Here’s where things get interesting. Today I spent some time getting a design started for the frame modification. This effort starts with a single question — where does the front mount for the 4-link suspension go, relative to the frame? The second question is then, how do I reshape the frame to accommodate the mount, and allow for suspension travel? The way I’ve chosen to work this out is in a full-scale drawing on a rigid surface, on which I can trace the parts.
I did a bit of work this evening, removing the forward crossmember that supported the bottom of the bed near the front, and removing one of the two bump-stop mounts. This doesn’t sound like much, but it was actually pretty slow going.
Well, I managed to get lucky on Craigslist, and the old rear axle, leaf springs, shocks and brakes are gone. I’ve brought the new axle housing down from the attic and put in in place where the old one was, but not without a small snag.
Well, as I don’t have to point out, it’s been a while. This time it’s actually legitimate however, as I really haven’t had a chance to do anything with the project at all since my last post.
Since then however, there have been issues with the intended design of the heater core, and I’ve been advised that my approach would not be effective — that in fact, it possibly would not work at all.
So, I’ve had to seriously rethink everything, and I’ve been worried that not only would I have to change my control plan for the heater, but that I wouldn’t end up getting the level of control I’d wanted. Instead of smooth electronic control like a light dimmer, I’d instead have to deal with using relays to selectively switch elements on and off to select from a discrete set of output values.
I’ll be really happy when I get done with this heater, so I can put the dash back together and get on with the rest of the project. The phrase “dollar waiting on a dime” comes to mind. I did make some progress this weekend, and concluded most of the “fiddly” part of the process. The rest of the mounting procedure should be relatively straightforward from here.
Sometimes you have those days when it takes you forever to accomplish something so uninteresting that you have a hard time explaining where all the time went. Yesterday would be one of those days. Though I always end up getting less done than I plan for, yesterday was actually a really productive day. It’s just that the result isn’t much to write about.
But, you know, read on anyway. (Updated, 01/17)
Another productive Saturday afternoon. We managed to get the heater core out, as shown in the Disassembly gallery starting on page 4. Unfortunately, as it turned out there was indeed a leak in the core as I’d suspected when running the heater. The reddish GM Dexcool had congealed into a nasty syrupy glop in the bottom of the vent unit, which I’ll have to clean. Fortunately it looks like the heat/vent module disassembles further, so with some luck I can get it all out.
