My J-4500

[SOLSAKS]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT CRANKY !!!!

now lets get your cool wife in the chair,
......at least for a picture.

I could see someone in the chair on the highway when you goose the throttle
and throw them backward.....


take care cranky.

dave in NC

[Crankyolman]

This is clearly the best and highest use ever conceived for that chair and your truck. high marks for engineering, fabrication and installation. Whatever transpires after this will be the ordinary product/result/decay of entropy. Well done.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT CRANKY !!!!

now lets get your cool wife in the chair,
......at least for a picture.

I could see someone in the chair on the highway when you goose the throttle
and throw them backward.....


take care cranky.

dave in NC

Thank you, both of you.


My wife seldom allows her picture to be taken and has never even ridden in the truck, so it's unlikely I can get her talked into climbing up there and sitting in the chair for a pic. People I work with have been all too happy to sit in it and have their pictures taken.



I have however run into a small problem this the setup. The back end of the truck is far too light and the tires spin badly whenever I step on the gas on even slightly wet roads. I thought I had come up with a simple, easy and cheap solution for this...a ballast box. I have a couple of plastic military foot lockers and figured I'd just screw one down, add some sand bags and problem solved. Then came the design issues. The easiest place to mount the box would be right behind the cab but that would interfere with the rocking chair, so instead I decided to mount it at the very back, that way less weight will be required and it won't interfere with the chair.


So this afternoon I set about making a place to mount the box and mounting it






I personally think this is a good solution but my wife hates it. She hates it so much that I will probably remove it and make a smaller wooden box like she prefers. Gotta keep the wife happy afterall.

[SOLSAKS]

I don't blame mrs. cranky

I don't like to have my photo taken either,....

this has been fun though !!!

bet those folks at work had fun with it.

I guess it is easy to spin, ...like you said,.....I never thought about that !

dave in NC

[Crankyolman]

I don't blame mrs. cranky

I don't like to have my photo taken either,....

this has been fun though !!!

bet those folks at work had fun with it.

I guess it is easy to spin, ...like you said,.....I never thought about that !

dave in NC

Everybody seems to like the truck as it is and have fun with it, although I've noticed that nobody tailgates me and most people hang way back when they see the rocking chair actually rock I've also noticed on 4 lane roads people often get even with the rocker and just stay in that position instead of passing, often laughing and obviously talking about it.



I also think I found a cheap easy solution for the ballast box that will make Mrs Cranky happy. Years ago when I built my first apple chopper I built a hopper for it out of wood that holds about a bucket of apples. The chopper has since grow in size and horse power and last spring I made a larger hopper that holds in excess of 100 LBS of apples rendering the smaller hopper unnecessary. I noticed it today when I was thinking about picking the late season apples I got permission to pick and realized that with only a small amount of work and scrap wood that I already have I can use that to make a ballast box that should meet with her approval.

[Crankyolman]

Over my weekend I finished the welding on the bed and began grinding the welds down. I also continued working on something suitable to my wife to hold the ballast... I didn't get very far on that but while trying different things I noticed a couple of pallets I had waiting to be burned and decided that they might be suitable for side boards so I did this to them.





Personally I like it and I can bungee or ratchet strap buckets or boxes to it when I need to carry something.



My wife just met me for gas and laughed her a$$ off the whole way home She actually approves of the truck now and can't stop talking about the look on peoples faces as they watch me drive by.


Yesterday I took our Escape and picked apples. Tomorrow I plan on bringing a few buckets with me in the truck and pick some more while I can.

[Crankyolman]

The other day I got all motivated to work on the truck some more. I've been grinding down the welds on the center seam of the bed floor. I have not been very happy about the way it had been done with an overlapping seam instead of a butt seam. This kind of demotivated me but I was determined to do what I could to clean it up and hide it. I ground down all my welds, which were OK but not all that pretty but I got them ground down and cleaned up as best I could. I then went to clean up other areas the professional welded, which looked pretty much like mine, when I noticed a 4 inch section he had missed.



So I cleaned off the primer, grabbed the welder and went to work on it. I was actually surprised because this weld looked so good and smooth I don't need to grind it down. It looked more like my TIG welds rather than my MIG welds. As a result I then went to the center seam and re-welded the entire thing, running a bead so nice and smooth it won't have to be ground and looks so much better. I now feel I will not be compelled to take a cutoff wheel and turn it into a butt seam like it should have been.



I then proceeded to start cleaning up the underside and get it ready to prime and undercoat and straightened a few minor dents. I also took a wire wheel to the rust seams which will need something in there to seal then. I guess I'm going to use seam sealer, unless one of you guys has any better ideas. I have been considering aircraft sealant which I think might work quite well. I have access to expired aircraft sealant so it would be free.

[Crankyolman]

Today I once again got motivated and set to work on the truck bed. I noticed the other day that the way the guy I paid to fix it did the floor at the wheel well was to cut the old floor off leaving a half inch flange to weld to. I also noticed there was rust between the layers of the original weld flange that he had completely ignored


I've been thinking about this for a couple days now and today decided to just cut the flange out in order to completely remove the rust. So I took my sawzall and did just that. In the process I discovered that the majority of spot welds that were supposed to be attaching the flange to the new bed floor were in fact not attaching anything at all.


I then proceeded to take an even closer look at the upper side of the inside part of the wheel well and realized that it was full of rust also. I figured if I expect this truck to last another 48 years I better do this right so I grabbed my drill and drilled out the spot welds and removed it entirely.


Now I can clean and treat that flange, fabricate 2 new inner panels and weld the whole thing back together like should have been done by the guy I paid to do it.

[63J200atLSU]

I have to admit this whole process is getting to me a bit and I'm really trying not to hit that wall where everything just stops and I can't motivate myself to get it finished.



Yesterday I finally got around to getting to the hardware store and getting the eye bolts I needed to lift the bed off. While I was there a very helpful employee asked what I was looking for. I told him eye bolts and large area washers. He then asked what they were for and I told him "to hang a bed from a ceiling". My wife heard this and had to interject "A PICKUP BED!!! HE'S TAKING THE BED OFF HIS TRUCK!!!" Then added that I was making it sound like we were some sort of strange kinky couple...we are but she is embarrassed if anybody finds out



Anyway, when we got home I set to work raising the bed off the truck. Since I am working by myself I installed 6 eyebolts in the ceiling of my garage. Then I installed six eyebolts in the rails of the truck. Then I ran ratchet straps between them and ratcheted the bed off the truck. Once I got it high enough to clear the wheels I ratchet strapped the gas tank to the truck frame and drove it out of the garage.











It wasn't pretty but it worked. I then let it sit there for a while to charge the battery but it never took a full charge so it is sitting on the charger ever since in the hopes that the battery is still good. The battery really concerns me because it would be yet another fairly significant expense on an already considerably over budget project.



I then went back to the bed and decided the best way to work on the bottom of it would be if it was vertical, so I slowly and carefully worked it vertical using the ratchet straps.



Here is what it looks like now.






Once that was done I started thinking about how to make the truck drivable while I work on the bed. I had some cut off 2x4s in the back yard that I had been making into sawhorses for the bed and decided to see how they fit across the bed mounts. It turned out they were just right for that. I stacked 3 on the front mount and one on the back. Then I took an old piece of leftover T111 siding that happened to be leaning up against the fence, and wouldn't you know it, it was a perfect fit. So currently it looks like this.








My wife says she is dead set against me driving around with "That Beverly Hillbillies setup" but it would let me at least occasionally drive it to work so she could run errands during the day so I will probably do it. All I really need is some bolts and screws so I could mount it down and bolt the tank to the underside...or set it on top but I don't know how fuel resistant the 3000 PSI hydraulic lines are that I used to extend the fuel lines and think someone might possibly seal the entire gas tank full of gas.



So hopefully a quick trip to Lowe's or Ace hardware tomorrow and a little bit of work and I will have the truck back up and driving.

This is very similar to how I had the bed of my truck for about a year while I worked on other things. I even added some 2x4 "bed sides" and eye bolts to strap things down. It was pretty handy, although I was always afraid that I was going to inadvertently throw a rock through my small and impossible-to-find-a-replacement-for rear windshield on my '63...

I also build a cage of sorts instead of mounting straps to the underside of the bed. This is probably less convenient in some ways, but it meant that I had a permanent mounting place for my gas tank while I worked on the bed. I haven't had any regrets about it yet at least...

[Crankyolman]

This is very similar to how I had the bed of my truck for about a year while I worked on other things.

I think that was actually my inspiration for doing it that way...at least sort of. I'm a cheap bastard and happened to have the T-111 and 2x4s and pallet so it just sort of evolved from a basic idea to what it is today. I originally intended to do pretty much exactly what you did with the full sheet of plywood and rebuild the bed myself before I let my wife talk me into letting a "professional" do the work.

[63J200atLSU]

I think that was actually my inspiration for doing it that way...at least sort of. I'm a cheap bastard and happened to have the T-111 and 2x4s and pallet so it just sort of evolved from a basic idea to what it is today. I originally intended to do pretty much exactly what you did with the full sheet of plywood and rebuild the bed myself before I let my wife talk me into letting a "professional" do the work.

Professionals pro-schmessionals.

[Crankyolman]

I've been working on the inner wheel well and hope to get some pictures taken and posting some details about it when I have a little more time but this evening my wife and I put together a passenger for the rocking chair and I just had to post about it.


It all began with the idea that we needed to make a Santa to go in the chair, after all it is the holiday season. So the other day my wife bought a Santa outfit on Amazon and mentioned making a frame out of PVC pipe. So yesterday I stopped by the hardware store and bought a couple of sticks of 3/4 inch PVC and some couplings.


At work today I cut up the pipe to make a skeleton for Santa and after dinner we set to work assembling him.



First we put the skeleton together and checked the fit.



Not bad but needed some minor adjustments.


Then we clothed and stuffed him and set him in the chair.



To top it off I used a red cargo strap screwed to the chair to secure him and a necklace of Christmas lights I got from the dollar store and the look is complete.


I'm sure I will have to deal with some issues of securing an what not but I don't think it's too bad for a cheap quick Santa just for fun.


I should note that there was a thing on the news the other day about driving with Christmas lights and the Highway patrol said it is illegal to drive with any kind of blinking lights so I will be setting them to not blink when driving

[rang-a-stang]

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH!!!! That is SOOOOooo awesome!!!!! You should give him a coffee mug (with simulated warm spiced cider in it) or a hard cider bottle in one hand! My goodness this is awesome! I can't wait to show my son when he wakes up!

[Crankyolman]

OK as promised I am trying to take the time to write all about my activities this past week...or two.


As you know I cut out the inner wheel well panel and have been fabbing up new ones. I decided the right thing to do is remove the upper weld flange as well and fab a new flange, which got quite complicated.


The wheel well is not actually just an arch it is actually quite flat on top with varying degrees of arch throughout it's length. My original plan was to cut some strips of 16ga steel, bend then into a 90 degree angle then use the shrinker-streatcher to curve it around. I have to admit I'm not very good with a shrinker-streatcher but the complicated varying curve made it too difficult for me so I resorted to plan B.


Plan B was to bend the 90 just like before but this time cut slits in one side every inch or so then use the shrinker to make the curve.







This allowed some flexibility to the angle so it could be made to match the curve of the existing wheel arch.


So then I had this




which I then took home and carefully fit to the truck. I began by taking self tapping screws and screwing the inner panel to the bottom of the bed, then screwed the flange to the arch then the flange to the inner panel. Then removed it and took it back to work.





It sounds simple but there were several days of back and forth, trimming, dent straightening, screwing, unscrewing and so forth and of course cleaning and prepping for welding. Eventually I was happy with it and took everything to work to weld together. I try to only do my welding on the weekends because the tool room guy can get kind of annoyed at me for having stuff in his way. So I bring it all in last Saturday and discover that there are no parts for the TIG welder. After searching high and low and not being able to find them I eventually asked someone who would know. He told me that someone on another shift had been in there trying to learn to TIG weld and had basically destroyed the lenses and cups and other things rendering the TIG un-usable


So not to be deterred I ordered a lens/collet/cup kit from Amazon but had to wait two whole days to get it Eventually I got it but not until Tuesday, so I had to wait until today to actually get to use it...well actually I did a little bit of tack welding Friday morning before the tool room person came in.


Then today I had some free time so I set to work on welding the flange to the inner panel. I could have just tack welded it on and called it good but I want to seal it up and have it completely welded which makes it much more time consuming because I now need to weld every one of those slits I made every inch or so but I spent all of my free time slowly working away at it and am now probably a little more than half done.








Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to find the time to finish them so while I'm off over the next week I can get them installed and welded in place.

[Crankyolman]

I found the time to finish TIG welding the new inner panels today.






There was a little warping but nothing too bad, especially considering the amount of welding that was done



Once I got them home I checked the fit one more time












There are a few more minor things to do before I can weld them into place but I'm pretty happy with them right now and figure once I get them in they should last another 48 years before needing it done again.

[Crankyolman]

The other day I finally got this





When I got my truck it had 3 hubcaps. I got a replacement set of caps but the right front wheel has never been correct and won't hold a hubcap. That is why whenever you see a picture of the passengers side it doesn't have one. Now although my understanding of things is limited I understanding is that the '72 and later wheels are different than '71 and earlier because of wheel rivets and you need '72 and later wheels if you want to upgrade to disc brakes, or you have to grind on brand new expensive calipers to make them clear. It doesn't really matter at the moment but some day I might think about upgrading to disc brakes so I wanted the correct wheels.



So I've been kind of looking for a replacement wheel since I bought the truck. Then one day one of the guys I work with told me he had one in storage somewhere back east and he would get it for me the next time he went.


Well that next time was this past week, he returned Monday with a Christmas gift of a new (to me) 1973 Jeep wheel Now I need to swap it over, get it balanced and buy a spare tire for the old one.