100 Series Ute Conversion

[kittric]

Other work done this weekend included some some little bits that I have been procrastinating on, like some brackets to support the fuel lines.

Removing the rear AC lines up to the engine bay.

Now it is nice and clean behind the rocker panel!

And a little more welding on the flat bed. Got most of the welds done on the underside, so I started evening out the top posts and adding in the front pieces. I initially thought that I would need a significant gusset to keep the headache rack from flopping around but after adding in 2 more vertical supports it is really locked in.

 

[kittric]

Admit it... at some point you thought "I guess I could use the TouchUp Direct paint and paint the whole truck"

Actually, my thought process switched to "maybe I will get a gallon of black hammer tone and a 12" roller and finish this entire thing in 30 minutes!"

it still might happen

 

[kittric]

Not much accomplished the last couple days as I have been traveling for work. But speaking of hammertone, got all the hard to reach places on the bed painted before putting it back on the rig and added some drain holes in a few important spots.

 

[kittric]

Started prepping more to put the wood deck in. So I ended up checking out the cost for hardwood, and putting in a sepeli deck (one of the cheaper options) would run about $600. I decided not to go this route because the wood planks are different widths and although they would probably last forever, if one was damaged it would be a pain to replace. With 2x6 pressure treat if a board goes wonky on me or gets busted up I can easily replace. Also decided to try out some 6x6 wire reinforcement to protect the window (still needs paint). I will probably replace this with something heavier in the summer. There is some old logging equipment my dad has that I can probably pull some 3x3 heavy wire cage protection off of.

Beyond that came to the conclusion that I will just go ahead and paint the grey areas of the cab in hammertone now. I generally really like the coating and that way if I damage any other areas, it is easy enough to just slap some more paint on to protect the metal. Anyway it's going to be a work truck, not a show truck!

 

[kittric]

Got back a little early last night and with the screwy daylight savings time had some time to get the fuel filler line sorted out along with the fuel tank mount. I ended up using one of the body mount washer/nuts for the fuel tank to help spread the load a little better.

Decided to keep it simple and just welded a bracket in place to bolt the line bracket to.

Again went with the kiss principle on how to hold the lines away from the spare by just looping some flat stock and bolting to flat bed.

And a picture of how it all lays in. Just need to figure out a good way for the filler neck to be supported and I can cover everything over now!

 

[kittric]

Finally got around to putting the wood bed in yesterday afternoon. The first hiccup I ran into was the screws punching through the wood to easy, so I ran to the ACE hardware store and got some washers that the screws would sit well in.

I wish that I cut all the boards and layed them in first because it almost ended up perfect. I expected to have to rip the last one down instead of being short. Oh well I will grab a 2x8 and rip it down to the right width and it won't be a noticeable difference.

Happy to say there wasn't a lot of waste with the cuts for the deck boards!

Now I just need to figure out if I want to make some steel side boards or just drill holes in the future hoop side gussets to hold a board in?

 

[Manhattan]

Lookin good! I must've missed it - what type of wood is that? PT? Before deciding to go with steel for the deck, I'd decided to go with PT - so I'd be comfortable drilling/cutting into the boards as needed and not hesitate - knowing replacement boards were cheap. If that's PT, it's good-looking PT.

For the sides, did you look into using slip joint hinges - bolted to the bed's frame and sides - so they could fold down and slide off? I'm still in the "R&D" phase on the sides.

 

[kittric]

Lookin good! I must've missed it - what type of wood is that? PT? Before deciding to go with steel for the deck, I'd decided to go with PT - so I'd be comfortable drilling/cutting into the boards as needed and not hesitate - knowing replacement boards were cheap. If that's PT, it's good-looking PT.

For the sides, did you look into using slip joint hinges - bolted to the bed's frame and sides - so they could fold down and slide off? I'm still in the "R&D" phase on the sides.

I have slip joint hinges on my "look at" list for home depot today, so they are definitely a possibility. I will probably lean towards steel rails if I do that though. And yep its PT lumber.

 

[Macskyver]

That's looking amazing! What are you doing for UV protection, if anything?

 

[kittric]

Moving on to fitting the rear hoop in, I had a problem with the wood not being flush. Not a big deal to chisel out and I will make a plate to cover over it with some tie down hooks for when the rear hoop isn't on.

With the rear hoop in and gussets welded in, I was initially going to make sandwich plates to hold side boards and just put a pin through to hold them in place. That way they would be easy to remove, but I would have extra metal that would look weird without the boards in place. So after thinking about how often I would be removing them, I figured 4 bolts will be more solid than 2 pins and it won't cost me that much time if I need to take them out. That will be tomorrows project though.

I also decided on putting a removable center bar between the 2 hoops. The rear hoop is very solid as it stands now, but I wanted the extra bracing. It will also work good if I need to carry windows/dressers/etc or something that needs to be sideways in the bed and/or works better being strapped in towards the center. Another benefit is if I am moving something over the hoops it is a slider that can keep the front end from dropping towards the window.

I was initially concerned with the height of the bed, but it turned out being the perfect height for a work bench as you can see from the tools starting to build up in it.

 

[kittric]

That's looking amazing! What are you doing for UV protection, if anything?

I am thinking maybe some black paint for the side boards, but the bed will probably be left alone. I will probably spill enough oils and other things in back to help preserve it!

 

[Exiled]

Do you think the rear glass protection you welded is going to hold? I think I'd prefer something a little beefier to keep cargo from sliding forward in case of an accident. Otherwise, the truck looks amazing, I keep wondering what a modified version of your design would do as a dedicated hunting vehicle here in Texas!

 

[87warrior]

I am thinking maybe some black paint for the side boards, but the bed will probably be left alone. I will probably spill enough oils and other things in back to help preserve it!

I have a 5x10 trailer with pressure treated 2x6's on it. For protection, I coat the wood annually with a used motor oil and diesel mixture with a cheap paint brush. Used motor oil and any other thinning additive would work. I have also used kerosene, mineral spirits and cans of legit wood stain that have started to go bad. It helps the wood repel water, gives it a nice stain and is the cheapest/most effective trailer wood treatment I've ever used. The initial 'slick' goes away after a few days in the sun.

 

[kittric]

Do you think the rear glass protection you welded is going to hold? I think I'd prefer something a little beefier to keep cargo from sliding forward in case of an accident. Otherwise, the truck looks amazing, I keep wondering what a modified version of your design would do as a dedicated hunting vehicle here in Texas!

I would like to put something a little thicker in back, but since I am on a time crunch right now figured the $10 piece of welded fabric from home depot would work for now since it is easy enough to remove. Ideally I would find some 3-4" square wire fabric about 1/4" thick to keep the visibility good. For now hopefully it will keep that random piece of firewood that I throw in back from taking a weird bounce through the window

 

[kittric]

I have a 5x10 trailer with pressure treated 2x6's on it. For protection, I coat the wood annually with a used motor oil and diesel mixture with a cheap paint brush. Used motor oil and any other thinning additive would work. I have also used kerosene, mineral spirits and cans of legit wood stain that have started to go bad. It helps the wood repel water, gives it a nice stain and is the cheapest/most effective trailer wood treatment I've ever used. The initial 'slick' goes away after a few days in the sun.

Sound like some good recycling! It reminds me of the fence post treatment barrel we had when I was a kid, I think the mix was 1 part oil, 1 part diesel and 1 part creosote. It would also probably be about the color I want!

 

[kittric]

If anyone can guess what this is the start of without any other hints I would be impressed.

Here's another hint.

And yes, I finally decided to tackle the fenders last night. It took a little figuring on how to do it, but I decided to make them easily removable in case they are damaged or I decide to go another direction. So it will be 3 bolts to the frame using the old spare tire cross member mounts. and 2 bolts underneath the fender to the flat bed.

Everything layed in nice and square on this side, hopefully the other side goes as smooth.

Got it all tacked together now I just need to spend some time finishing it out.

 

[Manhattan]

LOVE ^that^!!!

 

[Moridinbg]

If anyone can guess what this is the start of without any other hints I would be impressed.

The spare wheel crossmember sits on those

 

[kittric]

A little more work done this weekend. Used some bumper bolts with a shoulder on them in order to make the fenders a bit self centering.

Got some painting done utilizing my pull-up/dip bar as a good way to keep things out of the dirt.

Finished the fenders off with some paint and mounted the mud flaps.

And finally got around to welding out the back pieces that were tacked on. Also just went with a single bolt to hold the side rails in.

 

[TheForger]

If anyone can guess what this is the start of without any other hints I would be impressed.

View attachment 2617957

Here's another hint.

View attachment 2617959

My bet is on a mount for train horns or air compressor