bp71k5
3/4 ton status
Update 12/19/2015:
I've been slowly fine tuning my engine and can report that my last tank of gas came to a solid 9.5mpg which includes in traffic driving. Total range of truck (that's been actually tested) on one tank of 87 octane is 158.7 miles. Pretty sure I could do at least 175 miles of just freeway driving. Next Moab trip just got a little cheaper.
And got back to the getting the rear seat installed. The last mounting system didn't require any tools to remove/install but it kept getting rusty on the big locking "pins" because I couldn't paint them.
New idea is a couple sections of 1x3 and 1.5x3 rectangle tube. The larger tube was cut in half down the length and then bolted down to the bed.
I seem to have lost a few pics, but here's the larger tube getting cut up a bit.
One of my requirements is to be able to slide the seat forward a bit when I need to pack some extra stuff in the back. Even though this new seat is lighter than the stock one, it'll be nice to be able to just pull some pins and slide it forward a couple feet.
The seat rail can't slide inside this one with bolts sticking up so I chose a high-strength 7/16" fine thread flat head bolt. (It bolts into the stock forward bench seat holes). I chamfered the hole with a giant countersink bit I got from Amazon. It's been working great for chamfering holes.
There's a test fit of the bolt.
And let's skip forward a bit to where I bolt these two "U" channels down to the bed. When the seat is removed, I can use these as tie-downs for bigger stuff if needed.
The idea is that the seat is attached to the smaller rectangle tubes which will sit inside the two parts bolted down to the bed. I'm using some 3/8" pins that go through both tubes to lock them together.
On to the portion that the seat is bolted to. 1.25" DOM connecting the two pieces of 1x3 tube.
Nothing fancy to attach the seat. The front gets some tabs. I also capped and rounded the front of the tube so when I disconnect it and shove it forward, it doesn't gouge my bedliner. Also note the locking pin I am trying out to keep everything in place.
The rear mounting points have a thick 3/4"X 3/8" inner diameter steel spacer that goes through both sides of the rectangle tube and is welded on both ends. The seat mounting points bolt directly to one of these on each side.
There's the other end of that bolt.
There's a bigger view of the seat mounted temporarily.
And a few more in the truck. Kinda easier to see how it goes together in this one.
Checking head clearance with my son. I can already tell I'm going to need to cut the back half of the cage off and extend it out a foot or so when my kids get to be teenagers.
That's it for now. Just need to figure out rear restraint options (seat belts) and remove some rust and clean up and paint it and bolt everything together.
I've been slowly fine tuning my engine and can report that my last tank of gas came to a solid 9.5mpg which includes in traffic driving. Total range of truck (that's been actually tested) on one tank of 87 octane is 158.7 miles. Pretty sure I could do at least 175 miles of just freeway driving. Next Moab trip just got a little cheaper.
And got back to the getting the rear seat installed. The last mounting system didn't require any tools to remove/install but it kept getting rusty on the big locking "pins" because I couldn't paint them.
New idea is a couple sections of 1x3 and 1.5x3 rectangle tube. The larger tube was cut in half down the length and then bolted down to the bed.
I seem to have lost a few pics, but here's the larger tube getting cut up a bit.
One of my requirements is to be able to slide the seat forward a bit when I need to pack some extra stuff in the back. Even though this new seat is lighter than the stock one, it'll be nice to be able to just pull some pins and slide it forward a couple feet.
The seat rail can't slide inside this one with bolts sticking up so I chose a high-strength 7/16" fine thread flat head bolt. (It bolts into the stock forward bench seat holes). I chamfered the hole with a giant countersink bit I got from Amazon. It's been working great for chamfering holes.
There's a test fit of the bolt.
And let's skip forward a bit to where I bolt these two "U" channels down to the bed. When the seat is removed, I can use these as tie-downs for bigger stuff if needed.
The idea is that the seat is attached to the smaller rectangle tubes which will sit inside the two parts bolted down to the bed. I'm using some 3/8" pins that go through both tubes to lock them together.
On to the portion that the seat is bolted to. 1.25" DOM connecting the two pieces of 1x3 tube.
Nothing fancy to attach the seat. The front gets some tabs. I also capped and rounded the front of the tube so when I disconnect it and shove it forward, it doesn't gouge my bedliner. Also note the locking pin I am trying out to keep everything in place.
The rear mounting points have a thick 3/4"X 3/8" inner diameter steel spacer that goes through both sides of the rectangle tube and is welded on both ends. The seat mounting points bolt directly to one of these on each side.
There's the other end of that bolt.
There's a bigger view of the seat mounted temporarily.
And a few more in the truck. Kinda easier to see how it goes together in this one.
Checking head clearance with my son. I can already tell I'm going to need to cut the back half of the cage off and extend it out a foot or so when my kids get to be teenagers.
That's it for now. Just need to figure out rear restraint options (seat belts) and remove some rust and clean up and paint it and bolt everything together.
