yeah, I’m pretty fired up honestly. It’s not really much, but getting the axle from my buddy as a loaner was pretty great.
I kinda faked the front passenger wheel though. I still only have a rim on it. What you see is a tire leaning against the rim. I’ve gotten a couple comments from the neighbors, so I figured that looked a little better. Cheesey, I know, but I don’t plan to pull it into the garage any time soon.
As to the last pic, I really like the stance. I’m still debating the direction of the build- I could still go lower, but if I go 4x4 that’ll be the stance. 31-33” tires and likely leaf springs.

 

While I under the truck, I snapped a couple of the underside. I had tried to get a look when I inspected it before the buy, but the tall grass didn’t lend itself to a complete picture. I was pretty happy with what I saw. Cab corners took some abuse at some point, but they’re solid.

As mentioned the bed floor is toast. I think the supports will be alright. Started thinking about a wood floor and how nice they look. Then I think a fancy wood floor will clash with the “patina” character. Time will tell I suppose.

 

Now you can go out there and sit in it and have coffee and wave to the neighbors as they go by! lol

 

My bed was totally shot as well. ended up putting some white oak from a local mill at random widths. Very durable. I pit a couple coats of water seal on them but this truck doesn't really see any bad weather unless it is raining the day I have to take it for inspection. lol Here is what mine ended up with :

 

That looks good. A wood bed is definitely on the list- possibly distressed wood? Something to match the patina. One thought is my kid wants this truck for shuttling bikes, so it’ll need to be moderately durable. It’s tempting to tackle the bed first, simply to avoid the tetanus infection that are waiting happen.

 

So the seat that came with the truck is in pretty bad shape. The mice had been allowed to nest in it for who knows long.

Their best seems to have centered around the drivers side.

Passenger side is better, but brittle.

This is how sits after cleaning out the nest and a layering of white stuff.

Currently it’s blocking my ten year old from falling through the rust holes in the bed. Also I wanted the mouse house out of the cab for the winter.

I hate to throw anything away from the truck, but I am not sure this would have any value. I considered mounting it in the bed for the drive in, but it needs a serious rehab. Is there any value in the old seat?

 

Since you're not going stock, why not cover bed with diamond plate steel. Good durable surface for hauling motorcycles.

 

Happy holidays everyone. This will likely be the look of the truck til spring, while I figure out a plan.

 

Ho Ho Holy crap that looks cold.

 

Hahaha welcome to winter!

 

It started raining here and melted all our snow. Not normal for this time of year. If it continues, I might be able to get an old truck out! yeah right!

 

No such luck here, it's very dang cold and staying that way for awhile.

 

yeah we’ll likely be holding and receiving the good white stuff into April. Sometimes the valley floor melts before that, but it’s not reliable. This last week has been pretty heavy, so maybe it’s on for real now.

 

What I would really like to make is an AWD canyon cruiser, so it will receive some modern updates. For the rear end, I’m leaning toward a ‘15-19 mustang got irs assembly. (I like the fact that it’s a complete suspension, brakes, axle and there should be plenty of aftermarket upgrades for it in the future).



So I am hitting a wall on my google search abilities- Where I’m stuck is the front axle/suspension. Currently I’m leading toward a expedition 8.8 center section and explorer outers (A arms, spindle, brakes and possibly steering). Sticking point I have is to find a cv axle that’s the right length, and spline ends. What I need now is a list of CV axles and their relevant dimensions. Once I have that I can start accumulating parts and get a better plan.

I would also like to hear from anyone that did did an airbag suspension- pros and cons. I have helper springs on my tundra and really like them, so I am leaning toward that for this build. If the truck handles as well as I hope, I’d like to be able to pull the boat (2000#) or haul the slide in camper (2000#). My thought was the suspension is able be easily dialed in- cruise mode or hauling. I don’t think I’m looking to scrape pavement tho. Am I being to optimistic on an airbag only (no coil) suspension?

 

So after extensive reading and visiting of the junkyard with a measuring tape, I have decided to go with a rwd drivetrain. As sexy as awd appeared, I couldn’t come up with a front end ifs swap that I felt I could do with confidence. Heck, maybe it’ll be cheaper…

My desire for the ‘15 mustang rear end pulled through and it should be delivered by the end of the week. For the front end, I’ll be looking at a CV pull out in couple weeks. Unfortunately, crown vics (or mustangs for that matter) are not common in this area- there’s a 4wd truck in every driveway around here. But I have a work conference out of town and there happens to be someone selling some Police front end units. Looks like everything is there, but the crazy ujoint for the rack and pinion. $400 seems pretty reasonable compared to what I’ve seen in other places.

All that leaves me with some questions about frame boxing- should I box the entire frame? Or just on the immediate area by the suspension? I’m planning to box around the ifs&irs and will probably be pulling the cab from the get go, so now is the time.So should I box the whole thing or just for and aft of the new suspensions?