The 87 I bought a month or so ago came with a really beefy headache rack (all made out of 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 inch steel). As you can see, it's tall, and has funky rails that go the length of the bed. I like the look of the rack, but took it off after it slid about halfway off while driving up a hill


With winter break approaching, I decided I would take advantage of the two weeks off from school and clean up the rack a little bit. I've already done a lot of the cutting, so here's what I've done..

I didn't want the bed rail parts, because they were all bent out of shape and had those 1x1 steel stakes welded to it, and with them on it wouldn't fit too well in the garage. I made a rough cut between the first stake and the main rack, and wrestled it into the garage.




Once safe in the garage, I planned out what I wanted to come off. I am aiming for both sides to be symmetrical, and I'm not too concerned about how clean my cuts and grinds are, because its a work truck

Drivers side start


Passenger side start


Drivers side marked for cuts (and two of them already done). Everything with a "x" on it is getting cut off


Passenger side marked for cuts


Plus these down on either side



After a few hours spent cutting and grinding, I have most of the major stuff cut off (only took 3 sawzall blades, 4 cut off wheels, and so far, 1 grinding disk). I really wish I had a full cutting torch set...

Passenger side upper


Middle (not as bad as it looks. There are some huge welds to take care of)


Lower (still a really rough cut)



Drivers upper


Drivers lower (Almost done!)



Once I'm all done with the metalwork, I'll sandblast the whole thing. I'd ideally like to get it powder coated, but there isn't anyone locally who does it, and I don't know how expensive it is. In the end it'll most likely get painted a few times

The rack will be getting lights, both front driving and rear work/backup lights. The original plan was to put the fronts at the very top off to the sides, but I'll have to go either on the front of the tube or underneath to stay under 7'6". Either way, I'm expecting it to look pretty mean once I'm done.


I'll keep you guys posted as I go
Jameson

 

Update time

I have finished running new wires for the lights, and have welded caps onto the horizontal pieces and the tops of the pipes. Pics to come...

I also forgot about a Jerry can that I had repainted over the summer laying around. It isn't functional, because I accidently sandblasted a few holes in the bottom It's also red, which is generally the color for gas, not diesel. Regardless, I'll be making a simple mount to go on the passenger side.

The drivers side will be getting a spare tire mount, because I really don't like the under-tank stock placement. I'm hoping to add a hi-lift jack and a small tool box at some point. Box won't be attached though.

As far as work lights, I found this writeup on making your own LED light bars. I briefly entertained the idea of buying some from Rigid Industries, but they cost an arm and a leg.
DIY Hight Powered LED Light Bar - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum

 

Here is what the bottoms look like. It's darn near flat


Uppers


And here's where the jerry can is going




The mount is simple. There's a little piece of angle iron that the can is going to sit on, then a metal strap is going from the bottom to the top to hold it on



Jameson

 

Looking good, great idea for the spare fuel can. I would put one there that I could fill and use tho. I would have a way to lock it. I guess you could mix some gas & sugar into the tank. That way if anyone steals it the joke is on them. Keep at it.

 

The strap will be bolted on both ends, so you'll need a wrench to get it out. If I find another can, I'll clean it up to use, and paint the appropriate color.

 

Looks good Jameson. If you and I have a time worked out, and you can bring down your things that need welded. I could even just knock it out for ya. You are more than welcome to borrow my welder still. But possibly I could weld up your Jerry can as well. I wouldn't recommend you doing that, but I'd be more than happy too.I'd have to see it first before I knew for sure.
Joe

 

Joe: i might take you up on that offer. I just tried welding it up, and to put it gently, it looks like ****. Holds fine. I beat on it with a hammer for a while with no movement.

.033 flux core
105 amps
Wire speed 7 (out of 10)

I don't know if it's my welder, my lack of gas, or just my lack of experience...

I already tried my hand at sheet metal welding. You can probably guess the results

 

I wonder how many volts you are running? For.045 I usually run between 26 and 32. That's with gas. I like to run hot. As I can't have one of those boats sinking. Lol

 

It's 14.7. That's the max. 105 amp/14.7v

 

So when you are welding does the wire come out of the gun freely? Like does it just seem to flow into the weld puddle? Or does it come out and kinda push into the puddle? And how far away is the nozzle during welding? That is called wire "stick out" that should be about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch.

An other thing you could try Is place the cup( nozzle cup) on its side so the wire can come out of the gun and be about 1/4" to 3/8" away from the work. And adjust the wire speed till it sounds nice and smooth. See if that helps. Should sound like eggs cooking in bacon grease. MMMmm Bacon.

 

Wire comes out of the gun freely. If the stick out should be 1/4-3/6", then I'm welding a little far away. I was more at like an inch to inch and a half. Part of my problem might have been a bad ground. I'll give that a shot later and see how it goes

 

My second attempt went much better. I started off by flipping the rack over, so that I was welding upright instead of upside down like I had been before. Got myself a better ground connection, and a better angle on the work surface. Turned out much better. Still looks bad, but it hold no problem