My grocery getter

[Kief]

I tried to TIG with an Econo-tig and realized I need to put some gas behind the weld. IT was weird to see the liquid aluminum sag in the bag of aluminum oxide that I was trying to weld! Borrowed a spool gun and got the job done but dang- it was kind of violent. Functional but not-so-pretty. It looks like you are heading in the right direction.
One guy told me that after a month or so I would get the hang of TIG'in...
I think that aluminum would be a much better choice of metal for roof racks and such- just more expensive and difficult to fab with..

 

[mderrick]

Kief, I would love to get a TIG and mess around with that... Need some dough for that though. I was running co2/argon/helium mix for shielding, but not on the backside. Next time I am going to try a cleaner for the aluminum.

 

[mderrick]

Trying a bunch of settings and getting the feel for it..

 

[mderrick]

just realized I just gave some close up shots.. Here are a few more of the bumper in progress..

 

[mderrick]

Got the exhaust finished up today..

 

[mderrick]

Got to spend some time yesterday and welded the swing out spindles in.

 

[08720]

Did you end up with the Comp4x4 spindle you mentioned earlier?

 

[mderrick]

I made up my own..

 

[08720]

Well that doesnt surprise me. Excited to see your finished product. Im about to finish mine up as well (and re-do some things). I wish the shop that bent/cut mine had created a product as refined as yours.

 

[mderrick]

I wish the shop that bent/cut mine had created a product as refined as yours.

I did make a hand full of changes between your design and mine, some of those changes made it a bit more difficult to bend in the shop, I ended up with the spindle holes in the wrong place by about 1/8'' each and they interfered with the tailgate worked it out with the welder, a mag drill and a plasma cutter..

next stop will be the swing outs..

 

[mderrick]

So I have been getting to some long awaited maintenance... With 222222 on the odometer she has been leaking at the valve cover gasket, distributor o-ring, and a few other places I am sure.

I got in and did the valve cover, plug seals, new plugs, cap, rotor and distributor o-ring. And everything looks good now.

There has been a oil leak from somewhere down below, this has been intermittent and some times a large leak and others it has been small to nonexistent. It seems to be worse when I have been driving long distances and hard freeway driving. I have been suspecting the oil pan but before I dug in thought I would check the rear main with a mirror.. Turns out that there are crusties around the crank and seal interface, you might be able to see them in the crappy pictures and what looks like some fresh oil..

Am I seeing what I think I am seeing? The leak is not around if I run s quart or so low also..

 

[1973Guppie]

to me it does not look like it is leaking from there? I would look closer at the front of the engine. Specifically the front oil pump cover seal as well as the main crank seal. Both of those were leaking like crazy on mine. Also replace your transfer case speedo outlet seal while you are at it. Might as well do the bottom oil pan seal as well. I did all of these and now I have zero leaks. When I pried all of these out they crumbled because they were so dried out. Good luck. Another way to find the real leak is to clean everything very well with a pressure washer and some castrol purple degreaser. Then throw baby powder over everything. Start the truck and let it idle for awhile, park it hood up and hood down and see where the leaks come from.

 

[mderrick]

Getting ready to sell this baby..
http://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/2454749

 

[bryson]

It's deluxe son!



Good luck with the sale! Future rig plans?

 

[mderrick]

100 series, a bit friendlier for exploring with the family..

 

[mderrick]

So i have gotten busy the last few weeks getting ready for a trip up through Washington and Oregon..

get the spare tire on the back finally,
modified my foxwing awning mounts to mount to the under side of my rack with two bolts.
Made some quick hooks for the trasharoo, I think they are a bit easier than the original buckles.

 

[bryson]

Very nice. That's a mighty large looking spare... Did you go up in tire size?

 

[mderrick]

Very nice. That's a mighty large looking spare... Did you go up in tire size?

oh yeah, bumped up to 315/75R16's after I blew out a KM2 on christmas day..

 

[mderrick]

so I have been away from my cruise for a while, moved to Germany for a few months, now I am back. here are a few pictures of the bumper after it came back from powder.

 

[mderrick]

So I am getting ready to replace the leather on the front seats and figured that i should also be adding seat heaters.. I am sure that i am a few years behind the times, I have spent some time searching and reading up on seat heaters is there anyone that has done some lately?