95 F150 - Project Marilyn

VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Mon Jun 06, 2016 8:37 pm

Btw what constitutes a full-race skidplate thickness-- like eat something and keep on trucking thickness - 6061 in thinking? There's a compound curve due to the radius that's kind of a bitch to figure out.

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:02 pm

I'm late to the party but I was going to say pretty much exactly what Brian did.

Since he covered that I'll handle the skid plate question...

I've always done 1/4" min. on anything that will really get "used". Anything thinner & they get replaced too often. As it is the race trucks go through 1/4"+ 6061 every couple of races, but for a play truck it's what I turn to. Now if you are going to roll the plate to match the curve of the bumper then 6061 MAY not be your answer. I know 6061 doesn't like to bend, but a very large radius like that on a slip roller may not get the same stress fracturing like you get putting the stuff in a break. Maybe Brian can chime in on grade of material as he knows that stuff better than me (and most). I'm not sure if there's something a bit harder than 5052, but stull ductile enough to work for you.

VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:46 pm

Well I was thinking possibly 3/8" but let's face it 1/4" aluminum is still pretty stout. So I figured out the radius and there's 2 ways to mount the skidplate -- one is if you want the plate across the bottom of the tube, the plate just needs a radiused cut- the second is where the plate fits over the front of the bumper - that's the hard one-- the plate needs a radius cut into the plate to appear straight, so that when the plate needs to be rolled on the top edge only (which I'm not sure if that's even possible in 1/4" material) so that it follows the front of the bumper. There's really only one place around here that I'm thinking can do this rolling if that's even possible-- what would I ask for when talking to them tomorrow?

mounty71 · Post by **mounty71** » Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:58 pm

I think cutting the ends sort of parallel with the fender would look the cleanest. That's how I did mine when I added fiberglass, and yours would look even better because the tube is tighter to the body.

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u122 ... 0pp3lw.jpg

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 8:53 am

VintageIronFab wrote:Well I was thinking possibly 3/8" but let's face it 1/4" aluminum is still pretty stout. So I figured out the radius and there's 2 ways to mount the skidplate -- one is if you want the plate across the bottom of the tube, the plate just needs a radiused cut- the second is where the plate fits over the front of the bumper - that's the hard one-- the plate needs a radius cut into the plate to appear straight, so that when the plate needs to be rolled on the top edge only (which I'm not sure if that's even possible in 1/4" material) so that it follows the front of the bumper. There's really only one place around here that I'm thinking can do this rolling if that's even possible-- what would I ask for when talking to them tomorrow?

3/8" would be good too, but that's even harder to work if you want to roll it. Rolling the 1/4" is definitely possibly. Just depends on what people around you have tool wise. My buddy has a 12' slip roll that will do something like 1" steel for 1/2 the length.

As for what to ask the shop - just ask the capacity of their machine. Explain what you are looking to do (material, thickness & final output desire) and they should be able to tell you right away over the phone if they can handle it.
What they will probably ask if for a piece of cardboard the length of the skid plate of a bit longer with the radius desired drawn on it (trace the bumper edge on it) and they will roll the plate 7 check against that until the desired radius is achieved.

That all being said I would just cut the plate at the radius vs. rolling it. Easier/cheaper to do, easier/cheaper to replace and then unless you are doing a radius tube on the bottom of the skid as well I am not sure they can roll just the top half of the plate and leave the bottom portion flat. It may be a possibility with a machine other than a slip roll though, or with someone muuuuch more experienced on a slip roll than I am.

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 8:54 am

fricken type-o's! A few of the "of" above are or's and that 7 is an &.

Tchajagos · Post by **Tchajagos** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 10:05 am

You can always do like 2-3 bends in a V shape. Or use cardboard to see if a flat plate will be fine. Another option is to run that valence material for an air damn and no one will see the top of the skid plate and you can just run a flat plate.

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toddz69 · Post by **toddz69** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 1:50 pm

I vote for "A" as well.

Todd Z.

VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 5:31 pm

Compromise ??

VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 4:38 pm

Finally got the bypasses on! Love tuning up clamps with a little cheapy heat shrink.

VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Fri Jun 17, 2016 6:03 am

Got the air intake tube sorted out ... I think

VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Wed Jun 22, 2016 7:11 am

Used these 5/8" studs on the front hubs and they worked great.

Andy Jones · Post by **Andy Jones** » Wed Jun 22, 2016 5:17 pm

What glass are you running

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VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Wed Jun 22, 2016 6:25 pm

It's glassworks on the front and some junk 6" AF that are honestly trashed- I might run a different brand once I am positive the 6" is more than enough. Outside tire width is about 85"ish depending on where you measure.

Andy Jones · Post by **Andy Jones** » Wed Jun 22, 2016 7:14 pm

Sweet thanks ! Good job on the build .

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VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 6:38 pm

Got my tubular inner fenders / radiator support back from powdercoat and installed. I decided to run a 1/4" & 5/16" tap down all the holes to ditch the metric bolts-- something to be said for plain old grade 8 fasteners lol

VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Sun Jul 03, 2016 10:55 am

Couple pics of my front bumper. Sits close to the front grill, 1/4" 6061 skidplate, radiused to match the newer radiused LED light bars

VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Sun Aug 07, 2016 4:50 pm

Whipped up a bracket to mount some Hella Sharp Tone horns in some factory holes.

VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Sun Aug 07, 2016 4:55 pm

Can anyone help me with some vac routing issues?

The top pic is from a 93-95 Lightning and the bottom is my 95 F150 with a 5.8 and the pink lines.

Tchajagos · Post by **Tchajagos** » Sun Aug 07, 2016 8:43 pm

The link line in the second pic? Looks like it goes to the same place in the first pic.