Re-Imagining our "Beast" build. 4.7- Solid axle- bed conversion

[simplesam88]

That is really impressive fab work. Combine it with the engine swap and it becomes all the more impressive. It sounds like the original hacks cooked up a bonafide sh** sandwich. The problem is that it is very hard to change the type of sandwich. But you've made it a gourmet sh** sandwich.

I'd like to be generous and say the guys that did it were young and trying their best. There is something to say about that sandwich though, lol.

 

[simplesam88]

Well, my weekend is over. So much work is done. I’ll start with some basics. I have been chasing steering fluid leaks ever since I put this thing together. Turns out a low pressure return hose from the cooler to the pump was seeping badly. Replaced and for 3 days not a drop found on the floor. We installed 4 new window channel rubbers and reinstalled the door panels. The front end and hood have finally been aligned and adjusted. All the windows cleaned of overspray too. The custom PRP seats have been fitted. You probably want to see our new rear bumper. That post with lots of pictures will post soon. It’s done, minus some finish work and it looks great!

 

[simplesam88]

Now keep in mind that my shop is like a club for guys who want to fab while our wives shop. My friends flew in from Florida, Arizona and Colorado. I don’t normally hand off work to anyone but when my two buddies tell me; “hey Andy, we’ve never made a bumper before. We want to do it” I let them. I gave them my sketch (I’m not going to share a pic of my serious sketching ability, mostly because I was really drunk when I drew it). I did share some rules. I wanted the bumper to match the rear profile. I also insisted that it could be unbolted. It must have 4 points of attachment.
So here is where we started. This was the bumper we were replacing. It took two of us to lift it.

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[simplesam88]

This is what we were working on.

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Next there was in issue that the tailgate was still too close to the unibody impact beam. So we cut a wedge from it, pulled it back together and welded it shut. This gained us an additional 1/2” of room which would be enough for the 3/16 plate we would build the bumper from. Then a cardboard template was made to figure out the curve.

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[simplesam88]

Next they had to weld in temporary supports to bend the bumper face over.

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Next they made an upper plate template and welded it in.

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You will notice the corner end caps are already being shaped in. Lots of fitting after this. I wanted a tight clearance so they had to take the bumper on and off countless times.
The last step was making the bottom plate. Lots of welding and unfortunately we’re having a heat wave in the high desert. Any way here’s the rest of the photo dump.

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[simplesam88]

I’m gonna take a few weeks off from fab work, feel free to ask any questions. I’m still going to monitor this post during the interim. The goal is to complete this build before year end. There is a 67 Willys truck I need to get started on.

 

[derekj]

Cool project!

 

[duderz7]

Definitely one of the if not the finest looking rear bumper for the kj.

 

[simplesam88]

Well, its been a while. Time for some updates. Recently I have been doing interior wiring and a rear seat delete. Plus, needed to get the front bumper updated on this thing.
The rear seat will be replaced by a deck, and inside the storage area will hold 2 air compressors and the VOS Switch controls system. All these accessories will be mounted on elevated aluminum plates to help cooling and make for more solid mountes.

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[simplesam88]

After running all the accessory wire we installed the new carpet and mounted the good stuff.

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next I used age old CAD design to help mocking up the new deck base.

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after confirming no interference, I got the plasma table fired up and built the side panels.

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unfortunately, the interior will have to wait for the marine decking to show up. So on to the front bumper.

 

[simplesam88]

The front bumper was plenty strong, but with all the changes it just didn't fit the new design. Honestly it looked like a wrangler front bumper fitted to a KJ. Here is some before shots.

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because my friend (the owner) like the blinker pod mounts, I decided maybe a small redesign would fix the look of it. First, I had to eliminate the wing corner and rework the 3/16" steel to wrap it tighter to the vehicle. Also, I needed to soften the front face by cutting out the sharp angle where the tubing was and make it more round to match the front end. Those blinker pods are nice but hand cut and too wavy, so new ones need to be made. Plus the corner blinker lights don't really fit in them. Here is my new version.

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well that's it for now. More updates soon.

 

[derekj]

Good to see some updates!