Scope Creep Hardbody

I took advantage of a break from the rain today to get the other header finished. 

It's pretty similar to the driver's side, just comes back at a shallower angle till it gets past the frame and I added a 10 degree kick to get close to the same exit position.

I did discover that the primaries actually hit a protruberance from the engine block, so that will have to get ground down a little. 

Well, the truck is the most put together it's been for a year. Unfortunately this is because I'm going to have to ship the truck across the country so it'll be awhile before any real progress is made. My other progress had also been slowed because it rained heavy enough here a few weeks back to collapse my canopy I was working under.

The bed and bumper got bolted back onto the frame.

And I installed this spring loaded license plate frame. Previously the plate was hanging on a couple of eye bolts. 

I installed springs on the front shocks for the first time. With the pre-load fully undone the shock is just short enough to be installed with the arms at full droop. Now I just need to crank the springs down 3.5 inches.

And I modified the sheet metal fenders to fit back on around the front of the exo-cage.

Move across country? What's up there? 

In reply to Mezzanine :

I'm taking a new job in Kansas, so I'm bolting on everything I can and getting it ready to roll around.

Washington to Kansas. That's a big move. I bet the cost of living is much better there. 

Your fab work is great. This is a cool project. 

Do you still have the Nissan Z24 motor  ?

i need a couple parts :)

In reply to californiamilleghia :

Nope, that went to a friend with a fleet of Nissan's in 2019 sometime. 

Ok, I just needed the power steering idler pulley , I have ordered a few and they were all wrong !

So one off a motor would make it easy.......

I'm across town from you. Serious offer: let me know if you need a hand with any move related details. I'm able bodied and I can fab too if you need anything scabbed together to make the move. 

Thanks for the offer. I think I actually don't have all that much to do on the truck to get it trailer worthy. Basically just need to bolt on the intake manifold, front bumper, and the stuff to hold the steering column to the dash bar.

I also finished a little light bar mount / bumper thing for my Mini. It's laser cut 16 gauge, weighs about 8 pounds without the lights.

I had it made in left and right halves to keep shipping cost down.

I dimple died the plates before assembling them.

The seam was mig welded before I ground the corner down smooth.

And I added a few gussets to the inside corner.

The Diode Dynamics 6" fog light bars fit in these rectangle pockets.

The bumper attaches to the brackets that were used to mount the KC lights, and the KC lights moved a little further forward so they don't hit the edge of my bumper anymore.

I made little Z brackets to keep it from flopping around and they just screw to the bumper where you would attach a front plate normally.

And I brought it into work to get a flat piece of ground to aim the lights. The fog lights ended up pointing about as far down as they could.

This shot is low beams plus fog lights.

Their pattern is super duper wide. Seems like they'll be great for seeing deer in a ditch. That house they're illuminating to the side is like 85 degrees off axis from the car.

I also made a battery hold down for the truck that mostly works. Currently there's nothing that keeps the J bolts from tipping backwards so it'll need more support eventually.

Oh, does anyone have a recommendation on a company for shipping the truck?

I finally got the truck supporting it's own weight today, and rolled it out to the street.

It looks pretty beastly on the ground. It's also shorter than you might expect, which I kind of lost track of since it's been a foot in the air for 6 months. It's 66" tall to the top of the exo-cage, but the back does need to come up an inch or so.

There's a lot of poke up front since I put the stock fenders back on.

She's off on her first road trip now. Gonna see some nasty weather along the way. 

I did manage to cause a bit of a traffic jam despite being on a dead end street. 

Here it is sitting happy at my brother's place, still covered in 2000 miles of road grime. 

Thoes people are probably so ready for it to go. 

Rattmandu said:

I did manage to cause a bit of a traffic jam despite being on a dead end street. 

Me want K5.

Is that in Kansas or is it taking a break somewhere else until you get settled? How's the transition from the mountains of the PNW to the flatland?

In reply to iansane :

It's in Kansas now, but I'll have to move it again once I find a new place to live. 

I'm originally from Kansas, so flat is fine. It's nice not being rained on every day, it's not nice getting 40mph winds. At least the wind doesn't rust everything I work on. 

​​​​

Hi.

Any updates?