The phoenix

[gmc4cw]

I have almost everything hard mounted on the bed now. I mounted the fuel cell, toolbox and spare. I still need to get a battery relocation kit, that will take up the remaining space on the bed.

I got the fuel cell from FOR MUD. Thank you. one of the mounting tabs was broken so I decided to make a more secure mounting system for it. I made some straps out of 16 gauge stainless steel. I bent them around the cell and then used spray on adhesive to attach strips of rubber to the underside of the straps and the bottom the cell. If the cell had a hook on the top you could lift the entire truck up by it, its mounted so solid. I had to notch the bed to clear the fuel pickup. one side of the straps is bolted through the bed cross-members and the truck frame. the other side is only bolted through the beds cross-members.





then I mounted the toolbox and spare. the toolbox is held on by stainless steel tabs. I like stainless. the tabs are bolted to the bed and the box is bolted to them. I did it this way so that its easy to take off without needing 2 people. The spare tire hangs off the back but it's a 44 and everything is jammed in as tight as possible.




I mounted the box with the top flipping back so its easy to get into.



This is the only spot left. I am going to mount my battery here. guess the hi-lift will need to be bolted to the back of the cab. The fire extinguisher is going in the cab with me. safety first.



it was a productive day. I just need 2 fittings to hook up the fuel cell, then I can lose the stock tank. I'm slowly preparing the truck for tubing. Once I have everything that was previously mounted the the body mounted to the frame I will have no excuse not to cut it up.

[gmc4cw]

well it's time for an update.

I ROLLED IT!




it was undriveable since the master cylinder cracked. the aluminum master with a plastic reservoir is light weight and looks good but doesn't hold up. next time I will have an ugly cast steel one.

this happened at 9:30 am. the park opened at 8:00 am. I was taking it easy and killing time until the other guys that were running with us arrived.

[4x4 Mecca]

That totally sucks! the fenders look trashed. Any other major damage than the master cylinder?

[MrK5]

I was wondering about the radiator. Did your tool box dump open? Looks like the lid is open, but nothing is on the ground.

Glad you were unhurt.

Now whatcha gonna do with it?

[gmc4cw]

funniest thing, I packed the toolbox so tight that nothing fell out.

the cab was toast. when I got it home I cut the roof right off and shoved the truck in the garage. stay tuned for another cab swap. I just picked up a donor truck tonight. no pics because the wife has the camera. I gonna try and do the swap in time to go wheeling on the 20th. its gonna be tight since I live 18 miles from where I store it. the driving back and forth cuts into my wrenching time.

[1978Blazerk5]

Wow quite a change.

that sucks that you rolled it

[gmc4cw]

Originally Posted by 1978Blazerk5

Wow quite a change.

that sucks that you rolled it

I knew I would roll it eventually. just thought that it would be doing something more challenging then driving on concrete.

I am making good progress on the cab swap. here are some pics.

my friend gave me a shortbed 2wd stepside. I had tried to buy the bed from him in the past but he wanted to much. he parked it years ago when he got cancer. he beat the cancer and was healthy for the last 6 years. but the truck got forgotten and left to rot along with a lot of other projects.

this is exactly how it looked hours after he said I could have it.





about an hour with some loppers and here she is.





I loaded it on my trailer and drug it home. luckily he was storing it about 10 houses down from me. so far I have taken the front end off, the bed off and stripped the cab of almost everything and taken it off the frame.




I got my trucks cab stripped and removed.




the donor cab isn't perfect but the price was right. the areas that were bad on my old cab are good on this one, like the rear cab mounts. but vice versa the front cab mounts are toast on the donor. I am in the process of repairing them with some new metal and large sections of my old cab. everything is getting beefed up since I have plans to weld a cage in this one. I had planned to get a cage for the old one about now anyways. just need to do a little more work than I orignally thought before I can install it.

[cbbr]

Looks like you are making progress.

[MrK5]

Dayum, that donor truck was a wee bit overgrown.

Got anything else done yet?