The only lights on a vehicle, including trailers, that are red are at the rear of the vehicle. Last side marker light and rear lights. All other marker and turn signals are to be amber.
CK5
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'89 R3500 Crew Cab 2wd to 4wd conversion & beyond
- Thread starter mrk5
- Start date
Started out with 2wd TBI350 with SM465 to current 4wd with 454, 700r4, NP241
Just FYI, I have installed the jeep style taillights on a couple of mixers. I found them from Trucklite and then saw them show up on the other things.
They are pretty durable, even withstand water dozens of times daily, concrete splatters and acid. One didn't like the 5/8" chain from the heavy wrecker....
They are pretty durable, even withstand water dozens of times daily, concrete splatters and acid. One didn't like the 5/8" chain from the heavy wrecker....
I actually put those on my wishlist as an option.
But they look like jeep parts
True, or International or other straight truck or any step side bed from the seventies.
There are some rectangular grommet mount lights that aren't very common, but are maybe 3"x4". Possibly hard to find, but I know that they exist in LED.
Ha Ha, I wonder who does that?!
I had to that a couple of times, I also had to go through the window when both doors got bashed in at the rocker panel
I thought he was referring to @Raggedy_Ann, he has to climb through the passenger side now after running 21 Road.
He's just the most recent in a long line. 
You know steel prices are bad when you scab on a 7/8" piece to a 71" piece you cut wrong.
I had planned to use 1-1/2" wide top rails but changed to 2" and forgot to change the cut length.
Today's work was just the base frame. It's rectangle tube sitting on the factory frame. This basically sets the positioning of the bed sides. I will add braces between the factory frame and the sliders for structural support.
Need to add rear framing around the tailgate. The tailgate won't be full width; it'll be around 42" wide. Then I need the frame for the tool boxes. There will be a couple of vertical supports up front as well. Another frame over the fuel tank that will also hold the spare. And a plate bumper across the rear that will be welded to the new bed frame and bracketed to the factory frame.
Weld all that in place as best I can and then pull the bed off to finish the welding.
The rear suspension is sitting over an inch taller than I want. If the weight of the fully loaded bed doesn't drop it, I will put the 2-1/2" shackle flip back on. Gotta figure all that out so I can get the rear driveshaft shortened appropriately.
Then I can figure out exhaust. And mount the ARB system.
I had planned to use 1-1/2" wide top rails but changed to 2" and forgot to change the cut length.
Today's work was just the base frame. It's rectangle tube sitting on the factory frame. This basically sets the positioning of the bed sides. I will add braces between the factory frame and the sliders for structural support.
Need to add rear framing around the tailgate. The tailgate won't be full width; it'll be around 42" wide. Then I need the frame for the tool boxes. There will be a couple of vertical supports up front as well. Another frame over the fuel tank that will also hold the spare. And a plate bumper across the rear that will be welded to the new bed frame and bracketed to the factory frame.
Weld all that in place as best I can and then pull the bed off to finish the welding.
The rear suspension is sitting over an inch taller than I want. If the weight of the fully loaded bed doesn't drop it, I will put the 2-1/2" shackle flip back on. Gotta figure all that out so I can get the rear driveshaft shortened appropriately.
Then I can figure out exhaust. And mount the ARB system.
With as much stuff as I know you like to carry back there, I bet it’ll sag an inch for sure.
have you flexed the rear out yet to make sure tires clear the new fenders? Also, gonna get rid of the yellow on the back of the cab?
have you flexed the rear out yet to make sure tires clear the new fenders? Also, gonna get rid of the yellow on the back of the cab?
Honestly don't have plans to change what I carry, so you're probably right about that. I know from weighing everything before, the gear in the cross-bed tool box weighted 220 pounds.With as much stuff as I know you like to carry back there, I bet it’ll sag an inch for sure.
have you flexed the rear out yet to make sure tires clear the new fenders? Also, gonna get rid of the yellow on the back of the cab?
Pretty much my whole family has expressed their hopes that I'm painting the back of the cab.
I'm thinking about a color change for the entire truck, but not sure if that will happen. At the very least the back of the cab will get painted white. TIme may dictate what happens with the color.I don't think I've mentioned, but I do have a deadline on this project. My buddy Nick (aka B_to_C) is going to be back stateside between state department assignments and we're taking a week long wheeling trip. That starts July 19th. I've got to get the critical items done before then. I'm preparing myself for the strong possibility that I may not have the bed painted or have enclosing panels installed.
Realized today I hadn't shared my method to ground the fuel sending unit.
I had to come up with something temporary. I don't know for sure where I'm going to want to put the ground until I have the enclosure for the fuel tank. The magnet got the job done.
And this one for general information and record keeping. A measurement of the chunk of frame I cut off.
I had to come up with something temporary. I don't know for sure where I'm going to want to put the ground until I have the enclosure for the fuel tank. The magnet got the job done.
And this one for general information and record keeping. A measurement of the chunk of frame I cut off.
Oh, and no RTI ramp testing. I need to replace the rear spring bushings before I do much with it. I have 8" of clearance right now. I plan to bump stop it to 5" up travel.With as much stuff as I know you like to carry back there, I bet it’ll sag an inch for sure.
have you flexed the rear out yet to make sure tires clear the new fenders? Also, gonna get rid of the yellow on the back of the cab?
The bed is starting to look really cool. I like the design!
Got the additional frame tie-ins done today. Much more rigidly mounted now.
The tool boxes will side on the top of those brackets
And I've decided the rear suspension is too tall. I think I have figured out the error in my thinking. I lost about 2" by moving the shackle flip brackets forward. I was thinking I needed to make up for 2" of LIFT on just the rear part of the suspension. If you are changing just 1 end of the springs, you have to double the change so I figured I needed to add 4" to the rear hangers. However that's not true, I just need to make up for the 2" difference in the frame. So I need to put the 2.5" flip back on and use the 6" shackles with are 2" longer than what I had.
I have 240 pounds of sand in the 2 ammo boxes (weight for the pickup in the winter) plus my 250 pound self should more than equal the 220 pounds of stuff I haul in the tool boxes, 40 gallons of fuel, and 100 pounds of spare tire. It definitely has a 70's muscle car stance.
In addition to my error in thinking on the rear hangers, the way the frame is formed, it's actually 1/2" taller were I moved the front hangers to. So I gained a little there too.
The tool boxes will side on the top of those brackets
And I've decided the rear suspension is too tall. I think I have figured out the error in my thinking. I lost about 2" by moving the shackle flip brackets forward. I was thinking I needed to make up for 2" of LIFT on just the rear part of the suspension. If you are changing just 1 end of the springs, you have to double the change so I figured I needed to add 4" to the rear hangers. However that's not true, I just need to make up for the 2" difference in the frame. So I need to put the 2.5" flip back on and use the 6" shackles with are 2" longer than what I had.
I have 240 pounds of sand in the 2 ammo boxes (weight for the pickup in the winter) plus my 250 pound self should more than equal the 220 pounds of stuff I haul in the tool boxes, 40 gallons of fuel, and 100 pounds of spare tire. It definitely has a 70's muscle car stance.
In addition to my error in thinking on the rear hangers, the way the frame is formed, it's actually 1/2" taller were I moved the front hangers to. So I gained a little there too.
That, and your shackles look pretty vertical too. But just swapping your 2.5” flip brackets should solve your issue without having to do anything else
Are you planning to add any type of “roll bar” look to that bed right behind the cab? And I guess that makes me think of another question…you gonna cage this thing eventually?
Are you planning to add any type of “roll bar” look to that bed right behind the cab? And I guess that makes me think of another question…you gonna cage this thing eventually?
Excuse my crude paint job with my phone, but something like this would look sharp, IMO
I've talked about a cage quite a bit, but I have a feeling it'll never happen.
I'm thinking some about making a couple of hoops front and rear and bars tying the together at the top. I would be done with round tube kinda like this little sketch.
But I'm not certain on that one.
My thinking is that if I ever need to haul more gear, like if we run the Rubicon, I'll build something like a baja-basket over the bed. That could be mounted on its own, or I would tie it to the frame I sketched above.
I have thought about doing something like that too. To be honest I scratched it because of the cost of steel. I would like to build something like that with rectangle tube, 2x3 at least. There would be vertical uprights straight up off the frame rails. It adds up to a lot of steel.
Part of the reason I was thinking about the round tube hoops in my sketch above is because I already have the round tube from a project I was going to do a few years ago but never did.
