Well, I have been back from my deployment for just bout 2 months now. Still getting back into the swing of "real" life. I have made some progress on the truck since I have been home, but it has been slow going. This is my first major custom project, and I have learned an important lesson so far. NOTHING EVER FITS!! I have had to modify everything to get it to fit. I should have called this project "One Piece at a Time", because I have lost track of the model years that I have taken parts from, ranging from 1968 to 2007. Oh well, it is a great learning experience and hopefully the finished product will show the hard work that is going into it.
The first project was to cut the frame down to a short box. I followed Rokcrln's write-up, and it went pretty smooth. There wasn't a whole lot of frame left behind the rear spring hangers (56" springs) after I cut the 8" off!
After I added 20" of garage space, loosely assembled my bed with the short bedsides I ordered and sat it on the newly shortened frame. I also mounted up the rear bumper, hitch, and fuel cell. I only have pix of the bumper in place, but I will get pictures of the rest when I pull the box back off.
Last week, I just finished up mounting the motor and trans. I still need to fab up a torque mount for the transfer case. Then, I am going to get some driveshafts made up and rebuild the axles.
That is where I left off last week. I had to make some space in the garage so I could work on my daily driver and some family member's vehicles. Hopefully I can get back out there this week. Here is a picture of how it is sitting right now. I have it set to approximate ride height on 35" tires. I measured the height of the cab, and it should squeek out of the garage with about a half inch to spare. I will worry about that when the time comes though.
