Aleu - The Rebuild of a 1980 Pickup

didnt get much done today, but i did finally reorganize the garage for the most part. now i have plenty of room (just have to move the tools to the left) to work on the cab. next step is to use my fancy porta swag stand and cut my steering box mount to fit on the inside and weld the bitch up. then i need to get more sheet metal and i can proceed with fixing the holes on the cab and prime it up and drop it back down lol

 

Yeah, I have the marlin one too. Burn burn burn.

 

got my steering box mount welded in today, think i may hit the tubes on up the inside to weld the 2 plates together. not the best welding...but i mean, im self taught and havent welded in months almost haha. also finished up the front hangar assembly welding the front in and underneath.

tomorrow is gonna be the trans x member and shock hoops probably. then i need the rear shock mount and rear suspension finished up

 

didnt get too much done today, but i did get some more 22 gauge sheet metal for repairs and cut out some 3/16" plates to weld to the frame for the shock hoops. i do have to say, this porta band is amazing, cuts through metal like nothing

 

more progress today, not the best result since my welder was acting up. not sure if it was just not a good enough ground or what. but some of the welds look terrbile and its mediocre at best. im gonna most likely take the chassis by a buddy and have him look over everything and touch some spots up to make sure its good to go

but im happy the plates and hoops are on, just need the braces on and get the trans crossmember and rear shock brace in

 

Starting to come together.

 

Where did you get the rear spring perches for the rear axle leaf springs? Im needing to move mine a few inches forward

 

what I got was axle relocation plates, they are literally just a pair of steel plates with a center pin notch and 2 holes for either 3/4" or 1" movement forwards or back. Got them off YotaMasters but they are All Pro plates

https://www.yotamasters.com/shop/su...rear-suspension-parts/axle-relocation-plates/

 

got these babies in yesterday, can finally get the rear shocks put in place and welded in

 

got the mounts welded up and axle cleaned up to get ready to weld the shock mounts on

 

not much progress today, flipped my relocation plates around to the 3/4" side to get a little more forward for the top shock mount so the top and bottom align better. Got the lower shock mounts welded in today, tomorrow ill get the top mount welded in and possibly get the trans x member done too. just taking this one little thing at a time

 

got the upper shock mount, then got the trans crossmember brackets welded in. I might hit up some other spots on the brackets to ensure it doesnt go anywhere. slowly getting better with the welding....a lot better than what i was able to do previously

finally had to get a new tank of shielding gas for my welder, ran out finally haha. other than that, got the rear shock mounts painted along with the steering box. just need to get the shock hoop braces cut and welded in and i can paint everything else. after that...I do believe everything is finally welded in place...the truck is seriously getting really close to firing for the first time in almost 2 years... i cant wait haha

 

Chris
Where did you get this rear transmission brace. Thanks

 

Front Range Offroad my man!

 

Thanks!!

 

https://frontrangeoffroadfab.com/crossmember-and-skidplate-combo/

no prob man, heres the kit i bought. this one comes with a skid plate but they also sell the cross member by itself too

 

So ready to see this thing done, I've been following it since the start. Probably the only reason I get on TW anymore.

 

Fire it up

 

you're tellin me man lol, im so looking forward to getting this girl running finally. i think the biggest thing left to do other than driveshafts is get the fuel lines and brake lines run

i need to lmao

 

scored some more stuff today! got some seats from a DLX 1st gen I think, these arent the best, but not too bad. some cleaning and they will be good to go, they should bolt right in too! got a new accelerator pedal thats a different style that will work way better than the previous style. also got a an AC compressor bracket for my 3rz and some extra AC tube routing and dash piece for the dash in the 1st gen to route the air to the driver side