Topic: yotalet buildup....wheel it some.... build it some

[bayouhazard]

Climbed a dirt hill.  At the top it got some air under the front.  Slung the front over to the left and entered a 360 degree barrel roll down to the bottom of the hill.  Landed on the wheels and was still driving.  At that point it was time to shut it off, as I didn't know which way I was pointed and the windshield was laying on the steering wheel.  After we jacked the roof back up we still wheeled it the rest of the weekend......

[ajordan1975]

Does it still have a good windshield?   How's the rust?  Is it a first gen?

it's a first gen. windshield is no good..... rust is so so. mostly the floor pan. if your going to do a a new trans tunnel then you can redo the floor in it...

[Yota87Truck]

That sucks... especially cause u were almost ready to do an exo

[bayouhazard [OP]]

Yeah, you snooze you lose.  I should have done the cage before any mods.     I'll just do a simple inside cage and shred the body the rest of the way. 

[bayouhazard [OP]]

I straightened the cab out a little......

[twistedtoy92]

hell yeah, theres some stout hydraulic pressure!!

[bayouhazard [OP]]

Haven't done much to the rig lately.  Added a traction bar, a winch, and a new rear axle shaft.   The wrinkled roof just doesn't add confidence when pushing the limits, so it was time to upgrade.  Started with chopping the top.......



didn't take long...





cut the door posts too.



then I stated bending and fitting....

[bayouhazard [OP]]

I added a receiver so my winch could ride in the back where I can use just a little weight. 



Made some down bars which will tie into the receiver....



Starting to take shape now. I really like the lines of it so far...



I put just a little bend in the front window bar........



and added a few more bars.


.

[bayouhazard [OP]]

I did all the fab and got a little help from Jeetyet, and my son Chad has done most of the welding so far.  We are using schedule 40 pipe   (flame suit on) which I got free.   The bender is an old rusty harbor freight kink bender.   The welds look a little rough cause we're out of c25 and we're welding with straight co2.  Total investment so far.......my time.  I think I'll have plenty of triangulation to make the cage safe for me.  All the main pillars are tied directly into the frame.  Here's Chad doing his thing....



Also bent up a rear bumper while we were at it.  It wraps around the side and has some kickers to keep the wraps from tweaking...



That's where we are at right now.  I will get a plate of aluminum cut and bent to go over the top for some shade this summer.    Also got a new fuel pump that has a little more capacity.  Last one has slowly been going down hill.   I can't even hit the rev limiter if I try.....should have some more pictures hopefully tomorrow.

[skipnrocks]

That thing is lookin pretty sweet!!

[ajordan1975]

looks good Roland 

[bayouhazard [OP]]

Finally getting around to posting up some more pics of how it sits right now.   We had an event at our place this past weekend that really took it's toll on the body.  I had a friend drive it for me and he got wedged in a narrow concrete canyon.  Ended up just having to force it through.  Looks like it went through the cheese grater.  You can also see the front bumper and new lights I installed.  I tried to keep the bumper tight to keep a good aproach angle and just used a receiver for the winch.  It will normally ride in the back.



 
Here's view from the front.  I boxed the mount for the bumper up from the crossmember so it doesn't fold up like the last one.  Also put kickers down to the frame too.  I don't see this one failing....



Also installed the aluminum top.  Thanks to wickedyota for the material.  It came out pretty good.  My wife made me some chrome naked trucker girls I installed on the tailgate too.



I have been real impressed with the way the suspension is working.  It takes a lot just to hang a tire.  I installed the green original door back on the driver's side now that I don't need the glass in the doors anymore.  Driver's side still looks decent.....



It's starting to get pretty beat. Kicking around the idea of tubing out the front  and losing the sheet metal.  Also need a larger radiator.  It's running hottter now that it's warming up outside......stay tuned for more mods....

[Doable]

 You need to tell the spotter to stop standing on the driver side of the truck  the passenger side is really taking a beating   .  J/K Man, the way you have the winch mount in the bed is great. I like the looks of the roll cage, it has nice lines.It's nice to see big tires on trucks with small amount of lift !Keep up the good work on it.

[I.D.G.A.F]

nice  rig man, that thing is killer

[ajordan1975]

looking good Roland.

[headshot]

that was a sweet trail.