M931 Bobber Project With Air Ride

[mendo]

Toby, the way it is mounted now does stop sideways movement when at ride height but i will certainly look it up, the way it was mounted before on the freightliner was different. I will more than likely drop it lower under the frame if i can but the only thing is it is tight down there and the angled way i have it was one of the only ways to get it in there. and yes there were 3 bones

another way to get it more level is to run it all the way across from the frame on one side over to the other side of the axle. the longer it is, the less is changes the angle vs. the height. I have seen them off of a big bracket right near the tire all the way across to the opposite frame. nice and level right at the height you want to run most of the time.

 

[aheilmann68]

Tobys, yes half of what you said is not quite right but you are correct with describing the panhard bar and watts link. Issue with the panhard and the reason for the way I mounted it was believe it or not but it its very crowded in there. The way I have it now is the only real straight shot at the axle. The shorter length of the panhard bar creates a more noticeable arc as the radius is shorter. The air bags are in the way for dropping a bracket to make it horizontal, to build up a tower to make the panhard level will create a large moment. The truck stays at ride height and its essentially set up for one position. We do need to order shorter bags because the specified ride height of the current ones is 16" and I need them running at 10" so for now it's fine but when we really get it on the road it will be different. So far the ride is nicer than before but certainlly needs some weight added to the back. Ive been busy with a 923 truck I got last week that was from the 23 battalion of the seabee's so it was a m925 winch (whick was removed but the hydraulics were left in place less the pto), hard top and has lockers in the rears.

I have not done any additional work to it as i just wanted to get it out of the shop and my buddy was disappointed that I did the work since he was excited to learn how it gets done. Hes finally home so probably in a week or two we will get back to working on it with him justsitting in a chair but since the shocks need to be mounted and a whole list needs to be finished the project should progress.we are thinking of getting a parts truck for the bed abd miscellaneous parts that we could use.

I may run a 2 bar from both frame rails down to the axle like >| if that makes scense to lock the axle in location but allow it some verticle movement with some form of slip slide piece or just re configure the panhard if we find it is having problems.

 

[tobyS]

Yea, a project can be a time pit and there is only so much motivation, time and materials to go around. Glad your friend is getting going and he will adjust to you having done a huge part of the work. It got it out of the shop for other projects, so any hard feelings are unwarranted.

It seems a rather short arc and is probably a reason for going to the three link Watts style, if you can figure out room. Set him up researching it and making the design fit, then help him install it. I think it should be a substantial piece (or pieces). While one has to think in a straight line on panhard or Watts, the panhard link can be curved to get around the pig. Oink Oink!!

Sold 2 923A1's and getting 2 more A2's to sell. Location on a highway helps. I need a shop but have to do some excavation first.

Changed my plans on bobbing the one with 11.00's to keeping (for now as 6x6)...making cargo dump and building on a knuckleboom. Just put in two new 1440 cca bus batteries, a new fuel shut off solenoid and fuel door lock built into the side step platform... so fixed batteries for a few years I hope. Working on a hard top made with diamond plate to replace a soft top. It will have an overhang, maybe gutters, to get water away. The knuckleboom frame will be like a rollbar over the cab, to the frame in front of the cab. I will need to notch the doghouse and keep the uprights clear of the line of sight. Toby

 

[mendo]

with you only going from one side of the diff to the frame, this watts link setup might be the ticket for you.

http://image.sporttruck.com/f/9200653/0612st_04_z+bagged_trucks_summary+watts_link_diagram_down.jpg



it will give you the travel and the location to keep the rear end right where you want it.

 

[aheilmann68]

The truck is coming along, was sitting for a while without a bed as we looked to win a parts truck but ended up setting a date to get it done by (Gilbert Show) and went dsown to John Apple to get a bed. Johns a great guy to deal with and boy are his toys nice. this week will be busy bed went on last week odds and ends were done this weekend and this week the exhaust is getting done so its coming along.

The air ride is amazing, however we had to mount the shocks which got rid of some of the minor bouncing without weight in the truck. Drive shaft was lengthened to 50 and change inches and the truck handles great. Although the panhard bar is not correct because its on an angle, it works quite well so we will see wether or not it needs to be replaced and if so we may go with a J bar which is horizontal then drops vertically down to the mount on the axle.

Pictures will be up hopefully the end of the week if not this weekend after Gilbert

 

[mendo]

J Bar still has the same angle between where it starts and where it ends, just gets there differently. if you draw the path of travel it will be the same path as the straight one.

if it works, keep it!

 

[aheilmann68]

Yes I agree in that the travel is identical on the sweep of the end, but a J bar is very common on cars and hot rods. If it makes people feel more comfortable that it resembles a common part then I could change it but this truck is performing amazingly. Had it doing a bit of construction roads and it was solid, no real issues at all. We did have to put the shocks on because it had a little bounce to it when running down the road which went away.

 

[Motiracer38]

Can you post pics of where you mounted the shocks? I want to do that on mine once bobbed too.

 

[aheilmann68]

This weekend I will

 

[aheilmann68]

Just wanted to update on this truck. Its running like a champ, all that has really been done was to add a double hitch on the back of the truck and a gooseneck ball to the frame above the axle. The bed rails that are 6" now are going to be removed and 1" tall rails are going to be put in to drop the bed height. The truck has almost 1500 miles on it and rides really nice. I swapped the #27 button on the fuel pump for a 20 and we noticed a slight improvement but the thing is a rocket ship anyway the way it pulls. We did not decide to modify the panhard bar as the truck is operating great.

 

[jcappeljr]

Looks good...

 

[aheilmann68]

Been a while but the truck is running great, put 2k on the truck since the fall. So far the panhard bar has worked fine the way it is and the truck is very stable. Ended up cutting out the 6"c channel frame for the bed and putting a 2x4 tube in instead to drop the bed height down so a gooseneck trailer can be towed. Also built an exhaust brake for the truck which really helps the truck decelerate and brings the rpms down fast.

On another note, built another bobber that's for sale from a 923a2 with air ride and got it fully painted. She started out pretty rough in the back half. It appears the cab was replaced and it went through a half a rebuild but the bed and the frame had a lot of the paint peeling. Needle scaler, wire brush, power washer and a ton of dust later I acid washed it all then primed it before painting.

the one picture is of the original truck in this thread

 

[davo727]

Is the rear brake setup still the same as original?

 

[aheilmann68]

yes still air brakes and nothing is changed only thing that is different is the air ride suspension and the drive shaft getting lengthened.

 

[davo727]

Good. Any way you can post a pic of how the air ride attaches to the axle? Thanks