bubba the big ugly build

[73crew]

first i bought this truck, a 1976 all original stepside 4x4 with a 350/th350/203 and 33's for $450, tuned it up and got it running then...


traded it for this ( only pic i have of it when i first got it, i pulled the bed the day i got it home )

and this

drove this piss out of the golfcart for 2 weeks then sold it for $600 so basically i got big ugly for free

[73crew]

then i had this 1978 4x4 truck

which i traded the cab and front clip off of for this

which is a 1986 military cucv truck with no axles or motor
i used the cab and front clip to build this based on the 78 frame with axles off another truck i dont have a pic of

and then the bed off that cucv went on big ugly to replace its rusty one

[73crew]

reason for swapping the bed on big ugly is becouse its from washington so its really rusty, the bed had huge holes on the passenger side wheel wells , 2 big dents and alot of little pin holes in the bed floor ,
inside the cab i thought was just slightly rusty but i was way wrong when i pulled all the carpet out to find all this




and cut it all out

[73crew]

then cut out some patch panels from the 1985 truck i mentioned before that i used the axles out of on my 4wheeler, and welded them in, wirewheel and sanded, and primed

and i found all this crap in the rear and in all 4 doors, yes its house insulation , such a bad idea

[73crew]

eventually i will replace the cab but for now i just wanted something i could drive without feeling like fred flintstone
drive door and rocker had holes and door had a big kink so i fixed them






all the sheet metal im using for patches im recycling from the rusty bed that came off the crew before i scrap it


just some white primer to stop rust , still have to patch the rocker hole


i think this crew sat forawhile either on a hill sloping toward the driver side or under a tree on the driver side becouse the driver side is full of rust as you can see but the passenger side isnt all that rusty with just small pin holes in places

[73crew]

oh and i forgot hese , yes someone used chicken wire over the rocker rust hole with bondo slathered all over it to cover it up




also damage to the rear of the cab that was covered in bondo , not sure how this all got here?


and i forgot these too , i put the bed on by myself usuing a cherry picker , skateboard and a floor jack and alot of wiggling/pushing/canterlevering

[73crew]

and yesterday i cut out 2 coils up front , i know everyone says 1coil=2" but im not so sure about that , maybe the first coil = 2" but the coils are not all wound the same, at the bottom they are tighter together and then get farther apart toward the center of the coil, so 1 & 1/2 coils = more like 3-3 1/2" and 2 coils takes it way down to around 4 1/2 or 5





then i put these on which i had built for my 4wheeler to use at 2" lift shackles since i was shackle flipped but decided to use them on big ugly as 2" lowered shackles since they are so beefy





you can see in these pics how i had them set up , they are stock shackles stuck into 1/8" thick steel sqaure tube with bottom notched out for the leaf spring eye and plated with another strip of 1/8" plate up inside them which makes they 1/4" thick, also gussted them on the back side . they worked really good 4wheeling soim sure street beating will be plenty fine on them

[73crew]

put the shackles on , which gave it 2" plus removing the overload and 2 leafs from the pack gave me another 1&1/2" . i had to get a new set of ubolts also becouse mine where almost rusted in half so sunday i can get those on and move the spring hangers up on the frame another 3" which will drop the rear end about level with the front , and then its time for paint

[73crew]

also got these off the same buddy who gave me the ubolts , they came out of a 1990's chevy v30 work van he bought for the motor to put in his 4wheeler since its a tbi motor. im going to use them as front seats in big ugly.


next week once i get the rear end done ill start body work and prep for paint. plans are satin black inside and out, gloss black rims with a limegreen pinstripe around the lip , the chevrolet letters on the tailgate limegreen and the emblem on the grill limegreen outlined in glossblack . for now ill keep the tan interior but eventually that will get painted black and ill get black seat covers.

then ill cruise it like this untill winter when i swap motors. i have 400sb ill be going through and dropping in big ugly , then ill be painting the engine bay and front of the frame gloss black , probably pull the bed and paint the rest of the frame gloss black also . should look good

[ghettoluxury]

Do you have any pics of the shackle hanger setup for the 4x4?
Would like to see straight on frame shot of the bracket, if you have it.