.......Under Construction Page Six................................................................No More Pages For Now
Page 7 Tilt Front End
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Excuse some of these pictures as someone wanted me to e-mail them some close-ups of the tilt front and the truck was dirty at the time (most of the time it is ;-) ).
The tilt on this truck was built very simply and with available items. It has been very reliable with almost 120,000 miles on it. It fits well every time and doesn't bounce all over the place.
The hinges are high tech 1/2 inch bolts and 1 X 1 1/2 square tubing. The trick with the hinges is to get them as far forward and as low as possible (look at a semi truck for ideas -- the kind that the whole cab tilts). If you do this then as soon as you start lifting, the front of the hood is over center and the weight in that part helps you pick up the back. This tilt lifts very easily and there is no need for any kind of screw jack or hydraulic cylinder. Also with the hinges in this location the hood can go very far forward without the grill hitting the ground. This gives really good access to the engine.
By cutting the fenders the way I did the tilt can come just straight up and doesn't have to first move forward. You could design it that way I just wanted to create something that is easy to make, works well and is reliable.
The latches are hood latches from 2 import pickups that are identical (can't remember what make). There is a latch on each side of the cab with a cable from both going to right under the dash by the driver's door with 2 pull handles (all from the pickups). By having a latch assembly on both sides and by using latches where the plunger part moves up and down and side to side you have a way to locate the sides of the hood in relation to the cab so that your gaps remain constant and in the proper place. This will also locate the tilt vertically to the cab. They make a very cheap clean way to hold and locate the tilt.
The hood was welded solid to the fenders. Actually at the same time I put 1 1/2 inch filler pieces in this area to widen the fenders outward on both sides 1 1/2 inches.
I used some of the original bracing (wide braces out to the wheel wells) and then added 1 X 1 square tubing for more support. Try and do this in a triangular fashion. I tied this into the hinge points as that is where the lifting movement is taking place. I can just pick up the tilt from the driver side wheel well and the other side follows with just a slight sag.
The inner fenders are from a '73 Camaro that I stripped to build this truck. They work well at keeping the engine clean.
I used the Radiator and core support from the Camaro also. I used a couple pieces of square tubing to brace it. You can see a little of this in the first picture below. I trimmed the sides of the core support so that the inner fenders would clear it when you tilt the front.
Look at the pictures and e-mail me with anything I've missed that you need to know.
All of the pictures below were taken with the tilt in the tilted position.
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