Back at it today.
Started off by trying to talk myself into leaving the battery where it was at but i didnt succeed. Still didnt know what I was gonna do with it but I yanked it all out and figured I would work on getting the fuel tank installed.
This was gonna require moving the back mounting strap to the front. Luckily the 2 straps with the steps on them werent changed so I didnt have to mess with that.
Another luck out was 4 of the mounting holes for the tank mount lined up with the 4 holes from the battery box. So I only had to drill 4 holes and I didnt have to measure anything. With just the 4 bolts in I noticed the AC lines go into the cab right above where the battery used to be. And they looked pretty low. So I figured I better do a test fit.
Just enough room
So after a quick trip to lowes for a new 5/8 drill bit, I got the holes done and everything bolted down.
I spent a little bit of time cleaning up the straps and rubbers and threw some paint on them. The straps are gonna have to be replaced sometime soonish as they are pretty rusty inside. Hopefully the paint will help slow it down a little. About this time I got pretty focused and didnt take many pics but after fighting the rubbers a bit (Ive never been a fan of them...haha) I got the tank on and all secured and both sides of the truck match now.
Here was my biggest stupid moment of the day. As in the pic, the tank had a good 1/2" or more of clearance to the AC lines. Well when I buttoned it up, the tank was hitting them. Not bad but touching. Im like WTF?? After texting Leroy about it, he says whats it gonna do when the cab moves??? DOH!!
The wife wanted to hear it with the stacks this morning so before I yanked the battery I fired it up for her, which aired up the system....including the air ride cab. So 30 minutes later for the test fit its still aired up, hours later shes sitting on the bumps. Felt pretty dumb but made me laugh. I blame to much sun
Now....time to figure out this battery issue.
The old box was pretty busted up and nasty. It was also made to hold 4 batteries. The truck only has the one big battery now so the box was tossed. But the brackets that held it to the frame were in good shape still. So I started messing around with them. I was originally thinking of putting it under the front of the flatbed on the passenger side. But after tracing the cables they both went the the drivers side of the motor. + straight to the starter and the - to the block. Cables are gonna be expensive so I want them as short as possible. So the battery is going on the drivers side under the front of the bed. There were a couple holes from the old dual axle setup on the frame I could have used but there wasnt gonna be enough room to install the battery doing this. So after some head scratching I decided to flip the mounts around and weld them straight to the bedside. Here it is just C clamped in place
After taking a rust and paint shower from cleaning up the metal enough to weld to, I welded them in solid.
The plan is to run a couple supports up to the bed and box it all in. So how do you access it??
Build a door!
This is as far as I got today. I will gather up some hinges and a latch of some sort. I also need to buy some more plate to box it in then measure for cables.
The coolest part of this is the air tank brackets are still attached to the mount. It also looks like I wont have to extend airlines. Probably have to shorten them a bit.
Sometime after the truck is usable, I will build a storage box under the passenger side of the bed to match.
Feels like I got a good amount accomplished but I still have a ways to go.
After I get the battery and the stacks buttoned up I will get back to the dovetail. Get it 100% and painted so I can get the lights wired up. After just a few other minor details I think it will be time to get a plate put on this thing. Then I will start making the interior decent enough for the fam.