Paradise Blue Metallic Build

That’s the brand that my painter picked up. Not sure where he got it from but it did turn out really well.

 

Making some decent progress. I have one frame rail completely done and boxed. About to drop the gas tank and finish up the driver side. Once it’s done and painted, should look like a new frame.

I noticed when doing all this frame work that somehow I had a blown inner boot on one of my basically new CVJ shafts. So I get to do that now too. I swear this truck spends half its life torn apart.

 

Ok, no worries. Yeah, turned out great.

 

So while doing all this work on the rear end of the truck, I noticed my factory leafs were looking pretty flat, especially on the driver side. I also managed to break one of the corroded lines on the gas tank.
Because of all that I decided to get some new leafs in the rear. Wheelers off-road is hooking me up with a good deal on some OME CS019R leafs and the additional leaf they offer for carrying a load on a regular basis.
I also bought a new gas tank, fuel sender, pump, and filler neck assembly. This thing is going to look brand new.

 

Just wanted to say truck is looking sweet. Have a Paradise Blue myself and after having finally moved into my house in May so now that things have settled down, I plan on doing a lift and some more fun things to mine. This is a good, inspiring build! (Although you're doing much more than I'd plan on doing lol)

 

Thanks, so what plans do you have for your truck? Lift and wheels? I have a history of going overboard with everything I do lol.

 

I had full intentions of keeping it stock haha. For now I'm finishing up a bunch of maintenance I've put off. Once I'm done with that, yes, I'd like to get a Lift kit and wheels/tires. I'm looking into all the different options right now and want to pull the trigger in February or so. I'd ultimately be happy with a approx. a 3" lift with 33's. That was the set-up I had on my 91 Pickup.

The GF and I have been discussing getting a RTT also, but that may happen the following year instead. Being in Western WA, we used to camp a lot and we'd like to get back into it since we're settled in the house now. Like the idea of being off the ground, kinda being able to set up wherever, etc.

 

Man this beauty is coming along so nicely! Lol I hear you about it being torn apart half the time. Its been three months since she's driven due to the frame swap. It all started with just looking into one thing and seeing oh well it's coming off so I can replace that anyway. Basically leads to a whole new truck!

Where'd you get your sending unit? Dealers want two arms and half a leg for that and the fuel pump. It's looking like I might just have to replace my high pressure fuel line and the ports on the tank are super rusty so...

 

Thanks man, Yeah that’s what happened to me too, one thing just leads to another and I keep finding things I want to replace. I purchased the tank, sending unit w/pump, and filler neck off Amazon. They are all spectra brand. The only thing I had to go to the dealer for is the vaccume valve pieces circled below. Total cost of tank was around $780 to $800.

 

Sounds great man, 3in lift on 33s looks great on these trucks. I have loved having a RTT and would recommend them to anyone. My wife really likes being high off the ground when we are camping in the woods, makes her feel safer.

 

is your spectra fuel pump louder than the original one?
my fuel pump went bad 2 months ago and replaced it with a spectra and it’s got a super loud humming/whining sound you can hear at idle

 

Nope, mine is actually super quite. Although I have noticed that it has to crank a lot more to start since getting the new pump.

 

This last week has been pretty crazy. I was able to finish my truck and get it back on the road. Frame was stripped down and I welded frame kits from auto rust technicians the whole length of the frame. It’s coated in por15 with rubber undercoat over that.

I also:
-reinforced some other frame areas
-welded in a frame box kit
-Frame is coated inside and out to prevent future rust issues.
-New leaf spring perches
-relocated rear shocks
-installed U-bolt flip kit
-installed new OME bushings
-installed Darkar CS019R
-New rear hitch
-antenna moved up front
-new tank, fuel pump, sending unit
-air system relocated and welded to frame
-new carrier bearing
-new fuel filter
-fixed ripped inner CV boot
-bought a full size spare tire
-replaced all drive belts
-added 2 additional cross bars to the Can-Back.




As you can see below, the rear springs still need to settle a little.

 

Damn that’s a hell of a list of things you completed!
That is some impressive work you did on that frame

 

Damn! That's a good amount of work done, wanna come and do mine? I've got those on my list as well haha

 

lol no thanks. It was a pain to get everything done before this trip but glad to be done. Going on a camping/offroading trip this weekend.

 

Back when i still had the 12.5" wide tires, the wheel got stuffed into my fender causing it to contact the door. I have not been able to get it realigned after many attempts. I'm thinking about just going with some fiberglass 3" budge fenders in front and the 4" bed sides in the rear. What does everyone think about fenders like this and where is the best place to buy as I see plenty of places that sell them.

 

Well Just ordered bulge fenders and bedsides from advfiberglass.com. Once they are installed, the whole truck is being bed lined baby blue. Also getting a hell of a deal on a Whynter 90 Quart dual zone fridge for $500. Any advice on dual battery setups?

 

Frame looks good! Thats definitely on my list of to dos as well. I want to Relocate my shocks at the same time though. Are you running the shims with the new leafs? I just ordered a set for my Alcans.

Also what wheels are those? Me likey!

 

Thanks, I'm really not sure what wheels they are. I bought them off craigslist and had them powder coated. After digging around the internet, I think they might be old American Racing Outlaws or something. I am running 3 degree axle shims under the new leafs. The shock relocation is what worried me about when I did my frame but it didn't end up being too bad. I did end up positioning the shocks a little too far forward because the gas tank was out. So when I installed the gas tank, I had to beat in one corner of it for clearance. I also did the U-bolt flip at the same time which requires welding new shock mounts on the axle. Overall it took me like 2+ months working every weekend.