Think I turned one of many corners with the truck build today.
Welded the tabs onto the receiver for the removable hitch that I want to bolt to the rear chassis cross bar.
I have always wanted the whole rear end to be so I can dismantle it, rather than weld it all up.
Next up I welded the receiver to the cross bar. Quite pleased with the weld, including the upside down rear weld.
Working alone means you need to be a bit creative, so I made a wooden carrier for the new bumper, as well as a 1/4 inch spacer I taped onto the rear below the lights. Of course I used some seriously strong tape to tape it to the sides of the truck, rather than have my new bumper end up on the floor.
Later when I pulled the tape off, it brought a load of the paint with it........ makes you think.
Next up was the creation of a pair of bumper brackets out of the steel I bought last week.
Slotted for adjustment, closer or further from the body, but closest at 1/4 inch. I would rather have it a a bit away than risk the paint eventually.
Of course welding and galvanizing do not go well together, so I marked the placement of the mounting plates with a cutter disc and ground back the galvanizing.
Another lesson learned, fortunately before I hit a crisis.......
When I removed the mounting bolts of the load bed, I lifted it off randomly a couple of times, so when it came to offering the bumper up to it I realized that things were off, so I refitted the bolts.
Bumper fitted.
Removable number plate fitting.
So all in a good weekend.