Finally Bought my first CRUISER!

[dkyuss]

So got the after market sensors mounted... nothing fancy, just simple mechanical gauges for piece of mind and confirmation. When it first fires up, PSI hits 60-80 and then comes down to this as she warms up.

Got Insurance for The Beast today and took er out for a rip . Easing it in for the first 10 mins constant accelerate, decelerate, repeat until I get to a long steep hill. Stop at the base of the hill and check for leaks.... all is sounding/feeling good. Although loud! As I have no flooring or covers over gear shifter etc. Even getting the odd spray as it is raining out there! But allows me to hear the Beasts 'heart beat' clearly... Even put a hand on the aluminum while driving to feel for heat. Warm, but not hot! Just the way it should be!

Went about half way up the hill to this lookout . Pushing fairly hard the whole way (about 1 km). Stop and check everything out. So far so good!

Drive back down the hill to water level, and then repeat, but push harder and go farther!!! By the end I am 'driving like I stole it'.

No one on these roads this early in the day... Little hill climb.



And this one, I left a brown stain on my seat ! Video does not do justice as to how loud it was! This stretch of road is known as 'the 1/4 mile' even though it is actually much longer.... and perfectly straight. Pedal is to the floor through most of this.... at least until the end.



I pulled over imediately and realized the engine was still running and sounded fine..... popped the hood and thankfully only found the silicone boot on the discharge for the turbo popped off. Need to tighten that clamp! I need to get my tach working as well.

Needless to say I am all smiles! Party tonight!
Now I need bumpers ASAP as well as finish up the interior, at least enough to start using. I can (attempt to) perfect it over the winters!

 

[dkyuss]

 

[dkyuss]

Sorry about the WMG restricted link.... still worth the click

And forgot to mention earlier I have added a bottle of 'water wetter' as it 'can't hurt' I did notice running temps on my new mechanical gauge seemed to be less than 200 F and thought it was low.

Just a couple follow up pics of how dirty she is! Grrr About 60 kms on the new clock.

Even on the INSIDE!!! (Ya the spray on the window is mud, flying through that gaping hole in the wheel well up and everywhere!)
Need to fix this too ASAP!

 

[cruisermatt]

Right on dude!! Always scary when boost hoses go right?

 

[dkyuss]

Right on dude!! Always scary when boost hoses go right?

Man I tell ya, my heart was racing after that! What a rush!

 

[dkyuss]

Just a teaser on whats coming up (working hard today! LOL)..... Any input is appreciated! Still playing with angles/options.

While its gonna be built on the cheap, I still want it looking good.
Went scrounging through the scrap steel yard and picked out some 1/4" plate, 5" wide C channel and I have about 20' of 2x2x.25" wall tubing.
Needless to say this MO FO gonna be heavy! Suiting for the beast!

Ultimately I want to fit a winch in there but not sure if I should cut out and fab for it now? not knowing what size/shape etc its gonna be.

 

[cruisermatt]

For the winch for bolt pattern for the winch base and fairlead are standard. I THINK it's 4x10" and 10" (all the centers of the holes, which are usually 3/8" or 10mm.

I would buy the winch first.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

For the winch for bolt pattern for the winch base and fairlead are standard. I THINK it's 4x10" and 10" (all the centers of the holes, which are usually 3/8" or 10mm.

I would buy the winch first.

4.5" x 10" on most winches (unless you go with the monster ComeUp Walrus or Seal Gen2 16.5 then a dual pattern, 4.5" x 10" and 6.5" x 10")

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Unless you cut out the lower valance or drop the winch plate below the frame (bad idea and defeats the purposes for clearance) You will be approx. 7.5" at a minimum from the valance to the inside of the bumper face for most winches 8-12K. So add your exterior material to that number and that will give you a better idea of how far out the bumper will be from the body/grill.

J

 

[dkyuss]

Unless you cut out the lower valance or drop the winch plate below the frame (bad idea and defeats the purposes for clearance) You will be approx. 7.5" at a minimum from the valance to the inside of the bumper face for most winches 8-12K. So add your exterior material to that number and that will give you a better idea of how far out the bumper will be from the body/grill.

J

Awesome, this helps tons!

Does the fairlead need to be square to the truck (perpendicular to the road)? My bumper is going to be on a ~30º angle.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Awesome, this helps tons!

Does the fairlead need to be square to the truck (perpendicular to the road)? My bumper is going to be on a ~30º angle.

No, I run mine at all different angles. Also, you can pitch the winch to get it a little tighter as well. Think a wedge higher at the back and zero at the front...

J

 

[dkyuss]

Well, a little more room in there now, about 7.5" as per J! My 3D model is only gonna be so close, as I am sure it does not match the real thing perfectly, so the rest will have to make fit as we go.

As the 'nose' sticks out further now to allow space for a winch, the angles of the 'wings' are now sharper but I am diggin' the look. This virtual mockup gives me some angles to aim for while cutting the structural that will hopefully get me close to the ballpark as I attempt to start tacking together.

Now the real test begins.... Its easy making this stuff in 3D virtually, super easy to make changes, say like increase a length of channel!
Making in real life is a whole other task. I am planning to start cutting steel tomorrow. See how far we get!

 

[dkyuss]

Snuck in some time today to make a little progress.
Double miter cuts on the 5x6.7 C-Channel.

Then grind shiny, chamfer 45º weld prep (sorry got hasty and just whipped right through with no pics) and voilla!

@reevesci This looks a little proud to me, but what do I know? First bumper this girls had in a long time!
I am measuring from the second set of holes in the frame (they looked to line up approx where the lower valence would sit). When I fab up the frame mount brackets (hopefully tomorrow) maybe I should slot the holes? Easier to slot or drill several hole sets while brackets are not part of the bumper than try to modify once welded up.
As it sits now, the inside edge of the c channel is 1.5" from the edge of the frame, and about 7" clearance for winch.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Snuck in some time today to make a little progress.
Double miter cuts on the 5x6.7 C-Channel.
View attachment 1293807

Then grind shiny, chamfer 45º weld prep (sorry got hasty and just whipped right through with no pics) and voilla!
View attachment 1293808

View attachment 1293809

View attachment 1293810

@reevesci This looks a little proud to me, but what do I know? First bumper this girls had in a long time!
I am measuring from the second set of holes in the frame (they looked to line up approx where the lower valence would sit). When I fab up the frame mount brackets (hopefully tomorrow) maybe I should slot the holes? Easier to slot or drill several hole sets while brackets are not part of the bumper than try to modify once welded up.
As it sits now, the inside edge of the c channel is 1.5" from the edge of the frame, and about 7" clearance for winch.
View attachment 1293815

Here is what I'd do if I were you. If you don't want to buy the winch yet... Find the winch you do want and get the dimensions off the specs sheet. Then build a box out of cardboard, etc.. and use it as your "modeling" winch for the bumper build. This way you are sure it fits and you can really tighten up things as needed. Then you are set for when the winch arrives later on.

I like the looks of the 3D model.

J

Ex:

This is as tight as I get my bumpers and most winches are about .250-.375" away from the valance.

 

[dkyuss]

@reevesci Those are some fine lookin bumpers! I hear you are moving closer to my location so maybe a cross border run one day?

Tiny bit of progress today. Still a long way to go.
Lots of time measuring and setting up double angle cuts (22.5º x 33º), and there is a left cut vs right cut. But it turned out *almost* perfect as per 3D drawing. Still need to do the winglets, but I think I will size them down to 1.5" square .125 wall as the 2x2x.25" wall is HEAVY! Probably way overkill.

Tacked in place

But the real fun today was going for another longer hill climb. I live in the valley bottom so real easy to find hills to climb.

Transmission is shifting AWESOME! sounds/feels solid and I am pleased with it all so far. Engine fired up the other day to move the truck and blew some smoke out the tail pipe for a bit. Did the same when I fired it up today (fluids all look good) but disappears after a min or two of idling. Sputtered a little bit upon firing up, but it did this before as well. This may be normal..or maybe glow plug relay? will have to check.. Runs awesome once warmed up a bit.
I did notice the smell of brakes when I got home, checking to find the passenger rear is hot! hmm. Brakes and hardware are new (except the c clips which I had to reuse) so I will have to open it up to take a look.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Yes, we are moving to Spokane, WA and we also have a piece of land 12km from Golden, BC. So, we will be venturing back and forth to Golden quite often once the paperwork is finalized and the house building plans come together one day.

But, always in for a Banff, Yoho, Glacier or Jasper trip or anywhere else really.

J

 

[dkyuss]

I was able to focus for a couple hours on the bumper today and am happy with how it turned out. Welds are getting nicer but still not pretty enough to leave as is (maybe a couple). Hope to get some paint on it tonight.

 

[HoJo 61]

That bumper would look nice polished and clear coated.
Nice work once again, keep it up.

 

[dkyuss]

That bumper would look nice polished and clear coated.
Nice work once again, keep it up.

I like that idea! But the time to polish this perfect (think OCD here) would be insane! But it would be impressive!
Maybe a solid grit blast frosting, and then clear coat? I did think about using the big old surface grinder to grind the main visible surfaces but talked myself out of it. Kind of wish I did surface grind it though.... would have looked even better.

But, after probably too much grinding, I primed, rocker guard and then epoxy black topcoat. Might have to find a flat black though as this is a little shiny. But later.

I also realized as I was painting I never got around to shackle/recovery mounts. But when I do find my winch, I will have to remove to weld in the winch mount plate and cut the fairlead hole (think I can just grab the 5" c channel in the vice on the mill and slot/drill as best suits).
Right now I just want her to be legal and running so ended up skipping a few steps. I will come back to this.

Cost:
Steel - 40$ at the scrap yard
Paint - 70$ Yikes, 4 spray bombs!
Everything else I had (grinding disks, welding supplies etc)
TOTAL $110 CAD

Pretty smooth edges.... almost looks plastic.

Rear 'bumper' is in position. I may add the remainder of the 5" c-channel to better cover the frame ends... And I will put a coat of paint on to make sure it doesn't rust but I will be back to this in the hopefully near future as well to build a comparable dual swing out rear bumper..... Stay tuned.

And now I will put some quick touches to the interior to get it fully functional. Again, this will be revisited in the somewhat near future to improve, but for now it needs to be driving! I have seat mounts to weld in position for passenger as my truck originally had a split bench the PO replaced with bucket seats with scabby seat mounts, as well as position the rear fold down hinge mounts. Also want to transfer my old OEM seat head rests to the rear seat to ensure improved safety for my kids that will be buckled in there (also want to upgrade to shoulder harnesses in the rear but this may not be immediate).

Next step is get out camping and exploring with the Family

 

[dkyuss]

Yes, we are moving to Spokane, WA and we also have a piece of land 12km from Golden, BC. So, we will be venturing back and forth to Golden quite often once the paperwork is finalized and the house building plans come together one day.

But, always in for a Banff, Yoho, Glacier or Jasper trip or anywhere else really.

J

Definitely would love to get out for a back country haul. I need to get back in to Ghost Valley, got married on the side of a mountain far back here and have not had the opportunity to get back to this beautiful place! This needs to change, maybe next year.
Found this video,