Flatbed,35’s and Mainly Parked For Repairs

happy new year!

Just some maintenance items and photo dump from the last few months.

I was wearing out uca bushings pretty quickly (going on the third set in a year or so) so I upgraded to delrin and also welded in some gussets


New alternator with upgraded wire to the fuse box and main battery

roof rack is gone


Gusseted my battery tie down since the flat plate was flexing a bit



front main seal changed

and a few off-roading trips along the way too

Remeber to clean up what you find on the trail

New driveshaft too

 

Not much of an update. Just posting some stuff.

recently did some maintenance including spark plugs, maf sensor and throttle body cleaning. Also went to inspect a leaking arb locker in the rear. Did some axle seals at the same time and the rear diff fluid and tcase. Front was recently done.

got everything working for the yota crawl 23

truck did well. Trails were very tight which meant some wide turns using the bumper to push off things.



ground out the crack and drilled it out at both ends. Then welded it up. I did build some material up over the crack for the time being.


Other then some door dents and scratches and the skids being used the only other damage from the yota crawl which isn’t even damage since armour takes hits, but was pretty impressed on bending a slider



Was a great run!

big thanks to @Windigo and @Norilsk for spotting and pulling line! Huge shoutout to my wife for being up for running some trails on our wedding anniversary.

 

I'll wheel with you guys anytime, great time had and what a memorable way to spend your anniversary.

 

Agreed. Working on some stickers and iron on decals to mark the occasion!

 

Cap number 3 on this truck. After the first two caps, I wanted something that had a floor so it could be easily removable without jeopardizing the dust and water resistance of the box. Steel construction for strength and easy to repair. Wanted some space outside the cap for items that I didn’t want with my camping gear like garbage, wood, fluids and gas.
used 1/8” for the main frame. Everything in the middle is thinner guage to save weight.


I used bullet hinges from princess auto as they are strong and inexpensive. These aren’t the right use for them but so far so good.

I tacked thin strips to create a drip edge and a seal surface for the door to mount against. It’s around the perimeter of the door opening


this project was split up over many months so frame getting some good scale on it.

Just used some rustoleam and a brush to paint this. Afterwards did a spray coat to get into the nooks and cranny’s.


skinned the panel in aluminum composite panel. Was the best bang for the buck on a 4x8 sheet that was light and weather resistant.

mom the picture below you can see the tool box which is mounted all the time. It houses my batteries, arb compressor and locker stuff. The cap buts up against it. The other side has my tire with enough room for a 5lbs propane tank and some other odds and ends.

I have about 13” at the back for 5 gallon buckets which is great for trail cleanups. Still working or some details but after a weekend trip, gear was dry and nothing broke.


Cap came in a bit heavier than I wanted at 190lbs. I used a 3/4 “ piece of wood for the floor that floats on some steel. That added the 35lbs which I wasn’t expecting. Heavy for what it is but it will be durable

 

keeping this dream alive, and I heard you have a 60 front too...thats 2 dreams I have to keep going for us, we have the same dream

 

Appreciate it!

Haven’t posted much updates but have all the pieces for the Chevy 63 swap. Just in the process of rebuilding the leafs. Will be doing a 4 leaf plus overload pack with 6” hangers. Will figure out shocks after the fact.

 

Let's make a deal whoever gets to it first the other will come and help.

 

Im game.

 

Okay, in 2013/2014 I put the OME Dakars on, then added a leaf in 2015/2016, and redid the bushings and what not in 2017. That was the last time I touched the rear suspension other then adjusting bumps and what not.

Today I removed everything in order to prepare for the Chevy 63 swap, and with the rear not being touched since 2017 it was a pain. Everything was hard to get out.

how I left it


had to cut the front hangers off anyways but still had to cut the bolts since the bolt was seized to the bushing


I knew the bushings were done which is one of the reasons for the swap now.


I’ll be using a mix of Barnes and Tmr parts to get the new leafs in. One of the shocks had to be cut out too so will figure out relocations which I have half the brackets for.

 

Nice work and thank you. I should be copying this in the spring.

 

63’s? Nice. Cheap and they work. I got mine for free with another 14 bolt lol

 

Your there already might as well get the 14 bolt in there. Lol. Just kidding... I know theres a lot more to it than that.

 

Honestly I priced it out since the Toyota axle needs bearings and seals (pinion too). I’ll be about $600-700 into that which includes getting the new bearings pressed on and off. However, 14 bolt needs all that plus lockers and gear and then driveline adapter of some kind. Then figuring out brakes and speedo. I think that worked out to about $4k. Sooooo Toyota axle it is for now lol

 

I knew there was more to it.

 

Money and time aren’t on my side at the moment. Will be putting some more money into axles though once things cool down in life. Figured use the truck in the mean time and if gears and axles go then that will go into the 14 bolt and Dana 60

 

Little more progress this week. Just got the leafs finally prepped, brackets welded and prepped and all the nuts and bolts sourced for mock up on Sunday.
wired wheeled

Two coats on some random paint I had.

Assembled and painted black


all grade 8 hardware. The grade 5 stuff was for welding.


my mess of a work bench with some tabs if you look closely. Lots of projects at the house and now the truck. Need to find a day to clean up.

 

Posted for shock relocation

from tmrs site

 

Seems like I always update this in the spring with big things done over the winter.

rear suspension update

trucks on Chevy 63’s out of a 2500hd Chevy truck. Got the leafs for free out of a salt truck our family friends had.

started cleaning them up and paint with new bushings



then started to get the old stuff out. Last time I touched the rear end of the truck was close to 7 years ago. Needless to say stuff wasn’t coming out easily.

This bolt had to be cut as it was siezed
Bushing were toast

more cutting


just floating


mocked up the front hanger which took forever to make sure everything was square.

Used the Barnes offset frame mount and everything else for the leafs are from Tmr customs (ubolt plates, front hanger)


Since I didn’t need to access the holes for the hangers anymore I plated them and then reboxed the frame.


Painted everything, reinstalled the gas tank.

At this point I had to move the front hanger over a bit since the gas tank wouldn’t go in. Lovely. Worked out and everything’s still square. Was not fun though.

back on its wheels and at home from @Norilsk warm shop.



Still have to measure for bump shocks and see what my options are. Think I’ll be frenching in Tmr hangers that k have for 14” billisteins.

 

lots of work and it sure looks great.