1978 LPB Teardown and Rebuild

[Awl_TEQ]

Do you want the fancy round tube stuff or just the 2x4" 1/4" wall tube shown above?

 

[BinaryDude]

i was half kidding... but i want to see what kind of protection (the fancy round tube stuff) you put into it, and how you mount the rear lights.

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Stay tuned.......

My lights are in the rear valence of the bed, not the bumper like yours.

 

[BinaryDude]

Well i can fix that.

 

[oldfj40]

Looks good so far! I'm looking forward to your progress.

 

[Awl_TEQ]

A shot of my safety chain gusset template - copied off of another hitch.


Had to grind of the mess left by the PO on the bottom of the frame rails - He had some 1/2" flat bar welded on for his bumper. Note: grinding upside-down = not fun. Face shield or asbestos face required.


1/2" flat bar plug welded inside the tube to be drilled and tapped - grinding the plug weld flush

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Tapping M10 thread


Bolted to the frame in the center section


Made some frame doublers a work and set them in place while I measured for a half hour to make sure the frame was level and not twisted in any way.

 

[Awl_TEQ]

I tack welded everything in place - I'll take it to work and have one of the welders finish it off with better equipment and skill. Then I'll match drill the bolt holes in the frame doubler and flat bar using existing holes in the frame where possible.

 

[BinaryDude]

that looks great. i would hate to rear end that.

 

[miker]

Nice work! And HEAVY DUTY too.

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Welded up

The bottom chain gusset plate is 3/8" and I added a couple of gussets to the top

 

[Awl_TEQ]

I decided to weld shut the two factory rivet holes at the end of the rails and drill a single hole for a bolt in that area




And in places where the nut would be difficult to access, I welded them in place.

 

[Awl_TEQ]

I set the bed back on the frame to see how it looked - the rear valence is touching the hitch sleeve but there are no rubber mounts in place at the moment. New mounts will lift the bed a half inch. I like how the hitch doesn't stick out much and is up quite high. I intend to make a matching trailer at some point and have the frame of the trailer at the same height.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

That looks great. This has got to be one of the best builds right now. Keep up the good work.

 

[Awl_TEQ]

I need to make a bracket to accept the rearmost bed mount that used to hit the rear crossmember. I'll measure and then fab up something at work.


This view of the tube will be obscured by the rear bumper/ slider tube that will follow the bottom edge of the bed side.


Now I need to buy some round tube and borrow the tube bender again.

 

[madams557]

Love the bumper build so far. Are you going to fab a swing arm for a spare tire or continue to hang the tire in the factory location?

I'd like to get a rear bumper/tire carrier combo built with sliders, but I don't have the skills and haven't been able to figure out how to fab something that would accommodate the rear valance for mounting the tailgate hinges.

Other things on my long list includes an aux tank and a roll bar, bucket seats, center console...etc.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Awl_TEQ]

The spare tires will be mounted similar to this picture but one on each side and mounted higher. The mounts will be incorporated into the canvas bed topper structure. Sorry for the small pic - couldn't find a better one online.

 

[merbesfield]

Nice bumper. Now move on to the rest of truck so I can get some motivation.

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Just waiting for a paycheck to buy tubing for sliders etc......couple more days.....

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Got a little done last night and this afternoon.

I need somewhere to bolt up my rear slider/ bumper so I got some 1/2" x 3" flat bar and welded four pieces inside the rear of the frame. They will serve to increase the thickness and get more threads when I drill and tap. I want all my armor to be removable for repairs or alterations so it will all bolt on.



Magnets hold the flat bar so it can be plug welded in place