Randy92782
1 ton status
Ican see more pics today but the rest are still red x's. dunno bout that oneDonno what to tell you ... they're hosted on my ISP on my domain, slosh.com ... you need not be a member or anything.
-- A
CK5
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'74 K5 build: Smurf
- Thread starter dremu
- Start date
kylo28
Registered Member
That was awesome! 
ThaMule
Mursenary
randy....right click the X and hit show picture...that should help you out.
A long time ago a buddy was parting out a Rabbit, of all things, and gave me a pair of ~6" H3 driving lights... so I FINALLY got my lazy butt around to mounting them to the radiator support and cut out the grille in front of them. (I suck at working with that expanded mesh, I know ... ran out of gas for the torch so I just used tin snips, and I got a bit enthusiastic.) These lights are on a relay that comes on with the high beams.
Also finally scrounged a matching pair of Hellas on Ebay for the bumper/brush guard thing (center pair w/ white covers.)
All four Hellas are relay-driven via a switch on the control panel. (I also discovered that the lightbar doubles as REALLY bright map lights, 'cuz it lights the interior up pretty good, along with half the county =))
-- A
Also finally scrounged a matching pair of Hellas on Ebay for the bumper/brush guard thing (center pair w/ white covers.)
All four Hellas are relay-driven via a switch on the control panel. (I also discovered that the lightbar doubles as REALLY bright map lights, 'cuz it lights the interior up pretty good, along with half the county =))
-- A
I made the decision to remove the back seat, as at most I'm only ever gonna have two people in this truck (knock on wood); plus, when I do some cage upgrades I may well drop in a pickup bench seat, which would allow three in a pinch.
This meant I could redesign the cargo area layout. A year or two back I'd gotten a steal deal on Craigslist for a Weatherguard side-loading toolbox, which, after some cage modifications and two visits to the chiropractor
fits nicely in the tailgate area:
After adjusting the strikers so it sealed up nice and tight, I found that opening it was hard ... thus the Ikea bathtub handle in the center
It's "run what you brung" in my household ... we had some stuff left over after a bathroom remodel 
The Hi-Lift now bolts to the bumper, which looks like a stupid place, but actually works well. There's still room on each end to use the bumper as a step, and the jack *barely* fits under the box door:
I've found that, when flipped down, the door makes a nice workbench =))
There's three holders for your basic 5-gallon fuel and water cans bolted to the front of this box:
All of these changes meant I had to move the air tank for my OBA. After much fiddling and trying various options, I chose to mount it on top of the toolbox on the centerline, which at first glance would seem to absolutely block rear vision. (In fact it doesn't block as much as you'd think.) This is moot anyway, as when I do the cage work I want to bench up a rear stinger tire carrier, a la Dontoe's, which will DEFINITELY block rear vision. (This truck, while street legal, will not see much in the way of long freeway distances, so some sacrifices are okay.) The one irritation with this is that to open the rear toolbox, the tire and carrier will hafta come down... I'll just have to see how that goes when I get there. There's also a plastic box about where the rear seat was -- the black thing in the pix. I figure the rear box will hold the tools, axle-shafts, and spare parts for serious breakdowns, and the recovery gear and other more-frequently used items can go in the black box, which will be easier to access. There's still room forward of it for a cooler or mother-in-law
Plumbed up it looks like this:
That's it for picture-worthy stuff; amazed that it's been ten months since my last major update, but then I finished up and sold the CUCV in that time, and did a bunch of stuff to the sixpack (replaced the master cylinder twice, had the carb tune finished after the motor rebuild, etc etc.)
-- A
This meant I could redesign the cargo area layout. A year or two back I'd gotten a steal deal on Craigslist for a Weatherguard side-loading toolbox, which, after some cage modifications and two visits to the chiropractor
fits nicely in the tailgate area:
After adjusting the strikers so it sealed up nice and tight, I found that opening it was hard ... thus the Ikea bathtub handle in the center
It's "run what you brung" in my household ... we had some stuff left over after a bathroom remodel The Hi-Lift now bolts to the bumper, which looks like a stupid place, but actually works well. There's still room on each end to use the bumper as a step, and the jack *barely* fits under the box door:
I've found that, when flipped down, the door makes a nice workbench =))
There's three holders for your basic 5-gallon fuel and water cans bolted to the front of this box:
All of these changes meant I had to move the air tank for my OBA. After much fiddling and trying various options, I chose to mount it on top of the toolbox on the centerline, which at first glance would seem to absolutely block rear vision. (In fact it doesn't block as much as you'd think.) This is moot anyway, as when I do the cage work I want to bench up a rear stinger tire carrier, a la Dontoe's, which will DEFINITELY block rear vision. (This truck, while street legal, will not see much in the way of long freeway distances, so some sacrifices are okay.) The one irritation with this is that to open the rear toolbox, the tire and carrier will hafta come down... I'll just have to see how that goes when I get there. There's also a plastic box about where the rear seat was -- the black thing in the pix. I figure the rear box will hold the tools, axle-shafts, and spare parts for serious breakdowns, and the recovery gear and other more-frequently used items can go in the black box, which will be easier to access. There's still room forward of it for a cooler or mother-in-law
Plumbed up it looks like this:
That's it for picture-worthy stuff; amazed that it's been ten months since my last major update, but then I finished up and sold the CUCV in that time, and did a bunch of stuff to the sixpack (replaced the master cylinder twice, had the carb tune finished after the motor rebuild, etc etc.)
-- A
lectric80
3/4 ton status
You can't post pics of all those lights mounted up, without at least one showing them all lit up. Maybe one with the neighbors screaming that they are trying to sleep.
You can't post pics of all those lights mounted up, without at least one showing them all lit up. Maybe one with the neighbors screaming that they are trying to sleep.
Ask and thy shall receive. (Actually I took photos anyway -- as mentioned, I *am* the photo whore, plus it's a handy way for me to remember what was done when on the truck.)
I finished the install around dusk, so the all-lights-on looks like this, with the sun almost set, and no flash.
Then, in the absolute dark, this is just the lightbar:
And finally, this is the interior, in the dark ... no interior lights, just the lightbar
I guess it's a benefit of being full-convertible 
-- A
lectric80
3/4 ton status
I can see that when the SHTF, you have the truck with the lighting to make sure the zombies can't sneak up on us.
Looks really good with all the lights. How much power are you drawing at this point? And are you running a high amp alternator?
Looks really good with all the lights. How much power are you drawing at this point? And are you running a high amp alternator?
Dafey
1/2 ton status
Those would be great for spotlighting cats... 
You should read the rest of the thread and/or my sig
And Dafey, I'm cat people, so to me that's like talking about shooting children Don't go there.
-- A
Wow pretty cool thread man. I have actually been thinking about doing the same thing since I have been working on some major upgrades over the past couple months and taking lots of pics.
Hey I have a question. You said you have 15" travel Gabriel shocks? Would you happen to have a part# for them. I spent an hour searching the site for them last night. All I could find were the 12"ers.
Hey I have a question. You said you have 15" travel Gabriel shocks? Would you happen to have a part# for them. I spent an hour searching the site for them last night. All I could find were the 12"ers.
Huh ... funny you should mention that; the current project is trying to reduce body roll... this thing wallows like a giant pig around corners, downright scary.
Anyway, I mis-spoke, as the Gabriels I'm using are the G63438 which is indeed the 18"/30", i.e. 12" stroke. Sorry
So I got bored and I'm digging through the Gabriel catalog:
http://www.gabriel.com/documents/2006_catalog/2006%20Gabriel%20Catalog%20final%20Reduced.pdf
Why it's a "2006" catalog I don't know, and their home page says "New!" ... but I digress.
The G63438 is a ~12.3" travel, 17.5" / 30" compressed/extended.
The only other one with similar specs is slightly shorter, the G63439 at 17.25" / 29.75" and ~12.5" travel. It's got different mounting though
Other part #'s of interest, solely by travel, follow. Note that I didn't check the mounting tabs/sleeves/whatever here either, just throwing out some possibilities.
43049 (13.3" stroke)
58810 (13.0")
61656 (13.4")
77810 (13.0")
I can't find anything more than ~13.4" travel, so if there is a Gabriel 15" travel shock, it's not in their catalog.
-- A
Anyway, I mis-spoke, as the Gabriels I'm using are the G63438 which is indeed the 18"/30", i.e. 12" stroke. Sorry
So I got bored and I'm digging through the Gabriel catalog:
http://www.gabriel.com/documents/2006_catalog/2006%20Gabriel%20Catalog%20final%20Reduced.pdf
Why it's a "2006" catalog I don't know, and their home page says "New!" ... but I digress.
The G63438 is a ~12.3" travel, 17.5" / 30" compressed/extended.
The only other one with similar specs is slightly shorter, the G63439 at 17.25" / 29.75" and ~12.5" travel. It's got different mounting though
Other part #'s of interest, solely by travel, follow. Note that I didn't check the mounting tabs/sleeves/whatever here either, just throwing out some possibilities.
43049 (13.3" stroke)
58810 (13.0")
61656 (13.4")
77810 (13.0")
I can't find anything more than ~13.4" travel, so if there is a Gabriel 15" travel shock, it's not in their catalog.
-- A
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offroadblazer764x4
1/2 ton status
i just read this thread this truck is awesome and it has defenetly come a long way from when it started nice work 
i just read this thread this truck is awesome and it has defenetly come a long way from when it started nice work
Thanks. I'm finding that the more highly modified it gets, though, the more work it is to keep it in line ... gonna take me FOREVER to get the suspension and steering streetable, it seems :|
-- A
offroadblazer764x4
1/2 ton status
yea keep up the good work im doing a 76 im gonna start a thread soon im not going that extreme i want more of a streetable truck but still with the capabilities of going off road
Not much happening, since my wife lost her job and gas costs went up and I got busy at work, but jeebus, it's been MONTHS since I updated this and I have done a little.
There were some inserts that came with the toolbox when I bought it, a shelf and parts drawers. They had some surface rust (I'd left them outside for a while ) but some sandblasting and wirewheeling cleaned them up. Gave them all good coats of the brown Rustoleum primer and then epoxy appliance paint ... stunk up the garage even with the doors open, and plastic coated the inside of my nose
Anyway, the shelf goes on top, inside the box. It isn't obvious, but it is actually accessible, and the lip on the shelf keeps stuff from sliding out. I welded a stud on each side and use a piece of pipe as a latch bar to keep the drawers from sliding out:
and then installed in the toolbox. You can see the hitch pins on the studs holding the bar in place.
The drawers are handy for little stuff, fasteners and small parts and tools and whatever. The upper shelf does well both for heavy stuff like the bottlejack, and larger lighter things like the straps.
The PVC tubes in the back hold spare front axle shafts; still gotta decide on a clever way to deal them, though that may just mean leaving them at the back of the box
Anyway, it's not Stormtrooper's crazy organized setup, and it may prove to be a bit heavy, but on the plus side I can tote tools and parts and keep them separate and organized. (And it was all stuff I already had, so it was cheap ... what I like to call a "zero budget project"
)
-- A
There were some inserts that came with the toolbox when I bought it, a shelf and parts drawers. They had some surface rust (I'd left them outside for a while
) but some sandblasting and wirewheeling cleaned them up. Gave them all good coats of the brown Rustoleum primer and then epoxy appliance paint ... stunk up the garage even with the doors open, and plastic coated the inside of my nose
Anyway, the shelf goes on top, inside the box. It isn't obvious, but it is actually accessible, and the lip on the shelf keeps stuff from sliding out. I welded a stud on each side and use a piece of pipe as a latch bar to keep the drawers from sliding out:
and then installed in the toolbox. You can see the hitch pins on the studs holding the bar in place.
The drawers are handy for little stuff, fasteners and small parts and tools and whatever. The upper shelf does well both for heavy stuff like the bottlejack, and larger lighter things like the straps.
The PVC tubes in the back hold spare front axle shafts; still gotta decide on a clever way to deal them, though that may just mean leaving them at the back of the box
Anyway, it's not Stormtrooper's crazy organized setup, and it may prove to be a bit heavy, but on the plus side I can tote tools and parts and keep them separate and organized. (And it was all stuff I already had, so it was cheap ... what I like to call a "zero budget project"
)-- A
Ugh. Two and a half years have passed; I got divorced (again!) leading to a period of no money and ignoring the poor truck.
I'm also rethinking the expected street-vs-trail ratio for her, and am focusing on making her drivable at highway speeds. There's also some super-top-secret ideas involving her having a roof, doors, and a tailgate again.
The front spring packs had flattened just sitting there, so I scrounged another set of 52"s. If you're doing a 52" front swap, USE THE OVERLOADS! Nuff said
The rear packs were taken down and spruced up and got an extra leaf as well.
I also found there was binding in the steering even after I removed the worn-out steering stabilizer. In the end I decided to revert to crossover steering, without the high-steer, putting the tie-rod back onto the knuckles.
Simpler is better. I'd changed EVERYTHING in the front suspension in one fell swoop, so I've been slowly UN-doing all the stuff I did to make her more stable at speed.
I'm also rethinking the expected street-vs-trail ratio for her, and am focusing on making her drivable at highway speeds. There's also some super-top-secret ideas involving her having a roof, doors, and a tailgate again.
The front spring packs had flattened just sitting there, so I scrounged another set of 52"s. If you're doing a 52" front swap, USE THE OVERLOADS! Nuff said
The rear packs were taken down and spruced up and got an extra leaf as well.
I also found there was binding in the steering even after I removed the worn-out steering stabilizer. In the end I decided to revert to crossover steering, without the high-steer, putting the tie-rod back onto the knuckles.
Simpler is better. I'd changed EVERYTHING in the front suspension in one fell swoop, so I've been slowly UN-doing all the stuff I did to make her more stable at speed.
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I also removed my custom (raised) front spring mounts and am reducing the length of the shackles. Sure, it got me lift, but it made the already flexy 52"s downright shaky.
When I removed them I was pleased to find, however, that my welding is damn good. One of them was taking rainwater in the holes above, but was welded watertight below, so that it was FULL of water when I dropped it. (A ~8" long 2x4 steel tube holds a LOT more water than you'd think! )
Previous custom:
Reverted to the stock hardware per the 52" swap article:
The eagle-eyed among you will also note that I've stopped painting suspension bits in the obnoxious Smurf camo colors and have switched to a generic gunmetal gray. While I think it's important to have a Common Unifying Artistic Theme for your truck, the bright colors are annoying and show grease and scratches too easily
Finally, here's the rear shackles (of the front springs), which I drilled to different sizes for fitment test:
Soon I'll cut the bottom end down, prolly round the edges, and maybe put a piece of bar in there to cross-tie them.
-- A
When I removed them I was pleased to find, however, that my welding is damn good. One of them was taking rainwater in the holes above, but was welded watertight below, so that it was FULL of water when I dropped it. (A ~8" long 2x4 steel tube holds a LOT more water than you'd think!
)Previous custom:
Reverted to the stock hardware per the 52" swap article:
The eagle-eyed among you will also note that I've stopped painting suspension bits in the obnoxious Smurf camo colors and have switched to a generic gunmetal gray. While I think it's important to have a Common Unifying Artistic Theme for your truck, the bright colors are annoying and show grease and scratches too easily
Finally, here's the rear shackles (of the front springs), which I drilled to different sizes for fitment test:
Soon I'll cut the bottom end down, prolly round the edges, and maybe put a piece of bar in there to cross-tie them.
-- A
I also switched to a straight draglink, pictured above, as the bent one was just too much of a PITA to adjust. In conjunction with the lowered suspension, this meant the factory crossmember was in the way, so I got one of them fancy ORD high-clearance ones 
http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/enginecrossmember.htm
This went in pretty easily; thankfully my factory one had been bolted in, no rivets! I had enough rivets on the shackle flip and the front spring mounts to last me a lifetime.
The oilpan, however, wanted to rest on the crossmember, so I ended up making some 3/8" spacers to push the motor mounts up a smidge:
The gray flat stock would be the spacer. I now have a hair more than 1/4" clearance to the oil pan.
The given purpose for going with this crossmember would be to allow the straight draglink for crossover. However, there's SO much more access, to the fuel pump, the starter, etc, it's dang near worth it for that alone!
Also, for the springs to clear the tie rod I needed a set of Zero Rates, EZ-Inches, whatever you wanna call the front block-that's-not-a-block. Of course, I discovered this on the Friday afternoon of a weekend with nice weather, so instead of doing what any sensible person would do and ordering a set from DIY4X or ORD, I made my own.
Also, any sensible person would use 1" flat stock. Since I happened to have some 2.5" wide 1/2" stock, I doubled it up, and made use of the opportunity to practice my welding. (My penetration's been suffering a bit lately -- no divorce jokes! -- so what better way to improve?)
In the right hands, an angle grinder can be a precision instrument. (I'm not saying that's my hands though ) Here I've ground one of the facing edges down, get a nice V groove (that's about 1/4" bevel at 45* on each face.) I did this to all four sides, then bolted them together, and welded around the edges.
And here's the V welded up; the long edge was already welded and then ground flat.
Then finally, after prodigious use of both the 4.5" and the 9" grinder, and finally the flap wheel on the 4.5" to surface them:
Again, if you ever consider doing this yourself, DON'T. It's an immense amount of work, and assuming you value your time at minimum wage or better, it really is cheaper to buy them. But I had fun, got some good welding practice in, and they came out pretty dang well, I think.
-- A
http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/enginecrossmember.htm
This went in pretty easily; thankfully my factory one had been bolted in, no rivets! I had enough rivets on the shackle flip and the front spring mounts to last me a lifetime.
The oilpan, however, wanted to rest on the crossmember, so I ended up making some 3/8" spacers to push the motor mounts up a smidge:
The gray flat stock would be the spacer. I now have a hair more than 1/4" clearance to the oil pan.
The given purpose for going with this crossmember would be to allow the straight draglink for crossover. However, there's SO much more access, to the fuel pump, the starter, etc, it's dang near worth it for that alone!
Also, for the springs to clear the tie rod I needed a set of Zero Rates, EZ-Inches, whatever you wanna call the front block-that's-not-a-block. Of course, I discovered this on the Friday afternoon of a weekend with nice weather, so instead of doing what any sensible person would do and ordering a set from DIY4X or ORD, I made my own.
Also, any sensible person would use 1" flat stock. Since I happened to have some 2.5" wide 1/2" stock, I doubled it up, and made use of the opportunity to practice my welding. (My penetration's been suffering a bit lately -- no divorce jokes! -- so what better way to improve?)
In the right hands, an angle grinder can be a precision instrument. (I'm not saying that's my hands though
) Here I've ground one of the facing edges down, get a nice V groove (that's about 1/4" bevel at 45* on each face.) I did this to all four sides, then bolted them together, and welded around the edges.
And here's the V welded up; the long edge was already welded and then ground flat.
Then finally, after prodigious use of both the 4.5" and the 9" grinder, and finally the flap wheel on the 4.5" to surface them:
Again, if you ever consider doing this yourself, DON'T. It's an immense amount of work, and assuming you value your time at minimum wage or better, it really is cheaper to buy them. But I had fun, got some good welding practice in, and they came out pretty dang well, I think.
-- A
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More to come, but I think a build thread should be less about plans and more about pictures and pimping your work -- or in my case, oftentimes showing how NOT to do it
-- A
-- A
