donk]

need to get that front yard ripped and disked and ready for a rainy spring (mud pit)

You going to do the shop to match the architecture of the house?

[jungle]

Congrats on your frame find. What mods are you thinking about for the frame?
Jim

[KThaxton]

Nice, but man, I thought you were in the boonies or something! 

[squads51]

Nice, but man, I thought you were in the boonies or something! 

He was in the boonies....but the contractor clearing the trees for his airstrip got carried away a little bit....instead of just enough for a small turbo-prop, he can now set down a C-17....

[Mad Max]

thanks for all the props fellas.  Our little chunk of Colorado is actually only just about a mile off a major artery into town - we're in 'the country' but juuuust barely.  We are still in range of deliverable pizza, great Chinese food, and diesel fuel, all while in a neighborhood zoned for horses and we're all on 5 acres - it's friggin' sweet.

When my wife and I got married 3 years ago we immediately sold some toys (our '05 Hemi Magnum R/T, her Yamaha R1, and my Honda Superhawk) and paid off all our debt, and since then we've been storing as much $$$ as possible, which afforded us the ability to buy the land, which in turn added up to a major part of the equity we needed to begin construction.  We swallowed our pride, sold what we didn't "need", and this house is the very real result of it.  At the time we didn't know what exactly we'd be doing - certainly we didn't have any plans on building, but we knew for a fact that getting out of debt would be the key to anything big we would want to do, and that was mostly focused on buying land. 
It worked out really great but it sure was tight...at least as far as the banks were all concerned.  Man despite all the 'stimulus' they're sure not any more inclined to loan any $ - it's very tight and you still need a bunch of cash.  Our only debt now is the home and what's left of our 'new' ('08) car.

Our builder - Copperleaf Homes - was 100% fantastic throughout.  My wife and I are both considering working for them - her shortly and me after retirement from the service.  They think like she and I do and that's something we really like.  So maybe...

For Bud's frame, the plan is to box it almost completely from the front back, stopping just past the front mount for the rear leafs.  Then add in lots of bracing for the front suspension, and I'm near certain Jim I'll be grabbing up one of your front Uber mounts for the 56's.  Then I'm going to build a stout set of sliders/side impact rails and a set of bumpers.  No custom front tilt, nothing fancy, just a good strong core frame and some good lift (6-8" total) - don't know yet until the leafs get under it.

He was in the boonies....but the contractor clearing the trees for his airstrip got carried away a little bit....instead of just enough for a small turbo-prop, he can now set down a C-17....

...maybe an ultralite

[jungle]

Sam,
when you put the 56" up front do you know exactly how much the front mount goes forward to put the axle back in the stock location?
Jim

[Mad Max]

not yet, but that is near the top of 'the list'  .  Judging by the little demo I did on nacho I'm guessing the front bolt will need to be 2-3 inches forward of.......well actually now that I think about it nacho's front mount was custom to start with so that baseline is moot.  Errumuhhh....Jim lemme get back wit'cha .

[snoopy1964]

max/jim i should hope fully have my 56" (procomp 13511)springs done (minus steering hopefully going to a dana 60 by summer) this weekend (weather permitting), and photos posted. i will also take some measurements. i have moved the axle forward and extended the frame, but won't have to move the shackle mount. i also put the long end of the spring forward/short end towards the back. hopefully to help with pinion climb.

[Bogie]

Patiently waiting for spring research, so that Jim may make me front hangers to use 52" springs at a near bolt in process 

[jungle]

We are compiling data & Spring hangers to compare differences in the models & years. If anyone has any pop top years truck or RC front spring hangers PM me. I do have the 4" and 4 3/4" front drop hangers now & should have the shackles this week.
Sorry for the hijack Sam
If anyone has any questions please PM me so Sams thread stays on track

Thanks, Jim

[Mad Max]

hey no worries on any hijack - this is info I need anyway!

while I'm at it...Snoop - can you post a quick link up here to your thread(s) on your springs? 

- M2

[the camo kid]

sorry max snoopy is kind of old school and still has figured out how to work the camara and i am in germany and cant help out but thanks alot for the leaf spring idea and you think the 2and bay door is big enough on the house but any ways sweet builds

snoopy's kid eric

[snoopy1964]

max don't have a   link right now hopefully will this weekend

[78bUckEt]

We are compiling data & Spring hangers to compare differences in the models & years. If anyone has any pop top years truck or RC front spring hangers PM me. I do have the 4" and 4 3/4" front drop hangers now & should have the shackles this week.
Sorry for the hijack Sam
If anyone has any questions please PM me so Sams thread stays on track

Thanks, Jim

jim what measurements r you needing for or from a pop top i got a 78 poptop rc...any to help...i gettin ready to pull body off and stat boxing frame so i can start on my front springs...i got my d60 for up frt, 14 bolt f/f rear, rear is going to 3 linked amd the front will still have leafs ....so any help i can do i know will be returned when i need some of them blinging a$$ mounts, shackles ,etc........chris and thank for this thread

[Mad Max]

sorry max snoopy is kind of old school and still has figured out how to work the camara and i am in germany and cant help out but thanks alot for the leaf spring idea and you think the 2and bay door is big enough on the house but any ways sweet builds

snoopy's kid eric

  no worries Eric.  I presume yer military out there?  Where abouts?  Yeah that bay door is a nice perk.  We elminated the 1st bay of the original 3-car garage (it's now my wife's hair salon), but we still needed a 3-car minimum garage so we had the builder graft on an RV bay (40' deep) to that far side, and for the forseable future (at least a couple years) that'll be my shop.  We got heat in there so it's pretty nice inside, painted the floor with 2-part epoxy, etc.  We're still building work benches, running wire, and moving in, so it'll be a while until I get rolling.

No problem Snoop - time is what I got lots of!

[Mad Max]

Sam,
when you put the 56" up front do you know exactly how much the front mount goes forward to put the axle back in the stock location?
Jim

Jim, the front mount will need to be 2 inches forward of stock for the axle to be centered on the 56's.  The 56's are 26" forward and 30" rearward of the centering pin, and the 48" stock leafs are split even 24"/24".  My issue is I won't know how far to drop the mount, and likely I won't know that for a while.  But, I can safely say I'll be going 2-inches forward of stock.  More to follow

- Sam

[jungle]

 

[78bUckEt]

hey max i gettin ready too do the same  front springs 56" now am i going to leave my ps box in stock location or is it gonna need to be moved to the 2wd location? and on to my next ? what drag link are you using? ???ill be putting a d60 under the front to get rid of my lil d44..just waiting on my axles to get this started.....

[Mad Max]

well I'd say this - if yer planning to use 'stock'-ish steering then you'll first want the leafs mounted up so the axle will be located same as stock, and on the steering mounting location, if you have the big stamped steel plate alongside the frame (not the 90* right angle mega tray style) I would delete the plate and bolt the steering box to the frame.  But I'd also definitely recommend reinforcing the frame, same location, by boxing it all in and adding in a side flex bar.  

On the drag link - I've got a crossover gig so no drag link, and my cross link was fabbed in-house.  But, I am using Skyjackers 4" drop pitman arm and I have a billet arm from Ram Off Road - local bubbas here in Colorado Springs.

For the steering here's some pics from my last rig -
  
...some action with a 1" hole saw.  (Tip:  Grind down the shank on a 1/2" drill bit to fit the pilot bit in the hole saw and it'll 'locate' the hole saw perfectly)



1/4" plate and 1" solid dowel that I drilled open to just over 7/16


make sure the plate fits




Weld the tubing to the plate and fit it to the frame




weld in place




and for good measure some inner bracing

[jungle]

Sam,
What did you use for your bolt sleeves?
Jim

[Mad Max]

?? you mean on the springs?  well if you're talking about the rear 56's I used last on nacho, I actually had to drill out the GM sleeves a bit to allow the bolt to go through - I think 9/16's.  The sleeve wall was really, really thick, and I think I was able to just drill 'em out to allow the bolts I already had.  I can't remember now Jim, sorry, but next go round with Bud I'll be fine tuning the gig based on the bushings that come with the 56's and 63's so...ideally...I won't have to do any voodoo to anything.

[jungle]

Sorry I meant the sleeves you used on the steering box mount.
Sam did you get my PM the other day on the spring hangers?

[Mad Max]

a-whoops - sorry Jim  .  Errummuhh lessee here - the 4 sleeves started out as solid 1" steel dowel, and I drilled a 7/16 inch hole straight through each one, and those became my sleeves.....at least I think they were 7/16" - whatever size the bolts were for the steering box.  I think the bolts were 7/16 and I drilled a hold between that and 1/2" - I've always sucked at math but 31/64 comes to mind...?

I'm definitely scavenging the uber steering mount to graft onto Bud's frame but I'm doing the diaginal structure tube a bit different, and doing it to both sides too (both sides will be boxed).

On the hangers - roger.  I've been trying to figure what hardware I'll need, but I'm certain I'll be hollerin' at ya when the time comes amigo  .  Yer stuff is my kind of strong .

[jungle]

I've been toying with the idea of supplying a steering box reinforcing kit to add to my other items. What do you think?
Jim

[blueduster]

i think that's a great idea for those of us that don't have the tools to make it with. 

I've been toying with the idea of supplying a steering box reinforcing kit to add to my other items. What do you think?
Jim

[Rambunctious86]

Are you going to box the whole frame or just certian spots?

[78bUckEt]

thanks madmax

[Mad Max]

i think that's a great idea for those of us that don't have the tools to make it with. 

  - me too.  Welding is one thing, but accurately cutting 1/4" plate is another.  Jim, I'll try to compare the "diesel" frames to the older frames to see if there is any visible difference.  I know the newer ones are thicker but not sure about overall dimensions right there at the steering box.  Lemme check - stand by -

Are you going to box the whole frame or just certian spots?

I'm planning to box it completely from the front back to just past the rear leaf front mount.  I'll essentially leave the bed portion unboxed.

thanks madmax

'welcome 

[mopar1]

I'm planning to box it completely from the front back to just past the rear leaf front mount.  I'll essentially leave the bed portion unboxed.

Why aren't you boxing the whole frame front to back?

[Mad Max]

Well as best I can determine I want to keep the frame as rigid as possible under the cab and front end, but the back end can twist all it wants, so I figure I'd let the back end have what little flex there will be by leaving it unboxed.  I've really no better reason - ain't never done boxed a frame before.  But what I learned from Nacho is the frame strength counts, and with Bud's extra length and the tougher workout routine I have planned for it I'm going for all the frame strength I can get.  I just don't see the back end needing to be boxed, especially with this bigger beefier frame. 

I'll also very likely swiss cheese the inner wall a bit to gain some access points.

One of my questions for boxing a frame is this - what gauge of steel is typically used for this purpose?  I'm figuring on 1/8" steel, but maybe that's overkill?  Anyone been there/done that that can lend some insight?

Muchas grassyass!

Oh and here is Nacho's beefier parts out in 'The Meadow' getting cozy like with its new Bud-dies



- M2

[Catfish]

Beautiful home and amazing views!

Looks like you have access to a nice boneyard too!

[Mad Max]

thanks 'fish!  Ya know it's weird.....no matter where I've been or lived, I always manage to end up with my own private bone yard....hmmmm??? 

[jungle]

Sam,
I would go with 1/8" or better yet 3/16". That way it's as strong as the frame. You do want to have some clean out ports tho. When the mud & dirt sits in the frame it holds moisture & starts the rust from the inside were you can't see it till it's tooooo late.
Jim