Rebirth of Monster Mudder

Spent the morning getting the roll cage painted out back of the cab.

Then I started putting the rear axle back under the truck. Managed to ge the rear spring hangers on, leafs on and axle under the truck and bolted on before we had some friends come over for the day and grilled out and had a fire in the pit on our patio and quite a few beers.

We are going to try and make it out to the UCC to spectate for a day. I hope to get to meet you in person.

Cool, hope to see you there.

Today I picked up a new 4x8 sheet of aluminum diamond plate, ordered a 10' piece of 4"x2"x1/8" 6063 aluminum angle, 10' piece of 2"x1/2"x1/8" 6063 aluminum channel, and 2 12' sticks of 1 1/2 6061 aluminum tubing for my water lines, they should be in Weds. Then I can mount my trans coolers and radiator and start making my water lines.

Didn't spend much time out in the shop tonight, just got the injection pump installed and bolted in and painted the fuel lines to the injectors.

Plan on building the transmission tomorrow night if all goes well.

it's looking great. It'll be almost a shame to have to get it all muddy again. Haha

Thanks, all the fun of building it is seeing how it performs, would be a shame not to put it in the mud...

Don't feel like I accomplished a lot tonight, started going back together with the trans and found I needed a few more thicker steels to get the tolerances I wanted in forward and direct. So will hopefully pick them up tomorrow at Wit Trans.

So I switched modes and made the support bracket for the fuel cell and figured out placements for the fuel cell, fuel pumps and battery box. Got them washed down with the por 15 cleaner and rinsed. Hopefully get them sprayed with the metal prep in the morning if I remember to do it before I leave for work.

I have been able to tick off quite a few things on my to do list...

Today was a day of running errands at lunch and after work. Had to pickup another quart of por15 at the paint store, steels at the trans supply shop and the aluminum pieces I ordered at alro steel. That was lunch. After work, delivered some roasts and eggs and picked up a couple of small pieces of strap steel to make the support bands for the fuel cell out of, picked up more bulk bolts at TSC as well as dog food. By the time I took care of the animals and ate supper it was 7pm.

Got out to the shop and painted the 3 pieces I had ready and then got the clutches setup and clearances checked, played with thick and thin steels till I got it where I wanted it and then got the main section of the trans together. Need to get the VB and OD unit on it and it will be ready to put back into the truck.

It's always a good feeling to be going back together. There needs to be about 12hrs more in a day huh?

Yeah, glad it's going back together with minimal issues so far other than the mold issues I've had. I could definitely use more hours in the day.

Had a busy, productive evening. Finished building the transmission, then moved on to making the support straps to hold the fuel cell in place on the support bracket. Bolted on the home made bump stops for the rear axle, got the straps and rear disc rotors sprayed with wax and grease remover and washed off with water. Then cut out the aluminum c channel and mounted them on the roll cage for the trans cooler supports.

Accomplished a few things over the last couple of days. Cleaned up my old big trans cooler by taking it apart and washing it and then cleaning up the aluminum mounts. Drilled all the mounting holes in the c channel for the trans coolers, then sanded and polished a little before putting them on the truck and mounting the coolers. Cleaned up and installed the rear fox shocks. Cleaned up the fuel cell some too while I was at it.

Drilled the holes for the battery box to use bolts instead of the self tapping screws I'd been using.

Today, I mounted the fuel cell with the straps, slapped on the rear disc rotors and then lowered the front down to the tires and the removed the frame jacks stands on the back and set it down on jack stands under the rear diff. My son and I then stabbed the trans, and installed the cross member and transfer case.

Subscribed!

Made the template for the front bed floor and it took a while to get it cut out. But got it on and then I could measure and cut the back floor plate. I took the remaining piece of aluminum c channel and made a support for the rear floor where the radiator is going to sit on it to add some strength. After cutting the back floor, drilled the outside bolt holes and bolted it in. I then drilled up from the bottom for the fuel cell stand, battery box and the fuel pumps. Bolted on the fuel cell and then started cutting out for the fuel pumps. Once they were cut out I could mount the batter box. That's where I stopped for the evening. I'm now where I can start running fuel lines, battery lines, wiring the pumps, transmission lines and start working on mounting the radiator.

poster board, it's not just for whiny protesting snowflakes




C channel support brace. Notched it for the frame rails.


Front part of floor

That is looking great!

Thanks

Didn't have much time tonight to work on the truck, had to consolidate my clutter in there to move 4 vehicles in before the storm hit tonight.

Did manage to work out mounting on one side of the radiator, seems pretty stable. Guess I will see how stable come race season. With all the vehicles in the shop, wasn't going to try and dig out the 4" x 2" aluminum angle and try to cut a piece off of it.

Badass man Always wanted to build a 12v makin good power 2.5 ton with kings or overtime coils on cut farmers

Thanks, muddinfool

Been working on the truck when I can over the week, but works been kicking my ass with issues and things to do around the farm and other commitments.

I was able to finish getting the radiator mounted onto the truck and think it will work real well, but time will tell how sturdy the mounts are. Since it was mounted and my order of silicone parts arrived, I was able to really start laying out and figuring out the path for my water lines up to the engine. Found that I was short a few things and so placed an order for those items. They will be here monday.

Put together a 20" x 30" collage picture of the truck in action to take with me to car shows when we go and had it printed. Think it looks pretty cool.

Cleaned up the inside frame rails under the cab and the cross member for the trans and got those painted last night. Made a brace out of a piece of 2" x 4" aluminum angle for the front part of the bed to give it some support if I have to step into the bed at some point to hook up a tow cable.

Hooked up the first part of the fuel lines from the injection pump to the check valves and ran the lines from the fuel cell to the fuel pumps.

I also finished up the graphics work on the hero cards we print up and hand out at races with pictures of my truck and sponsors on the back of the card.

Today I picked up a load of treated lumber to put my son to work building more raised beds for the garden. Got enough to build 5 boxes, 16' long x 4' wide and 2' tall.

Need to rent a dump trailer next weekend to haul some manure filled dirt to fill them.

Mocking up return line idea


Part of the fuel lines


More water lines mocked up


Supply water line design


Return water line design


Other side of radiator mount


Silicone hose for the water lines


Supply lines to the pumps


Pained inside frame rails and Aluminum brace I made




Aluminum Brace


Photo Collage


Hero Card front


Hero Card back


Just a small load of lumber

Well, my evening didn't quite start off like I wanted it too. Went and fed the cows and started the tractor and moved hay out for them, as I was doing that, I found a new dead calf by the hay feeders. It was born last night and looks like it either got kicked or stepped on. Also found another live one off with it's momma. So I had to take care of the calf so the coyotes won't make a meal of it.

Finally got out to the shop and started working on the water lines. Drilled holes through that u shaped cross member to run the pipe through it up close to the top of the frame, and then proceeded to start laying out pipe and cutting pieces. Have the return line cut and laid out, need to pick up 3 33 degree bend pieces of hose to make it exactly like I want it. 45's were too much and straights weren't enough.

Worked a bit on the supply line and got the upper parts cut by the radiator, need to cut the long run tomorrow and then will have to wait till monday night to get it finished laid out.

Figured out the routing of the 3 aught positive battery cable, need to get some wire clamps big enough for it to finish attaching it to the frame and cross members. Going to make a new cut off switch plate out of a piece of diamond plate and mount it by the battery box.

Worked on the fuel lines today and got the fuel system fully plumbed up to the engine. Also made a condom for the fuel pumps to help keep mud from coming up into the bed. Won't stop all of it, but it will help some. Made a new plate for my cutoff switch and then got it mounted to the bed. Need to finish drilling holes in the bed to get the battery cables up through the bed. Also got the diffs filled up with some synthetic 75w90 weight oil.

Just a few feet of hose


Template and condom


Pump Condom installed


Shutoff plate


Fuel lines

Looking very nice! Sorry to hear about the calf. Hopefully you don't end up with too much of that.

Got a little done over the last 2 days, ran the trans cooler lines, got them and the fuel lines all tied to the frame along with the battery cables. All the large holes drilled into the diamond plate to run the cables and hoses through. Yes those are electrical connectors I'm using, they work great for keeping hoses and cables from being cut. Also got the 2 trans cooler fans and radiator fan wired tonight.

Finished up the wiring on the truck tonight and got the bed front bolted on as well. Had my son working on building new garden raised beds for this year. I'm adding 5 - 4' x 16' raised beds on top of the two H boxes that are 16' long. I finished putting the weed mat down on the area where the boxes are going while he was cutting the wood and then we got the sides screwed together before we lost the last little bit of light. He has 2 more boxes to build and then needs to make the bracing for the middle of each box. Planning on renting a dump trailer this weekend to haul dirt to them and top off the 2 H boxes from settling over last year. Figure I will need to dig up 5 trailer loads or about 26 cubic yards of dirt.