Casper's Broken Down old Grumpy Assed Build

You know Kevin I appreciate it when people ask and even my wife is like she can't see how I do some of this stuff. I have had to learn to be very careful and really think hard about what I'm doing. I use tools for leverage even with the tires I use the jack to raise and lower the truck until the lugs match up with the wheels. As long as I keep my arm fairly tight against me I'm ok. It's simple little things that hurt like holding the towel and reaching out to wipe a spot of wax off. Being left handed complicates things as that hand wants to reach out and do things. I just have to take my time and be careful.

 

Thanks Jimi

 

You should've left them on! Great conversation piece and making people think you're nice is half the battle - the other half is then realizing your not nice at all!

Would've been awesome if you could've swapped bumpers at the dealer. Now you've got to shop for another one!

Great looking truck!

 

I removed everything from the old truck, bumper, skids, sliders, lights, hell everything really I returned it to stock other than the suspension. The Aluminum plate bumper is sitting in the garage ready to go on

 

I know this get s kinda confusing but I took my time (as with pretty much 1 hand I had no choice) and piddled in the garage all week and stripped the old truck. Go to the OP for this thread and scroll down to the list of mods that were done. Everything that says removed beside it is waiting to go back on to this truck. Some will have to wait as I'm not strong enough rt now. Removing is one thing installing is another.

 

Front Bumper:

We got an early start this morning! My darling wife, AKA the boss, jumped up with me and went out before she went to work and helped me pick up and set the bumper. It's all aluminum so not very heavy but trying to be safe. I took my time and removed the light bar that came with the truck and set it aside, removed the plastic bumper cover, and crash bar.




Christie came out and helped me set it and held it while I got a couple of nuts started. I shimmed the top out a little with washers to bring the back of it up a little. I got everything secured, trimmed the fender liners, and reinstalled the grill. While it was out I plasti dipped the emblem white to match as that was the only exterior chrome on the truck.



I'm kinda suprised how good all this looks even with no lift and it's not hardly any shorter than the other truck was with a lift

 

Kudos to Christie! No frigin in the rigin, looks good!

 

Looks great with the bumper! She is resembling Casper 1.0 more & more as the mods continue to find themselves into 2.0

 

Lighting:

With the front bumper installed and this truck having factory fog lights I left the factory fogs in the stock bumper cover and spliced the Eurolyfe 18w LED pods with amber films into the factory fogs BAM! done easy peezy.
I removed the cowl, trimmed it to fit and installed the Rago Fabrication ditch brackets. These bolt to the fender and cowl and are pretty damn solid. I attached a set of Caliraised 27w LED side projecting pods to the brackets.
I removed the tail lights and installed the custom fabbed, by me, light brackets to the rear bed corners along with another set of the eurolyfe 18w LED pods. I figure the cheap pods give me all the light I need in the rear and if they get knocked off no biggie.
Wiring time woohoo! I ran a positive and negative wire in loom from the engine bay drivers side fender where I installed an aluminum fabbed relay mounting bracket all the way through the frame to the rear of the truck and attached to the rear facing lights. I used the Caliraised harness and ran that to both ditch lights. The signal wires were run into the cab and a pair of CH4x4 small toyota push switches were installed into the blanks below the heater controls. I don't have alot of problems with basic wiring but it'snot my favorite thing to do.






Shew I'm glad that's over

 

nope

 

Thanks Jimi

 

yeah my daughter came home from school today and probably walked past it 10 times today and never noticed

 

It all looks great!

 

Thanks Jimi I try really hard to kaeep all my work very sanitary and as factory looking as I can especially with stuff like wiring

 

Yeh I bet iif we had sons and they came over and saw it they'd notice

 

Looking really good, @Casper66. The new truck is coming together nicely.

I found out the bumper that I ordered, in June, finally shipped on Friday, so I should have it next week.

 

Cool I saw on the NOVA thread yousaid it was shipped and a winch on the way as well cool deal!

 

Yeah. I'll have to throw some pictures in the not north/south thread when it's all on the truck. Should be that weekend after it comes in. I think I may have to finally start my own build thread. My signature is turning into a wall of text.