FreshSeaBass Build Thread

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what do you mean? this thread is a dumpster fire like every other thread here. ;)
A glorious dumpster fire mind you! :deadbanana: @VernySanders Thanks man, very cool! Meeting with CNC today to get the part files over to them then hopefully Filthy Motorsports can come through clutch for the weekend in getting the new springs over to me! Front LCA bushings are done along with the Opt Offroad CAM delete kit. It's all about trial by fire I guess! The 310K mile OEM LCA bushings were smoked! Maybe this think will ride half decent! :banana:
 

AssBurns

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Like this, ya think? View attachment 23334

View attachment 23336

I'm pretty stoked to be getting such positive feedback. You guys are rad!
@eimkeith @AssBurns @Chris In Milwaukee
I still vote for small separate tabs that don't interlock across the whole joint. Just two 1/8" tabs on the edge of each plate is more than enough to locate things. If you make the interlock across the whole joint, then you'll have less area for a weld, and will just end up needing to chamfer the edges anyways. Not sure if that is the legit science behind things since I'm no engineer, but when I was a welder, I preferred small tabs to help locate over large tabs that got in the way of a good weld.
 
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Tolerances were a bit TOO tight, but that was to be expected with the slightly less precise plasma, in comparison to laser. I got everything placed and mocked up for fitment and such. No shock bungs to weld in, so a bolt will work for now! Going to make two more changes:
1) Radius the corners of the shock tower to clear the UCA on both corners of the new and old tower. This will obviously put a lot more stress on the weldment and the back edges of the tower, but I will try to mitigate that with the fish plates which were in the plan from the start, I just have to be really smart about how I go about them.IMG_20200526_224816.jpg
23559-fcaa9a81e43ae400989707ad392f578d.jpg
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The resi hose is a bit in the way, but I have planned to rotate the fitting 90 degrees either way and that will take 90% of the hose up and out of the way to make for an easy time with clearance.

IMG_20200526_232131.jpg
Here you can see the OPT Offroad CAM delete, which was nowhere in the plan, but I am glad I took the opportunity to them off of my good friend's hands.... Not for free of course.

I am going to set the limit strap up double shear for sure now.
 

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Joined
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I still vote for small separate tabs that don't interlock across the whole joint. Just two 1/8" tabs on the edge of each plate is more than enough to locate things. If you make the interlock across the whole joint, then you'll have less area for a weld, and will just end up needing to chamfer the edges anyways. Not sure if that is the legit science behind things since I'm no engineer, but when I was a welder, I preferred small tabs to help locate over large tabs that got in the way of a good weld.

I think I understood what you were saying based off of the model you were showing. The tabs I have on the edges of the plates are right at around .75" in length with an overlap gap of about 1/16. I needed to lessen the tolerances because we are not sourcing a laser cutter. The CNC plasma turned out just fine, but I had to make the part dimensions a bit more forgiving for fitment. On that note I am going to have to do another FEA to check on the latest changes because I am removing material here now.
 
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This is dope.
How tall is that tower off the top of the frame? Seems like a lot of guys just run a bar (is it an engine cage if it’s just one piece of tubing lol) from one tower to the other to keep them from bending inwards.
Those bilsteins are baller. Not as cool as my minivan on 6112’s but that’s ok ;)
 
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This is dope.
How tall is that tower off the top of the frame?

Hey man, thanks! This is a fun project that has gone smoothly so far with some hiccups, but overall very rewarding. The tower sits just shy of 5" from the top of the factory tower. I am trying to be creative with getting a top plate cut and making a brace across the engine bay. I do also have some fish plates in the design to contour the factory tower and help with those loads. dimensions.PNG
 

eimkeith

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Hey man, thanks! This is a fun project that has gone smoothly so far with some hiccups, but overall very rewarding. The tower sits just shy of 5" from the top of the factory tower. I am trying to be creative with getting a top plate cut and making a brace across the engine bay. I do also have some fish plates in the design to contour the factory tower and help with those loads. View attachment 23594

now that's starting to look like something! very cool.
 
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I've been busy... aside from this project the home buying process is coming to a close which is rad, but also daunting! I took some time to de-stress from work and all of the paperwork to knock this out and well... IMG_20200531_220347.jpg
Got some burn time in. Swapped out the .030 wire for some .035 and let me be the first to say that it makes a considerable difference! IMG_20200529_192824.jpg
Something about flat welds gets me goin'.
IMG_20200530_003007.jpg
Here is the new tower with the cut-away added to the side plate. Ultimately, any route that I would have chosen to take whether it be hoops or this tower, would be limited by the amount of misalignment I can get out of the UCA. Choose to do hoops and you have to somehow strengthen the stock tower for the UCA if you get rid of all of the plate around it... Choose towers and clearance between your UCA/Coilover/Mount can be something to contend with. I hope I made the right decision as far as how I am mounting these.
IMG_20200529_193039.jpg
IMG_20200531_220341.jpgIMG_20200531_220354.jpg

Not exactly weld porn, but I've never had any sort of formal instruction, and I can see the progression which I am pretty stoked about.

*Springs are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, so I will have a crack at mounting everything back up and tacking the tower in place to get an idea on how much bump stop I need to keep things together.

Who would choose hoops? Who would choose towers?
 
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AssBurns

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Lookin good man!

Towers look better, but hoops are usually much easier and quicker to make, so for me it just depends on time and resources available.

On a buddies truck over the weekend, I chose to do hoops for time and simplicity sake.


D023E9EC-66ED-484A-AAB8-D448E814FC18.jpeg
 
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Lookin good man!

Towers look better, but hoops are usually much easier and quicker to make, so for me it just depends on time and resources available.

On a buddies truck over the weekend, I chose to do hoops for time and simplicity sake.


View attachment 23752
IDK if it's my undying wish to justify purchasing a hydraulic bender from Rogue right now or..... BUT Thanks for the props! You guys are definitely motivating. The primary justification and legitimate reason for sticking to the towers this far has been the need to retain the UCA mount and not wanting to potentially weaken that spot. I am still planning to run tubes from the frame up to the tower to give it that extra bit of support it needs to keep it SOLID. The DOM bushing parts should be here this week so that I can make a tower brace across the engine bay! I have a hard deadline to get this thing dialed for a trip to the Outer Banks in just a few weeks time!
 
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IMG_20200709_211035.jpg TC Gussets welded on, finally getting the hang of it!
IMG_20200710_230131.jpg Front Diff mounted and checked everything for clearance with the 1" Sonoran Steel diff drop... MAN this thing is HEAVY to hoist up there by yourself!
IMG_20200714_172541.jpg Took my Knuckles to get bearings pressed out while I was at work because the 20 ton press struggled to get the 300k wheel bearings out! The bad news is that they destroyed one of the bearing cups so, off I went to grab another steering knuckle at some salvage yard in the middle of nowhere after work! Gravel lots, at 10pm, in the summer = no fun.....
 
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