so i've just been chugging along with the welding, trying to be patient about welding a little and moving around the letting things cool. weld one side of the fish plate, do another side on another plate, etc. also took me a bit to find the pattern/settings that made the prettier welds on these. never did find something i really liked on the fish plate holes. BUT, aint nothing going nowhere! i still need to take a grinder to the top edge of all the plates and soften that before i snag/cut hoses or wires on em.

https://i.imgur.com/K6eiCZO.jpg

over the last few lbs of wire i can't decide if i got prettier welds or worse :lol: i'm now near 15lbs of wire into this truck!

because things aren't allowed to move unless i say so, i went ahead and added little gussets to the bag mounts, and also in the steering box mount. un-sprung weight? whatever :lol:

the chassis is fully welded now though, as is the cab floor. LOTS of clean-up to do softening edges, and i still need to add my zip-tie tabs on everything. then i can start paint prep.

https://i.imgur.com/KCmgp52.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/kwKIh3u.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/aMmcsp6.jpg

Nobody, and I mean not even the little old Wendy's lady from 1984, is going to be asking "where's the beef" :lol:

:rock:

:lol:

:chug:

no sir, didn't even know a wire lube was a thing. then also probably not, and i've never changed a liner or my whip. also i'm using whatever the 11lb spool of .035 is from the shelf at the welding shop.

Colin cut me a PILE of little guys like these.

https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com...R1581-full.jpg

i'm basically done with the major weldin on this thing now, and i've been saying i needed to do some PMs on this welder for a while. it's really time.

I have installed a few of those clutches. Not much in the way of slippage. Think I have taken 2 of the 3 back out :lol: but it was dudes trying to get a beefy clutch to haul horse trailers around.

Dude…you need this :lol:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CSdGd...dium=copy_link

i saw that! 10,000% need that!

:rock:

i know it doesn't look like much of a change, but taking a flap wheel around all the edges made a HUGE difference. i normally don't go over things after welding. you can now wipe your hand around over the whole thing and no snags, scratches, or roughness. should be nicer for wires n hoses, and way nicer to work on in the future.

also smoothed out the welds on the sleeved holes, was satisfying.

https://i.imgur.com/UDBai84.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Cq2aYxn.jpg

and back to progress! vacation prep, vacation, more family events, lots of life happening this last month. oh yeah and my TJ whipped another set of gears in the rear axle, so had to rebuild that too. :facepalm:

so i went thru and wire brushed, then wire wheeled everything that's getting the heat-shield undercoating, then prepped with rust-prep. what a mess, but it's done. also did the core support while i was at it so it can get painted. that'll be a key to getting thins running.

https://i.imgur.com/Di3fmrY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Bqc9zJn.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/C8k2wXY.jpg

this made things go WAY better

https://i.imgur.com/6cjw6XU.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ntcyu21.jpg

got a little more into 3D trying to place the intercooler heat exchangers. they are not small, haha. i think this is the final place, but now i need to come up with a sexy yet functional, and somewhat over-engineered mount for them.

https://i.imgur.com/yvmKVgu.jpg

got the heat exchanger mount finished up in 3D, and a pump mount that i didn't get pictures of. plate is getting cut today or tomorrow and should have it before the weekend!

https://i.imgur.com/vdJRhB2.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NI7T7A7.jpg

i <3 friends with cool toys B-)

https://i.imgur.com/iuti6NE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/KKsM8gv.jpg

I got one of these things and i was pretty disappointed in it. I always end up back with a wire cup and angle grinder for that kind of thing

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Spyder-Reci...ent/1000060927

I do like your vacuum attachment though, I may have to try that

i saw those after i did it!

i'll agree, the wire cup is 1000x better ... unless you are trying to get into tight spaces. the power brush go back in corners and inside cross members that cup never would have. i ended up doing the cup over the big areas after, made WAY less of a mess that way too.

Matt, why are you putting charge tube heat exchangers in a location where they won't see much air flow? Am I missing something?

because it was there or not at all.

the air down there should get circulated enough, just not force-fed. Six, 7" fans always on should pull a good volume thru them. we'll see how it plays out, but the suspension cross member should also be able to create a diverter to help keep the air fresh. worst case i add some more dividers to stop recirculation later.