ugh, not again already

[cbeck]

Wow, I can,t say the chart is wrong so it must be my tach. Keeping up with traffic on the local highway,at least 1 stoplight every mile, maybe every half, I think I am spinning about 3000 rpm @ 65 mph with 31" tires and a dsc irs. I am hoping to bump that up to 3500rpm.
Mopar, I must say I was a little jealous when I saw what you what you scared up. Sounds like what I want but I've heard those were a little pricey. My builder says he can build a type 1 that will stand up to a 2054 using type 2 cv and that the cv should be the first thing to pop. Guess I should ask him about 4.57 rp for that. 1st and 2nd seem ok, I did check into close 3rd and 4th gears, might still go that way. That rollbar collapsing is a little concerning. Richard keeps pushing the 095, I think I will use that for everything but the cockpit. I still feel better surrounded by 120. Drivers around here suck. I was just hit and run again in my work truck a couple of weeks ago. ran his? passenger side down my rear bumper while knocking his? mirror off on the body. And all the close calls, I feel like I have a target on my back.

[bajaherbie]

doesn't the 1971 3-ribber have a 4.86 in it? one year only part I think...


but I may be wrong once again.

[Steve Arndt]

doesn't the 1971 3-ribber have a 4.86 in it? one year only part I think...


but I may be wrong once again.

No. The heavy bay window needed really low gears when it had the small engines. (t1, and 1700, 1800 T4). When they went to 2 liter, they changed to 5 then six rib, with lower number (higher ratio) ring and pinions.

http://www.ratwell.com/mirror/sandlizrd ... /gears.htm

[dustymojave]

For crash safety, I can't argue with .120 wall around the cockpit itself, as long as the rest of the car is made of .095 wall. Something needs to give. Too rigid of a frame will just pass impact to your body.

I have some issues with the basic structural design of your old frame, such as the shape of the rear cage braces. The big dogleg in those allowed them to fold at the bend, which put an angular moment into the B-pillar hoop junction, thus the tube damage where the rear brace meets the B-pillar hoop. Personally I would have straight rear braces going from that top junction down to the top rail junction with the crossmember above the bell housing. Behind that crossmember could be thinner wall as a crush zone. More likely to get engine damage in a crash that way, but safer inside the cockpit. I agree with more space behind the engine for crush space. All of this gets into a custom built frame instead of something off the shelf.

For street driving, I consider the side impact to be the greatest vulnerability. But tree bars made of the same material as the frame will only bend the frame around you instead of absorbing the crash. So I recommend nerf bars made of thinner wall and/or thinner OD, but more substantial than the common Berrien off the shelf designs.

Another issue I'm seeing in this discussion is that the Beeline web site is down and apparently for sale. They may well have closed up their doors.

[GoMopar440]

I've been trying to reach BeeLine by phone for the last week to get some info about their Pack Rat frame and some of the options for it. To date I still haven't received a reply back yet. This morning I sent off an email hoping to get them to respond that way. So far just more silence. I hope they haven't closed up since the Pack Rat was my first choice for a replacement frame for my rail.

Their website was still up the last time I checked as of 10AM Mountian Time today.

EDIT: I just checked and their website is still up. Are they just really that bad at getting back in touch with customers or is there something along the lines of what Dusty mentioned possibly in the works?

Hey Dusty, is this the link you were referring to or a different one?
http://beelinechassis.net/index.html

[dustymojave]

I used:
http://www.beelinechassis.com

I guess .com is no longer in use, but .net is current. But then, If you're not getting a response is not a good sign.

[GoMopar440]

I guess there's still hope for me to get a Pack Rat frame then. Buuut, if this is what their customer service is like BEFORE the sale, I'd hate to think what it'll be like AFTER the sale.

Maybe I need to take another look at Acme/Berrien frames again. They do have a pickup bed option for their Sandfox frame.

[cbeck]

I tried to email beeline over 2 years ago when I acquired my rail, still no response. Might want to try facebook [rules me out] woodsbuggy.com is dyeing a slow death, some claim due to facebook. Thought I read a post about somebody receiving their frame last fall? If nothing else you should check out mad mikes build, Not far off from a bouncer.
Just got back from my trans guy,signed on the dotted line. Double side cover type 1, 2 heavy side covers, super diff, 4.37 r@p, 1.48 3rd gear, steel shift forks, welded 3+4, plus bearings,seals, etc. that are expected in a rebuild. Said it should stand up to a 2054 if I don't drop the clutch on pavement. O yea, type 2 flanges. Now I can start to order more parts. Once I get trans back I want to drop off my engine parts to be reused. Have not started to disassemble the 1915 yet. Speaking of that, my builder is steering me towards empi's stage 2 wedge port bare with builders valves, dual springs, keepers, and retainers. He said they are basically bug pack heads[ their r@d/cnc profiles] with room for improvement in mentioned areas, and still fall in well under 1k. I am hoping for a substantial improvement over the cheap heads on the 1915.

[GoMopar440]

Two years?!? Maybe they've been out of business for a while and just had their website hosting prepaid. Guess I'll be dealing with Acme/Berrien sooner rather than later.

Can't wait to hear how that setup works out for you. I really want to see how well the 4.37 R&P does on the highway. My gut feeling tells me that ratio is really where I want to be.

I'll be using mine mostly for DD duty with a little light duty off road stuff here and there every once in a while. I'm hoping the HD internals of the 5 rib will keep me from having to go into it any further than the R&P if I decide to open it up.

[cbeck]

I'm waiting to see how long before you are looking for 33" tires Also hoping the shorter 3rd gear is as much fun as 2nd.
With that lathe or mill you have I'm surprised you haven't whittled a tubing bender yet!

[GoMopar440]

Right now I'm limited to 31", maaaybe a short 32", due to the long torsion bars in my rail. I don't want to swap them out for shorter ones due to the harsher ride they give. I should have room to go bigger later on though since I need to put 2x3 rear arms on to work with the bus trans and axles.

I can either put money into building a tubing bender, or buy rail parts. I think my choice so far has been pretty obvious.
Maybe later after I replace my frame...

[cbeck]

my new xp's arrived today. My head actually touches proper, harness slots are about 1" below top of my shoulders, and the removable bottoms mean no more sitting in puddles.
I have a couple of spots in the intake ports of my almost new heads. Any ideas what could be the cause?

[Leatherneck]

What do you mean spots? Nice seats

[bajaherbie]

pictures look out of focus a little. I see some brown stains? shouldn't be rust but maybe some dirty water that evaporated and left the stains?

[GoMopar440]

I have a couple of spots in the intake ports of my almost new heads. Any ideas what could be the cause?

If they're new, maybe it's some cosmoline or a similar anti-corrosion coating. It could also be cooling fluid from the machining process. If they're used, I'd guess probably oil and/or fuel stains. It's hard to tell from the blurry pics. Have you tried to clean it out with some solvent or degreaser of any kind?