Good Morning, Something i've been bringing up alot is using modern CAD and 3D printing/design tools to keep our trucks on the road and looking nice and for informational purposes, I've put together a parts identification chart using 3D modeling software and photoshop, while most of us here probably know all of the stuff in this, we do get some people occasionally who have never worked on cars before, and i think its always good to have quality reference material on hand,with that i present 39 man hours of what happens when a Floridaman gets bored while stoned, i hope this is of some use. Original render for the artwork took 4 hours with 1114AA passes per frame.the image is very large and may take a while to load as its in 8k. Axle Subassemblies page will take a little while longer, will post in thread once I've finished it.

 

I love the simplicity but yet so informative. This has got to help a lot of beginners as well as some veterans. Great job!

 

once i've completed the other like, 5 sections for each major frame type and god knows how many pages, which will dive into individiual assemblies including engine, Transmission, Wiring, brake/fuel/evap and exhaust routing, suspension geometry and drivetrain configurations, as well as steering geometry. im going to turn it into a master.pdf intended to help anyone who picks up one of these less scared of tearing a vehicle to its bones and starting from the ground up. if anybody can draw out that kind of motivation or dedication to a project then, and to serve as a generic guide to identifying certain major assemblies (transmission, axle and small parts, generic drivetrain components)

 

Nice work! You build up all the 3D parts in CAD?

 

yep. start from a single vertex or flat plane, and build from there off measurements and many, many, many pictures.

 

I'd love to have a 3D printable model of a Vortec 4.3

best I can do is this business card holder for my boss...

 

if i had access to an actual stripped Vortec block i could make one down to the mm, but all i've got is the one under the hood, and im praying that the day i have to **** with it is far far off. 138k somewhat hard miles on it.

 

Lol I hear ya. Mine's at 220k, and if it lets go and has to come out, it's getting an new engine with an additional 2 cylinders put back in its place

 

I've looked at a 5.7 MPFI Swap, since its a direct bolt in that just needs 4 extra wires repinned to the PCM and a tune, but honestly i like the V6, its got plenty of power and the engine bay is tight enough, despite all the abuse by the previous owner (my father, funny enough) and all the work i've had to do the motor in my rig runs nearly like new and i hope it stays that way...
To keep the moderation team happy and this thread on topic, here is a wireframe of the partially completed cab mesh, the assembled models will be used in the cover artwork, with subsequent pages tackling each assembly. as mentioned, the first vehicle to get a full breakdown set will be a 2 Door '98-'05, then a 4 door, then short and long bed single cab trucks, and i may leave it at that, as this is extremely labor intensive for me to do for as much fun as i have doing it.



 

I'm impressed. Lot's of work.