47-55.1 55.1 S10 swap Gypsum

[28TudorAZ]

Those are awesome. Where were these when I was doing my front bumper?

[oldman3]

Russ, always thinking ahead on a better design. Nice work on everything...Jim

[joedoh]

thanks guys!

the 54 is almost complete, i did the drivers running board today but I found a guy who needed the 3600 frame I had at the shop so i messed with that today mostly.

last year i bought a 3600 with almost no rust, just a bad cab corner. it didnt have a hood either but i found one. i took all the bolts out of the body mounts and tried pulling the cab off with forky but it was stuck like glue, and all the aggressive work with forky made the drippy water pump full-on bad bearing fan hitting the shroud noisy. i just left it be for almost a year, ordered a new water pump and the brake masters too but thats work for another time.

today i went back to get the cab off so nic can pick up the frame next week and used forky gently after 1. running out of propane 2. using a jack to break the rusty cab bolts free.




gotta clean out the storage again, need the raptor mower out (behind the dodge) so my son in law can use it now that I have the monster JD, need to get started on K20 8HP70 swapping the bmw, need to build that toyota tundra in the back corner, and the ford F1 you can barely see. and do something with my 27 doors. even more doors outside! I am a sucker for doors I guess. there are porsche wheels and even a 3 liter porsche boxer motor in there. *le sigh*



we also upgraded mommas car. the nice guy at the post office was driving this nice crossy that was his father in laws who couldnt drive any more. somewhere taking in hundreds of 37 lb packages we talked about it a bit and I made an offer.



this one is 4wd, not awd, has every option except nav. I know my way around the 3.2 honda motor after 15 years with the pilot and this one runs like a top. she is smitten, and deserves it. we will keep the pilot for 8 passenger duties.

more tomorrow maybe!

[OutlawDrifter]

Russ, I have been daily driving a 2003 Tundra Access Cab for a year now. Absolutely love it, before that I was in a 2001 Tacoma, loved that one too. So easy to work on, and reliable! My Tundra has 224k miles and runs/drives like new. The 7/8 scale size to a normal half ton was the selling point for me.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by OutlawDrifter

Russ, I have been daily driving a 2003 Tundra Access Cab for a year now. Absolutely love it, before that I was in a 2001 Tacoma, loved that one too. So easy to work on, and reliable! My Tundra has 224k miles and runs/drives like new. The 7/8 scale size to a normal half ton was the selling point for me.

this one is a soft rollover, has the 4x4 and v8, still runs and drives perfectly. i am going to put a chevy or a ford body on it, probably chevy because i have extra 54-55.1 long bed.

[OutlawDrifter]

Originally Posted by joedoh

this one is a soft rollover, has the 4x4 and v8, still runs and drives perfectly. i am going to put a chevy or a ford body on it, probably chevy because i have extra 54-55.1 long bed.

Mine has the 4.7L V8, it does surprisingly well for its size. Toyota had it figured out and geared them with a base ratio of 3.91. Sounds great with a 20" Dynomax Ultraflow and the factory resonator in place. The 05-06 units with the VVT and 5 speed auto are probably just that much better again for drivability.

[joedoh]

i have always liked toyotas my first minitruck was an 86 with over 300k.

this one will never be a tundra again but for $1100 running and driving i cant complain. still has the cats, those are prob $4-500 alone. (there next to it is the 48 ford i mentioned in my previous post but you could barely see)




the guy i got it from needed an old ford transmission for his forklift, and i happened to have one from that f5 i picked up earlier this year. we horse traded on this.



tilt column, had the pedals and even buckets. this may be my coe frame.

i also changed my bed mounts from singular to multiple mounting, infinitely adjustble.





its going to rain for like a week so i went and mowed all 10.5acres today, the new mower did amazing. one thing it is not great at though is close in work, but it makes up for it in straight line speed, i got on the hustler zero turn to do a small piece the 72" deck didnt fit and it felt like sloooooow motion.

[OutlawDrifter]

I'm planning to mow tomorrow...only 2.5acres at my place

New bed mounts look awesome!

[8man]

Nice trade!

[joedoh]

well rain has been a big bust as yet, every day they say storms and NOTHING.


doing the running boards (i will save you the photo of the drivers bondo fender I attached) and needed the drivers apron, figure I will show the process of shortening long aprons to short.

the long is exactly 9.25" longer than the short. you can measure this yourself, because there is one extra hole on the longbed aprons to attach to the running board and they are exactly 9.25" apart. so i started with a straightedge of tape and another 9.25" apart.




choppy choppy! see that little finger I left?



that shows the distance is right (I cut it off after this pic, it was more a sanity check)




still learning the welding settings for sheetmetal. the way i do it is turn the heat down to 1 and the wire down to 1, then tack. if it pushes back I turn the wire down. if it pops a hole i turn the wire up.




since its not storming I think i can finish the rest of the details on the 54 tomrorow.

[62c30]

You'll be fine, it doesn't rain here.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by 62c30

You'll be fine, it doesn't rain here.

it hasnt rained of consequence since last july. the clay is so dry that the foundation guys have descended on the neighborhood

[8man]

Ya'll can have some of ours!

Moving along Russ.

[joedoh]

well nice hot day, I should have started on the drivers side side because it was in the shade and the passenger side wasnt, but I am galactically stupid.

drivers side bolted up, this was a herculean job because the mounts underneath were rusted and bent. but all done. its funny as many as i have done and i always forget to leave the rear fender loose. for reference see: galactically stupid



tried to get the drivers side done, but the sun in the four season garage was killing. no shade. see again: galactically stupid.



looks shady but not.



so i went inside and designed a steering closeout, then thought better of it twice and designed it with the screw holes in it because why drill? slightly less stupid.



I would work on it today but we are still welding orders.



maybe later i can go out and get blasted by the sun again.

[8man]

It's still progress! Galactically or not.

I like your mount kit. Looks like some others do to by the orders.

[joedoh]

well just some hood bolts and some squirts of paint and a wheel change and it will be off to the alternate tinkerings forum for the next one.

steering cloumn mounted and strong enough to stand on. really! needs some firewall sealing but thats 2 seconds. my screw in closeout works well.





running board and fender installed, I almost took a picture of the sun in my eyes looking straight up this afternoon but I guess you have seen it. my daughter got me a folding canopy for christmas but you already know why i am not using it.



the wheel is centered, dont let the picture fool you. yes i am aware of the bondo thanks.

[8man]

Moving along now!

[rnrdthefox]

Wow. You seem to move very fast through each step and you have a lot of projects going too. I guess that all goes hand in hand...

[joedoh]

oh fast is my middle name. although my first name is procrastinate

so finishing things. the passenger bed rail had a big wallop in it, I looked for picture of it but it must be so offensive to me that I avoided taking one. the bed rail was smashed down from a tree or something and it was almost touching the bed. I came up with a plan to fix it after the bed was installed (always do tomorrow what you dont want to do today) and with the truck imminent to be on the "for sale" corner of the driveway it was now or never.

never sounded ok but then my wife walked by in a breeze of sunglasses and coconut SPF and said flatly "I thought you were going to fix that."

i called my neighbor butch, he has one of everything in his garage and I needed a 3.5" hook for my plan. no dice, he was on his way out of town. so I said oh well what the hell and just made one. 5 circles and a line, 30 seconds of design, 30 seconds on the table.




perfect first time.




"but russ" I can somewhat implausibly hear you saying "wont the bed side get pulled up and bent by the chain fall, bending it out of shape?"

aha, but you see I thought of that too, and ratchet strapped it to the axle through the stake pockets. maybe next time you will believe in me and keep your questions more pertinent.




viola! a panel beater or someone with more time can make it perfect but its already a thousand times better.

[8man]

Very creative!

[joedoh]

so that is almost that. well except the wheels, I have a set of torque thrusts for the truck and i will install them tomorrow.












OH what is that? eagle eyed readers will notice the telltale s10 frame cuts laying on the ground. well stay tuned and I will update the alternate tinkerings forum with pictures of the new project!

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by OutlawDrifter

Russ, I have been daily driving a 2003 Tundra Access Cab for a year now. Absolutely love it, before that I was in a 2001 Tacoma, loved that one too. So easy to work on, and reliable! My Tundra has 224k miles and runs/drives like new. The 7/8 scale size to a normal half ton was the selling point for me.

Just said adios to the old 04 Dodge 2500 and dropped a cool 43K on a 2023 Tacoma TRD double cab 6' bed in Lunar Rock (plus another 4K in second childhood goodies). Will be my 2nd to last truck as the USAF 54 will always be number 1. Both are relatively small and easy to drive and park as compared to the "titanic" dodge.

[dsraven]

Russ, is that bondo there in the rear fender?


I couldn't help myself, haha.

nice work, i wish I had a plasma table.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by dsraven

Russ, is that bondo there in the rear fender?

[Tempest67]

Good to see you back at it Russ, as I always enjoy your builds.

Thanks for posting