I figured if I gotta strap something to this beast & pull it out - I want to have no doubt in my mind that the thing WON'T fail!

 

So is this the same hitch or different? If its the same what happened that made you cut off the top of the sides? Also what are the small holes at the bottom mid way from center to the sides for?

 

Pretty sure the top one is from the supercab. My guess this is a complete new one based on the firsts design. I guessing safety chain attachment points on the small holes.

 

Close - but let me clarify a bit.

Top one is the supercab one. It's still in the truck for now but will come out if the truck is sold. That one was 1/8" wall as it didn't need to be as structural/beefy.

Bottom pic is obviously the crew one. It's pretty much the same as the supercab one but I put the receiver, recovery points and some added beef into it! This one is a bit shorter, based on what I found in the metal yard. Top one was 2x5" tube if I remember right & this one is 2x4". This one will be finished/capped just like the supercab one, but with a couple cool details added so as to add strength. Capping plates will tie into the recovery points for that little, extra overkill that I love!

The bosses (holes) near the middle are for the bolts for the fuel tank straps.

 

I've got a little more to update...

Here's a pic of what I was doing on lunch yesterday. Everything inside on these ties together pretty much.



Then last night I was back at it. Welded up the 2nd "new" shackle in the same way as the 1st.

I then got to plating up this rear cross member. You can see this cap plate has a bend in it so it folds down & ties into the recovery point.


And here's one with everything together.



Then it was time to bolt it up & cycle this thing. I used the stock (suburban) 4.5" shackle on one side & the "new" 6" shackle on the other side. The 6" one allows for more bump travel before the spring goes into negative arch so I'll be using those. This pic shows the one on the stock side



The bad thing I found out is these hangers move the leafs out away from the frame more, so I'd have to put new spring hangers on to use them. I was hoping they'd only move the leafs a bit & I could push them in a bit to work for now. Not gonna happen unfortunately... That means the stock leafs will go back on for a while. Until I can get the corp 14 out of the supercab & have it built for this truck. Time to start looking into what traction device I want to run.

And last, but certainly not least - I made it to a shop this afternoon to pick up a piece of aluminum for the gas tank. A friend of my uncle owns a custom tank shop building aluminum tanks for boats, etc. so he was cool enough to sell me half a sheet of 3/16" at his price - which was MUCH less than I got quoted by just walking into IMS. I was originally going to go to 1/4" when I changed up the tank design, but he talked me out of it. I'm now going back to making the tank out of 3/16" and 1/8", but I'll be running a 3/16" skid plate for peace of mind.

More to come soon as I'm back in the shop tonight!

 

Save the rank plans! And lots of pictures!

 

looks good so far! Ya, 3/16" alum should be more than enough. The 1/4" stuff takes that much more to weld. i'm pretty sure you have seen the tank i built for my crew and it was mostly out of 3/16".

 

Email me for a PDF. It's all in cad already.


Yes I've seen your tank & like it!
And yeah the 3/16" is good. I'm just nervous at times & go with overkill.


Was back in the shop last night, although I was draggin a$$ after being in the shop til 3 the night before so I was slow.

Looked a bit at the droop on this thing. Unfortunately it was "faked" a bit as the axle wasn't cinched up against the leafs. At least I got an idea though.


I also decided to "just do it" and take the remaining 10 rivets out of the rear of the frame. There were 5 on each side in the reinforcing plate that goes where the axle bumps (or is supposed to at least). Got those off and sandblasted for paint today.
I then took the rear susp. stuff off & got the sanded spots in the frame covered with some cheap spray paint and ready to put the stock rear susp. back in.

It was at this time that I realized it was almost 1 AM and I was really tired & ready to quit. But... I remembered I'd left the majority of the rivets in the stock spring hangers so I figured I'd get those out so I could have a fresh start at bolting them on when I went back in. Bad choice!

I began to HATE rivets again!!!!! I did what I normally do when the main body of the rivet is left in a bracket - I cut it flush with the port-a-band & then pound them out. 2 of the 4 rivets in EACH hanger fought this tooth & nail and I ended up getting a nice, sweaty workout with an hour of swinging a 4 lb sledge. I gave in an finally had to drill 2 of the things. It was then time for bed at almost 2 AM.

This morning I forced myself out of bed & hit the shop before work though and got to cutting. The tacoma made a nice "table" for this as the sheet I was working with was 4' x 6'.

The fuel tank has officially begun! Now I've gotta wait for a buddy to bend this thing for me & then I'll really get to work on it.



Oh - and I did notice 1 thing this morning when my head was slightly clearer. I have a d61 rear end a buddy gave me sitting here. It's out of his '76 F-250 2wd and has 3.07 gears. I was supposed to go in the supercab to replace the 14b I stuffed in there as that axle was really for this truck. A quick measurement on spring perches & it might work in here. The shock mounts definitely won't work, but that's not a huge deal. Will be looking at putting that thing in the truck (temporarily of course) next time I'm back in the shop!

 

Truck is looking good.

 

I was just outside in the shop trying to figure out how to do my throttle pedal. Then I saw yours I am stealing your idea lol.

 

glad to know I could help. I stole my idea from Fordworth though. I just cleaned it up a bit & put my own twist on it. You'll probably do the same.

Since I'm hear I'll update slightly...
Don't think my fuel tank plate got bent yesterday but not 100% sure yet.

I had a buddy stop by & drop off a present yesterday - thanks Mason! He (blueovaldismantlers) found me the rear bumpstops I wanted so now my rear suspension can move along a bit. Based on that I ran to the shop briefly this morning and unbolted the stock d60 and rolled the temporary use d61 under the truck with hopes of REALLY cycling the suspension now & setting the bumpstops up.

Not sure if I'll get in the shop tonight to do this, but I hope to. If not then I should get to it on Thurs.

 

Well what are friends for! Besides the more you get done the more I can copy all your good ideas!

On a side note if you and the fiance are looking for something to do on Sunday come visit me at the swapmeet lol, I decided to bone up and get a booth, and like you when I do something I go overkill, I should have a bunch of stuff for sale (not that you need more stuff)

I am still saving that fender and set of 8 lug wheels for you though, for when you sell me the supercab

Anyway I gotta go get ready for Sunday Blah It's gonna be hotter than hell.

 

Thanks! And I'm trying to get more stuff done - I'm just slow...

Sorry but we'll have to skip the heat, uh I mean meet this weekend. Having lunch with my family on Sunday in Laguna & then back to her parents place to wrap up some more wedding whatnot. Hopefully Poomona is good to you though. As I said yesterday - bring and easy-up & LOTS of water. Heck, bring a BIG cooler with waters & sell them for $1 each. You may very well pay for your spot that way.

Oh, and thanks for saving the other parts for me. The supercab is still sitting here waiting for you.

 

They say in the rules you can't sell food or drinks but I am bringing a ton of water for myself, I am also rigging up a mister system for my ez up.

Have fun in the nice beach weather, jerk!

 

I'm not 100% sure on the differences between a D60 and D61 - just make sure you can get the ratio's you're looking for, as well as rebuild parts (brakes/bearings/etc) - just in case they're different from the "standard" D60 stuff.

EDIT: A quick 'net crawl revealed the following, found on Pirate 4x4. This pretty much validates my concerns, look into parts before you commit to a ton of Fab Work!

-Brad