Ford, Jeep, Chickens, Whatever

I guess this isn't so much a dedicated thread for a singular build, but a general dumping ground for various projects and whatnot. Gives me a central place to collect my thoughts and stop clogging the KC thread.

A general overview of the stable:

2011 Tacoma TRD Off Road, mostly stock daily(ish) driver




1993 Jeep Wrangler




1978 Ford F250 Camper Special



All three vehicles have various projects, needs, and grand aspirations, and I intend to chronicle them here.

In the non-vehicular realm, a month ago I gained a pair of Silver Laced Wyandottes, which prompted the creation of the Chicken Palace. The neighbor's cattle are utterly captivated.




And there's my trusty copilot of over 12 years, Sydney.




There are other hobbies and projects which may find their way into this thread as well.

Thanks for wandering into my little corner of the forum. If for some reason you stick around, I'm sorry.

 

2011 Tacoma TRD Off Road Access Cab 6MT

Purchased in 2017 with 36,000 miles

Shortly after purchase:


Drive train and suspension are all stock. She serves as a daily driver when I'm not at work, so I don't plan to go too crazy with mods.





Mod list:

• Mobtown sliders - mainly to protect from thrown gravel, and because I wanted them

• Mobtown tailgate reinforcement plate

• Stereo/speaker upgrades

• Cab sound deadening

• Rear seat delete and storage/dog shelf

Future upgrades:

• 3rd Gen RC62F transmission swap - better gear ratios and overdrive than stock

• FJ transfer case/possible twin stick - if I'm going to do the transmission, might as well, right?

• TRD Sport rear axle swap - I don't like the factory E-locker or ATRAC, and prefer passive traction aids. Would like to swap to an open Sport rear axle and install a Truetrac

• Maybe suspension upgrades at some point, I don't know yet. Again, this is primarily a daily. No need to do anything insane. Yet.

 

1993 Jeep Wrangler - the YJ

Purchased in August 2009. This is the single longest-owned vehicle I've had. Bought it while I was in school after spending a summer in New Mexico, it got me into 4x4s in general. Briefly served as a daily when I was living in Wyoming but has primarily been a toy.


Powertrain is fairly stock:

• AMC 4.0L I-6
• AX-15 5-speed
• NP231 transfer case

Currently sitting on ~2.5" lift (springs + boomerang shackles), 265/75r16 Falken Wildpeak A/T3W on Cragar steels

Mods:

• XJ rear Dana 44 with Detroit Truetrac (March 2010)

• Tom Woods rear drive shaft (March 2010)

• Upgraded NP231 transfer case - slip yoke eliminator (March 2010), NP241 6-pinion planetary set (November 2017)

• Old Man Emu leaf springs and shocks (June 2016)

• 1998 Explorer rear disc brakes (September 2016)

• Brown Dog motor mounts (January 2017)

• Rock Hard 4x4 armor - rear bumper/tire carrier (June 2016), front bumper and rocker guards (March 2017)

• AEV engine sump skid (April 2017)

• Front ARB locker (May 2017)

• Viair OBA (May 2017)

• Regear from 3.55 to 4.10 (Revolution Gear) -(May 2017)

• Warn gas tank skid (May 2018)

• TJ rear fender flares and trimmed rear wheel wells (March 2021)

Future projects:

• WJ Grand Cherokee steering knuckles, front brakes, brake booster/master cylinder, GM 1-ton steering - all parts obtained as of February 2022

• LED auxiliary lighting

• General electric cleanup/upgrades - generally ignored since 2017

• Winch

Various pics:

2011


2016


Imogene Pass, June 2017


AX-15 rebuild, May 2018


2018






Emergency transfer case rebuild, Ridgway State Park, August 2018 (some dumbass forgot a snap ring...)




Status as of 2021

 

1978 Ford F250 Ranger Camper Special

"The Beast"



It's a farm truck. It's made of rust and runs out of spite. It can carry a level bed full of lumber without batting an eye, and gets around 10.5mpg regardless of headwind, tailwind, empty, or full. Towing drops that to about 6mpg.

This is the second time I've owned this particular truck. Originally bought it in 2012 and sold it to a friend in 2017 a couple months prior to getting the Tacoma. It's recently become apparent where having an old heavier truck would be incredibly handy, and my friend was getting tired and sold it back in April 2022 for what I'd initially asked.

The truck is pretty much stock, save for a couple fueling upgrades:

351M V8
NP435 4-speed
NP205 transfer case
Front Dana 44
Rear Dana 60
3.55 gears

There is a fair amount of rust all around the cab. Floors and rockers/door sills, mostly, but also surface rust on most of the cab seams. Lower door panels have also seen better days. Surprisingly, the bed is pretty sold and only has a bit of bubbling under the tailgate. Wheel wells have never been patched or replaced.

Mods:

• Speed holes (44 years in the making)

• Edelbrock intake manifold and 1406 carb (October 2012)

• Removed leaky trailer brake module (slippery pedal delete) (May 2022)

Future projects:

Short term:

• Fuel tank cleanout. The floats currently don't and a working gas gauge would be nice. This potentially leads to:

• Complete fuel system rebuild: tanks, lines, tank selector valve/switch, etc. Not really looking to do this, just preparing for the realistic outcome

• Generally clean up small things here and there. It's old.

Medium term:

• Rear Truetrac. Gotta end the one wheel peel

Long term aspirations:

• Repair cab and door rust

-OR-

• Cab swap - if I can find one

• Basic garage respray

• Mildly built 300 I-6 to replace the 351M (intake, header, carb, maybe a cam, etc.)

• Possible regear if I swap in the 300

Not really planning to go crazy with this one, mainly just preserve the truck and keep it running. It'll never be a showstopper but it also never quits.

That said, if anyone has a line on a reasonably clean '74-'79 Supercab (cab only or parts truck, either are welcome) for a less-than-absurd price, let me know.

 

The Chickens

I'd been thinking about getting chickens for a while, then in mid-April two of them pretty much landed in my lap. A friend put her house on the market fairly suddenly, so the chickens had to go. I now had a pair of Silver Laced Wyandottes and nowhere to keep them.



Fortunately, my neighbor had just gotten rid of all his birds and wanted to dispose of his old coop. The relocated coop required a bit of reconfiguration, and I was able to salvage most of the lumber from this old run. Bought some new material to build a new run, but came in significantly under what I'd originally estimated for a project budget.









I still have a bit of work left to do to fully finish it, but they seem happy. Now if the second one will just get over itself and lay some damn eggs!

 

Mine

And because it's neccesary

 

Thine

 

Previous post modified because, because.

 

Well dang, those are really pretty chickens!

 

Thanks!

Came home to two eggs today! The difficult one still hasn't figured out the nesting boxes...

 

Aaaawwww yeah

 

Other stuff was arrived today, too

 

Oooo you know how relevant those are to my interests.

 

Love that Ford and Syd rocks!

 

Thanks, man! It's a fun truck, and she is certifiably The Best™

 

Mainly been chasing piddly stuff on the Beast to get it inspected/registered.

Been chasing an electrical gremlin in the front passenger marker light. Turns out the ground in that bulb socket was just... gone. New socket spliced in and everything is working. For now.

New vs. old



Went through the wash and took her on a bit of a cruise into some nicer neighborhoods this evening, too



Also: beef

 

Damn gremlins.

 

subbbbbed

 

Subbbb for a semi local! That camper special is super sweet!