Nice progress.

thanks lock..

i dropped both frame horns yesterday. welded in some 1/4 thick spiderweb gussets. its coming together slowly

Looking good

thats it....inspired. heading out to fire up the plasma..........

looking great man, nice clean work!

get out there and chop it up!..just make sure to measure a bunch of times before you cut. or you wont be happy with yourself..

originally i bought a used plasma, but it would only cut very thin sheet metal..booo! put it back on craiglslist...

my frame has been shaped the old fashioned way with grinding wheels and a sawsall . (95% with a grinder) oh yea, and a lincoln 225 arc welder (i love that thing) it will give you a sunburn in 30 seconds flat. who needs a tanning bed...lmao

i killed the first harbor freight 4 1/2 inch grinder i bought when i started all this. it started making a funny sound and sparks started flying out of the motor vents. the cord caught on fire. sparks were shooting out of it...i would say it's done with its grinding career. at least they only cost 20 bucks

i finally got the engine/trans set in the frame to set up everything.(exhaust,driveshaft,trans crossmember)

the trans member bolts to some 1/4 steel angle mounts that are welded to the frame... a little more measuring and the carrier bearing mount will be ready to be welded in..oh, i still have to clearance the trans mount to give some wiggle room for the 3 inch exhaust
good news is my header flanges are not going to hit the ground when laid out. they are even with the bottom of the frame. the catalytic converters are the same way. at least nothing will be hanging down past the frame.

more pics!



found a good deal on a brand new red prothane polyurethane trans mount..10 bucks on ebay..

You have cats on yours? Weird. My '77 doesn't have 'em.

tennessee makes you puts cats on anything that is 1974 and newer. ( i think that is the year) they used to let all 1 ton trucks be exempt until they changed that rule as well. they want everybody to pass emissions around here...lol

i wish i didn't have to use them . they just get in the way. and of course i will have to buy a new one to replace one of them. somehow the honeycomb inside the cat got busted up . they were brand new...

Good build soo far man. Frame is looking super clean. Those frame horns don't need any more bracing?

thanks mazdawg...

if i have enough room, i may throw a gusset on top of the frame horns . i need to test fit the front clip to see if the radiator is going to hit anything.

i did measured the distance from the front cab mount, to the bottom support of the radiator to make sure i had room to fit the radiator (before i cut the frame horns off ) . it is going to be a really close fit....

I gotcha that makes sense. Can't wait to see more progress. This really makes me want to get a dually. Still trying to talk the wife into letting me buy one so I can pull my mazda to shows.

i pulled the motor/trans back out . threw the rear end back under the frame. and set the cab on to make sure it fit .( all of this work was done by myself. no help at all)
the trans tunnel is going to get cut out and raised next. along with shaving the ac/heater box,fan motor. plus a whole list of other things to do to it...


pics!




i thought this was cool...it still has the original build sheet glued to the rear floorboard. the truck came factory with a smallblock 350 4brl carb. not a 454.
4.10 gear, 10,000# camper special. 400 turbo transmission..
made in baltimore maryland. sold to c r dudley motors in paragould arkansas.( i bought it in jonesboro arkansas)...lol



click the pics to see them full size

Does that build sheet show a gross combined weight rating? Build sheet doesn't blow up for me.

i fixed the pic..

edit.. the shipping weight of the truck is 3193 pounds..

the gross vehicle weight rating is 10,000 pounds.

today i got off my lazy ass and cut the transmission/driveshaft hump out. the sawsall did the job very quickly.




i stuffed the engine/trans back it ..
the carb/air cleaner should fit under the stock hood with no problems. the distributor cap may hit the firewall. its going to be close if it doesn't hit..

fits like a glove...