Nomad C4 chassis assembly

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Thanks Doc!

I've been working on a few things simultaneously to get as much done as I can. I got the old tailpipes cut off and ready to fit the last 3 feet of pipe once I get the rest of the exhaust final polished and bolted onto the frame. Still working on getting all my parts together for zinc plating and getting them bead blasted. Between all of that I'm working on polishing the suspension pieces when I have time. I figure I'm about halfway done with that stuff since everything is deburred and rough-sanded and some parts are polished. My Cerakote Clear should arrive today so I can give it a try soon on the polished pieces.

I need to get the frame off the rotisserie and onto jackstands before I do any more assembly work on it. Plus I will need the rotisserie for the body before long....I hope.

I plan to take the Dana 44 differential to the shop today for the installation of my new 4.10 gears, so I decided to glass bead blast the 5 rearend u-joint yokes and spray them with the Eastwood cast iron paint I've been waiting for. I upgraded the pinion yoke to a 1350 u-joint so now all the u-joints are the same. The weak link in the Dana 44 rear is the outboard stub axles, and you can see why. They're the same part found in the Dana 36 IRS and I don't know why GM didn't upgrade them to a larger diameter at some point. I think they look pretty good cleaned up...

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A little update on progress, as I AM making some nearly every day but not much to show yet.

I got the Cerakote Clear last week along with the tert Butyl Acetate that they say to clean the parts with. I have a lot to do before I can start spraying it, though. I'd like to spray all the front suspension parts at one time, then all the rear suspension parts in another batch or two.

My Dana 44 differential is in the shop and I expect to get it back in a few days with the new ring and pinion installed. Then I'll be re-priming it, my batwing, and torque arm parts to get them ready for paint. I have ordered some ARP 12-point stainless bolts and nuts for the upper balljoints and torque arm. I like the looks of those bolts, but they sure are pricey!!

I have also been gathering up more bolts and bead blasting them for zinc plating. I think I'll take a load down to Denver in a week or so. I'm trying to think of all the little fasteners and special pieces I want plated.

In the meantime I polished up the two pieces of tailpipe behind the C4 batwing. They look really good and weren't too bad to handle since I cut off the straight section at the back before polishing.

I've been sanding suspension parts whenever I get a chance and have the patience . The halfshafts are both smoothed and sanded to 1200 grit, ready to buff. I have one front knuckle that's almost finished sanding, and the other one and a rear knuckle smoothed with scotchbrite ready for 600, then 1200 grit. The other rear knuckle and both lower a-arms have been rough sanded to remove seams and nicks. It's a slow process but the parts sure look good when done. So far I have 4 dogbones, both upper a-arms, and both a-arm shafts finished.

I realized I'm going to have to buy another set of 4 jackstands since the body is on one set and we need another set I have for frame builds. It's always something.

[56-210Sedan]

Your frame is turning out very nicely Laszlo, your color choice is very cool.

[Bow tie downunder]

Hi Lazlo
Having done some polishing I can appreciate your pain and pleasure .Im sure Rick Roush would be envious.Looking at your batwing I see you have removed The large mounting rubber bushes ,I removed the bushes on my Dana 44 thinking I could make up the tools and replace them with new ones .I could not buy original bushes and had to fit after market bushes.

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Hi Mick, I bought this batwing as a spare with the bushings already removed. I have replacement Polygraphite bushings from P-S-T that I plan to use in it. It's my understanding that GM doesn't offer any replacement rubber bushings for C4 suspension parts and the parts are to be serviced with new assemblies. That seems a bit bizarre to me, but it's created an aftermarket for the replacement urethane bushings.

My Dana 44 still isn't finished, or at least they haven't called me yet. The owner told me they'd turn it around in a couple days and it's been 2 1/2 weeks now. Guess I need to call them.

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Slowly but surely things are coming together. The shop hadn't started on my Dana 44 as of last Friday when I called, but I was told they'd start it by this Friday if not sooner...we'll see. He initially told me they'd have it done in "a couple of days" when I took it in before Christmas.

I've gathered and bought all the bolts, nuts, washers, clips and everything else I can think of for zinc plating. It's all glass bead blasted and ready to take to the plater. I've also bought some more stainless ARP bolts and nuts so I have them when I need them.

I'm still trying to decide what to do with my headers, and I might take them down at the same time to a Cerakote applicator. My main hesitation is on deciding what color to coat them. Since my entire exhaust is stainless, I may just go with some chrome-look coating.

I've been working on polishing and I have some of the hardest parts finished....the front spindles/knuckles. Most of this was done by hand or with small buffs on die grinders. All I need to do is a hand final polish with Mother's aluminum polish and then clean them really well before coating with the Cerakote Clear. Next I plan to polish both lower a-arms and even though they're big, I think they may be easier to polish since I can get them on the buffing wheel. Once coated, I can assemble the front suspension on the frame.

[WagonCrazy]

bling, bling, bling, bling...

You're in over your head in bling man! It looks great.

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Paul, problem is I don't know where to stop . I think from start to finish each spindle probably took 6-8 hours of sanding and polishing. The spindles don't really show much once the wheels are on, but I just can't leave them looking crappy. It's a DISEASE!!!

I'll just keep plugging through the polishing and I'll finish it sooner or later. I'm going to see my upholstery guy this week to review the material list and try to get the leather ordered, so I'll have to get back to the interior stuff soon. I'm almost scared to find out how much the leather is going to cost.

Madmook is telling me my interior trim and window frames should all be back from the chrome shop this week. We're not sure about the front bumper yet.

[rockytopper R.I.P 5-13-2017]

You missed a spot lol. Those look great LAZ!!!!

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Rocky, I kinda have to keep telling myself this is a SUSPENSION part, and it's under the car. It's easy for me to get carried away with this stuff. It's no wonder I've been working on this dang car for so long. Thanks!