HomerTaco's big old bucket o’ bolts build

Plan is to get an aftermarket bumper yes.

So I would need 2012 headlights + lower headlight pieces + grill?

 

Ahh so I would need a new good. But fenders get re-used?

 

Obviously Joe @Blackout14 knows what’s up.

 

Finally got some nice weather to do some things...

I've got a couple maintenance items to address - inexpensive but a bit time consuming and time is always at a premium.

We took the cap off back before the Holidays before the truck went in for the new frame. One of the issues is that over time the stock plastic bed caps have worn through the paint on the bed due to the weight of the cap. Took some pics:

Driver:

Passenger:

The rust is pretty bad since I have not taken the bed rails off to address it until now. I took the trusty Dremmel with a coarse sanding wheel and did my best to completely remove all the cancer:


I then masked out the area, and applied Rustoleum Primer, Rustoleum Bedliner, and a top coat of Rustoleum Satin Black:


Managed to wrap up the drivers side and hopefully the weather holds & I can do the Passenger side tomorrow.

I also pulled the drivers side door panel - the armrest on this and the passenger side has separated again...


My plan is to fab up a metal brace to support it from the inside. Obviously I need to do something that will reinforce it because simply epoxying it has repeatedly failed.

More to come...

 

Going with both plastic welding and plastic epoxy to put the armrest insert back in place.

Add epoxy:

I’ve got some old steel u channel floating around somewhere in the garage that I’ll use to make a Support bracket.

Still have to pull the passenger side.

 

Knocked out the passenger side of the bed this morning:






I h8 rust.

 

So much bettah ​

 

Yes.

 

Need to take another in Houston, when the turbo is ready...

 

That'll be a "work" trip.

 

Finished off the armrest supports.

Here's the "bars" I made up out of some old steel U channel I had lying around:


I cut them up with the angle grinder then bent the 90* angle with the bench vise. I didn't have to be pretty - no one will see them.

Here's an installed pic - I used the screw that holds the door grab handle to fasten the one side:

The other side required a screw through the door panel - I had some black anodized ones so I used them.


One more repair off the list.

 

Homer-mod-tracker-2018:

Dropped off the flip kit with some mesh & letters to p/c today. Went with black.

To do list (in no particular order)

1. Sell Mud Grapplers & get Trail Grapplers
2. Fill plates for front bumper and powder coat.
3. Powder coat rear bumper.
4. Change gear oil in t-case & crawlbox
5. Re-install all skid plates
6. Remove rear plastic bed rails & repair rusty bedsides.
7. Install bed rail bike mount.
8. Re-install cap.
9. Sell RTT/Buy iKamper
10.Build new fender flares
11. Install ATO shackle flip
12. Replace rear shocks
13. Remove rust from sliders <- Getting sand blasted
14. Extend sliders 6"
15. Plate sliders
16. Re-install sliders
17. Repair droopy passenger headlight
18. Finally fix CB.
19. Install t/c cam tab gussets (again)
20. Install t/c coil bucket gussets
21. Swap out fox coils for Icon
22. Aux gas tank
23. Install cab mount relocate kit
24. Fix driveshaft zerk
25. aftermarket reverse lights (need)
26. Install Ridgid light bar on Prinsu cab rack
27. Replace lexan wind fairing on cab rack with aluminum
28. Oznium running lights
29. Install rock lights
30. Bedrug (want)
31. Fix arm rests

 

Yesterday was a productive day.

Went down to Ant's house late in the AM and we then took a quick trip to Fazzio's for supplies. The goal was to get the slider fab wrapped up and also get the ATO shackle flip reinstalled.

Up on the lift:

Since it was up there, 4 12mm bolts later this was removed - the OEM spare tire hanger:

For anyone who's messed with a shackle flip setup you know that the hardest part of the mod is removing the stock J hangers. They are attached to the frame during the manufacturing process and have 4 rivets. There's a few different approaches to the removal. I chose the take an angle grinder to the heads and then drill them out. I was unhappy to see that there was already rust forming in between the hanger & the frame.

I took a flap wheel to it and then primed & painted the spot.


While I was wrestling with the frame rivets Anthony had started on the sliders. Two mods for them: extending the rear section and then putting in fill plates.

Here's a comparison of original & lengthened:


Once the paint dried I installed the ATO hangers and my Defined Engineering Shackles again:


Next came the fill plates. We picked up a 2'x8' piece of 13 gauge steel sheet and Anthony's plasma torch cut through it like butter. We made a few templates out of cardboard and then cut all the pieces at once.




All done!

I'll be taking these to get sandblasted & powder coated soon then return to Anthony's to get them welded onto the frame.

Much thanks to this guy:

All packed up and ready for the ride home - I'll say that even with the blown shocks the truck rides much better with the flip kit installed - much less bouncy on the ride home.

 

Fuck you shackle flip. Not looking forward to it

 

Lookin' good!

 

Major pain in the dick.

 

I'm going to try @Wheelspinner suggestion of using an air hammer first.

 

The air hammer may work on the two rivets on the front side but the ones on the bottom are a different story - on the new frame they have a washer welded to the spare tire support cross member that the rivet goes through. I was able to free the rivet from the frame but it stayed stuck in the cross member and was a royal pain to break free. Bring good drill bits when you take it on! I has to use the air reamer to grind those bottom ones out.