Project Basketcase: Another ReSAS story

So here it is

A few weeks ago we finished the SAS on my buddies 09 DCSB Tacoma and I'd been chomping at the bit to do the same to my 05 Access cab. But there was a problem. The parts list alone for his build was close to $16k and I just couldn't swing it financially. So I was screwing around on Facebook a few nights after we wrapped up his project and I see this thing listed for sale in Tennessee, about 7hrs from me.



Owner wanted $13,500 for it. 05 Access cab 6 speed (same as mine), 160k on the engine 200k on the rest. HP 79 Ford Dana 60 front, 14 bolt Rear from a Duramax. 3 linked on a brand new set of 42" TSLs. So I made arrangements and decided to buy it. The owner offered to trailer it down for me.

He arivedd late on a Friday night after a few mishaps along the way with the trailer and ended up driving the truck the last 2 hrs to get it to me. I'd already decided to buy it and secured the financing (first truck payment in 5 years) so the transaction was pretty quick. He took the check, I took the keys. DONE.

In the morning my buddy with the SAS 09 came over and we went over the truck.

Now I was already planning to have to redo most of the work on the truck, because for that price something HAD to be wrong. So I really didn't have high expectations. Even those weren't met however.

Trans crossmember notched for the front driveshaft and links to clear. Not plated or reinforced. Crossmember is cracked






Frame rust galore (actually looks worse in the pictures, but it is bad







Battery cables run through the frame. Was he trying to burn this bitch down?


More rust. I think the panhard bar hit the oilpan causing a crack.



Link mounts are welded to a piece of flat bar which is welded to rusty bits of nothing





Drive shaft is TOTALLY long enough



If you can't figure out how to hook up the ebrake...just cut the cables



Factory leaves, 2.5" "block" and some hacktastic shock mounting






Here it is next to my DD and some gratuitous pics of my DD









Took the stupid FOX decals off. Truck will be repainted sooner that later




So here's the good news. It can be fixed. It WILL be fixed.

I bought a media blaster which is sitting in my livingroom and rented a 20x20 storage unit near my buddies shop to make working easier. Bought a welder so we don't have to drag Basketcase back and forth to do most of the welding. I'll be pulling the bed and the cab in coming weeks to blast the entire frame. All rust will be cut out, patched, and the entire frame plated and boxed. In the end the frame will be stronger than it came from the factory. Probably by a large margin.

I have a new set of Chevy 63s 5" lift (This bitch is gonna need some room to clear the 42s and I plan to carry some serious weight) and 14" travel shocks already here. New coilover have been ordered. Still need to order a link kit and steering kit so we can redo all that because whatever this asshole used wasn't DOM.







So That's where it is. Y'all can laugh at my impulse buy. Watch along as I turn this pile, that most probably think can't be fixed, into a monster. And hopefully answer some questions along the way. (Like this bitch doesn't stop, how do I fix that? I have a T100 MC at the shop but some additional advice wouldn't hurt)

I have plans for the build, I'll share that more later

-Cap

 

More pictures from my truck's build so you can get a feel for whats gonna happen to Basketcase. The FJ Case and crawlbox were getting mocked up in my truck but were never installed. They will go in Basketcase now. The frame plate for the rear boxing job with be used again, this time to box the frame and also on the outside as frame plates to strengthen the entire structure. Most of the frame with be surrounded by fresh steel.

 

Congrats on the project, will be cool to see it saved and done right!

 

So sweet! Can't wait to see the Progress!

 

I'm excited to see how this progress!.. I love the plan for her so far!

 

damn i got all these projects to do and im still trying to finish mine

 

So here's the plan. This is as much for my benefit as yours BTW. I gotta write this shit down anyhow. Might as well do it here. There will probably end up being a bunch of links to stuff I'm debating purchasing. Again, mostly for my benefit as I bounce between computers at work and home. I can reference back to this. But it may help someone else out later so win/win:

First order of business: FRAME repair. This will be the the biggest and most important part

I bought this this and 75lbs of media from Harbor Freight. No idea if that'll be enough, but we'll see.

http://www.eastwood.com/dual-tank-b...e=&network=g&gclid=COPgguLR-s0CFVFZhgod5YQJaw

So the plan is to remove the bed and lift the cab as high as I can get it without taking it off the truck laterally. I''' lift it with a couple big bottle jacks and cement blocks, the support it with jack stands. I just need to buy myself a foot or so to work and taking it completely off would create a ton of problems with how to actually move the bastard.

Once its all blaster I will spray the whole thing down with a self etching primer to protect it until we can start patching, plating and boxing. The finished product should be completely boxed. Even if I have to move or redo brake and fuel lines.

SAS redo:

The links and steering will be redone completely with these:
http://www.barnes4wd.com/Enduro-Joint-Three-Link-Suspension-DIY-Kit_p_286.html


http://www.barnes4wd.com/Heavy-Duty-Steering-Kit-with-34-Heims_p_136.html

I've got 14" travel non resi coilovers ordered. Hopefully those will be here in the next couple weeks

Also have a 3/4" drop pitman arm on the way.

More later, killing time at work

 

In for the clusterfuckery

 

Subd

 

When it comes to blasting the frame, cover the cab in 6mm Poly or tarping, use white shrink wrap tape(it doesn't leave residue and if you double up on the tape it will take a hit from the blaster. The dual pot is interesting but not needed soda will not be abrasive enough to clean the frame properly, use 3060 grit crushed glass instead it'll do the job much faster you'll need around 300lbs to do the frame, it will be dusty, air pressure is everything when it comes to blasting so make sure you have a compressor that can deliver a constant 125 cfm otherwise it'll take longer and you'll use more media. I would recommend blasting the metal till it is almost white, some Mill scale shadowing is fine, but that way you'll blow holes in anything that's not up to par and it will make repairs easier. A self etching primer will not be necessary after that much blasting, make sure you blow the frame and truck down get in every nook and cranny and then do it again. Sand and dust will find its way into the weirdest places.... good luck following

 

Subd

 

Good luck man, those rebuilds suck to do. I can't believe he even built it like that, what a shame.

 

Cool project, and good luck. It's too bad someone fucked it up first though.

AE

 

In

 

And the shitty part of this truck is . Is it came from a shop that builds custom stuff like this and then to see this kind of work makes me wonder about that shop

 

Yea it is but we'll get it right

 

125CFM?!? The manual said 10CFM. If that's the case I'll end up having to rent a diesel compressor.