Poor man's side by side

[Xfaxman]

Ya not sure but looks like it probably was damaged, rear ended or?? the thing looks real good tho with the ag tires on it! lol

Mark

Yep, sure do like the ag tires! :thumbsup:

Mine are kinda skinny though.

 

[NS Gearhead]

Bought some steel and a reciever hitch... but that hitch's "end ring" was only tacked on... so I had to weld it solid front and back;



... and started on the bumper/ crossmember/ hitch until my cheap PA drillpress' motor fan fell off again. So I JB Welded that and waiting for it to dry.

 

[smiley]

Nice project! I was thinking of doing the same thing. Had a line on a tracker that had been sitting for a couple of years 4 miles down the road. Initiated contact ref selling it, but got busy and a few days went by, then I see it drive past the house, westbound & down. Yep, she sold it to someone else for $300.......ARGGGGGGGG!

I missed a Suzuki Samuri with decent body and a plow for $500 about a mile from my house. The wife and I were driving home with groceries and I said I'll run back down as soon as I change clothes and we unload. I went back about 10 minutes later just as a local junkie was peeling off the cash for it. I kick myself every time we drive by there especially when my wife says "get over it". Grab em as quick as you can!!!

 

[8N Ren]

AHHH ya gotta love PA.

You do some nice work man, I always check in to see.

 

[NS Gearhead]

You do some nice work man, I always check in to see.

Thank you very much! I realize it's just a woods buggy, and I may sell it in the sping, but I see it as practice, so I try to do it the best I know how. I could have just cut the tube in half, put the hitch in between, and welded some 1/4" flat stock over and under... but I thought I'd challenge myself to do it this way.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Thank you very much! I realize it's just a woods buggy, and I may sell it in the sping, but I see it as practice, so I try to do it the best I know how. I could have just cut the tube in half, put the hitch in between, and welded some 1/4" flat stock over and under... but I thought I'd challenge myself to do it this way.

I always try to do the best I can.. even on stuff that will prolly never be seen.

Good job so far. :thumbsup:

 

[BlackRaptor]

This is an awesome project. now you have me wanting to find a tracker and do the same. spending 12K on even a base side X side seems like a lot.

 

[NS Gearhead]

Thanks guys! Slow going only getting an hour here and there to work on it... but here's today's progress;

Drilling the holes turned out to be pointless. The slight radiuses ended up getting cut out anyway. I ended up using a die grinder to get it to fit.


It was still a "press" fit LOL






Welded front and back.




Eager to go on, and a shot of the tank patch work.

 

[NS Gearhead]

I guess I could have drilled another hole closer to the end and not had is stick out so far. Too late now

 

[Xfaxman]

:thumbsup: Progress is progress. Looks like the big hammer did the job!

 

[NS Gearhead]

I call it my LFH

 

[MotorSeven]

Some times my weld bead looks as good as yours...others times........................not so much:laughing:

 

[Brad_Blazer]

Nice work. I have that same hammer with the rubber grip.

 

[NS Gearhead]

Some times my weld bead looks as good as yours...others times........................not so much:laughing:

I hear ya. I have good days and bad too. Thick metal I can set the way I want on the bench like this works best.

Ok, so I made some some gas tank brackets today;






The bumper's supposed to support the gas tank, but the gas tank's holding the bumper for now. LOL




Started on the frame extensions. I didn't want to drop the tank, and I hate welding on my back, so this is what I came up with. This gets welded on the inside, and the other part gets welded on the outside.

 

[deezler]

Clever! Nice work.

I am having horrific visions of you towing a load with the way the hitch is mounted now... and tearing the gas tank apart in a nice fireball. haha.

 

[Looking4new]

Nice welding! Now that I have found this thread I will be following it.

 

[Mustache]

This is a great idea. Once junior is old enough, I can see us doing that too...he's 4 months old now...

 

[OutbackL130]

Great project! What paints or coatings did you use to prevent the rockers from rusting again? I see a galvanizing spray can in one picture. I'm just curious what exactly you used. I have an 07 f150 that saw a couple ohio winters before I bought it and it has surface rust under the doors, tail gate and back of the bed. I want to catch the rust before it ever penetrates and rots the metal.

 

[NS Gearhead]

Yup, I used that cold galvanizing as a primer, then whatever I have for paint. Once I get this rear section of frame done I'll brush on some Armorcoat primer first. I've found that brush on last 5X longer then any spray can... just doesn't look as nice at the start. For your truck, you may want to get a quote from a dealership, or a reputable body shop. It may not be as much as you think. Another option would just be to wack the undercoat to the rusty spots. I like Rust Check but their are others.

 

[NS Gearhead]

It's been a tough month... I lost a lifelong friend to his own hand at the start of the month... spent the last two weekends home (three hours away) spending as much time with his brother (my best friend) as I could... but life goes on for the rest of us... not looking for sympathy, or even condolences... just reach out to old friends. You may not get a 2nd chance.

Welded the frame extensions and gussets to the crossmember


nice welding...


...and not so nice LOL


Capped off


finished!


some reinforcement




and ran outta gas