Poser shots.... they are not mounted yet, just sitting there





I think I am going to like this. Next step is to clean them up, paint them and mount them.

 

those look AWESOME!
and useful as hell

 

They look right at home on there!

 

like you made the bed to fit them. now nestle a generator and a welder in the middle of both of em and youve got a nice all around utility truck.

 

These 2 milage pictures are taken a year apart... which means that I have driven 3,551 miles in a year... lol barely enough for an oil change. But I am just happy that I am able to drive it again. And obviously I need to plan a few more road trips..

 

I got some work done today on the truck boxes. It was a good excuse to try out my new Forney 140 MP welder. So far I really like it! I still need to get some gas for it. Right now I'm using Flux core wire, which is messy but effective. This welder can do mig, tig or stick welds, which may be helpful in the future. Tomorrow I hope to paint the boxes and mount them. Wish me luck

 

Got some more done today. Waiting for it to dry. Can't wait to mount them up!




Wish me luck

 

Mounted!! I will get better pictures in daylight but for now these will have to do.




I'm going to try and make a tail gate for this. Something basic but effective.

 

That looks good! I like the functionality of it, still with the small bed in the middle.

I think some marker lights on the rear corners would help, and who doesn't like more lights

 

This weekend and I installed a ball joint spacer kit along with rear add a leaf and all new leaf spring bushings to my truck. The rear springs have been sagging and the passenger side spring is more like an S then an arch. So I decided to install my spare set of springs from the frame swap and ditch the old stuff. I got the extra set ready to go before I tore down the truck.



you can see how much the add a leaf helps over stock in the top picture and all the bushings installed on the bottom.

By far the worse part of this project was the removal of the old stuff. All rubber bushings were practically welded to the frame and springs and had to be drilled out. The shackle plates took a lot of work,


I cut this much of the bolt off and it still had to be drilled out!

With the lift installed



Measurements

The rear springs were so bad that an 1 1/2" lift basically gave me 3 1/2" of lift in the rear. So far I like it a lot! It sits level now, and doesn't have that Carolina squat look.

Here's a before and after pictures of the flatbed wheel well area


Much more room!
So far I am happy! And it drives better. I think I will lower the front torsion bars a bit to help them relax.

 

looking awesome
a tailgate will really finish it off nice

 

I'm working on it . Trying to figure out what design or style of tailgate I want

 

my vote is 1st gen 82+, rolled lip, de-sta-co style latches, embossed possibly narrow enough lettering to fit in between your boxes

 

I haven't driven the truck much lately with gas prices in my area in the 5 dollar range, so I've been working on a few small projects. I found some uncut fenders, cleaned them up and painted them.

Old, rusty cut fenders

New fenders

The other project I have been working on is a high clearance front bumper. Here's my cardboard design










And here's where I am with the steel.



I will post more later

 

So that gap is for a winch?

 

at this time I am leaving my options open for the possibility 4 a winch.

 

More bumper pics



it's getting there. More to do ttomorrow