One tip I would like to pass along. If you are getting parts laser cut take the time to add slots and tabs so your parts fixture themselves. Saves a lot of assembly time. Love the build. Keep up the good work.
That's the reality of going where no man has gone before. It's not easy to build something and have it fail. It also difficult to "acknowledge you could have done better". You're a classy guy LT. I'm sure the final product will be worth the effort.
Hang in there LT. Nothing ever works out when doing a massive project. I'm 10K more into the Denali I just finished them originally planned. Your videos are super inspiring. I feel like you do the every man's project, and consequently you get the every man's problems. Lol. You're a super likeable guy, and you are one of only 2 RUclips channels I leave all the notifications on for since I'm enamored with your videos. God bless. Feel better, and good things are coming along because you will have one of the baddest trucks out there.
Small setbacks can always lead to something better and those shock towers do look great and we know that you will get it right! Can't wait to see some more! Thanks LT for a great video!
Great video LT 👏👏 Awesome work. You're doing something custom, so everything is always trial and error. This is how we learn, I've done the same thing, all's good. Thanks LT👏👏
I feel bad for mentioning something this late in the build but I want to say that if you moved your control arm mounting holes up say 1 inch on the frame and raise the differential 1 inch then you can lower the truck 1 inch while having better suspension geometry and less CV angle. and you could still do it but might have to modify some stuff and I know you were wanting to lower the engine so that might interfere. just a thought I had that may or may not be an option depending on what your going for overall. love the AWD Big Block idea by the way, this thing is going to be awesome.
Chalk it up to a learning experience. I did something similar when back-halfing my 300ZX when mounting the 4 link brackets. Had to cut em off an redo em. But that comes with custom fabrication, you know? I know you'll get it right LT. Can't wait to see this baby makin some passes.
In Power Nation, you guys did everything in two episodes. Lol . LT I love your passion for trucks. I've learned a lot on this journey. Keep it up, brother...
A couple of things to consider one is changing the geometry of the front end opened up a can of worms so to speak what I'm saying is the best way to probably lower the vehicle is to do it through spindles, it's good have your wheel's straight at right height but they need to remain as straight as possible through the sweep of suspension travel.When that truck leaves its not going to be at ride height and you want the front tires to be parallel to the race track surface, you should probably put this on the CAD program and watch what the suspension is doing, you can see angle change and also what is going on with bump steer. The other thing is considered running much lighter material there's nothing on that Chevrolet truck that was ever near 3/8 of an inch thick, most of the builders are using 3/16 material for shock mounts and so on and so forth I know Matt Funkhouser the guy you bought the sliders from he's a friend of mine, he's honed his skills over the years and does pretty nice work, call him you might talk to him and feel him out about thicknesses of material, he's built a lot of different vehicles, race cars and off-road trucks
Awesome work Lawrence, minor set back. There is a big enough 4x4 market now I'd consider selling these once you get the dimensions worked out and final fitment and test everything. Id definitely buy arms and mounts for my single cab 4x4.
Alter the brackets you have to get what you want. Then if you want make new parts off the altered brackets. Takes out any guess work. Fitting coilovers is difficult on a torsion bar front end.
It's your first try with these laser cut parts. Not a big issue other than your timeline is tight. Now you know the pitfalls. I look forward to seeing the newly redesigned bracketry. Hopefully not so bulky.
Would you consider grinding that cross member hole on the passenger side flush to the frame and then plug it with the filler you had made. It's a lot more work, but it would look a lot cleaner. I like how everything in the front end is developing.
I think I saw another comment about it, but draw in some notches and tabs so that everything locks together for welding. Saves a lot of time lining stuff up when you’re ready to assemble. Look up some rules about how big to make them relative to material thickness and it’s really easy to do.
Truly appreciate seeing the reality of a complex build... Would have been easy for you to "gloss over" a misstep that anyone engaged in a project this badass might make. Its far more entertaining to see a real builder showing a real build. Now get out there and clock some 7 second passes! 😜
Make sure to leave clearance for custom headers or different manifolds when redesigning the towers always think ahead for changes and ease of maintenance
Send Cut Send rules! I’m designing custom guitar amp chassis and they can do the anodizing and laser engraving all at the same time! Not much more expensive than buying an off the shelf aluminum chassis too.
Hey buddy. Richard at atomic fab is gonna have a weld in upper coilover Mount for these trucks available in a couple weeks. Just so you know. Might be worth holding out
Maybe you could sell the brackets to someone with stock upper control arms that want to convert their truck to coilover? Maybe you could get a few hundred bucks for it to cover the cost for the entire "mistake". Anyways, even though they didnt fit they looked very professional. I am very impressed considering it was you first try!
You should mig weld more of this stuff. Your travel speed is a little slow and you are putting a fair amount of heat into it. Try a higher amperage and a faster torch speed if you absolutely must tig.
I could tell you, I've never made changes that effected other parts, I'd also be lying to you. 😉😁 It's part of doing things a lot of people can't grasp. You learn and do better.
I'm not really sure you need a cameraman LT. The things that I've seen that makes you stand out, is seeing how you do all the filming yourself. Just my 2c.
Make a cylindrical notch in driver's side of the frame and French that mount in there. Just flip the initial plate over and bend it the other way. Voila your driver's side problem is gone. Easy fix.
You should offer the shock mounts for sale. Sell them as is. I am sure that someone could use them. You can get the money back that you put in them. If some day, you decide that you need another set, you will have the drawings and you can always order another set.
Interested to know if you think these control arms would be good for a mild off road build. Also it seems like the company you bought them from doesn’t have a website where you can order them or see pricing. What’d you pay for them if you don’t mind me asking?
Looks like you left the box profile of the chassis in the drawing when you made up the CAD file (which file you used is not my point , prob. some other file type) those fold gaps are large but makes a good weld when stitched in a single pass weave with your mig.. Over to you LT. P.S. did you notice your moniker is inside out the way you folded the top mount susp. bracket?
These things happen, I was wondering why you hadn’t lengthened the lower arms instead of shortening the upper arms, but I was thinking for tire figment not shock clearance
Get a 3d printer. Test printing designs before you commit them to metal is worth it's weight in gold. 20 bucks in plastic(which is a lot of printing) pays for itself in one muck up for a laser cut part. Caution though, pay more than 300 bucks and make sure it's enclosed. Buy once cry once when reliability and time are what you're after
I have been waiting for you to weld the c notch. I’m currently putting one on my Silverado but all I have is a harbor freight titanium flux 125 welder and very little experience welding. I’m using the same weld in c notch as you. Do you think my welder is sufficient to weld the frame?
LT why can’t you cut some off the back side of the shock bracket and move 1-2 inches closer to the engine, or is that going to interfere with turbos down pipe , seems like a waste to scrap the nice looking bracket you designed
I could do that, but it would hang over the top of the frame which would be too close on ths pass side for the turbo up pipe, and would also kill my idea of the upper control arm bolt going through the bracket
@@LawrenceTolman I’m sure you already have another design in the making, check out John Reynolds on youtube he’s in the process of building a mid engine corvair the fab work is impressive especially what he did with his rear shocks
Hope this isn’t considered trolling but LT” WE THE PPL CANT LET U PUT THAT MASTERPIECE OF A FRAME UP UNDER THE UGLY TRUCK THAT FRAME BELONGS ON A BEAUTIFUL TRUCK”. LOL😂
yes, I wear a LAV mic when I do my "on camera" selfie things, like in the intro and outro... the stuff in the middle is shot on a go-pro with an external shotgun mic
@@LawrenceTolman have to ask, since going through this much trouble to do the awd conversion, you think you'd rethink ditching the leafs and doing a 4 link and panhard bar? I don't mind it taking extra time than it's already going to take and I think you might be happier doing it considering you like the road course and it would potentially ride better. Have you thought about it or is this more streamlined towards a budget? I know it could be done later but I had to mention it considering the rigorous amount of work going into the suspension. I will have to admit it would make the truck a lil bit heavier but also might be necessary at the point of power that we really don't know what could be made. I'm thinking 1500hp out of that motor could end up being 2000 and 2000+ ftlb or torque could exceed the limits of the leafs and make them inefficient off the line due to axle wrap. No judgement just a recommendation.
If you dont mess up now you don't have to fix it later like at the track. Or when something small bends and sends you into a wall at 150! Ask me how I know. Build a truck ! Break off a rear shock mount at 610 foot mark! Doing 100mph! Kiss the wall then shit my pant!
One tip I would like to pass along. If you are getting parts laser cut take the time to add slots and tabs so your parts fixture themselves. Saves a lot of assembly time. Love the build. Keep up the good work.
That’s awesome advice- I agree 100% and it’s minimal additional design time for the benefit.
I came in to comment the same thing. That makes putting stuff like that together so much better.
Like SuperfastMatt? He likes slots and circles.
That's the reality of going where no man has gone before. It's not easy to build something and have it fail. It also difficult to "acknowledge you could have done better". You're a classy guy LT. I'm sure the final product will be worth the effort.
a setback is part of trying something never done before the only true failure is if you quit trying .Keep on trying LT..GOOD LUCK ALWAYS HELPS ..
Hang in there LT. Nothing ever works out when doing a massive project. I'm 10K more into the Denali I just finished them originally planned.
Your videos are super inspiring. I feel like you do the every man's project, and consequently you get the every man's problems. Lol. You're a super likeable guy, and you are one of only 2 RUclips channels I leave all the notifications on for since I'm enamored with your videos. God bless. Feel better, and good things are coming along because you will have one of the baddest trucks out there.
Small setbacks can always lead to something better and those shock towers do look great and we know that you will get it right! Can't wait to see some more! Thanks LT for a great video!
Great video LT 👏👏 Awesome work. You're doing something custom, so everything is always trial and error. This is how we learn, I've done the same thing, all's good.
Thanks LT👏👏
Great Video as always LT! Cant wait to see that big block run!
You and me both!
Appreciate you showing the good as well as mistakes. Many channels edit out any hiccups
Another great video! Love the positive outlook and the new shock towers will be better! Thanks for taking us along on this journey.
thanks for watching it!
I feel bad for mentioning something this late in the build but I want to say that if you moved your control arm mounting holes up say 1 inch on the frame and raise the differential 1 inch then you can lower the truck 1 inch while having better suspension geometry and less CV angle. and you could still do it but might have to modify some stuff and I know you were wanting to lower the engine so that might interfere. just a thought I had that may or may not be an option depending on what your going for overall. love the AWD Big Block idea by the way, this thing is going to be awesome.
Chalk it up to a learning experience. I did something similar when back-halfing my 300ZX when mounting the 4 link brackets. Had to cut em off an redo em. But that comes with custom fabrication, you know? I know you'll get it right LT. Can't wait to see this baby makin some passes.
This ain't falling on deaf ears. Great to see someone admit to failures and move forward. I'm problem going to 100% copy this for my truck lol!!
In Power Nation, you guys did everything in two episodes. Lol . LT I love your passion for trucks. I've learned a lot on this journey. Keep it up, brother...
we did manage to cram a lot more work into less time over there! thanks a ton for watching!
i kinda feel like you should grind where that filler plate goes flush to the fram then put that plate in.
luvin the branded shock towers!
A couple of things to consider one is changing the geometry of the front end opened up a can of worms so to speak what I'm saying is the best way to probably lower the vehicle is to do it through spindles, it's good have your wheel's straight at right height but they need to remain as straight as possible through the sweep of suspension travel.When that truck leaves its not going to be at ride height and you want the front tires to be parallel to the race track surface, you should probably put this on the CAD program and watch what the suspension is doing, you can see angle change and also what is going on with bump steer. The other thing is considered running much lighter material there's nothing on that Chevrolet truck that was ever near 3/8 of an inch thick, most of the builders are using 3/16 material for shock mounts and so on and so forth I know Matt Funkhouser the guy you bought the sliders from he's a friend of mine, he's honed his skills over the years and does pretty nice work, call him you might talk to him and feel him out about thicknesses of material, he's built a lot of different vehicles, race cars and off-road trucks
Awesome work Lawrence, minor set back. There is a big enough 4x4 market now I'd consider selling these once you get the dimensions worked out and final fitment and test everything. Id definitely buy arms and mounts for my single cab 4x4.
Your frame is going to be much better than it was when it left the factory.
I see the Lt being used somehow, maybe a turbo brace, or on top of a custom bracket for the alternator? I still think its neat
Alter the brackets you have to get what you want. Then if you want make new parts off the altered brackets. Takes out any guess work. Fitting coilovers is difficult on a torsion bar front end.
Keep up the good work LT
It's your first try with these laser cut parts. Not a big issue other than your timeline is tight. Now you know the pitfalls. I look forward to seeing the newly redesigned bracketry. Hopefully not so bulky.
Love the build. Buy a plasma cutter ndo it all ur self. Saves time and eventually money. 💪💪
Would you consider grinding that cross member hole on the passenger side flush to the frame and then plug it with the filler you had made. It's a lot more work, but it would look a lot cleaner. I like how everything in the front end is developing.
Like the build...it's cool on what you are doing...keep up the good work nd keep them videos coming...👍🏾
I think I saw another comment about it, but draw in some notches and tabs so that everything locks together for welding. Saves a lot of time lining stuff up when you’re ready to assemble. Look up some rules about how big to make them relative to material thickness and it’s really easy to do.
Truly appreciate seeing the reality of a complex build... Would have been easy for you to "gloss over" a misstep that anyone engaged in a project this badass might make. Its far more entertaining to see a real builder showing a real build. Now get out there and clock some 7 second passes! 😜
Make sure to leave clearance for custom headers or different manifolds when redesigning the towers always think ahead for changes and ease of maintenance
Ooof that they won't work, but they did come out very nice in the end.
Keep up the good work, TJ! 😂
_FMG_
Thanks! and we'll get it one way or another
I do like the addition of a filmer. But it amazing I feel like someone is listening to your conversation with us! It's not longer a private chat. Lol
thanks for the feedback, I appreciate that! it does seem to make the videos flow a little better to me
Look at you with a videographer and stuff!😁
Send Cut Send rules! I’m designing custom guitar amp chassis and they can do the anodizing and laser engraving all at the same time! Not much more expensive than buying an off the shelf aluminum chassis too.
Love the LT-X hat 😋
Very cool 😎 "LT" see you next week 😀
Hey buddy. Richard at atomic fab is gonna have a weld in upper coilover Mount for these trucks available in a couple weeks. Just so you know. Might be worth holding out
He actually emailed me this morning about his new mounts!
@@LawrenceTolman Cool! i was just messaging him about it so figured id pass it on.
3👍's up LT thank you for sharing
Thanks for watching it!
Having you name laser cut into parts. I don’t care what happens. Can’t go wrong with that in my book. Great episode LT
Maybe you could sell the brackets to someone with stock upper control arms that want to convert their truck to coilover? Maybe you could get a few hundred bucks for it to cover the cost for the entire "mistake". Anyways, even though they didnt fit they looked very professional. I am very impressed considering it was you first try!
Hold on tight man, you will fix it like it's nothing !!
Maybe you can find a guy named TJ who needs some new upper shock mounts. Watching this stuff get made from scratch is cool to see!
lol... the backwards letters might still come in handy
Adapt and overcome
You should mig weld more of this stuff. Your travel speed is a little slow and you are putting a fair amount of heat into it. Try a higher amperage and a faster torch speed if you absolutely must tig.
I like that 1923 reference
I could tell you, I've never made changes that effected other parts, I'd also be lying to you. 😉😁
It's part of doing things a lot of people can't grasp.
You learn and do better.
You got a cameraman!
You also have a shop press and a welder. A press brake is not horribly hard to create.
That’s one tool that’s on my wish list, I’d love to have a press brake!
I thought the letter cut outs were freakin awesome. I love how u "over build" this is gonna be bad ass
I'm not really sure you need a cameraman LT. The things that I've seen that makes you stand out, is seeing how you do all the filming yourself. Just my 2c.
Make a cylindrical notch in driver's side of the frame and French that mount in there. Just flip the initial plate over and bend it the other way. Voila your driver's side problem is gone. Easy fix.
You should offer the shock mounts for sale. Sell them as is. I am sure that someone could use them. You can get the money back that you put in them. If some day, you decide that you need another set, you will have the drawings and you can always order another set.
Geez, LT. You made the quantum physics error!
🔥🔥🔥vid!!!
Interested to know if you think these control arms would be good for a mild off road build. Also it seems like the company you bought them from doesn’t have a website where you can order them or see pricing. What’d you pay for them if you don’t mind me asking?
Looks like you left the box profile of the chassis in the drawing when you made up the CAD file (which file you used is not my point , prob. some other file type) those fold gaps are large but makes a good weld when stitched in a single pass weave with your mig.. Over to you LT.
P.S. did you notice your moniker is inside out the way you folded the top mount susp. bracket?
These things happen, I was wondering why you hadn’t lengthened the lower arms instead of shortening the upper arms, but I was thinking for tire figment not shock clearance
when I modified the lowers, I wasn't aware that I needed to make a length change, otherwise I may have done that
Dang! That sucks. But that's a part of fabrication. They look nice though
Get a 3d printer. Test printing designs before you commit them to metal is worth it's weight in gold. 20 bucks in plastic(which is a lot of printing) pays for itself in one muck up for a laser cut part.
Caution though, pay more than 300 bucks and make sure it's enclosed. Buy once cry once when reliability and time are what you're after
that would be a fun tool to have (and learn)
Hey. Shit happens. What’s better than doing it once end having fun? Doing it twice and having twice the fun!
Why not cut the shock towers back a little bit. It will make them stronger because you will have more welded contact holding on to the frame.
You could design some pushrod suspension if you wanted it to be really over the top
That would be way fun to do!
@@LawrenceTolman I always wanted to do that but always found reasons why not to.
You should modify the front differential and go solid not floating
Shouldn't have to change much on the backing plates to correct the initials. Just flip 'em.
Like you said an opportunity to make it better
I have been waiting for you to weld the c notch. I’m currently putting one on my Silverado but all I have is a harbor freight titanium flux 125 welder and very little experience welding. I’m using the same weld in c notch as you. Do you think my welder is sufficient to weld the frame?
The welder is fine but you need more practice before you do any frame work.
D'oh !
what spindles did you use and control arms ?
LT why can’t you cut some off the back side of the shock bracket and move 1-2 inches closer to the engine, or is that going to interfere with turbos down pipe , seems like a waste to scrap the nice looking bracket you designed
I could do that, but it would hang over the top of the frame which would be too close on ths pass side for the turbo up pipe, and would also kill my idea of the upper control arm bolt going through the bracket
@@LawrenceTolman I see
@@LawrenceTolman I’m sure you already have another design in the making, check out John Reynolds on youtube he’s in the process of building a mid engine corvair the fab work is impressive especially what he did with his rear shocks
What model TIG welder do you have ? Im looking to get an AC unit to be able to weld aluminum
This is a Forney 220 AC/DC tig
@@LawrenceTolman ...thankyou... and again "Great Build".... Im rite behind you....details and pics to come
Keep eating that elephant bro, it's gonna be awesome when it's done!! I'll keep eating mine rare!!
are the initials backwards?
Hope this isn’t considered trolling but LT” WE THE PPL CANT LET U PUT THAT MASTERPIECE OF A FRAME UP UNDER THE UGLY TRUCK THAT FRAME BELONGS ON A BEAUTIFUL TRUCK”. LOL😂
I see you have a person behind the camera. Was the mrs helping?
Even tho u there was setback LT u can always try again
absolutely! we'll make it better in the long run
Who's doing the camera work now?
Even Monkeys fall out of tree's, sh!t happen, live and learn it will be awesome when done
Cool project Lt. do you by chance have a microphone?
yes, I wear a LAV mic when I do my "on camera" selfie things, like in the intro and outro... the stuff in the middle is shot on a go-pro with an external shotgun mic
A little bummer now equals more cooler in the future 😂😂
That’s what I think!
You can have 2 things in the same place at the same time if you're a Quantum Mechanic.
Physics was never my strong suit
@@LawrenceTolman Kudos on knowing it was Physics! My post revealed all I know, so you're safe now. 😃
ORI’s will fit.
Can I send you a box of 3m 8511 dust masks.
Curious what that laser cut cost yah. ??
wasn't too bad, like $180 for everything
@@LawrenceTolman
Thanks. Caught that later in video.
I have had some local laser cut done, similar pricing.
Don't put my name on those brackets 🤣
sorry man!
@@LawrenceTolman have to ask, since going through this much trouble to do the awd conversion, you think you'd rethink ditching the leafs and doing a 4 link and panhard bar? I don't mind it taking extra time than it's already going to take and I think you might be happier doing it considering you like the road course and it would potentially ride better. Have you thought about it or is this more streamlined towards a budget? I know it could be done later but I had to mention it considering the rigorous amount of work going into the suspension. I will have to admit it would make the truck a lil bit heavier but also might be necessary at the point of power that we really don't know what could be made. I'm thinking 1500hp out of that motor could end up being 2000 and 2000+ ftlb or torque could exceed the limits of the leafs and make them inefficient off the line due to axle wrap. No judgement just a recommendation.
Trial and error
You need a 3D printer to make the parts for test fitting
Use "LTP"
If you dont mess up now you don't have to fix it later like at the track. Or when something small bends and sends you into a wall at 150! Ask me how I know. Build a truck ! Break off a rear shock mount at 610 foot mark! Doing 100mph!
Kiss the wall then shit my pant!
ouch, sorry to hear about your wreck, hope the truck is salvageable!
Nothing ventured nothing gained
Get with @streetracingchannel and raffle the ugly truck off it will be gone in mins