The rig gets some much needed TLC

[410Fortune]

Nice!!

After X mas I am starting mine, pretty much exactly as you are doing thus far!!!
If I dont get the JD bender for x mas I'll get it for myself! welder and chop saw check, just need notcher (lazy) band saw (lazy) plasma (lazy) and strip the BII down to nothing

cant wait! Looks perfect so far Josh

 

[Josh S.]

Thanks guys! Yah acquiring all the tools is a pain in the butt, but after you have them you are set...well until you find more tools to buy lol. The next tool I would like to buy would be a Burr King disc sander for shaping tabs and parts. (1-2k)...angle grinders will work just fine for a lonnngg time I'm thinkin.

 

[DB_1]

Those burr-kings are sweet, Rick had a thread going recently on disc sanders on the cheap and Tdavis posted up about a 12" one at Harbor Freight for $80 I think it was. Not quite as big as the Burr-King...what is that one around 24" or 30"?
Cage is looking good, how are you going to do the A-pillars...drop down in front of the dash, into the dash or to the side of the dash?
I was messing around yesterday with ideas to do my A-pillars and I was able to take out the the side vents and go through there with the tube and it's a straight shot down to the floor. Anyways, just curious to see what you come up with.

EDIT: just read through your thread again and sounds like your going through the dash

 

[Josh S.]

Not sure how big the burr kings are exactly, I started looking into them and saw the price and figured I'd better stay away!! Someday tho

About the dash....haha, what dash! The dash has been in a landfill somewhere outside of chico for over a year now! I plan on creating some sort of dash down the line, hopefully something nice looking out of aluminum. (=spool gun). The dash probably won't be worked on for a long time, so many other things to do first...but the plan is basically to put the A-pillars and dash cross-tubes and window V-bars in the best structural place that I can come up with, and work the dash around that.

 

[DB_1]

Well I guess no dash makes it easy then: I thought about ripping out mine and building a dash off the cage but to much to deal with there for me.

 

[Dannyboy]

rumor has it my dash was less than 30 bucks. get a sheet or aluminum, get 3 bends in it, trim to fit your cage wahlaa.

 

[james t]

Well if you're not going to go through/around the stock dash then you are going to be no help to me at all. Thanks. :

(I would no doubt go flat panel dash to make things easier if i werent trying to keep the A/C and defrost)

 

[Josh S.]

Yah I was just checking out your thread again last night Dannyboy. Your rig turned out real nice

I'm planning on squeezing a Lowrance Baja480C or similar on the dash somewhere, probly right in the middle

 

[Josh S.]

Well it's time for my semiannual update (damn work)

Got a bit more work done on the cage this weekend.

We got a new lift for the shop this Saturday too

 

[Dannyboy]

Ohhhh, look at the windows, I see front suspension and tires through the fire wall. Do tell the plans for that!

So it's on, who is going to be done first, you or Izwack.

 

[IZwack]

So it's on, who is going to be done first, you or Izwack.

Not I, I'm taking mine at a leisurely pace enjoying the scenery.

 

[Josh S.]

LOL, nothing strategic, just bigass holes I cut to make it easier to get the A-pillars fished through. Those are by far the biggest PITA so far. One down, one to go I probably won't have my crew work this weekend so I'm hoping to get to go home again this weekend and make some more progress

I need to get a rear axle soon. Thinking Currie 9", but my buddy is trying to convince me to get a Spider 9. Any insight? The issue I can see with the Spidertrax is bolt pattern matching to the front.

 

[DB_1]

Nice work on the cage and nice shop too, looks like your moving up in the world

I'm pretty sure Spidertrax or Currie can make the axle to whatever bolt pattern you need.
Here's another place to consider:
http://www.diamondaxle.com/rear_nonsteering.htm

 

[Dannyboy]

June 16 2010

























That is the date I think this truck will drive under it's own power. But keep plowing away! That's better than the date I would give myself, I would never finish.

 

[Josh S.]

And what a glorious day that will be!! That's better than the date I have given myself too lol.

Thanks for the info DB1. I'll have to give those places a jingle.

 

[Josh S.]

I'll be back up at the shop in 3 weeks for some more fun. Planning on working out the seat mounts and door bars, maybe D-pillars too. I'm running out of "cheap" stuff to do and am going to need a rear axle and drivetrain pretty soon. Guess I better get on those taxes!!

 

[91ROKKRAWLER]

nice cage work!!! truck looks bad ass, keep it up!

 

[Josh S.]

Thanks!

Oh and I was doing all this extra finessing of the cage to get it to work with the stock heater and duct, then it just got in the way one too many times and it got relocated into the bed of the toyota and off to the dumpster I plan on hacking off the stock firewall (at least the flimsy passenger side) and redoing it. Chances are it will have to be modified anyways with the Chevy 350

 

[james t]

Nothing to add other than it looks awesome.

Whats going behind the SBC? 700R4?

 

[Josh S.]

Thanks! As of now I'm planning on an NV4500. I want to stick with manual tranny. Throw an Atlas Highlander on that and we should be in business.

(open to suggestions however)