This is awesome! I'll be watching.

 

In for updates! This is one cool build.

 

Looking tits dude, i want a beard like that! Haha

 

sorry I havent updated in a minute- been busy with my Toyota Sunrader build as well.
but its looking good, I got the back of the cab started...and sanded/ground smooth with a bunch of long straight welds or should I say lots of small tack welds (like a few hundred) to keep the warping down.

The cowl is welded and that was probably the most complex part to do since I wanted all the slots to come out even and have a functioning wiper smack in the middle of it all. it came out very nice and will not require much filler to clean it up.

The stroke of the wiper and wiper motor were a fun one to figure out to get the wiper to pass over the entire windshield with a 20 inch wiper blade.

the floor boards are done and backed with a 1/2 strip of sheet metal to keep the strength of solid metal, it will have a liner type material put under it and inside of it similar to rhino lining for water/rust resistance and easy to clean out.

I have the frame torn down and am doing some mods to it as well, like moving the cab and engine back about 3-4 inches as well as narrowing it 2 inches for the cab to fit over it (all figured out, just have to modify the spring hangers/shackles and shackle tubes to deal with making the springs 1 inch outside normal location)

pics this week (from a GOOD camera)

 

k so no pics yet, I cant find my cable to transfer then to computer from camera- but heres the details

dash is done and in (not for good but for sizing), I started sanding and smoothing all the welds, primered the metal, spray in bedliner inside the cab floors and laying out the wire harness- all that is required for it is to have 12 inches of it looped up and zip tied back to itself to keep it from grounding out from vibrating against something.

I am trying to source a bed now (long bed) it will be cut down and have some mods done to it to make kind of a shortbed but not as short as factory, moving the cab back on the frame lets me stretch the shortbed wheelbase a little bit to get a little stability advantage over a shorter wheel base vehicle.

The frame is getting tackled the next few weeks and it will be modded by narrowing it 2 inches (1 inch per side for body clearance) and the rear frame rails will be set inboard of the front frame rails (a whole different 2/3 frame to go up inside of the front frame piece) for
1. more clearance between tires/frame
2. more articulation from the rear leaf springs with the tires having more leverage on the leaf springs
3. I am mounting my shocks outside of the frame rails for better control being mounted closer to the tire itself
4. to help clear the bedsides that will be narrowed as well.

I will pick up a cable tomorrow and have pics up by the end of the weekend, hopefully catch up to date with all of them

 

Why would you narrow the cab?

 

Why would someone bob a bed or dovetail a front clip or bed? kind of the same but a different approach

 

Send me your camera and I'll find a way to upload the pics

 

New clear pics- posting up to catch up where I am at with it now.

Here is the back of the cab narrowed ready to grind. the dash is in and cut.

 

dash frame work after cutting/grinding/welding ready for paint.
I narrowed the vinyl dashpad itself by the width of the depression in it 12"- any of you 79-83 owners know where I am talking about. it has a metal frame underneath the foam and vinyl I am just having it recovered,

 

cowl image, this was one of the hardest areas to get perfect but worth it for the use of the wiper still and to keep it even looking.

The horizontal black marker lines (2) had to be cut and evened up with the front edges then a filler strip added.

 

double posted- delete

 

That's fantastic work! I like on the dash frame how you deleted the center console area and tied it in with the steering collumn area. Looks very slick

 

I'm following the hell out of this thread.

 

The piece that goes right under the cowl on the firewall, it was a bitch as well due to the multiple angles and different steps in the metal.

 

more cowl pics

 

firewall starting to grind and smooth

 

NIce!

 

3 pieces of cowl.

 

pic for reference, 80 Series axle that I am using- without hubs/spindles sitting in front on ground.