Finishing install on my exhaust cut outs. Manually operated.

8 hours ago, spin_dry said:

Brakes are fine. It’s everything else. The lower control arms have rubber bushings that begin to crack around 100k. The 10” control arm through bolts seize into the body. Shops charge $1500-2000 to extract. Some shops simply refuse because they don’t have the know how. I wanted to do it at home and get some antiseize in there just in case something happens on the road and it needs to come apart. The bushings were also cracking. The Bilstein B6 struts are a solid, German unit. I could’ve got more time out of them, but it was less than $200 for the pair so I swapped them out while I’m in there. The upper strut bearings have had a more durable upgrade from Ford so they got replaced. The front end takes a lot of abuse in the back country….things wear out and break quicker. The van has 105,000. Struts aren’t that difficult to replace. It’s an afternoon job with a proper spring compressor. Although for morons it can be a dangerous task with that spring under a lot of pressure and much energy to release. Finally the ball joints. I just put in new ball joints last summer. One was already bad. No grease from the factory. Duh. Most of the stranded folks I’ve encountered in the desert or mountain back country have had suspension related failures. Just trying to stay ahead of the game.

you got a good deal on those bilsteins. They must screw you when you buy em for a fox I paid like triple that. Kinda strange seeing a performance strut on a van they must make a noticeable difference

1 minute ago, 800renegaderider said:

you got a good deal on those bilsteins. They must screw you when you buy em for a fox I paid like triple that. Kinda strange seeing a performance strut on a van they must make a noticeable difference

Found them in rock auto’s close out section. Lots of good deals there. The B6 monotube design makes a huge difference. The spring perch is 3/4” higher so it brings the front end up a little. King and Falcon recently released some rebuildable struts for the transit. $2000-3250 for a pair depending on style. That’s crazy money.

2 minutes ago, spin_dry said:

Found them in rock auto’s close out section. Lots of good deals there. The B6 monotube design makes a huge difference. The spring perch is 3/4” higher so it brings the front end up a little. King and Falcon recently released some rebuildable struts for the transit. $2000-3250 for a pair depending on style. That’s crazy money.

I gotta look there more often for shit. Ya that’s crazy money for a daily, I can see it if it’s dedicated rig you want to perform for whatever you enjoy rock crawling, autocross etc.

Turning the block on the left(3 of them) into the part on the right.

The little demon hasn’t been running well so Im checking cam timing. Still looks spot on. I may pull a head and have a look as I have not had this apart since I completed it.

Working on my tan this weekend. Boating, swimming, adult beverages, friends and family. Happy 4th fellas

2 hours ago, Pete said:

The little demon hasn’t been running well so Im checking cam timing. Still looks spot on. I may pull a head and have a look as I have not had this apart since I completed it.

How big is that?

What does it power?

2 minutes ago, Voodoo said:

How big is that?

What does it power?

It is 1/5th scale. Runs on Sunoco 110. Water cooled with a splash oil system. All built from billet stock. Every single piece is made by hand from scratch. Over 1000 machined parts. Camshaft, spark plugs ,heads ,block ,crank ,pistons, rings, titanium valves ect.. Spark plug boots too.

I built it to push my machining abilities. Plus Im into scale model stuff.

I bring it to car shows and fire it up and people come running lol. Its awesome

Reciprocating and rotating assembly

Very cool.

Going to burn 50gal of gas. Surfs up!

So... where do you get spark plugs for something like that???? And what size are the threads on them??

25 minutes ago, nascarmike said:

So... where do you get spark plugs for something like that???? And what size are the threads on them??

The plugs are all hand made. The insulator is corian countertop material. The thread is 8-40

6 hours ago, Pete said:

The plugs are all hand made. The insulator is corian countertop material. The thread is 8-40

On 7/1/2026 at 6:30 AM, Stephen Hawking said:

Turning the block on the left(3 of them) into the part on the right.

I'm thinking of ballscrewing and servo motoring my Bridgeport, then hook up ai for live control, not just writing g code

6 hours ago, FrankieJames7 said:

I'm thinking of ballscrewing and servo motoring my Bridgeport, then hook up ai for live control, not just writing g code

Just be careful with the AI, the machine might start making terminator parts.

Edited July 4Jul 4 by Stephen Hawking

Making the camshaft. It’s 0-1 tool steel.

Not only did I have to make the actual part, I also had to make all the fixtures to make the part.

I still look back on this project and say “ i cant believe i made this part” lmao

Here is the finished camshaft.

12 hours ago, FrankieJames7 said:

I'm thinking of ballscrewing and servo motoring my Bridgeport, then hook up ai for live control, not just writing g code

Are you running 3 phase or on a phase convertor? I have been told that the phase convertors don't get along with the servos.

5 hours ago, Stephen Hawking said:

Just be careful with the AI, the machine might start making terminator parts.

Robots building robots, now that's just stupid

On 7/4/2026 at 7:54 AM, nascarmike said:

Are you running 3 phase or on a phase convertor? I have been told that the phase convertors don't get along with the servos.

It is single phase. If that is the case, how do brushless motors do for cnc control? I inherited some lathes and this mill, j head from the early 70s. I know about 3 printers and know a major difference is a mill has to handle load from cutting while a printer only handles load of the weight and momentum of the extruder or bed moving

20 minutes ago, FrankieJames7 said:

Robots building robots, now that's just stupid

It is single phase. If that is the case, how do brushless motors do for cnc control? I inherited some lathes and this mill, j head from the early 70s. I know about 3 printers and know a major difference is a mill has to handle load from cutting while a printer only handles load of the weight and momentum of the extruder or bed moving

I did a little more investigating and answered my own question. It turns out that if you are using 3 phase, you need a rotary convertor instead of a static phase convertor. They work better with the CNC servos.

53 minutes ago, nascarmike said:

I did a little more investigating and answered my own question. It turns out that if you are using 3 phase, you need a rotary convertor instead of a static phase convertor. They work better with the CNC servos.

It was grok who recommended servos over steppers so I barely have any real idea about the best cnc conversion for this, but that is good to know, first thing I want to make is an ak or dragunov, after that I was thinking just make allthread with that lathe and sell it, a sheldon, said is made in Chicago

On 6/19/2026 at 9:11 PM, nascarmike said:

Cup holders!

all done... being in the sun on the lift all summer right side up is going to require a regular treatment of teak oil it seems. oh well...

Wife called around 9:30 and told me something was wrong with her car, which can mean anything. So after some questions I determined it could possibly have a busted tie rod because she said it wasn't steering correctly.

Turns out it was a broken toe link in the left rear. Boy it was an adventure driving that to my local repair shop, felt like driving on ice.

On 7/3/2026 at 9:48 AM, Pete said:

It is 1/5th scale. Runs on Sunoco 110. Water cooled with a splash oil system. All built from billet stock. Every single piece is made by hand from scratch. Over 1000 machined parts. Camshaft, spark plugs ,heads ,block ,crank ,pistons, rings, titanium valves ect.. Spark plug boots too.

I built it to push my machining abilities. Plus Im into scale model stuff.

I bring it to car shows and fire it up and people come running lol. Its awesome

You're one of those who can't sleep well I guess.

Very cool work.