Time to finally build my wood hauling truck. Have some ideas that I've been kicking around in my head to make it easy/nicer so we'll see if they all pan out. Wanted the best base I could get so after about 5 years of looking for it, I finally found one. Wanted a bullet proof chassis and the best I know of is the Chevy Square body 1 ton 4x4. Here we go and lets get busy.
Album by Kevin Foust. Photos by Kevin Foust. 1 - 949 of 949 Total. 4158 Visits.
1 I had looked and had others looking for me as well. Seems every time I saw an ad and called it was already gone. I wanted a regular cab long bed 1 on 4x4 with an automatic.
2 Wasn't looking for a dually but it really doesn't matter with what I'm planning. This one was pretty solid and came out of Indiana near Louisville, Ky. For what it is, I got a good deal. I know there will be some work needed but better than most around here.
3 I'm not using the factory bed so I can sell that off along with the dually rims and tires.
4 I bought this in the summer and stored it at Dad's farm till I could start working on it at my place in the Winter.
5 The Vin Tag says that this is a 1980 Chevy 1 ton 4x4 with a 400 small block made in Baltimore.
6 Here is a correct decoding chart for squarebody Chevy trucks. there are a lot of ones out there that are wrong and this is the most accurate that I have found.
7 Finally drove it home to my place to start working on it.
8 Looking close at the truck it has been cobbled up a lot! this is the rear bumper attachment and not really something I would depend on. Blows me away with what people do.
9 Exhaust is pretty sad as well and will redo it. Tiny mufflers and cobbled welds.
10 They had header on the engine with dual exhaust and then choked it down by bending the pipe nearly 2/3 shut with an over 90 degree bend. bugger welded on clamps naturally broke off quick.
11 Other side was almost as bad.
12 wiring gets pretty bad in spots too. This was typical and it's a wonder something didn't short and smolder.
13 It has a Hydraboost Brake system which is a plus but they put the wrong power steering pump on it to power it. Added a remote container that leaked on the center of the motor. I'll need to find a correct bracket and pump for it.
14 Hose running to it was kinked closed twice as it was just too long. If they just would have cut the hose some it would have worked a lot better. The way they have it makes the system not work well as it's plumbed wrong.
15 These are just pics I took of the bed to sell it.
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39 First thing was to get the bed off. I got an old trailer of Dad's and just set it on top of it. I can roll it around with ease and keep it inside till it sells. Be glad when it does as it will free up some room.
40 Here you can see how easy it make it. I used the hoist to lift it, then pushed the truck forward and rolled the trailer under it. Easy peasy.
41 Okay, Now we can start tearing it down. Basically going completely through it. It leaks oil bad so I'm going to test and pull the engine and seal up everything right. Clean and paint everything as I put it back.
42 Took the hood off first the the front trim and core support. Doing all this will just make things easier and only takes a few hours to do. Worth it to me.
43 Both fenders were next so now everything is easy to get to. I want to do a dry and wet compression test to see that condition of the engine. It's still all hooked up so it will still run fine with all this off. Coolant has not been disconnected yet.
44 Went ahead and took the headers off. Ease of access and they were coming off anyway. Not sure this is a 400 yet as I can't see the numbers. Someone has painted it and it looks like it was out at one time. As long as it is not a 305 or 307, I'll be happy!
45 Exhaust is all off and out and ready to go out the door. I will reuse the headers.
46 Each of the headers have dents in them that I assume were done for clearance when they were on something else. These are Hedman Headers and since it just hurts the performance of them, I'll pull the dents out. I start by cleaning the rust off the area.
47 I don't have a stud gun yet for dent pulling. I borrowed one before when doing bodywork and will get one eventually. For now, we'll do this old school.I just used a length of bar stock and tapped a 1/4-20 on one end and a 3/8 thread on the other. Tighten some larger washer on that end for a stop.
48 Screw it on and heat it up to red and then slowly, it'll come back out.
49 I just weld a 1/4-20 bolt to the lows. Here I have heated the area red and then slide the hammer to pull it. You don't want to weld it a lot as it won't allow it to pull. Usually you have to weld them on in different spots on bigger dents but you can see here on this small one it has come out pretty well with the first pull.
50 After another pull it was pretty close so I ground away the weld with an angle grinder, you don't want to grind the base material very much at all as it is really thin.
51 Next I use a magic marker to cover the whole thing. Dykem or light paint can be used too. This will show the highs and lows when filing.
52 Several light passes with a flat file and you can see where you need to work.
53 This doesn't need to be perfect so I'll stop here to save thickness.
54 Couple of passes with a sanding pad and it's back.
55 This one is a lot worse. Close to 1/2 shut and will take several pulls to get back. enough space that I can do a couple at a time. You have to draw it out like a car dent, working it in several areas toward the edges first.
56 Slowly coming out.
57 Real close here.
58 Now you can see it is nearly round again.
59 This one is good enough now.
60 Next I removed both the fuel tanks. Really only need one anyway but I'll take them off and put them out of the shop for safety. I'll be doing lots of welding and grinding so sparks will be flying. Better safe than sorry.
61 I took out the seat which was a little more work than planned. It was welded in on the Drivers side but I used a die grinder and got them free. Luckily they were crappy welds so it wasn't too bad. Floor is bad and will need to replace at least that.
62 Pulled the rubber floor up and this is all toast. They had replaced the outer rockers recently and did a good job on that. The fill in pieces will come out next to see what I really am working with.
63 Not much there but they do make some of these panels so that will help. Looks like IO will pull the cab off to do this right.
64 Inner rocker is gone. Hope the replacement panels has some height to it. Outers are completely fine and solid.
65 Passenger side is the same way. Got to love salt in the midwest!
66 Their fill in panels are headed to the scrap metal pile.
67 Made a trip to a local store and was very surprised they had all but 3 pieces I needed and they normally stock those as well. Said they would be in the next week. Nice!!! I will be going back as they had all kinds of stuff.
68 Bit the bullet and decided I'm going to pull the cab off to do this right and make it easier. Want to be able to spin this over so I pulled the doors both off.
69 When I did my Dodge show truck I knew I would be doing more of those cabs so I made a dedicated door mount for lifting. Going to try to use it here without changing much so it could still be used for the Dodges.
70 4 door mount holes are in line so this will make it pretty easy. Going to use square tubing here.
71 Measured the span and added an inch or 2 and cut 2 pieces the same. I want mirror images so trace the holes and clamped them together. Drilling the 2 outside holes first.
72 I then bolt them together and take off the clamps which frees up the middle. Makes it easier and foolproof.
73 Test fit and all is fine. I made the Dodge door mounts the same so that too will make this easier.
74 Looks like 2 holes will be all I need to change. I transferred the 2 center hole locations and marked them.
75 This is a handy tool when you want a straight hole on something you can't get into a drill press. It's hardened so it doesn't wear. I drilled the hole into the box beam with a hand drill. Then clamp the fixture when the hole is aligned. Keeps it all straight that way. Just stairstep to the size you want then.
76 Laid the box on the ears and cut 2 filler pieces for the mount holes. Just using 1/2 thread all. This is going to work fine.
77 With both of the sides being front mounted, I then slide the 1 inch bar between the 2. This will be a self aligning jig so I can finalize the back mount on them.
78 On the door latch pin side of the truck, a couple of 3/8 plate scraps with a 1/2" hole is all that is needed so I drilled them up. Bolt will slip through the hole and the plate on the backside will spread the load.
79 On the other side I held the plate in place and marked the holes. Then drilled and tapped them for a 5/16 thread.
80 It'll be easy to take on and off with the threads in there.
81 Bolted the other plate up and now I can get the angle needed for the box tube to bridge them together. Sliding T square is what I use.
82 Then just eyeball it to the vise on the surface grinder and turn the magnet on. Ready to cut.
83 Use a small scarp I had and cut it in the middle. That way I have an angle done for each side.
84 Before welding the tube on I went ahead and welded the nut in place. Box tube will be over this and it will make it nicer anyways.
85 I then just trace a line for the other side and leave just a little long so if I have to twist it some, I have stock to play with.
86 Got everything cut and tacked it in. Then welded it home while it was all bolted up. Did 2 passes for a little bulk as I will be lifting it fairly high to clear the motor.
87 Did the other side the same way.
88 A buddy of mine came over and we compression tested the engine so I knew what I have. Fist line is one crank and the second is after 3 or 4. Looks like I got a fresh rebuild!
89 Took all the wiring and mechanical connections loose between the cab and frame. Decided to take the bumper off too as it was in the way. Just the 4 cab mount bolts before it is ready to take off.
90 Ready to lift the cab off. Will just use chains for this till I get it on the spinner.
91 I wrap the chains at the corners so the cab can't slide or move. Takes a few tries to get it balanced.
92 Just put both links in the hook to keep it in place.
93 Up, up and away! I will roll the chassis out from under it now.
94 With that out of the way I'll lower it and slide the wheel framework on.
95 Simple A frame with bolt locks. I want to add something to it that I found id needed. Even if you have one balanced upright, at one point it will over center and become difficult to move and lock by yourself. Let's fix that.
96 Got a larger pulley and my friend Bob enlarge the hole to 1 inch, drilled a 1/4" hole through the set screw point and relieved it. Now I have to drill a hole through the shaft, central, so it will be locked in place.
97 I marked the hole location through the pulley and center drill it.
98 I then use the same hardened guide as it is 45'd on the bottom and keeps it centered to the shaft.
99 Clamp it on and drill it through.
100 Gives you a nice central hole.
101 Test fit with a relieved headed bolt makes it self holding once slipped through.
102 I then mark and drill into the shaft for the 3/8 bolt that is removed here. This will lock the shaft to the door mounts, thus forcing it to spin when the shaft is turned.
103 Had a hand winch from another project so we use this.
104 Previous mounts will work so that was nice. Just drilled 2 holes and bolted it on in line with the pulley.
105 With the pulley on the outside and can simply loosen it up and reverse the direction of the cable to pull it/hold it, the other direction. easy way to do this.
106 Here you can see it is going opposite.
107 All done so lets try it out.
108 Spun it over with ease and holds it too till I get the bolts snugged up.
109 All the glass in the truck is nice. I went ahead and took the time to completely cover front and back inside and out with heavy cereal box type paste board to protect it from welding spatter. It'll etch right into the glass and make it rough and hard to clean.
110 Got it stripped down to what I want. Leaving the steering column in along with the wiring attached to it. Pulled the fuse block loose and pulled all the wiring away from the firewall. Most of it was a mess and will need to be checked and redone but don't want any smoldering fire stuff.Dash pad, all vents were removed as well.
111 The next pics are some of the areas that will need replaced or patched. Now you can see why I decided to pull it apart.
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122 Okay, time to get the metalwork going. Starting on the firewall/cowl and it's kind of bad. 2 layers to deal with so I'll peal the outer layer first to get to the back. I mark my plan of attack to cut.
123 I then cleaned that area before cutting. If you do this after, you normally thin the edges more than you should. I'll be doing this in sections rather than cutting everything out at once. That saves things shifting around and alignment issues.
124 I use a cuttoff wheels and a carbide burr on a die grinder to get the spot welds and tight areas. Saving one side of the lip and leaving it attached. Cutting out a section on the firewall to get to the inner cowl. Putty knife works well to pop spot welds once you grind them out close.
125 This will take some time to make as is about a .750 radius curve and bows at the same time. I'll cut that out next.
126 Heater box hole will be taken out. Here is a way to relocate holes once your patch is done. Get a piece of paper and rub the edges and the hole. easy pattern and I also do witness marks on the paper to firewall to make it even easier.
127 Old roof top from a 40's Dodge car will serve as replacement metal. I clean the steel to be cut before cutting it out. ALWAYS cut a little bigger and work out the bends and curves before doing the final fit to the edges.
128 I use cereal boxes for patterns. Here you can see the curves I'm dealing with.
129 Marked the high point of the radius on the pattern and bend it over a piece of round. I normally start with a larger diameter then go to smaller ones. Lets it slowly form that way.
130 Bent and fit and spit welding it in. Just trying to keep warping down and cooling it as I went. This was after about 4 rounds. Working on getting the weld setting right as I'm not happy with them yet.
131 This doesn't show and this is a work truck anyway so I'm done with that length. Just don't want any leaks.
132 Attaching the inner side here and settings are getting closer to what I want.
133 Now that this has strengthened it all up again, I continue on. Most of all the seam is bad along the top. I'll use seam sealer on it as well as painting when it gets complete.
134 Turned out pretty well.
135 A lot better than it was.
136 The outer rocker panels had both been replaced at sometime and have nothing wrong with them. I will clean them up and paint them before closing it all off. Easy to do when it's all open like this. Lets get back to the firewall/floor.
137 Cab floor braces are gone too. I got replacements for those as well.
138 I have new kick panels so they need to come out. They are rusted through along with the cab at the floor level so we are starting over here. I like using the burr as I can just take away the top metal and still have what's under not hurt. Get them close and pop them away.
139 Needed a long reach thin piece to break the spot welds so I broke the plastic of an old putty knife and mounted in a piece of strap steel.
140 Used a thin cutoff wheel to slice through and drill a single hole for a rivet. this way it is bottomed out when hitting with a hammer. Works really well.
141 With that out I noticed the C shaped brace in the middle of the pic is bad as well.
142 Paper thin and rusted away. At least it will be easy to make. I'll remove it now to give me more room.
143 With that gone I'll release all the cab floor spot welds and get rid of that stuff as well.
144 It's 3 layers of metal where the cab, kick panels and floor come together.
145 Cut out the inner cab section below the side vent which was rusted out. Luckily, the backside was fine.
146 Bent a piece to fit and drilled some holes for plunge/spot welds.
147 Clamp them tight with Vise Grips so they have little to no gap.
148 One little weld and it's home.
149 Finished the rest of them in the same matter and ground them basically smooth.
150 All welds ground flush and this piece is ready. Trimmed the edge up as well. On outer edges, I'll leave them long and trim once in place.
151 Back to the inner cab where the firewall meets. Too much of a compound curve for me to form so I form the curve and then relief cut with a nibbler to form the other. Spot and fit till it's right and then weld it up to solid again. You do what you have to do sometimes. Takes time to do small pieces like this but it works.
152 Same piece welded up and smoothed.
153 Got that one welded in(Piece to the left) and made up another to fill the remaining curve.I'll be glad when I get to the preformed and flat pieces as this takes some time to do.
154 Tacked in and looks fine.
155 Inner is now complete on this side.
156 To make the C piece where the floor joins the firewall, I measured and bent a section on the bender.
157 It does a nice job on things like this.
158 Got it welded in and ready to start making the heater inlet pieces on the firewall. Since I have room yet, I may go ahead and paint the inside part of the cab where the kick panel will be welded on. Just easier to do at this point.
159 Everything painted that I can get to and not be welded on.
160 Next up is the left side of the heater box inlet. It was really bad so I'll bend up and fit a new piece for it. Bottom is paper thin with holes as well but left it for reference till I get this piece made.
161 One simple bend and the corner has a rolled straight edge. Ball peen to the rescue. I use the vise on the straight and cut to the start of the roll. Left the tail which will be trimmed off once the bend is done.
162 A little weld in the corner and it will be good to go.
163 All done and ready to weld in.
164 These little holders work great for tack welding to keep them aligned with the right gap.
165 Ground flush and smoothed.
166 Cut the bottom section out now and sprayed the surfaces to be button welded with weldable primer.
167 Heard good things about this so I'll give it a try.
168 Made up the filler piece in the middle of the pic and welded it in. I bent a 90 degree lip and plug welded it to the remaining lip. Basically now it looks like it did from the factory.
169 Next is this piece. I'll make it with the bottom heater inlet support and plug weld to the C brace.
170 Predrilled all the plug weld holes and ready to weld in.
171 This really stiffened up the cab. Feels good to get this side of the firewall back
172 Inside lip and tab turned out nice.
173 Decided to weld on the first prebent panel. The inner kick panel fit well and I marked where all the attachment points could be. I then marked them out and drilled the holes. I sanded off each hole to try to keep the impurities out of the weld.
174 Used a bunch of Vise Grips and C clamps to hold it in and worked my way around welding each hole.
175 This is what I look for as it tells me I'm getting a good weld in the back metal. Just about to flow through and it would be Cherry red if you could watch it when welding.
176 I then ground all the welds smooth. Some of them would need to be flat as more steal will be on top of them and wouldn't lay tight.
177 Now that the firewall is strong on this side, I felt okay about taking the floor support out. Would have made it easy to work on stuff it I did it before but I was afraid of the cab tweaking as there wouldn't be much strength anyhwere.
178 Mocked up the floor pan brace and put in loose bolts the front cab mount to see where I'm at. The seat hole made a good reference on the backside as I bolted it in place.Measured a bunch till everything is right with the cab mount holes on the frame so I welded the brace in place. I'll unbolt the ab mount and it will have to be put in last with the backward way I'm doing this.
179 Took the seat pan in and out a BUNCH of times doing tweaks and cuts. Also marked the plug weld holes and drill all of them along with cleaning the steel where the weld would be. Heater box hole provided a nice place to clamp to hold it in position.
180 Just worrying about the front, door side and floor brace. I have an idea for the rest once they are in place and welded.
181 In drilling the holes for the floor brace, I marked it from the bottom then drilled the holes. Made these 5/16 as the brace is heavier steel. I used self tapping screws in every other hole as I went to draw it down for welding tight.
182 Floor pan welded and smoothed to outer rocker panel. Inner rocker panel goes under all of this and outer rocker panel.
183 With all that done, it's the side of the floor to the trans tunnel. Steel was good here but the stamped panel is different. I work it down some but will have to make a relief cut in the hump on the new panel as it is stretched there.
184 What I'm doing is working it all flat, then using self tapping screws to hold it together. Then I will use a thin cutoff wheel on the angle grinder to make the cut. That way it will be perfect.
185 In this case, just used the existing original panel as a cut line. Now I have a good gap to fill and it's even.
186 Same as before in using the clamps and fine tuning the alignment.
187 All done and contours pretty nicely.
188 Tunnel was done the same way.
189 You can see it is pretty thin at the top with the holes but I'm leaving that.
190 Now I'll do the back where it meets the seat base. Bent it as close as possible then used the screws to draw it tight. Again. this makes your cut right when you use a thin cut off disc.
191 I drew a line and cut the middle. I leave the corners so it has the strength to stay in position.
192 I then cut out the the extra on both sides.
193 Once the center section is clamped and welded, I finish the corners.
194 Ground and smoothed all the welds out.
195 That corners was a little involved to get right.
196 Waiting to weld the holes shut till I get the inner rockers and Cab mount in. Gives just a little wiggle room if needed.
197 Predrilled all the weld holes and cleaned them up. everything look good so I'll start at the top and work down.
198 Welded and smoothed out. I have to fit it to the seat base yet.
199 3 layers thick of steel and this is where the cab mount attaches.
200 Test fit the cab mount and marked the holes as before.
201 All welded here except the holding screw holes.
202 Triple checked all the measurements and is there. 43 1/4" inch centerline to centerline across a Chevy cab if anyone is wondering.
203 Same as before I'll do the long straight middle first, then fight with the corners. It makes it easier as I said because it hold it for you solidly.
204 Barely see the line but it splits the screws. This one needed a lot of bending.
205 With so much pressure, I welded as much as I could between the clamps.
206 Took them out and finished it.
207 Just spurt welding and they are not pretty. Most gets ground away anyway.
208 This corner will need some creative pie cutting and forming to get a nice contour.
209 Turn out better than I thought.
210 Up next is where the floor pan, inner rocker and the front of the seat base meet. This has 3 curves meeting up and the bends do not line up. I'll have to make relief cuts and you have to think about how the metal will bend/form. Easy to make a mistake. Right now it would just kink or tear if you tried to pound on it.
211 Took out the screw and dolly that to a nice curve. Cut and welded it up so that is where the rest will meet. Then I did a long cut at the peak of the heavy upper curve. I'll tap that down and adjust.
212 Ended up cutting about a 1/2" more and it was good to weld after some dolly work. This folded the other upward cut to where there was too much steel.
213 Working the inner rocker side it closed even more. I need to have more relief as it want to kink so I'll cut it again.
214 Still not where it has to be so I'll dolly some more. The cut is on the peak corner of the rocker.
215 Closed a little more but it's good , curve wise so I'll weld it.
216 The hole left was about the size of a dime so instead of messing with a little cut piece, I'll just use weld. I have a cooper backer behind it and just build it up on that working to close the gap.
217 This a handy thing to have when filling bigger holes and you don't want to mess with little pieces.
218 Super happy with this one and it looks like it belongs as all the curves blend into each other.
219 Next is the top of the cowl, in the middle, where it meets the firewall. Rusted clear through as well and this will be a harder one to make. No English wheel so I'll do this old school. It's another curve on a curve.
220 I start by hand forming a curve on a large round of steel. No hammering needed yet as the metal will bend with simply pushing it down.
221 Pretty big curve needed so I used the nibbler a ways then extended them with the cut off wheel. I'll grind it till it is a pie slice shape before welding. Just clamp the end with a Vise Grip to weld.
222 Quick beads as I'm not worried too much about warpage. I have to shape it all anyway so it's not a big deal.
223 I then grind the welds as close as I can trying not to hit the flat stock. Just want to flush it out as close as possible. I then do the other side the same.
224 The end was done as well for the second curve.
225 I then clamp a dolly in the vise and hammer it even. Grind a little again to get the high weld spots and repeat.
226 Getting closer. Normally takes me around 3 rounds of this.
227 Smoothed out good enough so now I'll do the fitting to the cab.
228 Tacking it in and slowly fitting it and small hammer taps to get alignment right.
229 Welded in and smoothed up.
230 Did the piece that connected the 2 new repairs. It took some time as there is a kick up in the back to deal with as well. Most all this is hidden but wanted to get some experience on what you have to do to make it happen. Bunches of curves in that piece!
231 With all that done I can do the piece on the middle left. I'll leave the center open till I'm done on the drivers side. Lots of stuff to work around as the pedals and steering column are still in place. Hoping I won't have to remove them.
232
233 One step closer.
234 This is the driver side where the cab meets the firewall. It too is rusted through or paper thin under the seam sealer. It'll all have to be replaced. Nasty as there is much room here.
235 Double wall where the wiper motor mounts is gone as well.
236 Looking from the inside of the cab at the top of the kick panel to the cowl. You can see the hole for the wiring harness to the engine bay. This will be a tough piece to make as 2 sloping curves meet the harder 90 degree bend I made to fix the top of the cowl.
237 For the corner ball bend as I'll call it, I used a rounded hardened steel punch. Laid the flat steel on a softer board and pressed it into it till it started to kink.
238 Where the kinks formed I cut slits in to relieve the stress and pressed it some more.
239 Kept forming it till the basic needed shape was there. Now I have something to work from.
240 I then cut in the middle where the flaps overlapped and this made a single cut that cut be but welded. I used a dolly and hammer to get them in line.
241 Welded booth sides like shown and then ground them smooth. Did the same on the other 2.
242 Hard to show how much bend and contour there is.
243
244 This is the harder 90 degree side. Now I can trim and cut the hole. I'll work slow and end up cutting both the cab and this piece till they have the best match/fit.
245
246 All welded in and smoothed good enough. Spent close to 3hrs on this little piece. Crazy I know but once again, I'm learning on how to do stuff for future projects.
247 Inner cowl to cab is done now.
248 Next is the firewall on the drivers side and I cut all the bad metal out.
249 Just make up the puzzle pieces to fill in the blanks.
250 This upper side is now done.
251 I'll just show the before and after pics as the process of doing it pretty much repeats. If something different is done I'll add that. This is upper center of the firewall.
252
253 This section U bend is gone. I'm going to try to use box tubing in it's place.
254 1 inch box with 1/8" wall thickness. I bend the first curve on the ring roller. It's S shaped with a side curve. I'll use the 40 ton press to do the side curve.
255 A weird piece but I got it!
256
257
258
259
260 Steel on firewall has a hard 90 bend that comes to the front. Some of it wraps down as well. It tapers in and out as you can see.
261 Driver side firewall by steering column.
262
263
264
265
266 One last hole at the top of the Drivers side kick panel vent where it meets the firewall/cowl.
267
268
269 The cowl and firewall are FINALLY done. feels good to have that behind me. Since it was strong again, I cut the floor brace and more of the floor out to give me more room to work. I'll remove the kick panel next.
270 Cleaned it all up and painted the inside as before.
271 Kick panel finished.
272 Floor brace in. Now for the fun of getting the floor pan in. LOL
273 The floor pan is next so I started by using a 1/4" bolt through holes I drilled to draw it down. An extra set of hands if you will. I then use sheetmetal screws to bring more of it closer. Edges now have tension on them.
274 Not too bad of a fit but some opposing bends to work in. I'll cut a line next.
275 Now you can see the waves. I'll start at a corner, working it with the dolly and weld when flush.
276 Worked my way across till it was bowing. I then made a relief cut at the peak of the kink.
277 A bulge here and I'll use a hammer and dolly to work it down. Notice the size.
278 As I work it down I make cuts to reopen the slit. Now it lays nice and ready to weld it.
279 I then went inside the cab and cut the slit to the other side. You can see the cut piece under the brace has fallen out.
280 Same process on the other side of the brace and here I have used a large C clamp to bring it down. I'll use more sheetmetal screws to pull it even more.
281 Removed the clamp and welded close to the corner. Then picked the easier flat to make another downward cut
282 Welded it down and now will remove more steel. Avoided the corner bend and moved close to the trans tunnel opening.
283 Just an easier spot and pretty nice other than the transition.
284 I worked and welded the lower straight cut and now I have this to deal with. I wanted it strong on either side so things wouldn't move on me.
285 Again, I've learned your first cut needs to be at the peak. That way you can bend it in. I start a little short and lengthen as needed.
286 Hammering down and I'll need more length. I can open the cut up again as needed.
287 getting close ad welding clamp shows that. This shows how it laps over and re trimming gives you a smooth curve.
288 The right lower corner is good enough to weld now
289 With that done, I can once again recut the other side.
290 Hammer and dolly it done till it is even across.
291 All welded in. I'm going to wait to smooth everything till the pan is all in place.
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300 Floor pan all smoothed out.
301 Inner rocker is next. I put it in with all the holes drilled and marked them. Took it back out and cleaned the paint off in those areas. Ready to put back in and final weld.
302 In, welded and smoothed.
303 Cab brace/support done.
304 Just button welding these.
305 Next is where the cab floor, seat base and inner rocker meet up.
306 Long edge is decent and I'll do that first.
307 Quite a mess where they meet up. Stampings are FAR from spot on in these spots.
308 After some creative relief slicing, just the middle rectangular shaped piece in the center was added. Crappy looking welds but it the nature of the beast. Time to smooth it out.
309 That's better. LOL
310
311 Rear corner where seat base, inner rocker and the cab meet.
312 No metal added, Just sliced out, bent in and welded.
313 The other side and the last thing to do on the floor.
314
315 Rear cab corners are next. They are gone and have a lot of filler in them.
316 Yeah, that much filler.
317 Whoever did the outer rockers put them on the outside. I'll still have to use some filler but I'm putting them how they belong this time.
318 Had some rot up the door edge so I replaced as much as I could till I got to good steel.
319
320
321
322 Painted the inside of the outer and inner cab corners prior to welding the inner in.
323 Inner cab corner in and smoothed.
324 On to the next side to see what is hiding in there.See some filler and the seam on the rocker is smooth so that tells a story. Rust through on the back as well as you can see in 2 places.
325 Inner cab corner is gone and they have tacked a piece to hold some of it in. That isn't supposed to be there. Time to cut this stuff all out.
326 Left the bottom cut short. I'll address the other issues first, then lay it over to make the final cuts.
327 The outer rocker had been replaced recently and instead of wrongly laying it over, they just cut off the edge and tack welded in 2 places. You can see it middle lower and at the very top. They just bridged the gap with Bondo. Not good. There is a 3/8- 1/2" gap down the length.
328 They also tacked it flush instead of having the step so the Cab corner fits right. Notice the gap.
329 I cut it and welded a piece on to create a step. Now I can fix the open channel.
330 I decided just to fill it all with weld and grind it down. Held a heavy copper backer and welded it from the front, then added more weld to the back. To try to bend and fit would have taken longer and messed with the alignment so I thought this was the best option.
331 Can't make the welds pretty as it's just burst welding and cool. Time to smooth!
332 Started with a smaller grinding wheel on the 4 1/2" angle grinder. Had to make sure the groove was correctly positioned and worked both sides. Once down a ways, I used a carbide burr on a die grinder. Once roughed in, I finished with 80 grit. Really happy with the result.
333 Lots going on there.
334 Roughed in the backside as well. It's strong now!
335 Once the fit was good I tacked the right side corner. Held it with a screw on the side to draw in and clamped on the backside. Had to do a fair amount of trimming on the bent edge as it was way too long to match the factory. So long it would be way off alignment wise if not cut. Worked my way to the left tacking and aligning. VERY critical to get the flush.
336 I cut around the corner and this allowed the panel to lay in place right. Tacked the edge corner till I got to the backside. The top corner was tacked at this time too.
337 With everything right I made the cut. So nice to do it this way as it has a perfect gap for me to weld.
338 That line was tacked in and needed to get rid of this bad spot. If only the cab corner was a little longer. LOL
339 Did the pillar first. Bursts every 1/2" then cool it down with wet rag. Repeated till done.
340 Roughed in with angle grinder till it barely touches the edges.
341 Then finish with 80 grit.
342 Did the back the same and had the corner left. I roughed it in then ran a magic marker over it. Use a fine flat file to get rid of the high stock. Just starting here.
343 Just a very small amount of low that will easily fill in.
344 Same edge after 80 grit.
345 Getting better at this and experience is helping.
346 Blended the back edge in.
347 Inner cab corner in and smooth so these are completed now.
348 Moved the cab around to work on some issues with the door openings. Top corner was rusted away so I cut it out and treated the rust that will be hidden with converter.
349 Used the stretcher/shrinker for the first time so another method in the arsenal.
350 Worked it till I got the right curve and now I can trim it down.
351 Lots better!
352
353 I suspect these lights caused some of the problems. Only way I can see that much moisture would get that high to rust the way it did. I have no need for these anyway.
354 Suspicions confirmed and I'll weld them all shut.
355 I just welded the small holes but I figured I better use plugs for the larger. On a flatter panel, warping would be easy to do. Decided to cut some blanks from a bolt that was smaller than the hole.
356 Made them a little thicker so they would suck the heat a little. This is a blind hole and can't get to the backside so I have a plan.
357 A strong magnet will hold it there flush. You can weld much with it there as the magnetic field plays havoc with the quality. Enough to tack it is all I'm after, then I can remove it to finish.
358 Same process of burst and cool.
359 Ready to smooth.
360 No leaking now.
361 With those done, I will work on the door opening rust issues.
362 Outer steel that folds over into the cab is pretty bad on this side. Replaced the bad sections below and all of it midway up is bad so time to remove it.
363 I cut it out leaving the edge. Treated the inner steel with Rust Mort.
364 Fit a piece and bent the curve. Drilled some holes for plug welding and welded the seam.
365 Just a little different. LOL
366 View looking down where the door edge and cab meet.
367 Where the roof meets the pillar is a mess. Going to try to replicate the seam here. Metal is paper thin so It's best to remove it all. I'll do the rust through section on the middle right after the seam is done.
368 Hello! Had about a 1/2" of bondo on the corner that was filled so I'll just go a little higher with the cut.
369 Everything inside looks decent so I'll cut the bottom out as well. It's paper thin and has pin holes.
370 Took a while to fit this and it's a slight curve on both sides.
371 Just plug welded the 2 pieces together to do the final fitting.
372 Magnets held everything flush for me to spot weld my way around.
373 Top half finished and inner edge is next.
374 I figured this would be easier to just get a backer and fill with weld. I want to recut the seam so I need some steel to work with.
375 Cut a filler piece to weld to.
376 Took a while but it'll work.
377 I ground it all down then cut the seam with a cut off wheel.
378 Happy with the results on this side so we'll move on.
379 The rolled edge is rusted away and the upper has a hole as you can see. I'll extend the inner edge up too.
380 Bent a small piece and used the stretcher to form the bend.
381 I used the other side as a pattern. Once it's the same, I'm ready to start fitting and weld it in.
382 Needed to make another piece to extend where the seam is. It was rotted and is a compound curve piece with a 90 degree bend.
383 I had to relief cut it to let it flex enough to fit the curves. This way I can tack and work the steel till it is a smooth transition.
384 Some careful trimming I'm ready to attach it. Magnets to the rescue.
385 You can see the relief cuts here and I cut a strip for the inner edge. Used the shrinker again to make the curve.
386 Yet another piece trimmed and ready to install.
387 Short bend 90 degree with a curve.
388 Here's all the pieces in and smoothed.
389 Inner edge is completed as well.
390 This corner is worse than it looks. 3 layers of steel in spots and paper thin/swelled. Rust started between and you're done when that starts.
391 Cut out the bad and I'll have to build up the outer skin at the top of the cab. I'll do the hole section first and layer up.Inner structure of the cab is fine but I still treat the surface rust as much as I could reach.
392 That piece was easy compared to most I've done. Just formed the bend with my hands.
393 Now I have a solid base again.
394 For the overlaying piece, I bent a 90 and stretched it.
395 I just use the door's opening edge as a guide.
396 It has another curve inside and I had to relieve cut it to do the bends. It would have messed it all up to try it without this. Holding this way keeps a nice corner and no distortion. I'll also drill some holes for plug welds on the flat section.
397 Looks horrible now but it's the final product that matters.
398 To form the corner I use a angle grinder. I hand dress the wheel with a cluster diamond to the profile I want.
399 I carefully make a groove on the corner and keep it central. I slowly work it down till it's uniform and deep enough. Once it is right. I blend the outer edges to that.
400 The end result.
401 Made quite a difference and all I have left now is where it is brazed and the showing surface at the top of the windshield.
402 Some rust issues here that extend under the glass rubber.
403 Hammered the copper to a flat spoon and this allowed me to pull it back for welding. Stopped and cooled with wet rag to save the rubber. Just building this up with weld and filling.
404 Smoothed out and basically finished with metal work on the cab.
405 This is the removed steel from the cab. At least what was still there. LOL Crazy how bad it was for how it looked on the outside.
406 Cleaned up and had over 10 lbs of metal/grinding wheel dust! LOL
407 Now I am ready to start painting the cowl and firewall.
408 I brushed a coat of primer on this and let it dry. Figured it was better to let the primer seep in the cracks. Then I put the seam sealer in.
409 Not going to prime the firewall. Just brush on the Tractor paint after sanding it all down. I did the cowl and this at the same time so I wouldn't have dust issues once I started painting.
410 I did 2 coats of red. Actually look nicer than the pic shows and I'm happy with it.
411 Firewall all done as well.
412 Decided it's time to pull the engine and transmission out. Going to reseal the engine and clean it up. While it's all apart, I'm going to have the TH400 gone over so I have no issues in the future.
413 Mud daubbers liked the transfer case! Going to pull it off to save weight when lifting.
414 Using a bellhousing lift I made years ago.
415 Ready to come out.
416 Got lucky as on the first try it was balanced nicely.
417 Before painting the underside of the floor, I TIG welded some stainless bolts for good grounds. This way you don't have to scratch up everything. Big one will be cab to frame. I'll Tig weld a stud on the frame close to the same location to connect everything together so I'll have no electrical issues.
418 Put one on the other side as well so I can have shorter wires for the accesories.
419 Cleaned up the entire floor and it's ready. I'm priming this and will do 2 coats of black.
420 All done and protected. Dries nice in 24 hrs with the hardener.
421 Next was the firewall to cowl and the floor pans on the inside.
422 Picture doesn't show it but the red and black flatten out real nice. The Rusty metal primer will leave ridge streaks so be aware of that if you want to use it.
423 Up next was the inner roof. Roll the cab upside down to do this which it tons easier. All smoothed up here and ready for paint.
424 One coat will be enough here and didn't use any primer.
425 On the agenda now is the inside back of the cab and under the seat to the cab floor. Took a while to get this ready as a LOT of surface to deal with.
426 Looks WAY better and just one coat again.
427 Close up of where the Inner rocker was welded to the seat base and the seam is completely hid. The outer rocker(unpainted here) comes to an edge and this is where the door weatherstripping is held. There is a water channel between it and the seat base/inner rocker.
428 Truck has been painted 3 times on the outside. Original red, then burgandy and red again. There was some adhesion problems with paint job 2 so I 'm stripping it down to the original primer. I'm using an angle grinder with a paint removing disc.
429 Thee things work great on flat surfaces but you don't want to hit a sharp edge or hole as it will eat them up quick. What's nice is you can take the paint off in layers if you wish. Better that way anyway as it creates less heat for warp issues.
430 Top all done.
431 Back of cab is done as well. Ended up using just 2 discs for all this and still have life in them. Took about 1 1/2 hrs to do and I did wear a mask. Makes a mess as you can see. There was skim filler in the middle and sides and it was holding fine there so I left it and just roughed it up. No bad hidden issues so that's good. Just a few small dents.
432 Cleaned it all up and put a skim coat of filler on the back. Didn't use much on the top. Just where the lights were and a few dents were.
433 For sanding the filler I use an assortment of Dura-Blocks all with 80 grit to start.
434 I'll also use a long board as most of this is open, flatter stuff.
435 To get the body seam opened back up I use a larger putty knife with adhesive paper. Slowly work my way across and it self aligns in the groove as some was completely shut as seen here.
436 Had a few places I had to add a little more filler as there was lows but that always happens. I then block sanded it all again with 150 grit. Here it is all sanded out.
437 Rolled 2 coats of sandable primer on.
438 Here is the roof all sanded. I did the roof and back in same session and then primed them the same way.
439 All primed and I'll sand it all again to get ready for the top coat. I'll use 400 grit for that.
440 Before sanding the primer I clean up the top of the cowl on the outside. I want to get everything done that is easier to do while it's on the spinner. I'll door the door openings once it's back on the frame.
441 The primer I used was really pretty thin and I rolled on 2 coats. Lots rougher than spraying but no sticky mess on everything.
442 Took a lot more time than it should because of that and wasted more too. I may try spraying that on when I get to the front end parts.
443 Brush painted this and turned out nice. I'm doing 2 coats on all this stuff.
444 Went pretty fast as I rolled most this on.
445 This was all brushed on due to all the edges and such. Covers pretty well.
446 After letting it sit for over a week, it's time to see about the cut and buff. It's plenty rough so I'll have to start with a coarser grit than when I spray stuff. I normally go with 2000 grit on that but stuff like this will need a rough in.
447 I use a variety of blocks but the best, for me, is just a paint stirring stick cut shorter. Doesn't give so it gets everything flat.
448 I roughed it all in with 600 grit. You can see there are still shiny lows that are present so that means there is still a good b=it of paint to work with. I go till I get about the same pattern of shiny spots.
449 Here is a better picture of it. Light has to catch it right to see it from the dull, sanded finish. Once that is done I go over it all again with finer grit to 2000. All wet sanding here for all grits.
450 All buffed out here. Far from perfect but doesn't need to be. If I get it completely down it just means the paint is thinner and rally no need. Good from 30 feet is fine for this project.
451 Actually is better than the grainy picture makes it look. I was always told if it looks good under shop lights, it'll look even better in natural light.
452 The back of the cab at the top and down the pillars was brush painted. It was smooth enough that I start with 2000 grit. Here it is finished.
453 The NP205 transfer case has a very loose front output shaft. It evidently had been leaking for some time from the buildup of oil and dirt as you see here.
454 Pulled the nut off and the washer under it was extremely beveled along with the cast steel "yoke" that the front driveshaft bolts to. Had either worked loose or the not tightened correctly at some time.
455 Shaft in the case seemed tight so I'll try this option. Chucked the flange in the lathe and machined the surface flat to the splines. Put a new washer in and ran the nut up and it was fine. Score an easy fix.
456 I had worked on a few NP203 and had parts and gaskets left over so I went to the drawer. Holy smokes, the seal and gasket are exactly the same. I then cleaned up the seal holder and pressed in the seal. No extra cost fixes are sweet!
457 Replaced one more seal since I had it and a couple of gaskets. Spent quite a while getting it all cleaned up so I could paint it. Got it balanced out so it can hang while painting and drying.
458 I'll let it like this to dry.
459 The fan that came on it was broke. As you can see 2 blades are 1/2 missing. Metal fatigued and broke. They had a new radiator in it and why you would run this, I don't know.
460 A friend said he had an extra non clutch fan and I thought I was good to go. I then went to use the spacer and found the bolt pattern was about an 1/8" smaller at each hole.
461 Going old school cheap here and indexed the fan 45 degrees and I'll drill new holes using the spacer as the guide.
462 Drilled the first hole then ran up a bolt to insure it was correct for the next hole. Repeated till all were drilled.
463 Fits perfect now.
464 Spent quite a while cleaning the front half of the frame and suspension to get ready for paint. Easiest time to do it while it is bare.
465 This one pile was about 6 inches high!
466 All painted. It'll make working on it lots nicer now.
467 Had the transmission rebuilt and good thing. Clutches were worn and scarred. Rebuilder showed me the stuff and said it didn't have long. he beefed it up some for me.
468 Painted it as well.
469 Rough sanded the back of the cab and then worked my way down to 2000 grit. My Trizact discs came in so I went over the back and rehit the top with those as well. Here is the back of the cab after buff. I did not hit the recess sections at all. I left them rough as it saved some work.
470 Re buffed the top and it made a noticeable difference in the reflection and deepness of the paint. Still plenty of flaws but fine for this.
471 Trying to show the reflection here.
472 Cleaned the engine up and ready to start bolting everything back on. Put on a new timing gear and chain as it was stretched pretty bad.
473 After bolting the things on, I masked it all off and painted the block.
474
475
476 Then put the water pump and other stuff on.
477 Waited forever for a new pan but it finally came. Other one was overtorqued and bent up. I don't want any leaks.
478 Unbolted it from the stand and getting ready to bolt to the transmission. Doing all this by myself but the hoist makes it easy.
479 Rolled the trans over and we are together.
480 Lifted it all up and ran the engine mount bolts in. I kept the trans higher than normal and used a jack to hold it up. This way I can undo the hoist and use it to lift the transfer case in place.
481 Bolted the transfer case on and lowered it all down. All the mount bolts are in so we are good.
482 I had marked most of the lines but after thinking something was wrong, it was. They had most all the Vacuum lines wrong. Manifold vacuum to advance and ported to the trans Modulator. Redid everything in a tidy fashion and capped all the unused ports.
483 I like things simple and uncluttered. LOL
484 Bent up new stainless hardlines for fuel pump to carb and for the trans vacuum.
485 Ran the line down the dipstick tube.
486 Put the Transfer case shifter on and decided on the height I wanted for the cab mounts. Going over 2 inches higher for more front tire clearance.
487 I do this on lines for fuel and even some vacuum stuff. Just use the double flare bender and partially crush.
488 Gives you just a slight barb in the line that seal better.
489 Ran a new 3/8 stainless line for the fuel delivery to the pump.
490 Took a while to get all the bends so I could use the factory poly clips. I used gravel guard on potential rub areas.
491 Put the tank on so I could get the line correct. Gravel guard here and went over the frame as opposed to through. Cab will protect it once on.
492 Trans shifter linkage ball was a little sloppy so I turned one up from a brass bar. Smooth now!
493 With that all done I'm ready to put the cab back on. FINALLY!
494 Put the chains back on the doors and kept adjusting to it lifted even. I'm using a hoist on each side so I'll have good control of it. You can see the wheels are lifting even. I left them on both sides while adjusting for safety.
495 Once they were right, I took off wheel framework and started lifting. I'll leave this stationary and roll the chassis under it.
496 Just about high enough to clear the engine.
497 Slowly set it down and everything lined up great. Always wonder when you completely remove 2 mounting points but measured everything and triple checked before welding.
498 Feels good to have it back on the frame.
499 Have a little more room in there to do wiring and line runs now as well.
500 My shifter linkage rod is too short so I needed to add 2 inches to it. I ground both sides like a pencil tip then weld it up filling those tapers.
501 Once that's done, I rough grind on a bench grinder.
502 Then hand file to blend.
503 No one will ever know. LOL
504 Time to paint the dash and get everything back in. Double checking all the wiring and fixing issues there as well.
505 Got it all back and nice to be heading the other direction.
506 With that done decided to put the cap, rotor and wires on the engine. Had a surprise when I pulled the coil as the cap was burnt up at the contact and for good reason.
507 Someone had put the rubber washer UNDER the contact. This basically made the contact not touch the rotor button and was arcing in the air. Testament to how strong these coils are for it to even run. Some people shouldn't be allowed to have access to tools. LOL
508 Was melting the cap from all the open arcing.
509 New cap had issues too. Button would not go through from the misaligned hole.
510 Great quality anymore with stuff and got another one.
511 Up next is to paint the door jams and sides of the cab. Did some smoothing/sanding to get ready.
512 Primer on and sanded out.
513 All painted and I'll sand and buff out after a long curing time.
514
515
516
517 Quite a change from what I started with.
518 Painted the tunnel cover as well.
519 Put the front end back on to figure out the Trans cooling lines and brake line from master to combo valve.
520 Looks like a truck again at least.
521 Had to get another Combo valve as I'll be Disc/Disc instead of Disc/Drum. If you don't do it the backs will lock up in a hurry. A PV4 is what you need for a Disc/Disc set up. A TOTAL bolt in as all the thread holes and mounting holes are the same.
522 Some call these Proportioning valves but they are more. Proprtioning valve is the big inlet hex shape piece on the end. The body has a valve that slides shut if you have a complete line failure. This allows you to still have brakes and when it slides it triggers a contact switch(Plastic thing on top) that triggers your brake light on the dash.
523 Bent the new stainless lines on the brake supply lines. There is enough gentle bends that cab flex should be okay without having the factory type coils.
524 Feed on the other end to the valve.
525 Trans cooling lines. Away farther from the headers than they had it and easier for starter removal.
526 Other end to radiator.
527 Used some nice line seperators that I had left over.
528 Going to convert the rear to disc brakes next. Lets get stated and get the wheels off.
529 Lugs and spacer off and took the axle bolts out. A tap or 2 with a hammer on the end and it pops back to take the axle out.
530 This axle had the spring clip and key as opposed to the earlier tab bending double nut. Took that off along with the nut and am pressing out the wheel studs here.
531 I got the kit from this supplier. Very nice adjustable brackets for location and the kit form makes it easy. You can add whatever you want to make a custom kit. Good stuff.
532 Seals came with it so I popped the old ones out and ready to put the new ones in.
533 Use some bigger flats to press them in nice and straight.
534 Makes them nice.
535 Pressing the wheel studs back in with the new rotors here.
536 When doing this, there is no need to take all the hardware off. Just undo the 4 bolts on the plate and pull the whole thing at once.
537 I'll clean this up as I'm painting this all up while it's easy to get to.
538 Makes it easy this way and stores the stuff all together.
539 Putting the calipers towards the back on this one. You just want the bleeders to be as high as possible.
540 Locktighted the bolt and tightened and then recleaned everything. All painted up here.
541 Painted the hubs, rotors and calipers as well.
542 Assembled everything once it was dry and now I'll do the line brackets.
543 Off to the junk drawer. Had some leftover brackets from some shifters over the years and these should work. Let's see what will work.
544 These have an egg shape with flat ends so I'll have some file work to do. You slip these in the bracket and a spring clip keeps it in place.
545 This bracket should work fine. Just need to cut the extra off and file the hole.
546 Did this with a triangle file.
547 Good enough!
548 Cut the extra off and rounded it off.
549 I looked for the cleanest install angle then welded the bracket to the axle.
550 Hooked the lines up then.
551
552 Put the old tires from the show truck on next. Had the steel rims Powdercoated. I'm making the bed in the back so I can work the clearance out as I do that.
553 Front is another story. I made up the body lift but it's still way too close to the tires. Within a 1/2" at the front edge.
554 A little over an inch here and you have to remember with turn, weight and suspension movement, it will have a lot of ways to hit.
555 This one is horribly close.
556
557 2 - 3 inches in the back so I'll do both sides, front and back.
558
559 Exhaust finally came in. Splurged and had Stainless works make the mufflers, collectors and 4 bends for me after I laid out/figured out what I needed.Using band clamps and you can take these on and off and reuse on other things if needed. They made a mistake and sent narrow ones when I ordered the wide ones. had to call and they apologized and sent the right ones.
560
561 I just went with round mufflers and they made them to the length and diameter I wanted.
562 They do extremely nice work but it isn't cheap!
563 Here you see the flange thickness.
564 Quality work.
565 Ordered the tube longer than I need and I'll cut it when the time comes. Pipes slip fit into the collectors and mufflers. Easy peasy with the clamps and no welding.
566 Time to reshape the fenders. I don't want a suspension lift as that means lifting wood higher to get it into the bed. I want the bigger tires for flotation and I have them so this is the best option for me. Want to save the marker light.
567 Want to keep a smooth line as well so made so marks with a sharpie.
568 Took the fender off and you also have the inside steel to deal with. I'll address the inner fender once the outside fender is worked out. I want to keep the fender lip[ so it was not cut.
569 Tossed the inner and I'll fill that all in later. Went as far as possible while still keeping the core support mount hole.
570 Where the fender lip curved hard, I cut some reliefs to ease the bending stress.
571 Now it bends to the desired angle and I clamped it down in place. Just overlapping the steel. Looks acceptable to me.
572 Now from what I learned from doing the floor I use the same technique of cutting the steel and welding as I go with it all flush.
573 Here you can see how this works.
574 Spurt welding every inch or so and allow to cool.
575 Kept moving along to the end.
576 Not filling in the inner or doing smoothing too much as I want to test it all for clearance before doing so. Turning the wheels lock to lock, etc. Just have to start somewhere and hopefully it is enough.
577 Th e back of the front fender is next. This will be harder than the front as it sticks out a lot and curves in hard. Let see what we can do here.
578 Have a thin spot(rust) so I'll try to cut that section out and keep the good steel.
579 This has a heavy box spot welded in so I'll have to V cut it as well to get it to bend. I'll start small and work out more.
580 Once that was cut, I drilled at the point through the front so I knew where to cut to on the outside. Hinge point if you will.
581
582 Quickly became apparent I needed to remove the double steel from the lip to make it easier. Need to do some hammering and dolly work to flatten it some to match the contour. I used a die grinder and ate the spot welds out on ones side, freeing them.
583 Made slice cuts again and here you can see how much the metal had to change to match up. It's looking doable though so that's a plus!
584 Hammered and dollied till the curves are lined up. Had to flatten the lip line some down.
585 Flattened down and bent. This is the basic new curve. I'll Clamp the end here.
586 Cut off the lower lips small 90 degree strength bends. I'll now take this bend out and flatten it too.
587 Relief cuts were needed at the top into the sheetmetal and it overlaps and pulled down from the original cuts. I'll start here and C clamp it to hold into position.
588 Recut the first lap and cleaned it up for welding.
589 Welded it and ground it down. Then did the same process on the next slice.
590 Just keep working your way down.
591 Quite a difference!
592 This should be enough with the squat and turning radius.
593 Other side outer is done using the same process.
594 Now I'll fill in the inner structure of the fender. I'll just use the piece I cut out and modify it to fit.
595 I started by drilling holes in the outer fender lip for button welds. Shaped the piece to fit and left the other side long. I then welded the 2 lips together using a C clamp and Vise Grips to bring the together.
596 Worked my way down but the end is to drastic so I'll use another piece for that. I just cut it off at the curve.
597 Flushed the end of the steel and welded it in. I then bent the steel to lay as flush as possible.
598 Then cut it to leave a wheel width for weld.
599 Welded and smoothed.
600 Next section was the same deal. I do love the cut off wheels as they do this quickly.
601 I'll use a copper backer to fill in the bigger holes.
602 Looks a lot better and tons stronger.
603 Next section lines up at 90 degrees. I'll just trim that off as well.
604 With that in and smoothed, I cut another piece and shaped it to fit.
605 After finishing the drivers side fender I did the Passenger side.
606 Filling it in for strength and to brush away water. Leaving the bottoms open with a hole so it can drain.
607 Turned out pretty good.
608 Next is the core support. Battery is above and these are almost always rotted. Going to make a whole new section here.
609 Took some measurements and bent a piece to match what they have.
610 The bender I made makes this easy.
611 Drilled the holes and welded on some nuts. These hold the inner fenders in place. Used the bolt to hold them snug for welding.
612 All welded in and smoothed up some.
613 No more fender flap. LOL
614 Mounted up the exhaust next. I ordered the pipes long with the major bends and just cut them to length I wanted. Doing the exit before the rear wheels.
615 I bent round stainless rod and welded angles on the end with holes do it pinches it tight.
616 The wide band clamps make this easy. Bonus is you can adjust or take it off anytime as the pipes slip into each other.
617 Used the existing hole in the cab mount and double nutted it. Put a poly cushion and large washer so it can flex as needed.. Heated up the bolt and hammered a flat. Then drilled through for the clamp bolt to pass through. Simple is better.
618 Turned out nice and clean.
619 Pipes and mufflers are tucked up and barely can be seen. Don't want them to catch on anything in the woods.
620 Mounting the radiator and made up some brackets to hold it. Using rubber bumpers for cushions and will hole it as I'm making four. Bottom will sit on the normal cushions. Trying to show TIG welding here but pic got blurry.
621 Better pic here of one of them. single bolt through the core support.
622 Radiator was new with the truck but don't think it was the correct one as factory mounts were off. This'll work.
623 You can see the cushion at the bottom in this pic.
624 Decided to just spray the rest of the front end parts and doors. Used a Brite strip disc to get most of the showing paint off to start all over.
625 Did all the final welding and smoothing on the fender openings. They have a pretty nice curve to them. Some probably won't notice the modification.
626 Passenger fender had the captured nuts ripped out that hold the battery tray in. Time to fix this. I had traced where the battery tray should be before I tore it all down. This will give me the right hole locations.
627 I cut out past the bad metal and tacked the trimmed replacement piece in one spot. Did the other one the sane and marked the holes when I laid the tray on the traced lines. Drilled them and welded a nut on the backside.
628 Finish welded them and ground it smooth.
629 Worked like a charm and the holes with captured nuts are where they should be.
630 Took the old fender emblems and painted the inside of the letters with black. Did the numbers with white.
631 I just used a very small artists brush.
632 After a lot of body work I finally got everything ready a nd primed it all.
633 Ended up getting 2 new doors and scuffed them up before priming them.
634 Had some issues with the gun on the hood so we will see when I sand it out how it is.
635 Making a mess for sure but it is quicker and better to do.
636 Did end up having to respray Primer on the hood but everything else was okay. Got everything final sanded then.
637 2 coats of color and turned out fine.
638 I painted both side of the doors.(inside and out)
639 Body work paid off as contour is smooth and looks right. Camera make paint look grainier than it is.
640 Another view.
641 They shouldn't hit now.
642 Just brush painting the backside in black.
643 I wire brush it all down and use solvent to clean.
644 Did the same to the core support. Not about looks, it's about protection.
645 Lots of nooks and crannies but got it.
646 Started putting the front end back together. Just leaving everything loose so I can adjust.
647
648 Hanging the doors and will work on the gaps and latches next.
649 Not a show truck so just trying to get the gaps as close as I can. It's a 40 footer for sure. LOL
650 Hood was sprung at one point and hinges aren't the best but good enough.
651 One thing is for sure, it's a lot more solid than it was.
652
653 Should have plenty of clearence for squat and turning now.
654 Got some new mirrors and put those on. Drip rail back on as well.
655 Trans cover back in and the floor is next.
656 Work truck so just using a rubber floor. Put the seat back in and feels like a truck inside again.
657
658 I'll fix the inner fender to fender gap next.
659 Sliced it with a cut off blade and folded it back. Then rivet it together.
660
661 I just used some sheet stainless to cover up the gaps from the opened fenders.
662 If I'd paint it black it wouldn't be noticable.
663 All back together now.
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672 Ready to start on the bed now.
673 Want some solid siderails for it so using 3/8" thick angle iron. For what I have planned, it will have some heavy weight and forces on it.
674 Doing some measuring and level finding so I have something to go off of.
675 I decide on 44 inches wide and cut the length to 11 foot. I will have some dead space in the front but want 8 foot of flat floor. I went long on the side rails till I see what I have and will shorten them up when I get that figured out. Just using a chop saw to get nice cuts.
676 Final welded the front and inlaid another section of angle there. On the back, I just welded in a temporary piece of small angle. Measures it to ride on the frame so I can put spacers under it till I get my position where it needs to be.
677 I cut notches pluse releaved edges in the angle so it all lays flush and have more welded area.
678 With it laying on there I can make all the adjustments now by measuring side to side and such.
679 To mount it to the frame I'll make up 6 mounts to distribute the load. Going to use a 4 x 6 box beam and have about a 5 inch outward length.
680 Handy hint when you have short stuff is to hold a straight edge (this case a piece of square tubing) in a vise and then clamp your piece to that.
681 On the back side I ground a 45 about 1/2 was through the piece then welded it pretty much flush. then Ground it all smooth do it'll mount to the frame nice.
682 I welded the inside as well.
683 All 6 done now so I'll mount them up via 1/2" bolts one at a a time.
684 One mount was going to be where the fuel tank mounts. Decided to throw it back on to double check and did indeed have to trim one for clearence. I just clamp it and drill the hole and then install the bolt to hold. Then drill the rest and bolt till it's done. Kept checking to make sure it didn't move any side to side.
685 4 of 6 on and done. Going to extend the rear frame some next as that had to be there for the mount.
686 Did a alot of measuring and decided on what length I wanted for the frame and floor. I took the 4x6 box beam that was 3/16" thick and sliced it down the middle with the plasma cutter. Frame is an oddball size so I'll just slip this inside the C channel of it.
687 It fits tight with a spacer under the bottom. Actually drove that in there. When I did both side it pretty much self aligned both sides.
688 Ended up being an extra 2 ft.
689 I'm using 6, 1/2" bolts. I was going to weld it all but once I saw how it drew it all in, it looks like that will be enough. The bed frame work and more crossmembers will add a lot of strength to it as well.
690 The bolts pulled it all straight again. I'll put the back bed mounts on next.
691 More measuring to make sure everything was in line and had to spread the rail just a little to insure the lip on the rail doesn't taper in. That will come into play with what I have planned.
692 The truck has had some questionable repairs methods done to it and this is one of those. They replaced the rear shackles but to get the bolt out they decided to blow a hole in the spring hanger. That was bad enough but they cut through the edge as well and the whole hanger will flex. I'll repair this now.
693 To give myself some more room to work I'll lift the back of the truck up and take the shackle loose.
694 When I did that I got a surprise. The front spring eye on the top rear leaf was broke! It was just floating there and held in place by weight. One good bounce could be REAL ugly. I'll get some replacements for this.
695 To start the repair I hit the whole area with a needle scaler. This gets into the nooks and crannies to remove rust and scale
696 Then I start welding using a thick, copper backer. I turn the amps up as high as I can for max penetration. Shorter bursts and start filling.
697 Keep going to it looks like there are no lows. The high extra will only mean more work for smoothing so it's a give and take.
698 Small angle grinder, die grinder, Dynafile and a soft pad on a die grinder were used to bring it back down. There will be a lot less flexing now.
699 The back side of the repair.
700 Next I'll mount the winch in the frame. Got a rail to show the underside of the floor so I know my clearance. I mocked up where it needs to be and scribed lines and wrote down measurements.
701 Used the same 3 x 4 x 3/8" angle iron for this. I avoided the frame rivets and also bridged the front rear spring hanger. If you break a frame, this is where it will happen. I used existing holes in the frame and just opened them up to accept 1/2" bolts. 5 bolts per side.
702 For a base I used a 1/2" thick plate. It's 7 x 32 inches. Have it where it needs to go so I'll drill the mounting holes next.
703 I keep it simple and use a ball peen hammer to make a pattern from a cereral box. Lightly tap the edges with the flat part of the hammer for the edges. The holes I use the ball end. Get it to this point then just use scissors to connect the edges.
704 I penciled around the same feet of the winch when I had it in place so I just lay the pattern on this and centerpunch the holes before drilling.
705 Now I'll make some reinforcements. Flat plate with a winch would bend. Decided on what I thought would help and bending some 3/16" plate here.
706 Did some fitting and tacked them on. Once it all checked out I final welded it. I had to have something that would be able to take on and off so the design has to take that in consideration.
707 Underside of the same plate.
708 I used another piece of 3/8" angle on the other side. The force will be clockwise in the view so it would want to pull down on the right and lift on the left. The 2 plates on the crossmemberhave angle gussets coming up from the bottom of the frame. This should distribute the load.
709 Next up is the floor crossmenbers. The angle will have the Pressure treated wood sitting in the rail so I'll have to notch the box tubing so it will lay flush and support. For postioning, I started with both sides of the axle kick up in the frame. Pushed them till it hit and when I notch the 3/8", it will be above the frame that much. I just marked the edges when I had it mocked up.
710 Used a cut off wheel and laid that metal back in and welded it. The gaps made it so I had a good weld.
711 I used a scrap piece of 3/8" to check it all was flush before welding. Then just ground it smooth.
712 Put it back on the truck and drilled the holes while holding it place with C clamps. Figured I better put heavy pipe spacers inde the box because if you don't, The 1/2" bolts would crush the box tubing and become loose. I drive them in then tack weld in position.
713 Decided to pretty up the ends instead of leaving the open box. I used the cut off wheel again and cut a triangle out of both sides. Then bent the lower edge up and welded it all. Ground it and then sanded smooth. No sharp edges to cut yourself on that way.
714 I think it makes it nice.
715 Got all the crossmambers for the floor made except the rear on which will be different. The 2 middle ones I had to mount them into the frame rails. I want the floor as low as possible so the hump in the frame is my limit.
716 Needed to support the pressure treated wood floor to those 2 middle crossmembers on the putside of the frame so I just welded spacers to the outside and will let them rest on the top of the frame.
717 Made up some mounts for the roller fairlead. I will probably get some side bracing later as well as drilling the holes to mount it. I may need to adjust depending on the end crossmeber and pulley.
718 Looking at where the cable will be I decided to raise it up some. This meant the crossmember had to be relieved some. With suspension compression from weight I'd be close to hitting the Diff. if I didn't do this.
719 I just cut a piece of heavy wall pipe and traced a line. I'll weld this in.
720 For the pulley I figured it would need to be heavy duty. Local steel place has a great selection and I got on bigger than I thought I needed and will turn the diameter to what I need later. Here I'm grinding it flat. It's 10.5" in diameter and almost 1.250 in thickness. Took some playing to get it flat but within a .001 now.
721 Drilled a 1/2 hole on the drill press and bolted it to a hardened ring. I'll turn it down to 7 inches and that was what I needed after everything else was in place.
722 I just eyeballed and freehanded a groove on the lathe to about a .500. Using .375 cable on the winch.
723 My lathe isn't good enough for pressfit stuff so my nephews helped me out. They used a boring bar on their lathe and got the hole in. While there they skinned .02 off the shaft for me and milled 2 holes for the pillow blocks in a 1 x 3 inch flat bar.
724 Slid a heavy 3.500" box beam in the frame extensions and will weld that in. Cut a slot for the pulley too. I'll have to angle brace it as there will be a good bit of force exerted there.
725 Wanted to use the box beam as a mounting surface and cable guide as the same time.
726 Slid the bar in the 2 blocks and grinding them flat/same here.
727 I drilled two .500 holes near the edges and thenused a cut off wheel to cut at the center of the hole. Cut 1/2 way through then flip it over. This is why I wanted them the same size and square.
728 Should be enough to keep everything tight and supported.
729 Welded some more 3/8" angle for the top mount hole. I'll strengthen these up too.
730 Trimmed the corners off and you can see I trimmed the shaft to size.
731 Braces are the same Angle iron and are bolted to the frame and welded at the rear. This way the whole frame extension can still be taken off in need be.
732 I'll do the rest of the final welding when I tear it down for painting. Cable height will have .250 above the final floor. Cable is going under right now just to get it out of the way.
733 Since all that was done I cut another piece and decided on the final length of the bed. The top of this will be the floor height. I cut the siderails to length and welded it all in.
734 Relieved this one as well. I didn't want the pulley sticking out the back and this way it is protected some.
735 Decided I needed to put some support for the top bolts on the pulley so I found a small rectangle scrap and cut it corner to corner with a cut off wheel.
736 I cut it within .005 and break them apart by hand. This is what is left. Hit them with an angle grinder on the edges then and smooth with a die grinder and a soft pad.
737 Took less than a minute after cutting to get them to this.
738 I then welded them in.
739 I need the sides to be higher so I can triangulate the bracing where the agled sides will be over the tires. I will stack another 3/8" angle on top of the other. Didn't have enough full length to do it so I welded on 2 shorter pieces and blended the welds. I had relieved both sides hard so there is close to 100% penetration.
740 Wanted everything plumb and straight so I used C clamps and angles to sandwich it inline.
741 This works really well and makes it nice/easier to weld.
742 I stitch welded this and would do a weld on the outside, then weld it on the inside at the same location. This keeps warping and pulling to a minimum.
743 One side done and pretty much dead straight.
744 Got lucky as I needed to buy the box tubing. My local steel scrapper has a super nice used steel section all sorted and some under roof. They had this 1 3/8" box tubing that was cut around 12 ft in length as "used". No rust and new. I go there a lot and they cut me a deal at .85 cents a pound. Over 375 pounds for $315.00. New, off the shelf would have been around $1100.00 at todays prices.
745 Decided how far out and high I want so I will now make the outer sides. Carefully cut a 90 notch out as I have found it makes a stronger corner and easier to keep straight. I lay the pattern on the next piece, scribe the lines on both sides and cut with angle grinder with a cut off wheel.
746 Here it is in process. You can make really nice cuts with these and fast.
747 All of them cut now so I'll make up a jig for tack welding.
748 I first bend them all by hand. I use a square across the outer edges and twist, if need be with a pipe wrench.
749 Quick, easy and reusable jig to hold square. They will suck in more if you tack too hard in the inside corner. I like to tack on the top edge as it does less shrinking there.
750 Like this. I like a wider gap as when you fill, you have 100% metal there. If they are tight joints, you may not. I start welding in the middle and burst weld to the corners.
751 This is the same piece after welding, grinding and sanding with a soft pad.
752 I then cut up some angle gussets and welded them on both sides. Not as strong as pushing them on out but that would make what I have planned impossibe and make stacking harder.
753 After those are both on I weld the inside corner.
754 Finished all the inner corner welding and cleaned them all up. I welded the front and back ones on then used a box beam to help hold them in line while welding. One side done here.
755 I'm welding both sides of the box beam on these.
756 Checking the bottoms and nice an straight.
757 Other side on and after taking the box beam off, the tops are nice as well.
758 Putting angle braces on here. Triangulating the load to the bottom of the bed frame and it really helps the strength. I'll do all the top side and vertical welding on these now.
759 This is the other end. 12 were needed and made them all the same. The ones on either side of the tires will have compound angles so that will be fun.
760 Took about an hour but a whittled away at it till I had all the angles right. They need to slope away from the tires as if I made them like the others, the tires would hit with spring compression from the load. Here I'm cheating on the rest for cutting. Squared the rail to the table and transfer the lines.
761 I use a square and mark the corner then connecred the dots with a scribe. Ink up the keep side and cut to the line with a cut off wheel. Since I kept everything the same, I'll need 2 the same and 2 mirror imgaged ones.
762 Seeing both lines allows you to hold the angle grinder right for the cut.
763 Here it is cut.
764 Very little adjustment was needed and then I welded it on.
765 Put in some sloping fill pieces so the self drainand have 7 inches of tire clearance at any point. 5 1/2 inches would be bottomed out so I have a little extra.
766 Next I welded both top rails on. Leaving the uprights open so if I want extensions, I can just slip them in. This is another reason why I notched the 45's on the bend. Any water or debris that gets in there can be washed or blown out.
767 Have 2 things needed here to make it nicer. To pull the pusher back I mounted a hand winch. I also need to have a remote switching system on unspooling the winch as it's in the center of the frame. I'll address that first.
768 I'll have to make a new pin for switching it. Factory handle/pin is pot metal and figured this would be nicer. Started by spinning a shaft to clean to copy th inner workings of it.
769 It has an offcenter round pin with a double off center slot, detent groove and an O ring groove. I started by grinding an off center square to .001 over diameter size.
770 Then knocked it down in the Harig fixture till all flats were equal. Then spin it manually while downfeeding the surface grinder and bring it to size.
771 I ground a small flat which showed me center and center punched it. Then drilled through. Half will be ground away and this will be the detent internally.
772 Here you can see the slot has been ground and spin grinding the O ring slot. Lots going on in this little piece.
773 I then cut it off the holding tang and drill and tapped for a bolt. Then mounted a bicycle spocket using the hardened hub and installed it on the winch.
774 I'm going to use throwaway bicycle hubs for spindles. They have sprockets, chains and bearings so easy and nice. Iill dismantel them both. One I'll just use the sprocket and mount, the other I'll pull the coaster brake stuff out and lock the shaft to the sprocket.
775 To mount the spindle, I decided on a box on box slide for adjustment tension. Cut a small bigger box down the length. Then wrapped 3 rounds of paper around the inner solid box and clamped the 4 corners. Tacked, then welded it back under low heat. Once welded, the paper is taken out(If not burned out) and you have just enough clearance. The grooves as you see are nice for grease retension.
776 Ground a radius groove into the slide tube. This way it "seats in" for welding. I just ground away the outer edges as opposed to half wheeling a dress.
777 Now the spindle is true to the flats of the box tubing with it welded on.
778 I put a wood block into the welded side and drill a pilot hole in the center. Then stacked springs to make the outer box spring loaded and it will always have tension on it.
779 For a handle went to the junk draw and found a stainless rear view mirror arm piece.
780 Rounded one end and drill the other to 3/8" for the spindle shaft size.
781 All complete and works really smooth.
782 Next up is the offset for the crank on the hand winch. Rounded up some sprockets and drilled some round stock to accept some oil impregnated bronze stock I had. Drilled and reamed those to 5/8" which is the shaft size I'll use.
783 Measured the offset needed and made the center section the same way I did the winch switch. They will be in line that way. Ends are drill for a set screw on one aise and a grease zerk on the other.
784 Made a coupler for the winch side that is threaded, counterbored and cross drilled for a through bolt. Ground a hex on it to make threading on tight easy.
785 More measuring and made a mount to hold it. Wanted it stout as there will be some force pulling the slide back and unspooling the electric winch. I welded this on.
786 Once it was all lined up and smooth, I clamped it down and drilled two .500 holes for bolts.
787 Took a small piece of 1/2" flat bar and ground a groove down the center for a slide. The rounded the corners and welded it on for an adjustable idler mount.
788 All done and clears everything.
789 I may make the crank handle a break away later if I see issues with it. For now, I think it will be fine
790 Extended the cables for the winch and hooked it all up. It all worked fine. I'll route and secure the cables later as well as the box once the bed floor is in and finished.
791 Buddy gave me a 2 1/2 Reese reciever mount he picked up for scrap. Never used but sides were bent. I straightened them out and started measuring.
792 Ended up cutting 3 1/2 inches out of each side and reweldeing. Lifted it up and it has just the right amount of drop I wanted.
793 I'm welding this on the rear extension and will make up some more bracing now.
794 Got some 3 inch Box tubing that is .250 thick for the ends. Cut triangles out of the sides and bent the existing outer edge down. Rewelded it all and smoothed the rounded corners back.
795 Got my bracing in and partially welded. I'll finish the rest when I take it all apart for painting. 2 center pieces of box tubing in the center should add a lot of support to everything.
796 If I can do the welding in an easier position, it's a win win. Just makes it nicer.
797 Mounted the flush mount lights I had in a stainless panel that will dress it up some. Only had one clear lens so I'll get another one later. Welded on some loops as well.
798 Always nice to have options for pulling/recovery.
799 Went and got all the pressure treated lumber for the floor and sidewalls. Wanted the least amount of bolts so I got the widest boards that worked out with the measurements. Have some bolt heads sticking up so here I'm using a Forstner bit to clear those. Relieving the edges as well where the welds and curve of angle iron is.
800 Just putting small 45's on those edges.
801 Relieved it around the pulley and used a router underneath where the bracing for it stuck up. Using stainless carriage bolts to hold in place.
802 Going to leave an access hole for the winch.
803 Cut some smaller pieces and filled in where the out braces are.
804 I used a rounding bit in the router so the boards would lay flat and still be snug on the ends.
805 Using this hardened tapping jig to keep the holes straight and hit the box tubing underneath in the center. You can drill a thick piece of steel too but this will never wear out since it's hardened.
806 Wood is all down with just the sides to do. I think I'll put the metal on next so it will be held down by the upright wood on the sides.
807 Using 12 guage stainless on the inside. This is a 5 x 10 sheet. Yes FIVE x 10. Local scrap yard had quite a stack of them. Set up some stands and clamped on a length of box tubing for a straight edge cut guide. Plasma will make quick work of this.
808 Sides are all done now. Waiting on some stainless sidewalk bolts to finish securing it.
809 Contents will slide easy and super easy to clean. The center floor is next.
810 I had a 4 x10 sheet of 12 guage here so it got the call. Cut the slot for the cable pulley and the winch access.
811 I used a cut off wheel for these and did it free hand. .040 wide cut and does a great job.
812 Making the push wall frame now. Using 2 inch Box beam. Bottom is 3/8" thick and uprights are 1/4". Tack them in the middle of all for sides, then the corners. Then finish weld. This keeps things from moving so much but you need to be quick.
813 Welding 2 shorts together here an using the angle iron trick again with C clamps holding it all straight.
814 Heavy reliefs, tack in the center of all 4 sides then the corners.
815 Keeps it all aligned and grind it flush with an angle grinder. This will be a pull piece with bracing so it's not going anywhere.
816 Nice and straight.
817 Since the roller doesn't stick out, I have to recess the pulling point so the slide can go past the end some. This will allow easier cleaning of trapped debris. Center crossmembers are about 1/4 inch higher than the slides so they don't drag. I just drilled a 5/8 inch hole behind the Y to attach the cable eye to.
818 Using a board as a guide to fit the top angles. C clamped Box beams serve to keep everything aligned for tack welds.
819 This will let the panel on the wall fit nice. I'm using 3/16 thick aluminum sheet for that. I will be putting cross bracing in to keep it from bending.
820 Got it all tacked then lifted it out to final weld this part. Now I'll work on the bracing for the side wing sections.
821 Here's a helpful hint if you want to close in something and keep it flush. I cut a scrap a little smaller than the hole but how do you keep it in place for tacks? Easy. Use a couple small magnets and it will be another set of hands for you. They will affect weld quality but for just tacking, it's fine. Notice I relieved the edges so you have more welded/fused area.
822 Tacked the 2 corners away from the magnets then slide them off quick and do the other 2.
823 Weld it all up.
824 Grind it flush.
825 Hit it with some 80 grit and no sharp edges. This will keep debris from building up in an open hole.
826 Measured and cut all the front angle braces. I tried to keep in mind making it as easy to load as I could. Can't get away from some of it as it will have some pretty stout load to push a cord of wood. just tacked them all here.
827 Kept all the ones on the back the same. I'm leaving the upright tubes longer and open. I'll store a shovel and broom in there and have a grommet on the handle to keep moisture out.
828 Another reason to keep the same is I'm going to enclose this on the back for storage. I can get supplies and a couple saws in there. Back supports for the wings is next.
829 Slicing a larger box tube to go around the brace here.
830 I then slid it over the angle brace and welded it on.
831 There will be a lot of force pushing back and I didn't want a higher joint on those. To me, it would be a weak point.
832 All the lateral bracing for the push wall were cut and welded in at this point.
833 Everything was welded on all sides.
834 With this done I'll work on putting the aluminum wall in.
835 With the bracing there was no way to get it in with 1 or 2 pieces. Ended up having to make 6 pieces. I'm using 3/16" aluminum sheet.
836 I'm cutting this freehand with a cut off wheel and angle grinder.
837 Wall is in and now working on enclosing the backside for some out of the weather/eyesight storage. Cut some OSB so it self locks for a floor.
838 Cut some panels so they slide inside the back supports. The bolts for the upright wall and future back panel will keep them from sliding in.
839 They will just lean out and lift up. Simple and secure.
840 I just welded a small piece on the bottom edge and no way it can get over it when in position.
841 Figured I'd make an easy grab handle and a spring loaded hold down for the access panel. Just drill a hole that was a little bigger than the small piece of pipe I had laying around. Then cut it in half and off.
842 Drilled a hole in a thinner piece of stainless a used an arbor press to form it. Wood works okay for just a couple pieces and thinner steel.
843 View from the inside with the spring doing the work.
844 Here it is holding it in place. You can also see the knob I put on to make it easy to pull the panel out.
845 Here it is in the open position.
846 I then cut some panels to enclose the front slant.
847 Here I'm making the tailgate. I had drilled and reamed some solid bar stock with a 5/8" hole for hinges. Ran a bar through them and tacked them on. Building it on the truck to match. Leaving an 1/8" gap with washers as I'll use that thickness for the liner.
848 Takes the guesswork out of it and gives you a nice pattern to build off of.
849 Once everything was tacked and no issues, I took it off and final welded it all.
850 Last time I went to my local steel yard I picked up the metal for the push wall and tailgate liner. This is the sheet I got for the tailgate. It was 4' x 5' and 1/8" thick. Went to cut it and it was unlike any stainless or aluminum I've worked with. Went online and ran the callout and found out that it's titainium!
851 I guess it will make a nice tailgate! LOL
852 Cut some 5/8" stock and then drilled about 3/4's of the length. Then crossed drilled it. Tapped the end and added a zerk. I Tig welded an 1/8" washer to one end and will use a cotter pin and washer on the other.
853 With all the Fab work done I pulled it apart for final welding on the bottom. Flipped the main bed frame over here. Glad I have to winches above.
854 Once that was done and cleaned up, I pulled the rear frame extension off too.
855 Makes it a lot nicer. Used some wire on this project!
856 With the weight this will haul along with what they bed weighs, I need more spring capacity. I had another set of 1 ton springs so I'll use those. Here I have taken it apart and am cleaning off the rust with a needle scaler. These work really well to get them cleaner.
857 I used C clamps to bring it all back together. I had them on as well when I took them apart. I used the long phillips screwdriver to keep the center hole in line so I could insert the bolt. I put in 2 extra springs(The 2 longest below the top eye spring.) Now there are 10 springs plus the bottom overload. I did put new poly slip pads in.
858 Here it is ready to be painted. Decided not to paint individual as I may add more later if needed.
859 With the extra 1/2" of thickness I needed to make longer keepers. Copied what the originals had so I got some 1/4" x 1" strap. Cut them all to length and marked the width for bends.
860 Using the compact bender for this.
861 Took about 5 minutes to bend all 4 of them. Handy tool.
862 Slid each one on and marked the 3/8" holes. I then drilled them all and rounded the corners.
863 Painted and installed them all. I measured the before and after and it has 2 inches less squat with all of the bed installed but no load in the bed.
864 Cleaned the frame up and brush painted it. Using hardener in the paint so it dries nicer and is more solvent resistant.
865 Painted as much as I could of the frame extension while it was off. Getting ready to slide it back in here. With the bed frame, I painted the bottom while it was flipped over and will paint the rest when it's installed back on the truck.
866 Bed frame installed and painted and painted the floor crossmembers while they were out as well.
867 Next was to paint the push wall. I painted the bottom of the box tubing where it will slide with Graphite paint.
868 Also painted the floor where it will ride. This stuff really does help. Most farm implement dealers stock it.
869 Using these for a tailgate latches. They are adjustable and each are rated at 400 lbs of pull.
870 Doing the electric stuff and wanted to hard mount the winch control. Put it at the back as high as I could and panel blocks the reverse option. Don't want an uncoil mess from someone else using it...or me forgetting so it can only be switched one way now. LOL
871 Tried to keep it from sticking out as much as possible. Most time will be loading from the back so it shouldn't be in the way or get beat on too much.
872 Put in some blocks to cushion in a panic stop situation.
873 Installed the gas tank and the filler neck. Went to the auto parts store and searched the rack till I found the 2 sizes of preformed hose I needed. Makes it nice a clean.
874 Had a warmer day and decided to give it a bath. Happy with the results so far and just a few things left to do.
875
876
877
878 Some may wonder why I left open box tubing ends into the center section of the bed. That will be addressed next.
879 With the slick floor, putting anything at the back would be an instant slide forward with a stop or hill. I'm using those opening for an adjustable panel stop when hauling smaller things like buckets, gas cans, saws, etc.
880 Using a small piece of box tubing with a welded tab to attach to the board. Another smaller box tube will slide through to the sides. Being that the square "locks" it in postion, it won't swing out at the bottom. Just drilled 2 holes for in or out. Spring pins make it quick and easy and pieces won't get lost.
881 Seems to work well.
882 Next will be the front bumper. I want something bigger than stock and want to be able to stand/kneel on it when working in the engine compartment.
883 Went to the scrap yard and they had what I wanted. a 6" x 8" box beam.
884 I cut the length to what I wanted and made a pattern where I needed the angle back at. The tight angle can't be cut as shown on the pattern and retain the rounded corner.
885 After looking at it and some sketching on what should work, I cut the lines with a cut off wheel.
886 Knocked the waste out and will trim any spurs.
887 Cut the other side and reasdy to bend. I'll heat the hinge point to bend.
888 Held the torch, moving back and forth with one hand and pushed down with the other. Came together and I have the weld gap I wanted for filling.
889 Tacked it up first paying attention that the edges were flush.
890 Here it is after welding, grinding and sanding out.
891 Continues the rolled edge like I wanted to have. Did the other side the same and now I'll do the outer ends.
892 Cut a section out of what I had left over and angled it more to the edge. Doing the same with tack welds.
893 Burst welded all the gaps.
894 Ground and rounded all the corners and edges. Nothing to gouge into a leg. LOL
895 Brushed painted it as well and once dry, I put it on.
896
897
898 Got some antislip tape for sidewalks and cut it to fit the top of the bumper. Hopefully it'll keep me from slipping off while standing/kneeling on it. Generally use some foam on rop but with slick paint, they can slide off at the wrong time.
899
900 First load of wood on it for a test. This is Beech do it weighs about 4500 lbs wet. Just split it enough to be able to lift chunks and will split the rest of the way in the barn before final stacking.
901
902 Squats more than I want so will probably add a few more leafs when I come across a set. I have a good bit of weight far behind the rear axle.
903 First unload test so here we go. Drop the tailgate and I'll unload the first rick.
904 Hit the button and the 3 ricks moved with ease to the back. Success!
905 Repeat the process and it only gets easier. The whole system worked really well and I'm happy about that.
906
907
908
909 Been hauling constantly now with loads and has worked great. Has over 20 cycles on it now with no issues.
