Builds 86 Xtra Cab Build (4Wheelunderground 3 link front, 4 link rear and 3.4 swap)

[aztoyman]

I also raised my power steering reservoir. First attempt was too high and the hood hit it. It's still 1 1/4" higher now. It puts the bottom of the reservoir an inch above the pump inlet. The inlet hose fittings rise up slightly but not enough to be a problem. It's easier to grip the top now too.

 

[aztoyman]

The first part of my day was kinda sad though. I cut up the frame from my 88. I kept the body mounts though. I might be able to use them.

 

[Mudder]

I love watching the progress on your build. It’s going to be such an amazing rig with the quality you’ve put into it both in parts and attention to detail.

 

[aztoyman]

Thanks Mudder. I get pretty frustrated with all the delays from life events but it does force me to look at things a bit closer while I wait.

 

[Broski]

Thanks Mudder. I get pretty frustrated with all the delays from life events but it does force me to look at things a bit closer while I wait.

Looking forward to seeing this rig on the trail !!

 

[aztoyman]

Well I finally got a day to get back on my build. Had a LOT of not so good events happen to not only my wife and I, but my family got hit with some bad stuff and then yesterday my BIL had a stroke. Fortunately we all pulled through and we are looking forward to getting back to some normalcy.

I have had my battery cable on hand as well as a bunch of Adel clamps from McMaster Carr. I picked up some heat protection for the cable section that runs close to the exhaust. I started to run the cable and then decided to hold off until I get sliders installed. I don't want to damage that expensive wire when I'm welding near it. Plus I will be drilling holes in the floor for the cage plates.

 

[aztoyman]

I finished the welding on the main structure of the front winch bumper and started figuring out how I want to build the hoop. It's a heavy sucker. It weighs 89.2# without the hoop. The main "box" section that holds the winch and bolts to the frame is 1/4". All the rest is 1/8".

I attempted to make the hoop in one piece but I had to really play with the placement and angles a lot before I settled on something that worked. So it's a multi piece unit I'll have to sleeve and weld.

I wanted it tall enough to protect my radiator if I flop. Wide enough to mount my light bar and not touch the winch below that light bar.

I have to be able to get my hand behind it to reach the hood latch. I want to be able to pull the grill without having to pull the bumper and I want to be able to pull the winch without pulling the bumper.

It can't block the headlights or airflow to the radiator.

I have to be able to operate the free spool knob.

Where I finally put it meets ALL that criteria. It's not very "stylish" but sometimes you can't have it all.

I only have one half of it tacked on in the pics. I'll get more tomorrow if life doesn't blow up in my face again. I'll copy the one side and add gussets.

 

[aztoyman]

The 18" light bar is all I have besides the headlights so I can really use the extra illumination. I'll weld tabs on the back of the bar.

 

[jgranthevagrant]

Actually looks pretty stylish....

 

[aztoyman]

Yesterday I looked for a way to lower the height of the bar. If you look at my winch solenoid cover you can see it's tilted back. When I installed the Albright contactor and the 9.5 XP motor, the mounting plate gets pushed toward the gear case because of the finned end plate on the motor. I had done some mods to clearance things but I found out I could have done more. So I did some extra grinding to the side that is against the gear case so I could rotate the cover down more. That let me lower the bar another inch.

Then I noticed that the hose clamp that holds the plate to the motor was partially covering the ground connection on the bottom of the motor case. So I reshaped it to clear. Even after making room for the bolt, the lug hits the clamp. You can see daylight in the pic between the lug and the case. A washer spaces it out enough. I'm going to use a copper washer.

I'm also working on landscaping in the back yard and draining the pool so that's about all I got done on the truck yesterday. I did get the rest of the bar fit up and tacked on today. I'll get pics of that tomorrow.

 

[aztoyman]

More pics of the ground bolt issue.

 

[Broski]

Getting there !

 

[ntsqd]

I placed the Albright contactor for Snowball's M8 under the core support directly behind the winch. That made the cables maybe 2" longer than they would have been, but it got the contactor out of the way. On the Wagon I'm thinking to put it inside the bumper's body (old school Warn winch bumper type of bumper).

 

[aztoyman]

I grabbed whatever I had laying around to jig up my tubes before welding and found some sheet metal to protect my winch and condenser. After seeing the one hoop welded on, I thought I'd better add "something" extra for some additional support. 1 3/4" tube is too big in that spot so I found some 1" to at least tie in to the beef of the structure. IDK if it really helps but it makes me feel better.

 

[aztoyman]

I'm thinking of adding another bolt on each side. It's in line with the pull and the brace.

 

[aztoyman]

I'm happy with the way it looks. It doesn't stick out too far. IDK if I want to weigh it.

 

[aztoyman]

I welded a couple tabs on for the light bar.

 

[aztoyman]

I need to pull it off to finish welding the back sides of the tubes, drill a couple drain holes and add the bolt holes. I have a couple shackle mounts that I need to weld on too.

Any suggestions for paint color? My wheels are gloss black so I was thinking black. Probably not gloss though. My son suggested body color. IDK about that but I will get an idea how that would look since I have white epoxy primer on hand.

I kind of like some of the gun metal gray shades I see on a lot of wheels but IDK if it would look right.

 

[littlevulture]

I’m almost always a fan of body color bumpers on everything. Makes it stand out from the usual aftermarket or DIY parts in a good way.

 

[Broski]

Not a fan of Black just because everyone else seems to use it.
I like the gun metal gray idea.