When are you going to throw away that slush box and reinstall the SM465 it is suppose to have?
Martin
Hey Martin!
I used to be all for manual's in trucks too, pretty vehemently I might add. That is until I came to CO and started wheeling some more serious rock trails. When you are twisted up with only three wheels on the ground and on a near vertical climb, it's a heck of alot easier to give it a little gas and then let off the brake ever so slightly to try and get as much forward traction as possible on start-up (by being super-smooth). After working the clutch/gas/brake with only two feet on a trail, I have seriously reconsidered my thoughts on having to have a manual, lol. I know, hand throttles and such can help, but on the more serious stuff, a slushbox is the only way to fly!
This truck isn't going to be a serious trail rig right away, but after I get some lighter-trail style products developed, it will eventually go down that road, so to speak. The auto shall stay in this one!
I would completely agree with you if it was going to be a show-only truck, a street truck, a mud truck, or even a mild trail truck, but in the end I want to be able to go full-on with it, tubed and on coilovers.
I may try to make my own, but if I were to buy one I would want it to cut off the rear quarters at the line below the light until the week well, and mount back to the frame for extra support.
Well, as I have two designs for the front, I would like to end up with two designs for the rear too. The first one will be a more full-bodied bumper like the front winch bumper. The second (when I get to it) will be a much more high-clearance version more like my winch cradle for the front. I'm not sure on timing yet, but I am certainly thinking about it!
Very interested to see what you come up with here. I have wanted to do a rear bumper with a swing down for a long time, but havn't had the time. If you look at what Blazen Offroad use to make (before they went out of business), that's exactly what I wanted. That design might give you some good ideas as you are in the design stage. When you get something drawn up on the computer, post it up!!
Oh, and where in CO are you located? I live in Castle Rock, south of Denver.
I'll check that one out for sure. I have some good ideas floating around in my head, but I'm always open to looking at different ideas too!
The shop is currently in Greeley, CO. I frequently do work (through my other job, installing auto shop service equipment) down in the Castle Rock area and fairly often all the way down CO Springs. We also travel all the way up into Scottsbluff, NE about once a month! Next week I have a two or three day job in Cortez, CO too (only about 450 miles, one way!!!!!!) It's kinda a pain in the butt, but at the same time it's pretty cool that I get to go see a bunch of places I wouldn't normally head to.
-Darren
When do those rear shock mounts hit the CAD drawings? 
There is one hole that the bolt isn't centered in though, so I'll change that before I cut another one - it still fit but wasn't perfect. I want to get everything as close as possible on this truck since the frame seems to be as straight as I could ever expect. That way if someone else's frame is slightly different than this one in either direction it should still fit in there pretty good. I know it's asking a lot to make something this complex fit every one of these old trucks just right but I want to get it as easy to install as possible. Oh, and there are NO holes to drill for this one! Only the 4 rivets of the factory crossmember have to be ground off. Then this bolts in to the factory bolt holes and two of the rivet holes!
