No Limit "Goldie"

[RobNoLimit]

Back Story first.
If you were one of the lucky ones to go on the Cars and Cones Road Trip, you had a great time. I did the trip in Tina's mustang to give it a good shake down. No issues at all, and it performed very well. But, most of the trip, I was thinking that I should really be in a truck. During that event, we gave away a grand prize, and the winner chose a $7500 credit towards a new chassis for a 1961 Ford Uni-body. His plan is to finish the truck for next years Cars & Cones tour. That really got me thinking. Early this summer I was considering a freshen up of my trusty C10, the JT (Joe Touring) But, in reality, an update would leave me with a bunch of unused parts. So, it seams better to build another truck and sell the JT at a later date. If you want to see the build on the JT, it is on another site dedicated to 67-72chevytrucks. Back when we built the JT, we were not building chassis for C10's, but, now we do. So, it seams natural that a new shop truck would be built on a new chassis. Now, I had a cab/doors nose and title from a C10 we brought out from Ca when we moved, and I still have the 6.0 LQ9 that was the first motor for the HellBoy. And, I have the TKO-600 that I took out of the HellBoy in favor of the Legends trans. So, I don't really have to start from scratch.

OK, I already started, and we're making good progress. When we build these chassis, it's all in "sub-assembly" The end rails are built first, fronts and rears. The inside and outside panels are .188", and placed in a fixture with cut tube spacers. The spacers are welded in (heavy tacks) to hold the rail width. Then the rail tops and bottoms are fitted and tacked. The rail is then loaded in a press fixture to weld. Once fully welded, the are ground and sanded, and are then ready to go into the chassis table. So, here's a few picts. I'l put more info in as I go.

[Peter Mc Mahon]

Wait a minute, wait a minute,,,, what about Jenny? Poor Jenny sitting in the corner. Show her some love!

[RobNoLimit]

haha. Jenny is in the "lots of time invested to go a little way, doesn't look much different". But she is moving forward.

[Dr G]

This should be a good thread Rob. I'll be watching for updates.

Btw, do you have a build thread on Hell Boy posted anywhere? If not, have you ever considered doing one? Or just posting some pics of the build? I for one would love to see them!

Side note, I was reading an old thread on another forum where someone had posted links to these videos you made testing the torsional stiffness of your Big-10 frame:

https://youtu.be/e8cJwco4hrw

I had no idea you'd done this. Kudos. This should be a standard in the industry. I have a dream of building my own frame one of these days and was planning on doing my own stiffness test similar to yours. My thinking was "no one does this". And now I find you you actually have.

[Munssey]

awwwwwe yeah!

[Eric Howell]

Subscribed!


Btw, do you have a build thread on Hell Boy posted anywhere? If not, have you ever considered doing one? Or just posting some pics of the build? I for one would love to see them!The Hell boy thread was fun to follow.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=488826

[bovey]

Oh. So. Subscribed.

Also a big fan of your torsional twist videos, would be very curious to see a 67-72 chassis comparison.

[RobNoLimit]

Oh. So. Subscribed.

Also a big fan of your torsional twist videos, would be very curious to see a 67-72 chassis comparison.

coming soon

[Dr G]

Subscribed!The Hell boy thread was fun to follow.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=488826

Well, I just finished reading all 34 pages of the Hell Boy build and development thread. Quite worth it. Thanks for the tip. Highly recommended to anyone here who has not seen it.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/11/hellboy20sm-1.jpg

[Peter Mc Mahon]

Rob, I just read the build of hellboy and have two questions. Is there a build thread on the silver bullet and on the Summers truck, what kind of steering rack is that? Is it part of your wide ride front end?

[RobNoLimit]

Rob, I just read the build of hellboy and have two questions. Is there a build thread on the silver bullet and on the Summers truck, what kind of steering rack is that? Is it part of your wide ride front end?

No real threads on the Silver Bullit, It was very simple. Big-10 chassis with some std upgrades, For Racing 392 Windsor (no longer offered) T-5, F-100 body. Not sure of the Summers C10. The rack on the HellBoy is a Flaming River "RoadRace" rack. Same geometry and torsion valve as the Fox rack, but with a larger diameter rack shaft and pillow block mounting. I get a lot of comments on the front end geometry +/-, about what it is or isn't. The geometry itself is a spot on copy of our Wide-Ride geometry. So, the UCA and LCA mounting points are exactly the same. We did however build this as a test bed, so the way the arms are mounted and constructed allows us to make changes for testing (same for the rear). Even the spindle geometry is the same as our WideRide spindle, we just had Coleman build these for a Wide-5. So, after four years of testing and trying different geometry on the IFS, I can tell you that the only real improvement is a slight change in Ackreman vs. caster/SAI match. The wheel base also comes into play here, and due to this knowledge, we have made a slight change to the WideRide spindle during the last production run. And by slight, I mean, less than .100" total re position of the outer TRE pick-up point. What we really learned is, WideRide geometry is pretty bad ass.

[kingcrunch]

What did you say again when are you going to make these chassis for Dodge trucks? :worship:

[RobNoLimit]

Making progress. I'm having trouble getting picts to download out of my phone, sorry for the delay in posting. I got one pict to send, then none. Should be fixed soon. Anyway, making great progress. The chassis is back from powder and I am working on the cab and bed. The doner truck was a Ca. cab and nose with "no rust". So much for that. The cab took a new roof, rebuilding of some inner structure, a rocker, a corner and some floor repair. And, the snowball starts rolling. At least this was a factory A/C cab. At this point it is back in stock configuration. I am having some thoughts on a few mild custom touches. We'll see. Hope everyone is having a nice Thanksgiving holiday.

[RobNoLimit]

OK, so in the "you know your getting old when" section of this build, I decided to fab in a cargo box. I carry a lot crap around on a day to day basis. Chain, rope, jumper cables, hitch, wood blocks, ....... and I am tired of having it all bang around in the back of the JT. So, I went ahead and built in this cargo box. It has flush lids with gas struts, aero-locks, and I cut in the center drop for a large LED light. I am also going to mount the battery and a compressor in the box. - Tired of having the battery under the truck. You may also notice that the bed floor is raised 4" to clear the raised rails.

[moregrip]

OK, so in the "you know your getting old when" section of this build, I decided to fab in a cargo box. I carry a lot crap around on a day to day basis. Chain, rope, jumper cables, hitch, wood blocks, ....... and I am tired of having it all bang around in the back of the JT. So, I went ahead and built in this cargo box. It has flush lids with gas struts, aero-locks, and I cut in the center drop for a large LED light. I am also going to mount the battery and a compressor in the box. - Tired of having the battery under the truck. You may also notice that the bed floor is raised 4" to clear the raised rails.

Very nice! are you going to be able to secure each item separately or have some sort of retention system inside the cargo box?

[RobNoLimit]

I put in a tube sleeve to hold the hitch and pin. The battery and compressor will be mounted. I put in a few dividers to hold the blocks and chains. The rope, straps, tie-downs and jumper cables will have their own tote bags (thanks to DeWalt tool bags they supply with cordless tools) It's kind of an odd thing to do, but I have a goal of an actual driver, with the comfort and quality of a new truck.

[Craig@Bowler]

I put in a tube sleeve to hold the hitch and pin. The battery and compressor will be mounted. I put in a few dividers to hold the blocks and chains. The rope, straps, tie-downs and jumper cables will have their own tote bags (thanks to DeWalt tool bags they supply with cordless tools) It's kind of an odd thing to do, but I have a goal of an actual driver, with the comfort and quality of a new truck.

I love the idea Rob. I've always thought the same thing. Rather than spend $xx on a new truck just build an older one to be what you want in a new truck. I'm really looking forward to seeing the completed project.

[LT1C1500]

Subscribed. Looks fantastic!

[RobNoLimit]

Not sure this will really be any less $$ than a new one, but it will be cool.

[RobNoLimit]

Thanks guys. Here are a few picts of the bed/floor raising mod. This is how I usually do it for C10's. I am raising the bed floor 4" to clear the higher rail. So, I had a local sheet metal shot form up some risers. They are 4" tall with 1" ledges. There are six total parts. four small for the sides, in front of and behind the wheel tubb, and two longer ones, for the front and back. I start fitting by marking and drilling matching holes in the top and bottom ledges. This way they will bolt to the exising O.E. ledge, and then the floor will fit on the top ledge. Then, once clamped in place, I drill a series of holes to hold them into the sides. These are small, 1/4". Once all are drilled and fitted, they get two coats of good old Rustoleum SGB (semi-gloss-black). If this was a customers truck, I would send them out to powder coat. But, I plan on having the underside of the bed sprayed with Line-X (and the cab) so that isn't needed. During final assembly, I use a sealant around the edges to lock the moisture and rattles out. Don't laugh, I use liquid nail subfloor adhesive. It works great. Last here is a pict of the fuel filler. I did this on my current truck, the JT, and I just felt that I needed to carry this one over. But, I am using larger fill tube and vent. - The JT burps fuel sometimes.

[RobNoLimit]

Here is in early mock up with the cab and bed on. When finished the rocker should be 6" to 7" off the ground. The chassis picks are not really right. This is a chassis we did for a customer, but I am using the same color powder, and this is also a high rail chassis. So, it's almost the same.

[kingcrunch]

Would an X-shaped structure like this help stiffen up an open C-channel frame?

[Josh@Ridetech]

Looks really good, Rob!

[LT1C1500]

man, you do fantastic work Rob! Keep on with the pics when you get the time. And thanks for the help on the 88-98 frame and questions when I called you earlier this week. Although my head is still swimming with ideas :confused::confused:

[brawls43]

Looks great, I really dig the filler neck idea. Would like to see a few more pics, like with that panel open.

[RobNoLimit]

OK, I haven't posted in a while, but the project is still moving forward. The engine and exhaust are fitted, driveshaft done. We are working on the exhaust. All of the cab and body sheet metal work is done, and the parts went off to paint (we don't paint). Anyway, I got these picts today, and it got me pretty excited about the project. Before you ask, the colors are 1970 Chevelle Champaign Gold (code 55) and 1965+ Mustang Wimbledon White (not a GM color, but one of my favorite 'white' shades. Time to get to work.

[RobNoLimit]

You may have noticed that some of the back panel and the lower firewall is not "perfect". And, that's OK with us. This is a driver. It's already getting too nice in some areas. I don't want it to be so nice that it stays in the garage. We had several discussions with the painter on when to 'stop' and how far to go. The interior and exterior look great, and that's what we wanted. Yes, there is a run in the clear behind the firewall, don't worry, we will sand it out.

[smbrouss70]

Looks good Rob! I figure that the angle iron on each side of the firewall is to hold the back of the inner fenders up, but which ones are you going to run? Any mock-up pics of the inner fenders?

[68 TT]

I love the idea Rob. I've always thought the same thing. Rather than spend $xx on a new truck just build an older one to be what you want in a new truck. I'm really looking forward to seeing the completed project.

I came to the same conclusion. A fully rebuilt and good as new older truck but with the options and attitude you want it to have is the way to go vs having to settle for what is out there for new rigs.

Should be less $$ than a new truck and won't go down in value as quickly with mileage and age either. Win Win.

Goldie looks like another great project. Can't wait to see it come together.

[RobNoLimit]

I really have been working on this project. I think trying to use a bunch of stuff that I had is making it harder. Here are a few shots of the finished chassis, ready for the cab.

[RobNoLimit]

Baby steps. Thats all you need. Just keep plugging away at it. OK, we spent about three months working back and forth with Ultimate Headers on a set of custom long tube headers for LSX in our C10 chassis. And man are these nice. They use an investment cast stainless flange, as well as a stainless tube casting for the 'first turn' from the flange out. This gives them a tighter turn with no loss of I.D., and great clearance around the plugs. These are probable the nicest headers I have ever worked with. The collector flange uses an internal 'ball-ring' and the external clamp. This is the lowest profile clamp on the market, and has no leaks. I am using Black Widow mufflers, two sets. A small pair of Race Venom mufflers in the X section, and then a pair of Pro Venom's behind the X member, and after the 'H' pipe. Hopefully it has a smooth sound, and not to loud on the highway.

[Peter Mc Mahon]

Awesome looking as always Rob. Why 2 sets of
Mufflers?

[Dr G]

Love that idea on the header flange with the cast first curve.

[1971_c10]

I'll second Rob on the Ultimate Headers. I feel like I was the first production run. I had my own growing pains and that was after Rob's fit trials. But in the end, these things fit as best as they can w/o going full custom. And they do hug the block very nicely and man do they maintain the ground clearance by not even coming close to the bottom of the oil pan. And if you look at mine vs Rob's, you can see that my O2 bungs have been moved back to behind the ball and socket vs in front. Gives a little more flexibility around O2 orientation with various transmissions. You'll notice I'm running a 7004r vs Rob's manual.

Passenger Side
139767

Driver Side
139768

Close up of steering shaft mocked into position
139769

Top View showing the collector placement
139770

Merge collectors!
139771

haha look at all that dust I need to clean up. Hope I didn't hijack Rob's thread too much. I am running one of his chassis and they rock!

[YAMATHUMP]

The headers do look like the fit very nice. Gonna be a great looking truck.

[RBEAST]

very nice work !

[Coursey]

Any updates on this one?

[Motown 454]

The truck looks amazing Rob.

[chevelletiger]

Updates please!!
Have a 1970 swb also