53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .

[joedoh]

crazy clean!

[big_dan]

A little more progress. Finished welding up and fitting the driver side header, so I can put that part behind me. Starting on bed mounts, then I'll pull the cab and bed and finish the exhaust. More later -

Dan

[big_dan]

Header fab is finished, so snatched the body back off to route the rest of the exhaust and finish welding everything up. Hope to have the frame off the jig soon. Thanks for looking.

More later-

[dsraven]

you may wanna rethink those headers. looks like you missed the point about getting the hot pipes really close to stuff and making them up so the engine has to be jacked up to get the oil filter off....

kidding. nice job. everything looks really nice.

[8man]

Wow! Nice work.

[big_dan]

Thanks, fellas. About that time of the year to move from "just tinkering around" to wide open on the truck. I get most done in the winter.

More later-

Dan

[youngrodder]

Can't wait to see more. Love your work..

Marc

[big_dan]

Again, thanks for the feedback.

Moving forward, about to get the exhaust fabbed up, and I figured I'd better check driveshaft clearance real quick. And . . . . at full squat, if the shocks exploded or fell off, or if i pulled a "Dukes of Hazard" jump, the driveshaft could hit or get really close to a few crossmembers. So, a little surgery and back to it. Best part is there still won't be any floor interference, which i hoped to avoid. Starting a little finish welding also. Thanks for looking.

More later-

Dan

[youngrodder]

That's why pre-assembly is so important. It helps to uncover the surprises. Confirm your pinon angle. Your probably fine but that bit me thinking I didn't have to cut my floor. Once I got the correct pinon angle, I ended up needing to make a small trans hump.

Marc

[big_dan]

Originally Posted by youngrodder

That's why pre-assembly is so important. It helps to uncover the surprises. Confirm your pinon angle. Your probably fine but that bit me thinking I didn't have to cut my floor. Once I got the correct pinon angle, I ended up needing to make a small trans hump.
Marc

Agreed. After I finished tacking everything I checked one last time; pinion 2.5 up, driveshaft level, engine 2.5 down.

Now on to the exhaust . . .

Dan

[mongocanfly]

Looking good Dan..!!!

[Mains52]

I am copying those rear cab mounts for sure. Great work Dan!

[big_dan]

Thanks for the input!

Been piddling around over the holidays. Worked on the rear bump stops a bit (I made blocks to lower them down to just above the compressed height of the shocks) and then started to play with the exhaust a bit. It'll get tight in a hurry, with 3" exhaust, an H-pipe and cutouts all crammed in to one area, but enjoyable.

Thanks for looking -

Dan

[big_dan]

Final bit of holiday accomplishments.

More later -

Dan

[youngrodder]

Looks great Dan!!!

Marc

[mongocanfly]

man that's some big ol pipes..!!

[big_dan]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

man that's some big ol pipes..!!

I hear you! I would've went with 2-1/2", but keep in mind the final plan is hopefully a 6.0 with a Vortech so I went to 3". Didn't want to have to step up later.

More later -

Dan

[big_dan]

Just a little progress, but still tinkering along with the exhaust. Trying to cipher exactly where I want my cutouts, mufflers,
etc then we'll finish it up. Once the exhaust is finished, it should be about time to come off the chassis jig and free up some shop room.

Slowly but surely -

Dan

[youngrodder]

Looks great Dan.. Real-estate becomes hard to come by the farther back on the chassis you go. I had to stop short of the rear deferential. I had originally wanted to go up and over the axle but with the bags, and gas tank location it was not possible.

Keep at it.

Marc

[big_dan]

Time for a small update - life sure does get busy!

Exhaust is probably 90%, just tips, a little welding and that's it. Decided to turn down in front of the axle for now, and cutouts will dump in front of the tires. Ended up building a crossmember to hold the exhaust and used summit rubber bushings. Goal now is to get it rolling, run fuel and brake lines, then body work.

More later -

Dan

[6DoF]

i love the look of the bent tube! and that chassis is going to be super stiff.

[youngrodder]

Man that chassis is top notch. I could stare at that for days....Good stuff

Marc

[mongocanfly]

Really nice tube work Dan..!

[big_dan]

Thanks for the input, fellas. I'm definitely enjoying the process!

After a few days thought, I think I'll go ahead and rough in the alignment and then mock the body/ bed/ fenders up so I can get final measurements for wheels and tires. Diameters are decided, just need to finalize backspace dimensions.

Moving along - thanks for looking

Dan

[bennylava]

Question - Was fully boxing the frame necessary? I understand the benefits in terms of rigidity, but would the truck be fine without it? Say you just added a couple new supports. Maybe some beefier cross members. Would that be enough? What are some other reasons to fully box the frame?