My Other Wheeling Rig

I dig it. You should cut it down and run it.

 

Both ends or just the front?

 

I vote flat bed and get that original bed to someone who needs it. The 12 bolt and suspension are keepers maybe.

 

Definitely both ends to get the proportions right to your shortened frame.

 

I've been playing with the tig welder quite a bit. I used it to make up the drag link ad tie rod for the high steer.







The pitman arm is over the tie rod, and in the background, you can see I had to lower the bump stop. I picked the right rear tire up to compress the left front (to the point where the other rear tire was starting to come off the ground) and the drag link was 3/4" from the drag link. That is where I set the bump stop. At least it still has full suspension travel.



I also built one of the cross members for the drivetrain. I cut the front driveshaft and welded a piece of DOM tubing inside it to extend it. The rear one I took out of my parts 2002 F250 and shortened it. Both are very straight for backwoods driveshafts.

 

I made some good progress on the beater truck this week. I made a new engine cradle because I had to cut the factory out to fit the LS in.



And I sandblasted the new headers and repainted them.



And I made this overly complicated crossmember for the rear transfer case. I made this one like the other to keep it all up high.



And my geometry project fit perfectly!



And I moved the factory tank mount cross members so it would fit in my shortened frame. The front tank mount used to be where the two bolts are in the drives shock mount. Please ignore the ratchet straps holding the tank up. I needed something until I get new straps.



And of course the best part of the build, the old generator exhaust stack is back on. Got the most important part done now. Next week I'll bring it to the local shop to have an exhaust bent up.

 

around here we would call that DONE

 

I've seen plenty of rigs around here like that too!

 

Interested to know what type of tig welder you have and how u like it.

 

I posted it in another thread, but its a big ole Miller tig and arc welder. I really like it. The arcs take right off in either function and is pretty powerful. I got it from the original owner who bought it new in '88 and he had all the books for it too.

 

Wow. That takes up some real estate. Your welds look great!

 

Those old Miller machines are great. I can't count the number of hours that I have spent use one.

 

Yes, it sure does weld amazing. It has some horsepower behind it. My welder buddy has been using one for years, so when I saw this pop up, I knew I had to have it.

 

So, I had half a crusty suburban, but it had all the A/C components. I robbed all that and then some before crushing it up in the scrap dumpster.

 

Well, now that the birds have moved out of their nest on the engine, I can get back to work on this rust bucket.

I took a stock 1987-91 suburban sending unit (those were TBI with in-tank fuel pumps) and removed the stock fuel pump and replaced it with a higher PSI one to run the LS off of.

 

Awesome!