Of frames and next steps
Axle finished
One minor update - the front axle cover came! A nice nodular iron piece from Spicer. I especially like it because it has both drain and fill plugs. The wife helped me install the new fanciness, and then we moved the axle to a comfortable place so it can rest until we are ready to set it under the frame to be hooked up. Progress!
With the front axle (finally!) done, and a week off with the wife looming, we’ve hit a bit of a lull in the action. But that doesn’t mean nothing is happening, oh no! There is a lot of planning going on around here. Let me share…
Framed
Since we moved into the house, the frame has sat (rather forlornly, I would assume) in the dog run. Now, it sits proudly on jackstands in the shop, ready to be accessorized.
Unfortunately, we did have a minor incident whilst moving the frame that reset our safety days to zero. Thankfully it was just a bruised foot, and a lesson about wearing flip flops when you are moving large metal objects. Which is - unless you are also filming, you will get hurt. Hint - this story is not about me.
Not to be completely idle, I did give the frame a good wipe down. There was a ton of dust coating it. And Iet’s not talk about what hit the floors (and the walls) when I used the air compressor to blow out the inside of the frame rails.
Blasted
On to future planning! The frame had already coated once upon a time, but since I will need to weld on it and clean up some rust I want to re-prep and re-coat it from scratch.
I got the axles blasted by a local shop, but decided that I want to get the gear to do sandblasting on the frame and body myself. This will allow me to clean (and probably re-clean) at will.
Another trip to Harbor Freight is needed! My shopping list to this point is:
- A 50lb blaster kit
- A respirator
- Some form of media. I’m thinking of trying soda since it’s more environmentally friendly than aluminum oxide.
- A dryer and filter for my air compressor. Probably a good purchase anyway.
Since I’m probably going to do the work in phases, I want to get something that will keep rust at bay until I’m ready to weld or coat that specific area. I’m thinking that POR15 weldable primer might just be the ticket. Then when I’m ready I can break out the rest of the POR15 line to finish coating.
According to the FAQ on the POR15 site, this would include:
Next large purchase
Up to this point, my only large parts purchase has been everything to rebuild the axles. Next is a biggie, both in price and physical part size - the suspension! My reasoning for making this my next step is part logical and part convenience. Logically, attaching the axles to the frame and getting everything in the drivetrain set up for a later engine install makes sense. Conveniently, having the whole thing together and rollable will be quite nice.
Just getting to it, here is my suspension shopping list:
- James Duff 2.5” performance package
- Standard travel arms. I’m not building an off-road machine here.
- Heavy duty springs
- Adding the Torque Tamer. Had something similar on my Ranger and it was sooo nice on the gravel roads.
- A set of new rear shackles
- Shock boots to keep the dust out
There are some steering components that James Duff recommends and I’m pondering. After some reflection, I decided to take them off the “to buy” list for now. I want to be fairly conservative in my purchases to avoid issues. In this case, the engine I chose may affect my steering choices. That means any steering components should probably be put off until I am sure of what that setup looks like.
On the bright side, that “little” list will probably keep me busy for quite awhile.