Tried having two wins in a week, backfired on me. Couldn’t get the bed off of the truck by myself. Gonna have to wait for help maybe sometime this week.
While I’m getting close to starting the flat bed, I was originally going to use these Model A lights but I honestly think they’ll be too dim and small for this truck. Even with LED bulbs added they’d be pretty dim because of how thick the glass lens are. I guess I’ll just go with some regular 4" round lights or maybe a rectangular unit. I removed the wiring harness connector to reuse for the flat bed lights, so that’s one less nonstandard connector to worry about. The old vampire wire taps had done their worst to these wires anyways.
Most of that white and tan is silt from the gravel roads.
Edit: using a 2" angle iron for reference, I’ll need to get at least a 2.5" angle iron for my bed spacers to clear the wheel well hump in the frame. I’d prefer 3". It’s amazing this frame is only 34" wide. They really wanted this frame to flex with the suspension.
That’s how they used to put in the tank, sometimes you’d have a dual sidesaddle set of tanks.
I’m going to be buying a similar year Suburban tank which goes where the spare tire is meant to go. This current tank is only 20 gallons so I’m either going to buy the 25 or the 30 gallon tank.
Also I’ll at the very least throw some paint on it after pressure washing it. I’ll find some brush on rust converter.
the 1973-87 GM trucks are susceptible to gas leaking out of the tanks in a side impact accident because the tank is mounted outside the frame, and splits open during impact. I don’t know if there is a ‘fix’ for it or not.
Flip the spare tire crossmember, then add angle iron to brace it at the front, drill holes for the mounting straps and you’re golden. As long as you’re not the kind of goober to delete the bumper you’ll be safe. Works with the shortbeds too.
I could always use that sidesaddle space for a filter condensate tank. Wouldn’t need the whole 20 gallons but it’ll be nice having those straps to cinch down a tank. Likely something plastic.
Edit 2: I should mention there’s three sizes of tanks for the Blazer/Suburban, 25, 31, and 40 gallons. The 40 gallon tank is a lot of headache to install and you run the risk of it hitting your differential. I’m going to get a 31 gallon tank.
Since I’m upgrading to higher weight rated springs, and adding the 500lb helper coil sprung shocks which really just help the bed resist sinking with weight added, I wonder just how much clearance I’ll need between the planks of the bed and the tires? A foot? 7 inches? I made sure when I ordered these tires that they match the OD of the original spec tires. This is actually a go-to tire size for guys that lower their square bodies and not worry about scrubbing up front or bottoming out in the back. 265/70/R17 115T.
If you are trying to keep the bed low as possible, you could build angle iron box around the wheel well Incase, you over load it, you could pull a piece of plank off above the tires, until you have height figured out for the flat bed, Just a thought.
I forgot all about how Marcus made the mounts for his bed.
I don’t have any rectangle tubing but I do have square. Bed spacers/perches could be some 2x2x1/4" tube and I could use my 1.5"x1.5x1/8" tube for the bed frame. The 1.5 should notch in just right to the 2" and give a really positive saddle shaped weld bead. I could just weld on some angle iron and thinner tube to support the planks.
I wouldn’t go so far as to make it part of my cooling rail, tube is too narrow I think. I was going to make my Tree actually go behind the gasifier to double as a mount for a barrier to prevent stuff banging into the gasifier and heatex and filter.
Edit: thought they were 1.25 but the square tube I have in 8 foot lengths are actually 1.5" 1/8" wall.
That’s something I would like to add to the dodge is a head board of sorts to keep things away from the hot parts, doing dump runs I won’t light up cause I don’t want burning trash melted all over the lower barrel so it has to eat dinosaurs for that. Thankfully the dump is only 3 miles round trip
Okay so just a little more gasifier layout planning.
While I am relocating the gas tank, I am still going to mount my gasifier in the driver’s side. I will use the old tank mounting straps to put in a condensate tank, and put my hay filter right on top of it direct plumbed in with just some ferncos to attach it.
I really won’t have any room for condensate in the back since that 31 gallon tank hugs all the way up from the rear crossmember to the differential. I will have room for pipe routing to run to the condensate tank. As long as I play it smart and run it all downhill ever so slightly. The bed spacers should give me plenty of room to get that done. I will probably use that spa hose I’ve got laying around for that, it’s very stiff but has enough give I could zip tie it in place to give my plumbing angle for good draining to the tank.
Second reason is I will be installing a classic full WK exchanger system and all that entails. It’s humid here and I need all the heat I can get. The more the merrier.
I think the next installation will be the new gas tank so I know exactly what I’m working with for space, then maybe the flatbed frame and start mocking things up with just drums and tanks as placeholders.
I could maybe do a big PVC pipe condensate tank like some others have done behind the bumper or just under the frame/bumper area, because I know it’s not supposed to generate THAT much water from the rails and filter. My big worry is long distance driving and not having a good place to dump water. Rather have too much empty space than not enough. Plus I’d hate to waste that good mounting point after pulling the sidesaddle gas tank off.
If it was me I think I would put the condensate tank directly under the hay filter like you mentioned. Definitely go as big as you can with that condensate tank. If it does not fill with condensate it will fill with gas giving you more reserve fuel.
Not sure what you have available in your area for plastic containers but if you can find or make something big enough, you could consider making your condensate tank out of plastic too. That’s what I did and I have no fear of it rusting or deteriorating any time soon.
Yeah I’ll hunt around for a sturdy plastic tank. If not I could use something like a 1/4 beer keg which is 7.75 gallons. My 1/2 keg is too big to fit in that spot plus I think 15 gallons is a bit of overkill. Kegs are usually either aluminum for the old ones, and stainless. They’re thick walled and shouldn’t collapse under vacuum.
TRUCK frame looking great, I tore a Toyota motor home off the back of a little Toyota pickup,has 50.000 miles , and frame needed scraping grinding to descale, a put some total boat rust seal over the frame after scale removed, it leave a fine hard layer coating to primmer over.first time I used, I will see how it last, had to replace about 6-10" of half the frame rails near front cab mounts,other than that the frame looks mostly all there, should out last me if I Rust proff it WELL. DAM shame the factories don’t under coat the frames at the price of new trucks.IF I put a v8 in this Toyota later on I would have to weld a good S10 front stub too it , these Toyota front stubs are TOO light duty.I got to build a flat bed on the rear of this Toyota, I plan on using some little bit heavier than needed round or square tube, and weld in in good ,or tie it in good all the way to the cab, so it will add strength to there lighter frames. GOOD winter time traction without 4 wheel drive.
The quick and dirty trick for a v8 Toyota is an internal cab roll cage front and back bar x up top connecting the 2, then fender bars tied from the front frame horn to the cab cage. Problem being in these mini trucks cab space isn’t exactly in surplus, making most guys opt for a faster exo cage
