1974 Ford Cummins Crew cab

[ChaseTruck754]

Yup - more dimples! I catch a little grief on them but they reduce weight and ADD strangth. what more could you ask for As for the powder coating - I have been thinking about it for a while (even grabbed an oven a while back) and I will get around to it sometime soon. My problem (not really a "problem") was I used to get black stuff done for free. Even large pieces were free!!! That has since dried up though so I will need to look into something here soon. My problem is I like doing big stuff as well as small stuff and without buying or setting up a large size oven I can't do 1/2 of what I want coated. Therefore I have been looking into the UV curing powders. Who knows. For now I'll continue to melt metal and cover it with normal paint. The powder can come later.

[ChaseTruck754]

I never made it back to the shop that next night due to having to work late. I did however get some good shop time in on Friday

I started off by dimpling and welding up the plates at the front of the leaf hangers



Next I started sanding down the recovery point anchors to get them to the shape I wanted.
You might remember I left them like this before


Well - they now look like this. The design for them is the paper template in the middle. Instead of having something that just welded to the face of this thing like most people would do I made something with more weld surface.


I started cutting the rectangular tube to slip these things in.



You can see the solid piece from the "mounting surface" for these things and how these new "recovery points" will sit snugly against them.


I got the 1st one fit and started welding


Saturday was spent making a custom seat mount for a buddies 76 F-250 so no work got done on my stuff.

The surf is good today - so I most likely won't get any work done tonight. This thing is slowly getting closer to being done though and one of these days I will finish it...


Oh - and a side note. I can't decide on this, so I am putting it to a reader vote - haha.

On the passenger side frame "box" in the front (below).


There is a large hole in the frame on the back side (below).


I can't decide if I should leave it - or put (weld) a tube in it. If I put the tube in I'd cut a hold in the boxing plate so the tube could be welded on both sides. It would then look like a large hold going through the frame.


So to tube or not to tube?

[BradyCouchman]

looking good, why not just weld the hole closed?

[ChaseTruck754]

Almost seems like more effort. Cut a circle out of steel, weld it in. The spend time grinding/sanding the welds totally smooth to make it look like the hole was never there - because I'm overly anal like that...

[fordtrucknut]

It's missing on the other side now isn't it...with the dodge frame section in there?? I say fill it too if the other one is missing!!! ...on a side note...Getting ready to go take a look at the cheap F-350 4x4 now!!!

[ChaseTruck754]

Yes the other one is gone due to the Dodge frame section. The hole is behind where the steering box sits anyways so you don't really notice it would be there.

Good luck on the 4x4 - hopefully it has the "holy grail" in the front end...

[fordtrucknut]

It is confirmed!!! It is the Beloved Dana 60!!! I may be picking up the whole truck for 500 bones!!!!

[Towmanjbo]

What are the holes for? If ya don't need it I also vote for deleting it or complete tubed and open.

But keep the "T" slot it's a factory towing point (towtruck towing)

[ChaseTruck754]

That hole isn't for anything that I can tell. I don't think I'd ever use it for anything.

as for the T slot - I've never seen them used. With a truck this big if it ever needs to go anywhere I put it on a 20'+ flatbed. Still not filling them - but I never see them used...

[Towmanjbo]

Originally Posted by ChaseTruck754

as for the T slot - I've never seen them used. With a truck this big if it ever needs to go anywhere I put it on a 20'+ flatbed. Still not filling them - but I never see them used...

Real sorry to hear that! For a truck this big they most definitely would have been used on my flatbed, just as I use them when I flatbed type 2 school buses. I also would use these points on the old sling style tow truck because if you remember that is what was available to tow this truck when it was new.
Although I guess I'm dating myself here as most of the younger drivers have never used a sling let alone know how.

[ChaseTruck754]

Everybody that has towed this for me just thorws it on a flat bed and straps/chains to the axles. The same way we do it when we put in on my buddies 20' rollback

[fordtrucknut]

That is how this truck is hooked to my Tow Truck...with the T Hook slots...lol

[ChaseTruck754]

So this week had NOT been productive at all

Surf was no good on Monday so it was a waste to go do that instead of working in the shop...

Last night my friends invited me over for dinner again and I got distracted hanging out there with their kids so I got to the shop pretty late. All I had time to do was finish welding up that 1st recovery point.

Today I had to run to the shop to meet a craigslist guy so I put some paint down on the thing.

Hopefully I'll get to putting the other one in tonight. I'm gonna do some welding for a buddies dad though - so I'm not sure how long that will take.

[Towmanjbo]

Thought you were gonna put two recovery points on this thing. I mean you did make two right? Or is one for the back of the truck.

[ChaseTruck754]

Notive the area that did not get painted....?

That would be the area where the 2nd recovery point got welded in last night.

I had just wanted to get some paint on it because it all of a sudden started to rust (I guess it got more humid recently)


So yeah - last night the 2nd recovery point got welded in.


Mmmmm - pretty beads!


All painted


Bolted (temporarily) in place and looking good.



Final test fit of last plating piece. I need to do some small adjustments in the cad file and get them cut.