Rather Diesel

Update in one hour.

Roy

olharleyman

good time to go get some food be back at 800 to see this where in md are you im in s.md and would love to see inperson maybe even give you a hand

TNRabbit

Ditto. So. MD unite to help a brother out.

Rather Diesel

Time for an update:

Winch plate designed so a 2" receiver tube can fit thru it so I can mount at rear if needed. The selenoid is mounted to the plate as well, so it all moves as a unit.

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The winch-plate drops into the front bumper, and is secured by two hitch pins. This way, I don't need to store the winch inside the truck. It's made from 2x6 by 1/4" rectangle tube. Brackets are 3/8". Shackle mounts are 3/4" and go thru the entire bumper.

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I decided to use a factory spare mount from a Jeep. One spare tire on the rear door, and one on the cab roof. I went with a door-mount spare, so the rear door can be opened from the inside. A bumper mounted spare would prevent this. Ignore all the burn/weld marks I used to mount temporarily until I found the right spot to drill and mount.

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Here's an air compressor mount I fabbed for my MV-1052 compressor. This is under the passenger-rear storage compartment. (lots of dust inside)

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The interior panels are going in now. I decided to use fiberglass panel board because of its light weight and easy trimming. This is a shot looking back from the driver's door. The trim was not installed on the front because I'm still shopping for a side window for the third passenger seat in the back.

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Here's a shot from the passenger door looking back. All interior panels will be painted medium-gray to match the front interior panels and uphostery.

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Here's my rear heater setup. A front panel is not installed so you can see the setup. There is a fan and temp sensor mounted on the back,facing up. With the front panel installed, the hot air is forced thru the vent above the seat cushion.

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I mounted the hi-lift to the exterior on the passenger side. The exterior shower box is shown below. Locking tabs for the jack are not welded on yet. You can see the second fuel fill door below that for the auxilliary tank.

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Looking left from the rear door. The sink will go in the corner below the secondary fuse box cover. The 12-volt fridge goes in the opening opposite the fuse panel. Microwave goes above the fridge. I have dropped the idea of a 110v fridge.

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From rear door looking right. Both long doors on the side drop down with storage behind. The gray will be uphostered. This seating-for-two is for when the vehicle is NOT moving or for emergency passenger capacity if required.

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From rear door with bed-center in "down" position. This design conserves valuable headroom. Unfortunately, I had to install three interiors before I was happy with the design. What works great on paper, worked terrible in the truck.

olharleyman

MORE MORE MORE
This is like the season final of the Sapranos

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Bed-center in "up" position. Farthest end of bed surface is not shown. The front section of the bed is actually stored in the headliner when not in use.

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To keep this a budget build, I wouldn't buy the rust-repair panels to fix the rust around the wheelwells. So, I removed 3" along the entire wheel-opening, and welded a new edge to close the wheelhouse. A quick coat of filler, and I'm done. About $360 was saved.

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Again, to stay low-budget, I added 2" angle to the rocker panels. I welded the angle directly to the rockers. The reinforced rocker-panels can easily support the truck weight if needed.

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To answer a few earlier questions....

I live in Frederick, MD.

I had to send my divorce tranfer case adapter back because it was too tight on the output shaft of the transfer case. OTT was really good about it. Hopefully, it won't take too long to modify it and send it back.

The five-cylinder Mercedes turbo-diesel is NOT an easy swap. The transmission is significantly wider than the Toyota, so firewall modification will be needed if you want to keep the radiator and a/c condenser in the stock locations. I did want this. I am also going to make custom engine accessory brackets so that ALL the original toyota accessories can be used. (power steering pump, A/C compressor, alternator, etc)

I have about two or three weekends in body work and welding, and then I'll start the Mercedes swap. The interior may even be painted by then.

If you folks have any questions, feel welcome to ask.

olharleyman

This thing is cool can't wait to see it on the road and done