you mean you don't have pictures up yet. what the heck you waitin for Doc. GIT R DUN!




but take it easy on that back!

 

Sorry I've been a stranger lately, but I had back surgery about 10 days ago and have been trying to take it easy. Still trying to get a few details done on the truck, though!

Updates this week:
1. Finished fab'ing stainless grille inserts
2. Built new carts for my welder and plasma cutter (not really a truck mod, but necessary )
3. Relocated the large wiring harness located inside the driver's front wheelwell (see pics) - to prevent damage. Poor location in the first place, Mopar!
4. Trimmed off the pinch/spot weld area at the back of the front wheewells to gain more wheel clearance and safety against tire damage.
5. Ordered wheels, tires, off-road lights, and other misc accessories!!!

OK, here's the pics!

 

A few more...

 

Man, I wish I was your neighbor!!! Great job.

 

Hey Adam, glad you're back! Looking great, man. I also like the way the grille turned out. Keep it up!

 

Thanks, buddy!! I could have gotten alot fancier with the grille, but I just wanted to scratch that little thing off the list. Came out great, I think. Just wanted something simple, but different. Try to picture it with the black frame around it too, and I think it will be alot sharper.

BTW, any suggestions on weld technique for that area I trimmed the pinched spot weld area in that fenderwell? It varies from 2-5 layers of sheetmetal thick there. I found that I'm having a hard time with the wire welder in that area, even with simply trying to string a bunch of tiny tack welds together. I think it's the body panel glue they use in between the layers. I find that it's popping and burning through easier than it should. I ground the paint away well in that area, also even welded a small ground on in one spot to be sure it wasn't an issue with poor ground to all 5 layers. Of course played with amps and wire feed speeds. It just welds like crap there.

Suggestions??

 

So I figured out the welding problem. It wasn't the material or my prep. It was the welder! I didn't realize it because I was only doing a stitch weld (so only quick tacks). My wire was intermittantly sticking inside the liner about every other inch of feed. This caused basically a dry arc with no wire feed. This was causing my burn through problem. Guess it just fooled me because I had no longer than a 0.5 second tack so I didn't recognize the poor wire feeding.

Now it welds beautifully. Will post pics tomorrow.

 

So over the last few days, I've gotten a few things done:

- Finished welding the area in the front wheelwells where I cut off the pinch weld. That was a bit more of a pain in the backside than I anticipated. The glue in between the layers, combined with the thin sheet metal made for difficult welding. Finally got it done, though. I didn't get to grind it all pretty and flat due to the need to leave extra metal there for strength purposes, but it's stout, so I don't mind.

- Notched out the mounting rails under the bed. It was necessary in order to lower the bed about 3/8" to align the crease in the body panels with those on the sides of the bed. Yet another PITA. I was about to weld back on the mounting plates when a huge cold front hit here and it went from 58 degrees to 18!!! So, about 1 hour of weld time in the next few days and the bed is back on the truck!

So, the most FUN thing on the project is the arrival of the wheels, tires, and lights!! Oh, and a kick-a** Hi-Life Xtreme jack, too. So, here's a few quick pics! That's my 4 year old, Noah, and my wife, Jasmine, in the pics. I think she's a hot 8-month-pregnant girl!! She was literally jumping up and down with a big grin on her face when she saw the wheels! I'm dam* lucky to have a wife that gets excited about stuff like that!!!


Upcoming project details (once the weather improves): Weld plates under bed, remount bed to frame, install my custom bedrails, modify and install Tiregate...stay tuned!

 

Aww look at you guys! What an exciting day of goodies.

How you fix the wirefeed problem on the welder?

Tire and wheel combo look great!

 

Basically, I took the entire gun apart, hand-pushed wire through the line, and found that the hang-up was in the gun, right at the end of the internal metal jacketing, right before the wire enters the replaceable tip. I ground the metal jacket just a touch, and then used a tiny countersink bit to ream out the end of the spiral metal liner. Now there is no resistance when the wire is even hand-fed through the feed cable. Easy fix - just was hard to diagnose at the time

 

Nice. WF trouble shooting can make one pull their hair out. Glad you got it sorted.

Can that 211 run dual voltage? The 220 or 110? Is that AutoSet pretty accurate?

I run Red, mainly because that's just what I bought or acquired, but I the features of these Miller machines are swanky

 

Yes, it's dual voltage. One of the best welders I've used. The autoset feature works beautifully. I've only shut it off maybe twice, and I think one of those times I went back to using it! I was really skeptical until I tried it. They got it spot-on.

 

Very cool - thanks!

 

Like normal - looking great, Adam! Glad you got your wire feed problem fixed. Good choice on the wheels/tires. I can't wait to see you bolt everything back together!

 

Have you put in your suspension order yet? Just curious what you went with; custom or brand name? Those are great wheels and tires you got, It's gonna look great Thanks for the great write ups too.