Builds Putting the rust demon at bay (1 Viewer)

[archie73]

Time for an update-sorry it’s light on pics:
1)Power steering is in place. Need to shorten the hose and find an adapter to get the Chevy hose into the fj80 box. Anyone know where to get one?
2)steering links are in place, sorta, good nuff for now. I gotta fix it.
3)I finally got the alternator working. Temporarily wired the side marker light to be a trouble light. Now it sends juice to the distributor.
4) Ramshorn manifolds and y pipe are in, just need to start a plan for the rest now.
5) Front brakeline ruptured while I was working the on the exhaust manifolds, replaced that.
6) Made sweet battery tray. I’m gonna have to work on it...
7) Temporary gas tank strapped to the front...yeah that’s not gonna work.
8) Placed an order with Metaltech for a full profile prebuilt cage with the seat cradle. Soon I’ll have a place to put the seats I pulled out of the junkyard.

Finally-Drove it around a little bit!!! Nothing over 25mph, but it feels good. Brakes are getting better as I work the rust off the junkyard rotors. Even played around on the rocks around the parking lot.

 

[archie73]

So thing are plodding along on the project.
1) I built a battery tray and hold down out of angle iron. Seems like it’ll be stout- used the shock tower and an existing frame hole.
2) Temp and oil gauges are registering again. Bought stock sending units from fjparts- good response time and shipping. The temp sender isn’t loving the adapter to the sbc I used, so I’m going to figure something out.
3) speaking of which the engine is running about 210 acccording to the stock gauge. Next time I fire it up, I’ll confirm with a IR thermometer. I know some say this is ok, possibly ideal, but I’d rather have it run a little cooler. So I played with the electric fan position to no avail. Then I realized the fan is pushing, not pulling. So I need to redo the wiring to see if that solves it.
4) I bought a 8274 winch. It was attached to this:

I bought the truck to get the winch and flip the truck. We’ll see- it’s a diamond in the rough for sure. I kinda dig it, in the same way I dig the spartan feel of the cruiser. It’s a hack job for sure, things are not all original:
460/C6-needs work
Wiring- about as good as can be expected, but not ideal
Late model bucket/bench combo
35” m/t
6” lift
But it’s fun to drive. We’ll see. Price was right, so either way I win. I’ll leave you with this gem- discuss

 

[RAYJON]

ok a half ton with overloads and 2 lift blocks, the 460 must be running on 3 cylinders or that would be ugly.... also no drop brackets for the front c arms... can you say caster problem.....

 

[archie73]

All the above could be true, we’ll see. Engine runs smooth, when it runs. It has doesn’t start or dies randomly, gotta start chasing wires.

 

[archie73]

I'm getting parts together for the coming weekend of cruiser work. Has anyone used this line to connect a fj80 box to a ~85 Chevy Saginaw canned ham pump? https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...68,steering,power+steering+pressure+hose,7320.
It should fit, but I don't have the box/pump in front of me right now to check. Hoping to have a productive weekend- couple minor cooling items need attention, install the factory fuel tank and lines, power steering lines if the above part fits. Hopefully my cage comes in this week. If so, I can install that and seats- no more sitting on a 5 gallon bucket!! These will be the first holes I drilled in the aqualu tub. Wish me luck.

 

[archie73]

ok a half ton with overloads and 2 lift blocks, the 460 must be running on 3 cylinders or that would be ugly.... also no drop brackets for the front c arms... can you say caster problem.....

This truck is a true bastard! The more I check it out the more years crop out.
Title/cab is a 1970 F250
Frame/running gear is an unidentified F150
Was told it's a 1975 460 auto(C6??) to original single speed transfer case
THAT LIFT!!!!
Late model bench seat

Oh and the 460 spitting the blocks out: I'm not to worried, my 350 has more power.

 

[RAYJON]

Single speed case would be f100, with a 300 six... its a dana 21, a dana 20 from a bronco is a staight swap, or a np205 swap more $$$

 

[archie73]

Single speed case would be f100, with a 300 six... its a dana 21, a dana 20 from a bronco is a staight swap, or a np205 swap more $$$

As much as like driving it, My interest in the truck is limited. I pulled the winch off yesterday, so there goes the only reason I bought it. I’d think about fixing it up for a better resale price, but the local market for these trucks is pretty low. If I get a free winch out of it I’ll win.
I took my kid for a little joy ride yesterday on a forest service road. It was packed snow, the Kumo mud terrains were ok, but the rear ended wanted to slide anytime it was in 2wd. And the flex is comparable to a 2x4 piece of fir. At least it rises rough. I know it’s an old truck and I dig the looks, but I’d be in a pretty big hole if I made it into what I’d want.

 

[archie73]

I got a package at work.

Wish I was a better welder, but this does eliminate a ton work. Loader was handy in placing the cage.

It came with this sweet safari rack. Tons of patina on the rack. The loader got it mostly in place and then some friends helped do the final placement.

I think I’m going to get away with out having to cut the Aqualu corner gussets. I put the hard top sides on with the door headers and it just fits. Now onto the seat cradle and frame tie in kits.

 

[archie73]

I’m looking for ideas on the seat cradle placement. I pulled some heated leather seats out of a Montero Sport. There not to wide and super comfy, so I really want to make them fit. The drivers side shouldn’t be a problem, but the passenger side looks a bit more complicated. So I’m trying to get the seat cradle as low as possible to help out on the passenger seat. Anybody have any ideas?
My biggest problem is the stock gas tank and I’m not ready to get an aux tank just yet.

I don’t think I’ll be using the bracket MT sent for the front of the cradle. Instead I’ll weld it directly to you the hip bar to maximize clearance. The hip bar will be welded to the mounting plate and the B pillar. Right now, if I(5’11”) sit in the seat my head is barely in between the spreaders bars, so I need to get the height down a bit.

 

[White Stripe]

I used 1X2" c channel steel to make my seat mounts. I'm not really a fan of hip bars, they take up a lot of space. My seat frames bolt to the aqualu tub. So basically my pass front seat is about 1.5" above the fuel tank. If u make a cradle welded o the cage I would use smaller tube, like 1.2" or something.

 

[archie73]

I got the seat cradle tacked into place this weekend. Took a lot longer than I thought, but this was my first time doing anything like this. Learned how to notch the tube with a grinder- not the prettiest, but they got the ok from the welder at work.
Seats(‘01 Monterey Sport) needed more modding. The passenger seat was a lopsided mount, but I have it mostly sorted. Stock gas tank wasn’t helping height wise. Drivers seat doesn’t have a ton of fore and aft movement, but the rest of the movements kinda makes up for it. It’s a bit tighter to the wheel then I wanted.
I think the only way it could go any lower is if I got rid of the gas tank or I found lower profile seats(bottoms). I really like the feel of the seats, so I’m not going to change them anytime soon. As far as the tank goes, Id like to keep it where it is. If I switched to fuel injection, I’d look for the s10 blazer tank to get the higher pressure pump.
I didn’t take any pics of the seats or cradle, but here’s the truck in the snow.

 

[archie73]

Little steps are making the distance. I’ve been picking away at some of the low hanging fruit this month:
1)I made a bracket up for an auxiliary fuse block. Now I need to fix some of the “temporary” wiring I used to get the engine running (electric fan, seat motor, starter, you get the idea).
2) I finally got the fan relay wired correctly. It turns on when the temperature switch grounds out. For life of me, I can’t understand why this took so long. But I can screw up a pb&j...
3) Wifey got me some cruiser stuff for Christmas. The big ticket item was a set of @cityracer led headlights. I couldn’t believe how easy the install was. A true 5 min install.

I haven’t tested them at night, but I’m gonna guess they’re a improvement over the stock ones.
3) I slapped a battery tray together. A stick of angle iron turned into a stout tray mounted to the frame and the shock mount. I’ll need to make another for a dual setup eventually.
4) One of my buddies burned the seat cradle and seat belt tabs(double shear) in for me. I did a few welds, but I left anything safety related to him. I got a quick lesson on it though, so I can do some little stuff coming up.
I made the front cross bar and seat straps removable for transmission or gas tank work. This thing is stout and fits well. It wasn’t free, but the feeling of safety with the kid is worth it. Seats and belts have been positioned before welding, so hopefully they’re a quick install. Door and top are functional.

So that’s where I’m at now. Tons left to do, but I think I’ll have this on the road this summer.

 

[archie73]

I’m starting to think about bumpers. I’ll make the front. It won’t be anything to complicated, I’d like to keep it simple. Rear I’m questioning whether to build or buy. I’ve been researching online and I like the look of the dual swing out tire/Jerry can setups. Problem is it would really crunch my budget.
I have access to mig/tig welders, plasma and a lot of tools. Problem is I’m not that familiar with making something like a swing out bumper. My buddy is good for at least one more welding project, so he could do the final burn and make it look pretty and stout. I’m more worried about the initial build.
For those that built their own, what did you come in at for materials? With my limited skill set I’m looking at something like the 4x4 Labs swing out kit(Swing arm assembly ). But at $550+Latch+ basket and carrier material+bumper material... it’s getting a close enough to get a 4 plus unit. Tell me their is a middle ground.

 

[Varty Yo]

Lol nope no middle either build it or buy it gonna be pricey.

 

[White Stripe]

You can get 4x4 labs bumpers as a kit. You could get it without swingouts initially and add swingouts if you get more money later.

 

[archie73]

So I've been searching but I can't find the linkage for my transfer case. What are people doing when it's hooked up to a sm465. I see AA has a kit, but I'm using a plate adapter (pro mac?) so I think that won't be a straight install. As long as I'm having to adapt it, I'm thinking I might as well fab it up from scratch. I'd love to put the tunnel back on one of these days.

 

[archie73]

Good news, I found my stock transfer case linkage. With a little head scratching I was able to get working with my setup.

Next I’ve been chasing poor fitting power steering lines. I had to shorten the banjo bolt on the fj80 pressure line to fit the canned ham pump. I also cleaned up the routing of the lines to get them out of harms way. This required straightening the metal section in the line. I was worried it would snap or kink, but it was pretty easy.

With the pressure line sorted out, I replaced the Chevy return line barb that seemed to fit, but in reality leaked pretty good. I bought the stock one online and some part store rubber hose had it buttoned up.

Next up, I drilled and tapped some holes to mount the stock center console on the seat cradle. This fills the gap between the seats nicely. It even has paitna!! Sorry no pics.
While I was messing with the rollcage, I added double shear tabs for the shoulder belts in back. The cage is getting pretty much where I want it. Probably should bolt it in one of these days.
Exhaust is ninety percent done. I bought some builder parts off summit. I gotta say I’ve been pushing this project off for a while now. I have never done this before and I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. First off, let me say I shouldn’t have been so worried, it was easier than I thought it would be. Second off, there’s some skill to this and I don’t really have it. It I’m happy with the out come-although I need to tweak the tale pipe. I have it setup to come out in 4 pieces from the y-pipe back. It hugs the frame profile pretty well and I added a 1” flex pipe to allow for frame flex. Once again, I didn’t take any pics, I was running out of time.

 

[archie73]

Now for the question:
Rear shock stud
I was installing the rear ome shocks with the ome bushings. These are the shocks I bought in ~2000 and they’re basically unused and seem to work well. Only problem is they’re a bit to wide to fit on the stock studs. With the bushing fully compressed, I’m only getting a couple of threads to show. I tried to use the nut to compress the bushing with mixed results. Driver side worked, but I still can’t compress it enough to insert a cotter pin. Passenger side ripped the threads off, so I can’t get a nut on with the shock in place.

This is the question: I need to replace the studs(mounts?) with some thing longer. Is there an off the shelf solution for this?

 

[archie73]

No photos, but progress none the less. Exhaust is done. I used the 2” walker crossover pipe(42087) for convience of off the shelf parts. Then I adapted that up to 2.5” pipe with a flex 10” pipe and walker quiet flow muffler. It was my first custom exhaust, so it’ll probably need some tweaking.
Also, started on the rear bumbper. But it’s a work in progress, so it’ll wait for real updates.
Last a friend got me this