TowRig.com - Diesel Discussion and Tow Tech

Since the gasser forums is near dead I figured I would post some progress on my resto-mod crew cab. I am building it to be a dedicated trail clean up truck. Hopefully to shed some positive light on the 4 wheeling community.

We are deep in the body work process right now.

http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/photo18/9d/77/9cab4f847bdd.jpg

Keep the pics coming. I love Chevy Crew Cabs.

crewcabs look soooo much better than suburbanswaytogo

crewcabs look soooo much better than suburbanswaytogo

:stir:

:stir:
OK I'll admit, I'd own one myself. but I do have a weakness for the crewcabs.:D

A cummins would fit nicely under that hood! waytogo I have been debating building a truck like yours, and drop in a 12v cummins.

A cummins would fit nicely under that hood! waytogo I have been debating building a truck like yours, and drop in a 12v cummins.
There is a guy here in TR that has a '90 K3500 crew cab dually with a 12v Cummins conversion. His wife drives it as a grocery getter/kid hauler. waytogo

OK I'll admit, I'd own one myself. but I do have a weakness for the crewcabs.:D
:rolleyes:

Guilty.

I love the crew cab older chevys.waytogo

So what is up with this baby?

We are a bit stalled out on the body work. It is all steel now, just need to mud it and paint it.

Close to finishing up the Painless wiring kit.

Trying to get it up and driveable soon. Then we can finish some of the other projects on it.

Why all the body work?? you did say TRAIL machine right? one trip and its all over unless your planning lots of body protection

I said "trail clean up".


We are building a rolling billboard/work truck to help create a positive image of 4 wheelers. To show people that people and companies care about our trails. So the truck should be respectable looking. (not look like junk itself)


It will never see hard core trail use. Just needs to get to the trail head, or up just a little way. It will serve as the tow rig for the real rockcrawler, my TJ.


This truck started out as a basket case. Needed both floors replaced, drivres complete rocker, cab corners, one bedside and some patching.

That's gonna be a nice rig! Looks good!

-Chuck

gotcha, sounds like a great idea the rockcrawling community needs all the help we can get right now hope to see the completed pics

Just got these much needed disc conversion brackets in the mail today from http://www.diy4x.com/. We had to do some restoration work on the brakes on this old truck. Thanks to the donation from DIY4x4 we will be able to convert the 14bff to discs much easier now.

http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/photo23/2a/dd/aebd4ec67c91.jpg

Some days I just feel like I am posting to myself here.

I got 1/2 the carpet I ordered from "Stock Interiors" and it looks to be short on one side. So far not real impressed with them.
Spent most of today finishing up the first layer of RAAM Audio sound deadening on the floor.
http://a791.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/54/l_005c479b3b5bad0dc0f86d9f2204721e.jpg

Took out one of the sweet 80s seats to work on the floor. The pups are ready for the truck to run too I guess.
http://a138.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/43/l_019a05c289ad396a3a7c4afceb49d951.jpg

oh youre not alone here

Yeah we are here, just don't have a lot to say. But I do check your thread every day or so.

Keep posting, were watching! :popcorn:

Well, I stumbled upon a better bed off a truck on Craigslist. Bought the whole bed. It's not perfect but it is a much better platform than the one we have been working on. Brigham (5280K5) brought over his working crew cab and helped more it Jordan (stogie25) and John (not a 4x4 guy) provided extra muscle to help get the thing into my garage.
Anyone want a patched up, cut up short bed? I need to get rid of the other one now. (and I have 2 perfect tail gates too)
http://a448.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/39/l_d77ad339a516a0af025ebe051f5139c7.jpg
http://a388.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/4/l_6fd4596c9c609eb8f49577fc439614db.jpg

Nice set up.

Thanks.

I had a couple of strange ideas for the old bed.

Cut it down so that I can mount the back half to the garage wall with a working tailgate and make it into a fold down workbench that could be used for welding small stuff etc.
Hmm.......Evil thoughts.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!! !!!

So the whole point of using an old scrapped truck was to "recycle" it. I just can't seem to win with this truck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brigham and I took the old bed off the other night and noticed a crack rasied up out of the 14bff. You have to understand that I powerwashed this diff several times before you could even see it like this.
http://a237.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/59/l_03a60e958770cbec879489828a42e164.jpg

This is what I found when I popped the cover off!!!!!!!!!!!!


http://a480.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/119/l_78ffef30a6db5049c507640615bd6dbf.jpg


I was really hoping to NOT have to put time, energy and money into the axles!!!! Can't wait to pop open the front now.
You would be absolutly AMAZED at the wierd random stuff I have had to deal with on this truck.
Anyone have some extra 14bff parts, complete 1 ton rear, etc etc laying around????? (Anyone want to come rebuild this???)

I know many of you would think this is a complete truck at this point. (those of you surfing the net from the couch on the front porch).
http://a288.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/11/l_d0b62e64d9af4764fa6094bbbcc9b387.jpg
Time to try it out and ponder the broken axle. (Cheers!!!)
http://a903.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/40/l_2c4ca52cdff2c18e1325b7049c74e316.jpg

bummer i just gave my 14 bolt away. there should be some hanging oround for cheap!!! :popcorn:

http://a886.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/20/l_546f8d4f55fc0fa9649b1068f6c0e91d.jpg

Carrier is fine. Detroit is on it's way. :D Ground down and welded the crack shut mostly just to keep water out.
We also took the drums off and got the DIY4X disc caliper brackets mounted. Waiting on the calipers and discs to arrive!!

Well last night I got the DIY4x.com brackets on the truck. Thanks again to the help of Brigham (tools, beer drinking) and the generous donation of the brackets from DIY4X. Just for reference these are Eldorado calipers, 3/4ton front discs. I still have to make all the lines.
I also got the Detroit Locker in. Looks like we may have a working rear axle again soon.
Couple of quick pics for fun.
http://a202.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/7/l_18e5f66bd2e560c08bd2c6df86296161.jpg
http://a695.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/80/l_0665a5a3c0b6cf38fc3bba9f830591f6.jpg

Nice bikes in the back ground.

Thanks man. I have a 2007 R1 for me and a I bought a classic 1987 FZ600 for the girl.

http://a235.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/124/l_1f28ce830bbc62059d0d8974a4903b52.jpg

http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/photo27/78/9f/2b26d2d93bc5.jpg

So I was cruising through Craigslist Saturday and found a crew cab being parted out. There was not much to it but I needed a set of the door sills to install the new charcoal grey carpet I bought for the truck.
The crew cab had a full headliner board and trim so I picked those out of it too for just a few bucks.
I bought some "microsuede" in charcoal to redue the headliner. Might do all the trim and doors in it too. (not sure yet).

Anyway here is a picture of the before and after of the headliner work. Sorry for the bad camera phone pics. It is late. Just need to finish it up and install it now.
http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/photo11/72/da/9e92ec1a6bf4.jpg
http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/photo21/98/79/7c69bed17b6f.jpg

Looks Good. A lot better than the factory stuff.

whacha use to atach the new liner to the old cardboard?

The original headliner is a foam board. I used locktight headliner glue. (it sounded better on the can than the 3m stuff. Guess we will see)

yea let me know how it sticks I have my headliner falling on my head to.

Well, it sticks and shapes to the foam good but does not stick as tight as I would like. I think I am going to pull it back and try some of the 3M stuff tomorrow.

The Microsuede was about $13 a yard and I used about 2 yards for the headliner. (bought 4 yards so I could do the trim and doors too)

I made a little progress over the last couple of days.

-Have the carpet abotu 80% in.
-Have the headliner about 80% in.
-Actually have the front set of seats 1/2 bolted in.
-POR 15 on the frame to get it ready to put the bed back on.

http://a201.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/54/l_23a52fa52904eda12731db71bb931790.jpg


http://a58.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/85/l_52415cde7f44ab52bbd31ff3577735c1.jpg


http://a997.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/16/l_a18aae348ddb3c55e97e41e2fd9cd914.jpg


In this picture you can see where the frame is spliced. Many people have asked me for the measurements. The frame was cut 7" from the back of the cab. The center hole on the crossmember directly behind the cut is 8.5" back. Then the tail of the frame was cut off for the last part of the bed. Hope that helps.

http://a408.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/12/l_b0450ccd1c38b4bea8e9cce9014dcacf.jpg


http://a597.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/3/l_234ee24b843c73c8b7b8411e22cd282c.jpg

That is going to be one sharp set up when you are done.waytogo

Thanks man. I hope it turns out well.

I got a little work on the truck today. Mostly got the garage cleaned out in the nice weather so I have a clean place to work on it again.
Pushed it outside to clean out the garage...........I have been PUSHING this truck around for nearly a year now........I will be sooo excited when I can just turn the key and drive it back and forth. :p

http://a28.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/95/l_ee4f81a274bf3207ab6ed5a74516ac7b.jpg
http://a721.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/9/l_7029be4fbff684c28a949ef7d1058bf0.jpg
http://a346.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/43/l_a149214a0c84b06fd8ea007c8f9d2ac9.jpg

remind me again. Why was the frame cut? The headliner looks awsome. Is it staying up well?

Frame was cut to fit a short bed on the truck. These only came in long bed from the factory.


Headliner is staying fine so far.

Fired the truck up briefly today. Radiator leaks......JB weld!! Trans leaks.....new fittings......no fuel delivery.......not sure what is going on there. I have a new fuel pump. Just not sure the switching valve is working right.

Tossed the new bed on the truck. Kinda like the color, maybe the whole truck should be that color. Strange thing is that the bod holes are off from the original short bed. (??????)
Couple of quick pics.

http://a865.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/59/l_78fd8229ceb25899d7aa2fa818bccc90.jpg

http://a724.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/92/l_9d935d0f880179652e33358196be9aa3.jpg
http://a563.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/41/l_2ea4697aafe37aef4628f620a21fd4f2.jpg

I'm diggin the multi color aspect there....

Keeps the crooks away!

Heck yeah.

http://a563.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/41/l_2ea4697aafe37aef4628f620a21fd4f2.jpg

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like you cut the frame like...maybe...3" too short or something?

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like you cut the frame like...maybe...3" too short or something?



How do you figure that? (according to our measurements it si actually about 0.5" too long still on the back half.)




So today I bench tested both pumps......

The brand new electric pump makes noise but does not actually pump!! The cam lobe on this engine must be just flat enough to not pump enough through the mechanical pump either.

Bought a block off plate today, exchanged the bad electric pump for a new one. Wired it all up and it fired right up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S ALIVE!!!!!! For the first time in a YEAR I pulled it forward into it's storage spot UNDER IT'S OWN POWER!!!!!
I still have lots of things to do before trying to drive it. But that was enough for today.

After a weekend of work with Brigham I took the truck on it's maiden voyage today. First around the block, then to the autoparts store and then to the closest dirt to take a few pics. Still a LOOOOOONG way to go with lots of work but it was nice to get it out of the garage.

http://a620.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/96/l_7a226393a32e2c9ab05b72fdf7ba5b73.jpg
http://a79.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/18/l_c88435c3402c78ebb7b97b6081abe35e.jpg

Just some more progress and a couple of pics.
-Fully sound deadened the front two doors with RAAMat BXT and Ensolite. (Thanks to Rick at RAAMaudio for donating the stuff to the project)
-Installed an old Sony stereo I had laying here. (Radio only, CD broken).
-Bought some 6x9 speakers to fill the holes in the doors and have some sound.
-Figured out that I am missing a "Heater Relay" under the dash so I can't get the heater to work.
-Installed the front cab vents. Passenger side works great, driver side is broken.
-Sparyed the hood to keep the raw metal out of the elements for the moment.
-Replaced one of the two rear windows that were broken. Need to replace the other one and have them tinted.
-Temp install of the Nordskog GPS Speedo. VERY VERY COOL STUFF. Now I just need to do the rest of the gauges.
-Installed front seat belts. They are blue........ugly but safe.
-Have a pretty big oil leak from the oil pressure sender.......guess that will be next.

http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/photo34/cd/a4/1c04cda70b43.jpg

http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/photo31/c1/fc/225815b5dd74.jpg

Looks great I like the blue glow from the gauges.

Here is a better pic.

http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/photo34/07/e0/f17d4ba1f7fd.jpg

I like the 270* sweep on the fuel guage. Wish everyone did that.

Where did you get those guages? How much? They would look sweet in my K5. What dash mods were needed to install them? Your 3+3 is gonna be sharp when finished.waytogo

Thanks man.


I got the gauges directly from Nordskog. Prices vary a bit depending on what you want and where you get them from.

Well the truck got dropped off at MaxAir (e470/I-25) yesterday for Rhino Lining. I'm not even really sure what they are going to do. They were excited about the project so I gave them a bit of artistic lisence.
http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/photo35/bd/29/5904c22bf652.jpg
These are the same guys that did my Jeep about 7 years ago for this article on Rockcrawler.com. They did an AWESOME job on the TJ.
http://rockcrawler.com/techreports/rhino_tj/index.asp

http://rockcrawler.com/techreports/rhino_tj/teaser.jpg

Stopped in to check on the progress today.
MaxAir got the bed shot. Bottom and bed are done. (paper masking is still on the truck). They also did the inside of the rear fender wells.
Couple of bad camera phone pics.
http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/photo04/2d/01/f4a5e453c653.jpg
http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/photo27/06/24/e46cffa47e95.jpg

The guys at MAXAIR did a great job.
Bed is all done, they did the rockers all the way down the truck and the inside of the front and rear fender wells. Amazing how much quieter it made the truck. Combined with the tons of RAAMat sound deadening I put in this truck it is actually really quiet to drive.
They did the bed a little extra thick since we were going to be using the truck for real work. Also did it over the bed rails.
http://a743.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/90/l_0a9e30a549c39c386cbd956ccbaaa8ee.jpg
Still ugly as can be. But the Rhino looks nice on the bottom. Now it just needs a little real paint on the rest of it.
http://a525.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/111/l_45ccf07a5136a83930a94bdba4991de4.jpg

Looks nice, really needs a 12 valve!

Would love to do a 12v swap. Just have not found one in my budget yet.

TIRES!!!!

Toyo liked what we were doing with the truck and stepped up with some tires. I had to pay a few hundred bucks in shipping, but nothing to complain about really.
I know some of you are going to hate me for this but I'm putting 35x12.50R17s on the truck and the 37s that are on it now can finally go back on my Jeep where they came from in the first place.
While I think the 37s were cool. I think the 35s will be a touch more practical for a rig meant to be loaded with trash on a trail and not really a hard core trail rig. Trust me when I say that it took a very strong fight against my own testosterone to put smaller tires on it.

I only had time to mount one tire tonight. This is going to be a project all by itself. The Allied beadlocks have 32 bolts per wheel and I have 10 of them to mount......yes.....10! I have to take the 37s off the beadlocks and mount them back on the Allieds for the Jeep. So that is 320 bolts just for the beadlock rings. Now throw in the 32 wheel bolts on the truck and the 20 on the Jeep and you get a fun day playing with 372 bolts!!!!!!!!!!(not counting spare tire lugs, valve caps etc)

http://a484.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/83/l_4cadd324824d2fb1d01f59fbb5b6baeb.jpg


Here is one of the 35" Toyos mounted next to the 37" MTR on the truck now. (also a neat shot of the Rhino lined rocker)
http://a280.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/33/l_7f5a0d515f84389a1fd1ded12572e6d7.jpg

I finally got tired of the Red/Black/Blue/Silver/Grey paint job and did a temporary black paint on the front of the truck. Still debating what color to really paint it. If anyone wants to photoshop this picture with some suggestions feel free. (hint hint)
http://a610.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/24/l_9498f3ffedfa716d1e6291a213522719.jpg

havnt heard anything in a while whats new????????

I injured my neck this spring. That just set me back on working on the truck. Unfortunately when it is just me working on it all progress stops when I get hurt.

(apparently a lifetime of extreme sports is hard on your spine:rolleyes:)


Feeling pretty good now and the excitement for the truck is coming back. Actually been thinking about it a lot lately.

This spring we had the truck at a trail clean up day for Carnage Canyon, near Boulder, Colorado. 4x4 was not wroking. Shaft spining, but nothing moving.

At some point someone stole the Dana 60 out of this truck and left a D44 in it's place. There is a group working on a new trail system up near Boulder and needed a truck to help. I was going to go help but needed to solve the 4x4 issue first. Pulled the cover and here is what I found.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3170/2987527440_b05bc4363a.jpg


Teeth broken, ring gear bolts sheared off. :doah: I really need to find a D60 for the front for a reasonable price.