Recovery rig thoughts

[LT.]

Cool. Will you drive it home after that? I want to see this thing on the road. I'm sure you do too.

I want to bring Christine home so bad. Cheston has been having some bad luck of his own and has been working on Christine when he is afforded the oppurtunity. I have already set a couple of completition dates that were just un realistic. Proplems have poped up and they take their toll on the build time. As of right now i am hoping for spring time now. That may also prove to be un realistic as well. Time will tell.

The important thing to remember is that there will not be any short cuts on this build. When you have a goal like that it takes time and plenty of it.

We started with a truck that did not run, did not have brakes, did not drive, and had equipment that was unacceptible by todays standards. So, a basic shell of a truck. Heck, it may have been easier to start with less. There would have been less work to replace everything. I have a hard time being patient but, that is exactly what it needed for a build of this maginatude.

Cheston is doing a fantastic job on every facet of this build. Perfection of this caliber cannot be rushed. I cannot wait to see it finished but, i also cannot afford the time and money to do it twice.

LT.

 

[LT.]

The rest of the parts i ordered showed up today. So, this weekend i will be driving up to utah to drop off all the parts i have collected. I am looking forward to the trip.

LT.

 

[LT.]

All of the parts I had sitting in my living room ended up at ChestonScout's house now. I even found another set of the KC Daylighters for the front of the truck. The lights and the old school covers should help tie the build together. A little bit of old school looks with some added lighting. I had a great trip and we had a bit of fun as well. Ended up doing some shooting, goofing off, eating out, and rough housing with a three year old. All in all a fantastic trip up and back.

LT.

 

[Bart]

I can't believe you called Cheston a 3 year old.

 

[LT.]

I can't believe you called Cheston a 3 year old.

That was a little harsh wasn't it? Cheston needs to catch a break on his own stuff. He also needs some time away from work. The project is going to be killer once it is done. Cheston and i are light heartedly talking about hunting. Probabally because we went shooting on saturday. Maybe we will get our chance next fall for some meat.

LT.

 

[Hillbilly]

LT, thank you from possibly saving me from a lot of pain and misery. I bought a truck last year that the owner thought only needed drivelines, exhaust and a windshield and it would be road ready. Well I had new drivelines built, but still have not made it to the exhaust or windshield. The reasons are long.... electrolytes ate through the timing chain cover as I drove it home from the guy I bought it from, 3 miles away, then I could not get it to start, ended up bypassing the ignition switch and installing a push button, then the water pump gave out, damaged from the antifreeze that was in it when I bought it. A host of electrical issues. All new wiring for the tail lights, new tail lights, heater not working, it has become a never ending grocery list. Well I finally thought I had it worked all out and fixed, a year later and. I believed it was finally going to the shop. I called on friday to have a man do the exhaust and swap out the half ton axles for a dana 70 rear and a dana 60 from my old 1 ton I had.

It snowed this weekend, so i thought I'd go play in the fresh snow and mud, wouldn't you know, the right windshield wiper arm stripped out in my ddriveway! After reading your story I have realized and come to the conclusion.... well look at the picture, enough said birds of a feather. I think I'll just drive it until it breaks and leave it where it falls after reading your story!

 

[LT.]

Hillbilly- these older vehicles usually have led really rough lives. Back when trucks were trucks, men were men, and sheep were scared, a half ton was only a suggestion. Not like today where a half ton is all they will hold. If you are gonna take on a build on a older vehicle you have to remember they are easy to work on but, sometimes the parts are hard to come by and often you will end up making something work that was never intended to be on that vehicle. This build shows that perfectly. There are more than a few parts that still need to be either relaced or rebuilt. Some just need to be removed and something else put in its place. The dash and the gauges need to be removed and replaced all together and they are still presenting a problem.

Dont give up on your rig. They are sometimes frustraiting but, once done they are a huge accomplishment. And one that gives you a sense of pride knowing you did it. And, lets not forget, they just dont make them like they used to. A rebuilt old truck will run circles around a new truck.

LT.

 

[LT.]

Wow, it has been far too long since I have updated this thread. Christine is still in the mother land of Utah taking up ChestonScouts parking spot. There are a few parts sitting there waiting for winter to be over with. I have gone and given Christine a few love pats and I will be headed back up in just under two weeks. Poor Cheston really wants to work on her but, the weather just has not been very accommodating. I have a small pile of parts there and Cheston has a mountain of work ahead of him. The truck is supposed to be going to Iowa for the annual Power Wagon Rally in Fairfield, Iowa this June. The good news is that I don't think I need to buy much more for the truck. A couple of drive shafts and that should be about it.

LT.

 

[ChestonScout]

yup. I havent done anything but shovel snow off of her for a couple months now.

Ive been tempted to rent shop space to get working on it but it just isnt possible right now. I do have a mountain of parts waiting.


Drivelines and batteries are the only big expenses left. I will need a lot of the nickle and dime things like bolts and hoses. I am excited to get going again. Bumpers are next on the docket.

 

[LT.]

yup. I havent done anything but shovel snow off of her for a couple months now.

Ive been tempted to rent shop space to get working on it but it just isnt possible right now. I do have a mountain of parts waiting.


Drivelines and batteries are the only big expenses left. I will need a lot of the nickle and dime things like bolts and hoses. I am excited to get going again. Bumpers are next on the docket.

Let me know what you need and when you need it. This firing pin addiction can always be put on hold. Lol. I think you are more excited to work on her than I am.

LT.

 

[ChestonScout]

PROGRESS!!!!!!!


I finally got to spend a day on the truck. Ive been wanting to for awhile but work has been busy along with family stuff and yada yada yada.

I decided to work on the floor boards.

Here is what I started with


Not much. But the rocker panels and the supports are in pretty good shape! LT bought some replacement pans but they arent a direct fit for the manual trans tunnel. So I got to do a little massaging on them to work.

Also, the drivers side was rotted back farther than the new pan replaced so I fabbed some panels to fit.


It was really hard to get any pics but Im pretty happy with how the drivers side turned out. I spent most the day on this side so I didnt get the passenger side done. The tunnel cover is in bad shape to and will need to either be replaced or repaired





I wasnt going to do this but Im glad I did. I busted out the bondo. You wont be able to see where the stamped panel and my panel connect. It will also look really smooth when the seat is in and the door is open

 

[ChestonScout]

Hopefully with any luck progress will continue swiftly

 

[LT.]

Thank you so much for all your hard work! The truck is going to be an excellent piece when it is all said and done. I guess it is a good thing I bought another old truck to use as a hunting rig. This one is going to be far to nice!

I am still looking fro a new tranny tunnel but, I am not finding anyone on the interwebs who makes or sells them. Does anyone have any suggestions?

LT.

 

[LT.]

Cheston has been hard at it again. The rear axle has been pulled and being preped for the rear gears, rear locker, rear diff cover, and the rear pinion gurad. I am pretty excited that it is getting another step closer to driving.

LT.

 

[ChestonScout]

Yup!


Gonna have Dusty at Sexton Offroad take care of the gear and locker install. I can install gears and have done so.....on wheelers. For the price Sexton is charging its worth it to make sure its done perfectly for this truck.

 

[Bart]

Good choice.

Yup!
Gonna have Dusty at Sexton Offroad take care of the gear and locker install. I can install gears and have done so.....on wheelers. For the price Sexton is charging its worth it to make sure its done perfectly for this truck.

 

[LT.]

Cheston and the folks from Sexton Off Road are still hard at it. The rear axle should be done today and be on its way back to Christine. Hopefull Christine will have her rear end back under her. I am very grateful for all the hard work that Cheston and Sexton Off Road have done for me on Christine. I can't wait til I can have Christine out on the road.

LT.

 

[ChestonScout]

Got some progress to report!


Sexton Offroad did and excellent job installing the gears and locker. Thanks guys!!!

Good looking pattern



The axle had a couple gouges left from Robs torch work taking the old perches off. So I welded them up, smoothed them out and gave the whole axle a once over. While I had the flap wheel on the grinder I cleaned up the housing some. Including removing the ridge that forms from the casting of the housing.

All smooth now


After some work with the wire wheel she got a few coats of gloss black Rustoleum.

Next came some beef parts from DIY4X.com. Check his stuff out. I run a lot of his stuff and Im more than happy with all of it.

First was the Gaurdsman yoke protector for the 14 bolt. I LOVE this piece. Here is the link.
http://diy4x.com/cart/index.php?route=product/product&path=18&product_id=70
I gave it a coat of gloss black and decided it needed something different to make it stand out. So I gave it a coat of hammered paint which ends up looking dark gray. Hard to tell in the pics but it gave it some good contrast


Next was the 14 bolt diff cover
BEEF
http://diy4x.com/cart/index.php?route=product/product&path=18&product_id=68

I decided to give it the same treatment as the gaurdsman


We will be swapping the yoke out for the ubolt style soon. So besides that and some oil.....the rear axle is ready to go to work!



With winter knocking on the door, I will be working on getting the truck in my garage this week. Im getting to old and spoiled to be working in the driveway anymore. We are also on the hunt for a new house that has a shop included. If anyone knows of any...please let me know.

 

[LT.]

WOW!! The rear axle came out amazing! I really can't begin to find the correct words for my gratitude. The words just don't do the workmanship justice. But, thank you so much for all the hard work. I knew that the truck was going to be a good truck when done but, with Cheston's attention to detail and the help of his family and the added extra effort from Sexton Off Road the truck is going to be a show room piece. I don't think that the English language has the correct words to convey how happy and excited I am about the over the top work that has been done. Truly, and honestly, thank you so much!

The parts are way over kill on this truck but, these parts were heavily based on the suggestions from the great folks here on Rocky Mountain Extreme. The first few pages of this thread were all questions and suggestions on how to build a truck that could really take anything on and survive unscathed. I owe so much to this forum that I would not even know where to start. So, thank you to all who have offered up ideas and suggestions as well. I actually may look into these same differential covers for my beater.

LT.

 

[Greg]

Looking good guys!!