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Using parts from the Caltracs and some simple fabrication I think I can weld up some brackets & bars and create a Stiffler clone.
I really would feel really guilty selling the Caltracs to someone.
Mike
What is your least favorite thing about the Cal Tracs? Are you confident you can smooth out the ride in the back? I had Cal Tracs on a couple different trucks. Always hated the way I bounced around like a popcorn kernal even with no preload on the bars. The day I sold those trucks, I pulled the bars off and put everything back together for a test drive. I could not believe what the truck had turned into. It felt like I was floating on a cloud compared to the Cal Tracs. Granted, I had absolutely zero anti-wrap but my lower back didn't care one bit lol. I think I'll be doing a 4-link with coilovers and a PHB on mine.
What is your least favorite thing about the Cal Tracs? Are you confident you can smooth out the ride in the back? I had Cal Tracs on a couple different trucks. Always hated the way I bounced around like a popcorn kernal even with no preload on the bars. The day I sold those trucks, I pulled the bars off and put everything back together for a test drive. I could not believe what the truck had turned into. It felt like I was floating on a cloud compared to the Cal Tracs. Granted, I had absolutely zero anti-wrap but my lower back didn't care one bit lol. I think I'll be doing a 4-link with coilovers and a PHB on mine.
The rattles are creaks, they make noise with even with no preload...The ride I can deal with, the truck sounds like a bucket of bolts when going over a speed bump or just any kind of bump at low speed.
They also seem to have induced some slight driveline vibration from the solid bushings in front of the leaf spring.
Just received the last unknown for my exhaust. Should be in the mid 40s this weekend too.
Mike
They look great Mike, your custom exhaust is gonna look awesome.
I'm hoping to get my rear bumper caps tomorrow so I can get them cut out for the recessed backup lights and to the powder coater next week.
Well after practicing on a lot of scrap I finally did a little welding on the flanges. Not the prettiest job but they should work. The one on the top was the second one I did and it is a little cleaner. I might go back and try to touch up the lower one in the picture. I'm cooking the metal pretty bad but they will work. The back purge works pretty well, there was no crystallization on the back side.
Sorry to butt in your thread---- that looks way better than most muffler shops, most their welds can't hold popcorn. Bottle in pic looks tri-mix? Wire size .023? Nice to hear about purge welding on the forum, we only do that when tig welding food grade piping, welding the inside as you weld the outside so there's no seam for bacteria. Looks good Mike.
Edit---My bad I see you must have tig welded after looking closer.
Those welds look good to me Mike, grade A job. LOL, I'd hate to see any of my welding, I haven't done any in about 12 years.
Thanks John! It's been a while for me too, and never tig welded.
Originally Posted by sddesigns
They look great to me.
Thanks Steve!
Originally Posted by tinner1
Sorry to butt in your thread---- that looks way better than most muffler shops, most their welds can't hold popcorn. Bottle in pic looks tri-mix? Wire size .023? Nice to hear about purge welding on the forum, we only do that when tig welding food grade piping, welding the inside as you weld the outside so there's no seam for bacteria. Looks good Mike.
Edit---My bad I see you must have tig welded after looking closer.
Thanks, No problem...I can use all the advice I get....It just a little cheap HF DC tig machine, it seems to be getting the job done. The bottle is 100% argon, that I have a Tee on and 2 flow meters one on the welder and one for back purge. When I took that shot I had just changed the bottle out so I didn't have the flow meters on it.
I the best thing I've found for my old eyes is some 3X cheater lenses for the helmet You can see the puddle so good and it helped a lot. Without them I have to back off so far I could not see what was going on.
03-07-2019, 08:29 PM
LOL, I'd hate to see any of my welding, I haven't done any in about 12 years.
