2009 SEMA Build (MMA Fighter Dan 'Hendo' Henderson)

[Nor-Cal Nick]

2009 SEMA is right around the corner and here is a truck build that I will be apart of. Many of you might follow MMA fighting and know the name Dan Henderson. He is from Temecula, CA and he is good friends with RBP founder Roland Trudel, Roland has put together a build sheet for Dan's 2009 GMC HD Duramax to show case at this years 2009 SEMA show in Las Vegas. Among the product on the list is a Cognito Motorsports 7" lift kit with all the goodie's. I received a phone call from Justin Lambert (President, Mechanical Engineer) of Cognito Motorsports asking if I would like to come down to there head quarters in Bakerfield CA. to be apart of the suspension build. Of course I jumped all over the offer and will be driving down later tonight to start first thing early a.m.

For some that might not know who Dan 'Hendo' Henderson is, he fights in the UFC currently and he is holding champion belts in Pride FC Middleweight & Welterweight devisions along with many other titles. You can read more about him here: http://www.danhenderson.com/










Justin took the drive down south on Friday to pick up Dan's truck from Roland @ RBP and I have some pic's:



Roland putting the RBP plate on the new 2009 GMC HD.






Not sure who Roland is talking to but I am sure it's some sort of a business deal in the works.



OK, maybe he is just ordering lunch for pic up @ the "Y".





Hooked up to Justin's HD and getting ready to head north !!



I will have more build pic's as we go so check back to see how this truck turns out.

[JaxDuramax]

Can't wait to see how it turns out. Keep the good pics coming Nick!

[zack]

something tells me this truck is gonna be giant, and badass.

[nickhare_21]

what kind of wheels are on the gmc those are badass?!?!

[MMLMM]

Nice. His red 08 is pretty sick. does he still have it?

[Iceman56]

Sweet!! I love Hendo, he seems like a real cool guy

[TADAMS72]

Big fan of Dan Henderson so will be anxious to see how this turns out.

[Nor-Cal Nick]

OK so we started Sunday @ 6:30am!!




We had a team of 4 people building this truck:

• Justin Lambert
• Ryan Kawiecki
• Nick Martin
• Nick Vazquez (when I was not taking pics)

Here is a pic of the suspension product we were installing:






Cognito Motorsprorts product list:

• 7-9" Front suspension lift
• Pitman & Idler braces
• Idler pivot w/weld in brace
• HD tie rods
• HD sway bar links
• UNI-ball UCA no tabs (NEW)
• Limit Straps
• Front sway bar
• SS Brake Line kit
• CV drive line
• 07+ Tranny shift linkage mounts
• 4" Fabricated rear block & u-bolts
• 2"-3" carrier bearing drop
• 60" Rear Traction bars
• HD Long travel helper bag kit
• Firestone auto ride compressor kit
• Bilstein 5100 Zinc shocks

Tires & Wheels:

• RBP 20x9 4.75bs wheels
• Toyo M/T's 37x13.50x.20

Justin pulling a couple boxes out of the bed.



Last factory wheel and tire coming off.



Ryan starting the tear down of the front end. I had to hook him up with a shirt for the build.



Starting off this build for Dan's GMC HD is Cognito and RBP product.



Here Ryan is using the torsion bar unloading tool to release the torsion adjusters pressure on the adjustment bolt and allowing him to pull out the cross nut. Then he will release the tool, releasing all the tension on the torsion bar and control arms.



If you notice the lower control arm ball joint nut is loose. Ryan will now use a hammer to hit the factory knuckle/spindle at the point the ball joint installs. The blow will break loose the ball joint and knuckle and the nut will catch the knuckle before it drops all the way off. You can use this same method for the upper ball joint as well.




At this point it is time to make the frame cut. This frame cut is the only cut made in the Cognito 7-9" lift for install. This cut is also a cut that is mandatory on any suspension lift that drops the front diff down. The diff will be positioned right where this frame mount is so there is no way around it. If you make the cut clean and keep the piece that was cut off you can weld it back in later for a reversal if needed.

[Nor-Cal Nick]

At this point it is time to make the frame cut. This frame cut is the only cut made in the Cognito 7-9" lift for install. This cut is also a cut that is mandatory on any suspension lift that drops the front diff down. The diff will be positioned right where this frame mount is so there is no way around it. If you make the cut clean and keep the piece that was cut off you can weld it back in later for a reversal if needed.



I had to give the factory CV half shafts some love with the spray can so this build leaves looking great with no factory parts showing the normal surface rust .



Justin is installing the passenger side diff drop.



Un-like most other suspension lifts Cognito drops the front diff the same amount as the control arms so everything stays in the same position for the best OE reflected working angles on the CV shafts. You will notice the bracket is tapered to pitch the pinion up for a better drive line working angle. It is noted that if you plan on driving the truck in 4wd at speeds 30mph or faster you will want to upgrade the front factory drive line to a new upgraded larger CV drive line that accepts a higher working angle at higher RPM's without vibrating.



Here is a pic of the front lower control arm drop cross member. Cognito labels this as a 7" lift starting and you may run it up to a full 9" with the proper added product and still maintain acceptable CV shaft working angles and ride quality.



You see Ryan grinding down the upper diff ear to allow for proper clearance of the steering pitman arm with added Cognito steering braces. All it takes is a little bit of grinding and you are good to go.



This is a pic of the Idler pivot weld in gusset to brace the factory mount from possible flexing and tearing off the frame from the load of the large tires when steering.



Nick Martin is installing all the bushings and sleeves before they are needed to install, this will help speed everything up.



Justin showing off his way of an upward drill press. Work smart not hard, NICE idea!! When installing the new Cognito torsion cross member and drop mounts, new holes must be drilled in the frame.

[Nor-Cal Nick]

This is great! Just so you guys don't think I was not helping, someone grabbed the camera while I was installing the hardware to the new style 8-lug NON tabbed UNI-ball UCA's.



These new NON tabbed UNI-ball UCA's are meant for the guys that are planning on only using a single OE positioned upgraded shock. If you are planning on leveling your truck, these new arms are not what you have to use but are an option. You still can use the regular UCA's w/bolt in ball joints. At this time there are no plans on making a NON tabbed bolt in ball joint arm set. (NON tabbed means there are no tabs for use of a dual shock hoop set up).



Justin installing the compression strut cross member and torsion cross member drops.



Ryan is pulling out the factory driveline to get ready to install the new tranny shift linkage mounts and then new upgraded CV drive line.



I just like this pic. It's like peanut butter and jelly, it just goes together.



The front brakes going back on. This truck is brand spanking new so it was a tight fit going back together.



Ryan installing the torsion adjuster key on the passenger side then moving over to the drivers side.


More of this tomorrow, I have a ton of pictures and need to organize them to post. Stay tuned to see more......