Daddyjeep Hauler - 85 K30 crew cab short bed

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Sorry I forgot to mention it. I like the taper best.

Thanks for your vote

[daddyjeep]

I spent a bunch of hours on the new bumper on Saturday. This is taking much longer than I anticipated, but it sure is fun.

I tapped the small hole i the frame so I could bolt in a backing plate for the bumper mount. Once the pumper is done there would be no way to get to the nuts inside the frame rail so I welded the nuts to a plate that is bolted in place. This plate needs to be removable to get to the bed mount bolts beside the gas tank.



I started with getting the top plate on and the back plate trued up to it. The bar stock was warped a bit and warped even more when I burned it to the 1" bar stock for the mount. I figured out the profile on the corner using some CAD (cardboard Aided Design).



Then came the upper bevel with some 2" bar stock.



The back face is 4" bar stock and I built the center step out of 4" as well. The support for the step was 2" bar stock ripped down to 1"... that was fun with a cut off wheel.





There is still a bunch of work to be done, but I am making good progress, The drivers' side upper portion needs finished up and then I can add the lower bevel pieces and bottom plate.

[Ol Blue K20]

It's looking good, keep it up!

[daddyjeep]

Two more pieces tacked in on my lunch break. This work from home stuff is pretty cool.

[daddyjeep]

More progress.





I really like how I finished off the front.



lets see if this little video works

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BM...Vt4L3-yt6RnVXC

I picked up some better fenders for $100. The upper mount on the drivers side has a little rust, but other than that they are in really nice shape. I just need some good doors now so I can work towards paint.

[daddyjeep]

For those that remember.... or are even following here, I had an issue with my right rear brake that I could never figure out. It was self adjusting and would eventually lock up. I figured the best solution would be to just ditch the drum brakes and get me some of those fancy disk brakes. I started looking into what it would take to get it done on my Dana 70 and it seems that there are not good kits available and very limited options for an e-brake. I have the Eldorado calipers on the back of my Jeep and they are giving me problems so I really don't want to go that route. What other option is there you ask? Well, how about swapping in a complete axle with factory disk brakes? The only options here are the Ford Sterling axle and the AAM found in Dodges and Chevys. The sterling is a great axle, I have one already that is going under the Jeep, but would require the hubs and rotors to be redrilled for the correct lug pattern. A better option is the 99-07 Chevy AAM 11.5 full float axle out of a 1 ton truck. Well, the only one I could find locally was a semi float out of a 3/4 ton and all the brakes components were gone. The guy wanted $525 for it too. A little more research and searching the on line sales places led me to a complete 03 Dodge AAM 11.5 out of a single wheel Cummins powered truck for $300. It has the same 72" WMS as my Dana 70, the correct lug pattern, the same 3.73 gear ratio, and a limited slip. Now I need to cut off the leaf spring pads and shock mounts and build some new ones to work with my truck. I am going to build the leaf spring pads with 1" of lift since I am going to lift the front a couple inches.

[Ol Blue K20]

That looks massive and heavy..nice buy

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

That looks massive and heavy..nice buy

Yeah.... it's a monster. The dana 70 has a 10.5" ring gear and this one has an 11.5". Both have 4" axle tubes. It weighs in at 550 lbs.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

Yeah.... it's a monster. The dana 70 has a 10.5" ring gear and this one has an 11.5". Both have 4" axle tubes. It weighs in at 550 lbs.

Holy cow!! it is massive!

[MTCK]

That is stout! I was behind a new gas HD gmc this week wondering what rear end it has, as definitely not the 10.5 of years past and read they have 11.5” on all the trucks except a 12” on one ton diesels. Looks nothing like the aam 11.5 of the past 16 years under dodge and GM trucks. I’ll be looking forward to how this all goes together.

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by MTCK

That is stout! I was behind a new gas HD gmc this week wondering what rear end it has, as definitely not the 10.5 of years past and read they have 11.5” on all the trucks except a 12” on one ton diesels. Looks nothing like the aam 11.5 of the past 16 years under dodge and GM trucks. I’ll be looking forward to how this all goes together.

Dodge is running 8x165.1 to this day, which is exactly 8x6.5 so any modern Dodge axle is a good swap. Chevy switched to 8x170 in 2008 I believe.

[AJC]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

Dodge is running 8x165.1 to this day, which is exactly 8x6.5 so any modern Dodge axle is a good swap. Chevy switched to 8x170 in 2008 I believe.

It was 2011 that the wheel bolt pattern changed to 8x180.

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by AJC

It was 2011 that the wheel bolt pattern changed to 8x180.

Look at that.... I was wrong on the dimension and the date. Thanks for the clarification.

[daddyjeep]

Nothing too exciting to show. I have just been grinding away on the bumper...literally... grinding... away. I have been bouncing around on projects a bit, but hope to get the bumper in primer this weekend. I am over the 30 hour mark on this bumper now.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

Nothing too exciting to show. I have just been grinding away on the bumper...literally... grinding... away. I have been bouncing around on projects a bit, but hope to get the bumper in primer this weekend. I am over the 30 hour mark on this bumper now.

It looks cool though!

[straight6chevyguy]

Nice looking bumper!

[MTCK]

That looks stout as can be and I like the corner steps like the new trucks have.

[wildwilly4x4]

I'm not here to bash on your build or anything, but the way that you have that bumper tucked in so tight to the bed, especially where you finished off the front part of it, is going to be hitting the bed most likely, even just pulling into the driveway. The frames on these rigs twist a very considerable amount in relation to the body.... Just my $0.02. Fab work and truck are looking great!

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by wildwilly4x4

I'm not here to bash on your build or anything, but the way that you have that bumper tucked in so tight to the bed, especially where you finished off the front part of it, is going to be hitting the bed most likely, even just pulling into the driveway. The frames on these rigs twist a very considerable amount in relation to the body.... Just my $0.02. Fab work and truck are looking great!

You could be right. I have plenty of work to do in the bed still so if it does get into the bed side it isn't a big deal. I currently have about 3/4" between the bumper and the sheet metal.

I did finish grinding the bumper over the weekend and got some primer and paint on it. It will look better when I get the Raptor Liner on it. There are plenty of spots that I would have finished better if it was to just be in paint. The texture of the Raptor Liner will cover all of the little flaws.

[Ol Blue K20]

It looks good.

[400/400]

Nice work on the bumper. I also made mine with the steps in the corners. They are handy.

Good find on the rear axle. Did the ‘03 have the torsen style limited slip?

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by 400/400

Nice work on the bumper. I also made mine with the steps in the corners. They are handy.

Good find on the rear axle. Did the ‘03 have the torsen style limited slip?

The guy I got it off of ran the BOM and said it did have a limited slip. I don't know about the different ones available for the AAM. I will have to check. torsen would be cool... better than clutches.

[whitels1]

Bumper looks nice, good work!

[daddyjeep]

My front hubs are finally ready to go back on the truck. If this weekend goes well maybe my truck can get back on all four wheels again. I am anxious to see how the wheels fit the wheel wells now.

[daddyjeep]

I was able to get my hubs and rotors drilled out over the weekend. I drilled the hubs to 41/64 to have the proper press fit for the Dorman 610-283 studs. I had to drill the rotors slightly larger at 11/16 to clear the shoulder on the stud.



It sure is nice to have the old Square Body back on all 4 tires. It is even nicer to be able to turn those tires without getting into the fenders. These tires measure right at 32" and with the wheels set back jus a little into the wheel wells they clear with plenty of room.