tubbin n dubbin

here is a pic, and I used all original parts, im gonna have a access point under the cowl open up for maintenance of th efluid level, It doesnt need lots of attention so........not a big deal I figure , that or I could have a turkey baster with a hose on the end of it,

it loks terrible right now but once it warms up I can break it down and paint it.

to cold in the garage tpo paint
i livre in the arctic

okay so I wired in a 30 a 250 v plug and got a garage heater, that helped .
This weekend is supposed to be -40 celsius, sucky but expected.

I prepped and painted my steering column. gloss black of course.
As I go everything gets cleaned prepped painted or polished before it gets reinstalled.

Back to the topic at hand,
This is the complication of the "tubbin" part.
I disassembled the gas pedal linkage, to see what could be moved and its basically impossible to move to the right unless you relocate the e brake system, has anyone done that, maybe even put it on the floor? that would be so much better, I want to build a nice center console and I think also work it into my custom steel dash. to look flowing like one peice giving it a cockpit feel so that leaves no room for a e brake on the floor and hey, ya gotta have one!!

I am gonna slide my brake and clutch pedal system to the right around an inch and a half that will help with wheel tub clearance on both sides of the firewall, goin to bed now , hopefuly by tomorrow night I will have some major accomplishments, I will be sure to include lots o pics.

okay so today its -44 celcius, and i ve bin tryin to warm up the garage, but its coooold!
gonna switch gears cuz the shop is too cold for chemical uses today ,
I bought a Shutz gun and some rubberised rocker guard material from dominion sure seal that is suggested for sound dampening and wheel wells etc, and its paintable too, so I will use it under the bed and recoat the gas tank, also I may use it inside the doors and cab sheetmetal if I am happy with it.
I want to use a lot of sound dampening materials in this truck I already filled open cab cavities with sound dampening foam, like the rockers and A and B pillars, bout 3 years ago now.
I want it to feel quality when you ride in it make it feel solid and improve the sound dynamics for the stereo also.

okay so more progress last night.
I aired her down so I can judge where to weld my tubs in the firewall, tweak pedal and boster location, and finalise the inner fender mounting points I am debating a body drop cuz I am already half way there, my custom bumper would be too tall for that too, I wanna do a blow through sub install and a tilt bed as well so........

I removed the stainless trim around the windshield for welding and the reason it never sat flush was cuz the installation glue was too thick and it pushed the clips out and twisted their alignment,its a new windshield they rushed the install or something, anyways I wanted to get at that area for a good paint job, infamous rust location.

To tub these trucks to house 20" wheels and bag it as well, is no quick easy feat.
Many steps are included, which give way to side projects.
Future plans, like BD and even paint color must be considered.

Out back
- box removal
- notch and 4 link install and air bag set up
- gas tank relocation (for most triangulatd 4 link set ups) leads to shaving stock filler door
- mounting air tank, compressor
- re-plumbing gas and brake lines
- redoing shock mounts and set up
- removing exhaust system and re routing to work around the rear suspension
- finishing work, grinding sand blasting the frame and axle with other components and painting
- shortening the axle or flaring the box sides

Up front
-cutting out inner fenders, relocating or removing all the components there, smog, electric, and windshield washer and wiper systems etc, leading to....
-shaving the firewall, which leads to a weber carb install which eliminates the bulk of the wiring that goes to the rad support, and all the under hood area
-front suspension,torsion bars, shocks, bumpstops, need to be removed
-pie cut the upper a arms so as to eliminate binding of the top ball joint
-flipping the lower ball joint, which requires cutting and modifying the lower control arm
-sometimes reworking the steering, notching the a arm for clearance
-sway bar relocation sometimes.
-relocating shocks
-building upper and lower bag mounts
-moving the clutch reservoir
-moving the brake booster and, or replacing it with a smaller one
-re plumbing clutch and brake lines
-stripping the cab interior, etc.

This isnt even to lay frame!
And I am sure I left something out. lol

All the while reconditioning prepping and painting parts as you go.

A major investment, and honestly, next time I will go with 17s in the front and deep dish 18s in the back, with a bag on bar, back half and shorter axle, all with toy spindles and hubs, more rim/brake options, and waaay easier. Also proportionally more correct.

I love these particular rims so much I will not settle to go another way........ this time.

Stay tuned, more to come.............................................................................

Hey Slick I am nobody to say anything about nothing but I have a Question..

your 4 link Bars???? Did they come in a Kit? OR?



Cause they sure are punie looking compaired to the ones on the Truck we bought??



Then again like I said I don't know maybe ole boy did some overkill here??

I think something gets lost in the scale of the pics, lol
the bolt is 15/16" the heims are 5/8" the brackets are pretty big actually, made with 3/16" of an inch thick plate steel x 4" width, the perspective of the shot is very diminishing.

but I digress, the kit is from FBI, and I too was dissappointed with the size although, these are not tubular steel they are solid round stock.
These are basically locator arms and if was gonna do bag on bar set up, I would use a heavy duty longer square tube, prolly even chromoly tube.

And actually, technically, those are not the bars I will use ,lol
I have chrome ones.

://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt215/mazdan22/DSC01774.jpg

better scaled pic

and some other current shots

://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt215/mazdan22/DSC01910.

Like I said dude I'm no Fabrication Master just thought I would ask but if they came in a kit then they were Probably tested to be strong enough for that aplication...

JUST

yeah one can only hope, lol
future minitrucker