The CUCV Build-1986 M1031 Mobile Field Maintenance Assault Vehicle
- Thread starter PlethoraOfGuns
- Start date
1976K5Chalet
Observer
Noticed that bracket in front of the new eldo caliper to hold the park brake cable. Would like to hear and see more about that as i have rear disc but no P/B yet...
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
I was going to do a strap thing like you have, but I think I came up with a crafty idea using a bolt and some custom bent/welded pieces of threaded rod. We'll see...
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Yea, about that. I haven't yet gotten the parking brake hooked up. Need to further fabricate brackets to work with the stock parking brake cables. As soon as I get around to figuring out what to do with them, I'll surely post it here.
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Reinforcement? This is a 1980's American Chevrolet, it doesn't need any reinforcing!
But really, everything underneath is steel/cast iron except for the overdrive unit, which I'm concerned about because it's worth more than the truck. Maybe that's something I'll get around to. But hey, what's the worst that can happen?
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Oh, the battery box. Well I'm not planning on doing any crazy rock crawling with this thing. The battery box is built out of 1/8" angle iron, and it sits higher than the fuel tank, so if it manages to get damaged, I'll probably have bigger issues, I'm not gonna bother with it. I am going to do something with the sides, just to stop debris from getting to the top of the battery.
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Speaking of protection, I guess at least the sides of the battery box should be protected, given the close proximity to the rear wheel well.
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Just got some scrap sheet metal I had laying around and used the MIG welder to tack it all up. The sheet metal will also give the box frame some bilateral rigidity, so that's also a plus.
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Ran all the beads...
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And grinded everthing flush on the outside for a nice clean finish. Halfway through grinding, about 2 hours, I realized it was too much work and should have left the beads showing. Oh well, couldn't leave it half grinded.
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I'm thinking this cold galvanization spraypaint would work best to protect the steel from corrosion against battery acid and such. Not sure, we'll find out how well that works. Would anyone suggest anything more appropriate?
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Just got some scrap sheet metal I had laying around and used the MIG welder to tack it all up. The sheet metal will also give the box frame some bilateral rigidity, so that's also a plus.
.
Ran all the beads...
.
And grinded everthing flush on the outside for a nice clean finish. Halfway through grinding, about 2 hours, I realized it was too much work and should have left the beads showing. Oh well, couldn't leave it half grinded.
.
I'm thinking this cold galvanization spraypaint would work best to protect the steel from corrosion against battery acid and such. Not sure, we'll find out how well that works. Would anyone suggest anything more appropriate?
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
I know POR15 is good stuff, but is it resistant to battery acid?
chilliwak
Expedition Leader
I never saw a battery or a battery strap/carrier that did not stand up without a regular dowsing of baking soda and hot water. What i want to say is keep everything from stainless steel custom systems to old iron protected with a basic solution of the above mentioned liquid often. Even a good set-up will corrode with poor maintenance. You can sometimes read a 2 or more voltage circuit drop on top of a dirty battery with your tester. Cheers, Chilli..
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Oh boy, washing with baking soda and hot water? That sounds like a lot of work. I don't even wash the truck! But thanks for the advise, I would have never have thought that. We'll just see what happens with the galvanized base coat and a top layer of truck bed liner paint.
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Got it all finished up and mounted for good. Not sure if we need to a front door/cover. We'll put some batteries in and find out.
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Got it all finished up and mounted for good. Not sure if we need to a front door/cover. We'll put some batteries in and find out.
mattcrouch1502
Observer
Nice build, i'm about to start a similar build with a crew cab. Your thread has given me tons of ideas, good work! One question, when you replaced the mounts under the contact maintenance bed, what did you use/where did you get them? I'm going to have to find some for when I swap my bed on.