Project: Draggin Dakota
21 - 40 of 52 Posts
Top half of that weld is my friend webster's, bottom half is mine
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This weld is ALL mine. hands down the best one i shot today
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it took from 9:30 am to 5:45 pm to gain 1.5 inches. and i still have to do the front. That time included two trips to the store, a 30 min lunch, and fixing my ride-on mower.
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Jwebsta seal of approval. just look at those strong hands. :wub:
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Little fyi: this takes time. and 3/8ths steel is OVERKILL.
This weld is ALL mine. hands down the best one i shot today
it took from 9:30 am to 5:45 pm to gain 1.5 inches. and i still have to do the front. That time included two trips to the store, a 30 min lunch, and fixing my ride-on mower.
Jwebsta seal of approval. just look at those strong hands. :wub:
Little fyi: this takes time. and 3/8ths steel is OVERKILL.
Just got in today! Only thing is I cant fit the lug cover on because of this:
My haynes says its a dust cap? can i remove or dent it to get some clearance? Kinda sad that i cant put the lug cover on as it really finishes the wheel off.
Been awhile. here is some backlogged images.
Had a super productive day yesterday. Z is finished, measured for my front cups, cut out my spring pockets, pulled upper and lower arms out for cleaning and new bushings, pulled my steering rack off and re-welded the nuts that had come loose, and got my rear axle slightly apart to allow me to pull the drums off. My welding was a bit rusty in the beginning and I had some issues with the end of my wire roll, but by the end of the day I had everything dialed in, layed some very nice beads in the horizontal, vertical, AND overhead position. Here is what I got for photos.
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All braced and ready to be cut off
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I picked this spot in the frame because it was the thinnest and allowed me to plate over this indent.
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Frame cut, and Gary giving me a hand as always.
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Tacked up. here you can see my shaking off the rust. all of these next couple welds recieved a nice, clean pass after they were ground down to ensure good penetration.
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Had a super productive day yesterday. Z is finished, measured for my front cups, cut out my spring pockets, pulled upper and lower arms out for cleaning and new bushings, pulled my steering rack off and re-welded the nuts that had come loose, and got my rear axle slightly apart to allow me to pull the drums off. My welding was a bit rusty in the beginning and I had some issues with the end of my wire roll, but by the end of the day I had everything dialed in, layed some very nice beads in the horizontal, vertical, AND overhead position. Here is what I got for photos.
All braced and ready to be cut off
I picked this spot in the frame because it was the thinnest and allowed me to plate over this indent.
Frame cut, and Gary giving me a hand as always.
Tacked up. here you can see my shaking off the rust. all of these next couple welds recieved a nice, clean pass after they were ground down to ensure good penetration.
Getting back into the groove of things here.
First fish plate
impromptu cutting table since my other table is STILL at a friend's house
Mocking up the suspension to measure what I need for my upper cup. using Dragn's formula I ended up with a 2.5" cup on a 20 inch wheel with a 245/40/20 tire.
So my family was at the house for the holidays and I decided to have some bonding time with my dad. We built wooden beer crates one day and then spent Monday cleaning and priming the front of the Dakota. ground down the cups, removed any rust and dirt, and shot it in primer. I still have more to clean both front and rear, but it's a start. Once I am all done, the whole frame will get a nice coat of black.
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Pulled the motor mounts to get cleaned up and powdercoated. Also pulled the brakelines which will all be redone as I think it is all OEM line.
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Primed and cured. Used Rustoleom rust blocker for added safety.
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That's it for today, but I plan to spend more time this weekend trying to finished the little bit left on the front, and then I plan to move to the back and get it cleaned and bare to facilitate the rear end mockup.
Got the front frame all cleaned, primed and painted.
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Progress will be spotty as I move through this month due to a lot of home work being done, but there is a silver lining. I have a big weekend in Feb planned and it is going to include a certain dakota celebrity..... in between now and then I need to get the rear frame cleaned, the axle cleaned, and the drums off. And buy some notch cover stuff. speaking of, anyone who knows of a good place to get that stuff, let me know.
Pulled the motor mounts to get cleaned up and powdercoated. Also pulled the brakelines which will all be redone as I think it is all OEM line.
Primed and cured. Used Rustoleom rust blocker for added safety.
That's it for today, but I plan to spend more time this weekend trying to finished the little bit left on the front, and then I plan to move to the back and get it cleaned and bare to facilitate the rear end mockup.
Got the front frame all cleaned, primed and painted.
Progress will be spotty as I move through this month due to a lot of home work being done, but there is a silver lining. I have a big weekend in Feb planned and it is going to include a certain dakota celebrity..... in between now and then I need to get the rear frame cleaned, the axle cleaned, and the drums off. And buy some notch cover stuff. speaking of, anyone who knows of a good place to get that stuff, let me know.
Updated pics. Been getting things ready for rear suspension work. Picked up a bigger tank for the welder, had some sheetmetal made for the bed, cleaned the rear frame and removed abs module and gas tank hoop, and ground the axle clean of all bracketry. Also picked up some tires from a friend to use as rollers. Onto the pictures.
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Big thanks to Dragn for all his help. Would not have gotten this far without his expertise, speed, and ability to keep me moving. We put in 30 hours of garage time from friday afternoon to sunday noontime. :shock: I have a few loose ends to tie up, but this is a big step in the right direction. I might fly him out again when it comes time to reassemble :lol:
Powdercoat is back!
Green has some flake in it that looks awesome in the sunlight. Matches the motor color pretty closely. Also, all balljoints and bushings needed to put the front back together are purchased, along with the brake parts both front and rear. My house is finally finished and I am just waiting on a bunny hutch to arrive so i can move the rabbits out of the garage. Once they are gone, its full steam ahead to get her together and as a roller.
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Pass side is mocked up, waiting on upper for the driver side. Also need to configure airlines and possibly notch my bag cups too. Got the motor mounts reinstalled and the steering rack back on for now.
Green has some flake in it that looks awesome in the sunlight. Matches the motor color pretty closely. Also, all balljoints and bushings needed to put the front back together are purchased, along with the brake parts both front and rear. My house is finally finished and I am just waiting on a bunny hutch to arrive so i can move the rabbits out of the garage. Once they are gone, its full steam ahead to get her together and as a roller.
Pass side is mocked up, waiting on upper for the driver side. Also need to configure airlines and possibly notch my bag cups too. Got the motor mounts reinstalled and the steering rack back on for now.
speaking of, these are from last week.
All tightened up and ready to go. FWIW, try to find threaded rod instead of a bolt in grade 8. Its a SOB lining up the nut while trying to bolt it to the frame.
Griding out the cup that wasn't big enough in the right spots.
Driver's side all set to go in.
Pass line run back aft for use later.
All tightened up and ready to go. FWIW, try to find threaded rod instead of a bolt in grade 8. Its a SOB lining up the nut while trying to bolt it to the frame.
Griding out the cup that wasn't big enough in the right spots.
Driver's side all set to go in.
Pass line run back aft for use later.
Got some work done this weekend. Not a lot, but a good bump forward.
Brand new front rotors with all new bearings and seals. First time doing them for me. Quite a easy job. Also showcasing my powdercoated dust caps.
Dragn's split valve modified for 3/8" line connections.
Full droop
Close to laid out
Laid out. checked with a level and seems that I should be good to go for a full frame lay.
A little bit of an alignment issue. :lol:
Brand new front rotors with all new bearings and seals. First time doing them for me. Quite a easy job. Also showcasing my powdercoated dust caps.
Dragn's split valve modified for 3/8" line connections.
Full droop
Close to laid out
Laid out. checked with a level and seems that I should be good to go for a full frame lay.
A little bit of an alignment issue. :lol:
Going to continue work this weekend, but the front is all buttoned up. Once the back is together she can finally come off of Jack stands!
Getting closer. Man, welding after 4 months of not doing it isn't bad, unless it is overhead and awkward spots. :lol: had to fix one or two things, but it came back quickly and most of the runs are pretty too.
Got things done.
So. Finished welding my last lower link bar, got the frame and upper bars and axle primed, put a coat of black on them. Cut the bed initally so it's ready for test-fitting, and drilled one lower bar to accept a center bolt. My hand drill was red hot and I ran out of paint, so that was my stopping point for the weekend. Now I need to get some more paint, do another coat, and start to fit and cut the bed as needed so i can weld in the notch cover. slowly but surely moving forward.
So. Finished welding my last lower link bar, got the frame and upper bars and axle primed, put a coat of black on them. Cut the bed initally so it's ready for test-fitting, and drilled one lower bar to accept a center bolt. My hand drill was red hot and I ran out of paint, so that was my stopping point for the weekend. Now I need to get some more paint, do another coat, and start to fit and cut the bed as needed so i can weld in the notch cover. slowly but surely moving forward.
Here you can see me being dumb and forgetting to plate the frame rails where the bag mounts are.... not a catastrophic issue, but some re-work... awesome.
At least it looks really good layed out...
Made a template and traced out some plate. Now I just need to take the time and cut them out.
Well after a month of traveling, some outside manual labor, some laziness, and some nights work I finally did something!
bottom is without a piece of steel as a guide, top is with. the rest of the cuts were made with a guide in place.
Pay attention to where the table is while cutting....
Front fenders are mocked up
Going to need a trim and some trailer fenders welded in. nothing the sawzall cant handle!
Welded the extention onto the notch cover. Going to hit up the bed next, but I have to go to work early today so it will have to be another day.
All in all a good couple hours in the garage. This weekend is mostly free, so I see some bed work and welding in my future.
bottom is without a piece of steel as a guide, top is with. the rest of the cuts were made with a guide in place.
Pay attention to where the table is while cutting....
Front fenders are mocked up
Going to need a trim and some trailer fenders welded in. nothing the sawzall cant handle!
Welded the extention onto the notch cover. Going to hit up the bed next, but I have to go to work early today so it will have to be another day.
All in all a good couple hours in the garage. This weekend is mostly free, so I see some bed work and welding in my future.
Small compilation of the last couple weeks. little stuff here and there, finally welded in the plates so the rear suspension will work, got the bed mostly fit up, replaced a rotted out fender, etc. still need to trim the bed a bit more, need to bolt the bags back in and test out the fix to see if the rear end will actually lift, need to weld the roll pan onto the bed and install the tailgate, and going to plan a weekend to put the motor and trans in since the house is back on the market and i might have to move this thing in a hurry. enjoy the pictures!
245/40/20 Continental Extremecontacts on all 4 corners.
Temporarily propped up until i finish cutting
The plates all welded up and hopefully strong enough to prevent any more frame bending.
Old fender. The rust on the front was my main concern, but when i removed the flare i found the rust at the top of the arch. tapped it with a screwdriver and it went right through. going to check under the rest of the flares and hope this was an isolated incident.
New fender. Fits well minus a small dint near the a pillar.
245/40/20 Continental Extremecontacts on all 4 corners.
Temporarily propped up until i finish cutting
The plates all welded up and hopefully strong enough to prevent any more frame bending.
Old fender. The rust on the front was my main concern, but when i removed the flare i found the rust at the top of the arch. tapped it with a screwdriver and it went right through. going to check under the rest of the flares and hope this was an isolated incident.
New fender. Fits well minus a small dint near the a pillar.
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