Blue Ribbon 4x4 Build Thread

Thanks man!!! And thank you for the idea!!

 

Thanks!!!

 

Lovin the build!

 

Hey thanks Rey!

 

This weekend I took her up to Rowher Flats, a little south of where I live. Some pretty sweet hill climbs, trying to keep up with some jeeps. The coilovers did great. No more lumbering left to right over lumpy terrain. I didn’t get many pics because of how technical everything was (of course these pics show none of it) it was more challenging than a lot of wheeling I’ve done in the past. I think I’ll put my GoPro in my windshield so I can screen grab better shots. I’m definitely coming back here.

 

All finished up! Dry lubed the UCA ball joints, caps on and waxed the UCAs. Really digging these.

 

They’re outside the grille, so these ones gotta be matched. Finally a little Blue Ribbon action.

 

Clear is cured. Decided to do the wheel caps too. I bought a 2K clear spray can because I didn’t wanna remove the wheels to be able to spray the UCAs. I was able to spray the UCAs, SSC2s, and the wheel caps. I still have a little left, it will go bad in a couple days. Then washed her up. She cleans up nicely.

 

Gonna lead a trail with a bunch of yotas on Sunday, so I pregamed to make sure I knew the route. Pretty awesome inclines, hard/easy lines. Cool trail. On another note, my damn Mammoth Guards ripped out the mounts again. I think I’m done with these unless I can figure out a different way to mount them. The issue is they mount to both the frame and the body. There’s just too much flex between them.

 

Get some Ark fender liners and be do e...the flex is what is needed for true offroad trucks...Mammoth are great for SEMA ;-)

 

Yeah, I’m getting that. They just look great and I put too much damn time into them. I guess I’m going back to rubber.

 

Ok so these are two front Mammoth Guards. This is where the issue lies. I can cut the tops off and just have them attached to the frame, while the rears and uppers can be attached to the body. I don’t give up easily. I’m gonna make these freakin work. I try hard to make my truck a beauty queen that I can beat the hell out of on the trail. Having my cake and eating it too isn’t easy.

 

I like your idea better! Another option is to slot your mounting holes and have it be able to move freely...granted, I'm not certain how much tolerance is needed...Bravo Geno!

 

Thanks!!

 

Trimmed the tops of the fronts, reinforced the uppers with epoxy since they’re plexiglass, and touched up and recleared. I’ll install tonight, and we’ll see on Sunday if they’ll avoid the flex.

 

Ready to go. We’ll see what happens.

 

Prime day!! $120!!

 

Picked one up last year! Good piece of mind to have. Especially with all the times you are out on trails

 

Nice! I got the GB40 for $68.

 

Sweet!

 

Yessir! I always overlook this thing, it’s usually so damn expensive

 

@texasrho83 heres Geno's blitz bumper with lighting. Looks badass

 

Welp. Figured it out!!! Mammoth Guards did great finally.
Led a run of 21 rigs today up Rowher Flats. Great inclines, good people, and one busted CV axle (not mine) on the gatekeeper.

 

So my crazy killer wife grabbed a used Westin Outlaw bumper from a buddy of mine. She knew this was the bumper I’ve wanted since it looks close to stock as it resembles the body lines of the truck. I told her he was selling it but didn’t wanna fork over the cash at this time. Came with the hitch and lights! Got some things planned for it before the install…

 

Nice! She's a keeper!

 

Yessir!

 

Original rear bumper plan:
To remove the panels behind the tubes and color match them. Then spray the whole bumper with black Raptor liner and reinstall the blue panels.

Well, hit a snag. The flat pieces behind the tube frame can’t be removed. There’s a welded U bracket over them. It’s like they were installed and the bracket welded afterwards. I tried sliding them out in all directions and diagonally, but they’re stuck in there without me cutting anything. It’s only about 1/4” too big. What I’m thinking is I may be able to just cut two of the tabs for the screws, but I really don’t wanna cut anything at all.
I don’t wanna mask it and paint because getting that paint uniformly behind the tubes is gonna be tough. Removing the plates allows me to paint them in my shop, since getting the bumper in my tiny shop would be a joke. The Raptor liner can be sprayed outside, but getting a nice finish with the clear coat won’t be easy here in the desert.

 

Ok, got a solution to painting the inside panels. I installed some spacers (nuts) between the plates and tubes of the bumper. That way there’s plenty of space for the paint to get through. Once painted and Raptor lined, I’ll remove the spacers and install the plates correctly. Kinda hard to see in the pictures, but you can kinda see the space created between the tubes and plates.

 

The prep has begun!