1981 Pick-up Build (22 Viewers)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

She’s a roller again. Just need to figure out how to mount the propane tanks in the bed and it’ll move out of the garage.

05F03169-CF51-4B11-99CA-012209F675C3.jpeg
 
Very nice sir. Looking good
 
Got the plate cut for the new bed. Definitely lessons learned in this whole endeavor. Still need to get the frame fabbed up to make it a solid structure.

D81A9BC7-B59D-4FB2-BE0F-95F3A6FE533C.jpeg
 
LOCK THE GARAGE DOOR!!
That way the wife and kids will leave you alone so you can finish the modifications you started before the next wheelin trip!

@FJCRAWLER definitely got one of them - with everyone at the house lately, it's hard to stay focused and or commit long chunks of time to it.

My main issues largely arose from not have taken on something quite like this before. I'm a pretty visual person, and so the end product was hard for me to see and plan for without being able to see the intermediate phases. It wasn't until I had most of the tube the way I wanted it that I realized that the bed panels/propane tank mounting was going to be convoluted. Not sure you can tell from the pictures, but there are a bunch of weird angles (horizontally and vertically) that are going to make fitting the bed more difficult - I had to add an additional tube at the cab to account for this (not a big deal). I also failed to notice the frame crossmembers (OEM and added shock mount) are raised above the top of the frame rails. I had intended to use the top of the frame rails as the base for the flat bed frame, but now I need a spacer (~1") so that the bottom bed panel rests on the edge bracing and not the crossmembers. All of this can be overcome pretty easily, but it is more that it created more intricate fab work to make it fit and look halfway decent.

I think I should have held to the montra of "keep it simple, stupid" instead of trying to get overly fancy. I guess all of this time at the house made me think that I had plenty of time to spare.

In the end, it's been a fun endeavor and I imagine if there is a next time, that it'll go a little smoother.
 
Anyone can build simple, not everyone can do it with character.

I bet a plasma cutter would help, we have one you can borrow.:flipoff2:
 
Sweet Wheels!!! :steer:

Truck looks good!!
 
Well at least I didn’t say loose the fenders as well. :)

No worries some times a person has to say what’s on their mind.
 
Once you get used to wheeling without doors youll hate having them back on. The visibility is so much better.
 
Once you get used to wheeling without doors youll hate having them back on. The visibility is so much better
 
Started working on the tube doors. Going a little DIY on this in lieu ordering up new latches. Pulled the latches out of the old doors and bent up a box to hold the mechanism. The plan will be to mount these to the tube doors but I haven’t figured that part out yet. The door mechanism releases by pushing down on the rod which will be modified but should make for pretty easy opening. The bonus is that I can lock them still!

Edit: pics aren't working but I'll try again later
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom