TrashE

[Dan]

New wheel opening raised and opened up. The weird flare part of the fender went away - deleted as the diesel guys would say.

After cutting the frame off behind the leaf spring shackle I had to recenter the rear wheel in the bed opening. So I stretched the sheet metal back 6 inches which also gave me plenty of room to stuff the 40's. The outcome was kind of like a small bob while keeping the full bed length.

 

[Dan]

More cutting...

 

[Dan]

Inside fender got relocated 5" back, quick patch panel made up.

Only went back 5" because of a body cross member, didn't want to cut it out and I had room anyway. I tied the inner fender into the cross member.

 

[Bebop]

You got skills man, wow !

 

[Dan]

Spent some time closing off the bed. I used a little bit thicker sheet metal here because it's what I had on hand.

The top of the flat rectangular piece is basically the same height as the outer bed skin opening.

 

[Dan]

Couldn't have these huge openings and loose bed skins flappin' around in the wind.

 

[Dan]

So I closed them off & tied the outer body together.

I should really wash that dirt off.

 

[Dan]

Little bit more work on the bed, this time the rear.

Making way for the winch fairlead and license plate.

 

[Dan]

I originally was going to mount the fairlead on the bumper but decided to put it right off the winch mount instead. This way the rear winching just stays as an independent system. Could swap a service bed, flatbed, or no bed and still be good to winch.

These little guys are made from 1/8" and were really fun to build,

 

[Dan]

With the fairlead, licence plate, and light holder assembly mounted. Its nice and tight to the body.

License plate flips up out of the way for winching.

 

[Sterlingfire]

I like it!
How does the license plate stay flipped up while winching?

 

[Dan]

I like it!
How does the license plate stay flipped up while winching?

I want to embed a couple magnets on the license plate frame so that it flips up and sticks to the bottom of the tailgate. For now the tailgate will have to come off until I get around to making that happen, which only takes a few seconds to remove. With the tailgate off it flips up and stays against the bed pretty good. For using the boom (that I haven't made yet) the tailgate will have to be removed.


Edit: I am always open to suggestions too.

 

[rattle_snake]

Nice work on the bed sides. I did similar to keep body lines but didn't go as large. 40" tire doesn't really fit but allows a lower ride height. A lot of work!

 

[Dan]

Nice work on the bed sides. I did similar to keep body lines but didn't go as large. 40" tire doesn't really fit but allows a lower ride height. A lot of work!

Your truck looks really good, I like it a lot. I was originally going to do something similar on my bedsides but then just got excited and kept going

 

[Dan]

Here's a pretty terrible picture of my wheel/tire combo, I had them mounted a couple days ago. Raceline Raptors I bought used a few years back for cheap. I thought they might be a little too bling but they're not too bad, especially when paired with 40's.

I couldn't resist throwing them on real quick for some motivation.

 

[Dan]

Since I was waiting on some stuff to show up I went ahead and started on the front end. Everything is gone except the steering box and engine cross member, which I want to keep on for mock up.

Old 2wd IFS brackets cut off and frame ground smooth. Glad that parts over. Ready to start adding metal now.

 

[Dan]

Been trying out different springs and axle locations. Set the truck at ride height and now have the proper pinion angle written down.

Ended up settling on some stock chevy 52" springs with the overload removed. I might swap a spring or add one in later but it's the combo I liked the most, so it will work for now.

The premade Barnes leaf spring hangers made set up a little better. I moved them a few times as well.

 

[Dan]

With everything mocked up as good as it was going to get I double checked my measurements and got ready to remove the front cross member and finish everything up on the bench.

 

[Dan]

For the front cross member I went with some 3/16" thick 4x4 tube.

End caps are 1/4" and drilled to accept 5/8" hardware. The nuts will get welded to the back of the plate and be captured inside the tube.

 

[Bebop]

Fab work is clean AF !

 

[Dan]

Fab work is clean AF !

Thanks!

 

[Dan]

Blasted some holes in the 4x4 cross member.

Cleaned up the holes with some help from these guys. That big one can get sketchy if you're not paying attention.

After making the rear recovery points out of some 1" plate I decided to spend the 35 bucks and save some time on the front. I'm definitely getting a stick of 1x2 flat bar next time I'm at my metal supplier though.

 

[Dan]

Some of the main parts.

Trying to keep everything flat.

Starting to take shape now. The receiver tube and recovery points go through the 4x4 and will be welded on both sides.

 

[Dan]

Side gussets are 1/4" and tie into the recovery points.

Front gussets are 3/16" plate.
The large flat plate under the receiver is where the winch will live. This is the under side

 

[rattle_snake]

Dope AF

 

[Dan]

Made these for the end caps. Bumper will get mounted using these.

 

[Dan]

Needed to weld the perch fully before closing off the tube.

Since it's going to be a close fit after it's welded, I just TIG welded it real quick to keep the weld joint small.

No grinding necessary to fit the end caps.

Finished it up with the squirt gun to match the other welds.

 

[Dan]

Flipped it over and time to weld the top.

Then it was just a matter of finding the right shims for the bottom side. Cut some material, scrounged around for some scrap and piled it all together before clamping it to the table again.

 

[Dan]

The back/inside.

The back ends of the recovery points will get welded to the frame. Their OD is pretty close to the dodge frame ID.:rolleyes:

 

[Dan]

This thing stayed really flat. Must have gotten lucky

After fully welding the workpiece.

That area around the 10-12 inch mark that kind of looks like a gap is actually a sharpie mark on the ruler.

Now I just have to drill the winch mounting holes, add a bracket for the fairlead.... Oh, and weld it to the truck.