Papasmurf's not a tundra off-road "budget" build

Don’t be a pussy. Put 40’s on that bad boy and do all the double black diamond trails.

 

Yeah I don’t foresee that being an issue w this one, is the 7.3l and hopefully because it’s the 2500 the CV’s are a little more stout. Yeah the rock sliders I think will be key to help get in and out of the truck... plus I’m taking a bunch of weight out of it by ditching all 4 doors. The truck has tons of power even running like shit. I easily did 85 on the freeway driving it home.

 

Yeah buddy!

 

The 4l80e is a really strong trans. The front diff and CV’s on the 2500 models are very strong. 1/2 ton models were iffy with 35’s but many many people ran big tires for year on the 2500’s. I used to have a 2500 truck with a 6 inch lift and 35s on that body style.

 

All the parts laid out...

Moving the truck into position now and time for a power washing!!! Then stripping the interior

 

We hit the Parker 425 every year. Love offroading in Parker. Tho.. I'm just an hour from there.. so boating in the summer and offroading in the winter is a no brainer

 

So yesterday I degreased and power washed the motor and engine bay... I guess you can polish a turd!


Then today I stripped the entire interior... next step is prep for the bed liner on the inside...

So much room for activities!

 

outstanding!

 

Will you offer shoe rentals when you open the bowling alley? I need a 15.

 

How many seats are going to be in there when you're done?

 

That thing is going to be a blast! I wish I had the room and time for something like this.

 

Which bed liner do you have in mind?

 

Lol not mine. Reading some if the replies was funny though

 

In. Looks like fun!

 

So as of right now, it will have two pro suspension seats for driver and passenger then a 3 row pro bench seat, then a 2 row pro bench seat... if I can ram more in I will... but we also wanted room to put a cooler in the back, so we will see how it all plays out 7-8 people will be the goal

Of course!!! Would you like the stinky spray in them too, or do you prefer the sweaty shoe?

 

Not sure yet. One that is self applied spray or roll on don’t really care not trying to spend a ton just create some sound deadening and easy cleanup.. any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated

 

Ok so here’s the slow progress update... the further I dug the more I found I needed to fix, so aside from normal tuneup stuff, the following is being done

just pulled valve covers, gaskets were bad, I cleaned them and painted them...
New gaskets back on then it all goes back together along w replacing the hoses for PCV valve, evap, a/c vacuum lines , and a few egr vacuum lines, they were all dry rot and literally falling apart...

As well as new knock sensor, pcv valve, throttle position sensor, serpentine belt, k&n air filter, transmission filter and pan gasket,

Then I’ll take it for a oil change (I hate doing them w a passion)

Should be starting on the lift Sunday, and my new rear seats were ordered today 3 weeks to have them made. PRP bench seats to match the fronts!!

So that’s the update for now, just waiting for paint to dry on valve covers and a part to arrive.

Should have some big progress pics soon!

Oh and I’ll be starting on the tube doors next week as well once my door latches arrive.

 

bwhahahahahahahahahaha

yup exactly!!

 

OK so weekend update!

Made some good progress, got stuck on a few things...

the damn new ball joints were not going in, so going to have to take lower control arms to have them pressed in. very annoying. Also still working on pressing out and in the new bushings for the front end. lots of parts getting replaced in the process so it's slower than we hoped. We did get the rear done and rear wheels and tires on.. and it is epic! LOL and really tall, so gonna have to install some sliders / steps to help get into this tall bad mamma jamma

so here are the pics!










So the front is almost done being torn down, just have a few steering components to tear off and replace.

Other than that its going well!

Also got the motor put back together so tune-up is all done, just have to replace the serp belt, and put the intake back on, but waiting on a part to put my erg tubes back on. that's a 30 min deal but not important till I get the front end back together. Gonna start on the tube doors this week as well. I'll post pics as I go

oh,and the new seats are sooo awesome!

 

I thought you were putting 37's on??? Why did you put this 32" on?

 

Yeah. Looks like it needs 44 inch super swampers to really fit the era

 

I know right!! they look small LOL but they work , military humvee tires FTW!!

 

yeah these were so cheap though, 200 for a full set of wheels and tires... cant beat that

 

How I read it

That's a lot of fixing so far, gonna be awesome when it's done. You really need a rolling work bench or something to get parts off the ground to work on.

 

hahahahaha you are not wrong... i will say this poor truck was not "well taken care of" so fixing a lot of small things that were neglected. Yeah you are not wrong... not too far in the future, ill have a 40x40 shop with lift and everything so at that point ill be off the ground. ugh cant wait maybe 4-6 mounts out and the shop should be done. i hope>....

 

Hope so, that would be sweet. I hate working on parts on the ground. Last few years working on cars in parking lots really made me appreciate garages and work benches.

 

yeah some stuff i take into the garage and work on my big welding table, but for leafs easier to do next to the truck in this case. But for sure working on the ground sucks, cant wait to get my shop done.

 

Weekend Update....

Made great progress, got the front end done. Ran into a little issue with the 4th wheel and tire, so im sourcing some new wheels for the 16.5" military tires. Ill have that sorted in the next few days so it still has one jack stand under it, but where it sits right now is full ride height.


Also, this is my godson, hes 6 1/2 and a little over 4ft tall to give you some perspective of overall vehicle height.


next up is tube doors and seats... started working on the seat mounts yesterday... made some progress, need to get some pictures, basically for the fronts im using the factory seat mounts and modifying them to work with the PRP seats. The rears will be full custom mounts.

and for the tube doors im going with this style design, ignore the measurements, those are for a jeep door. But the shape and style is what ill be doing with 2" dom .065 wall steel, decided to go thinner wall so the doors are not too heavy, but they will have offroad slam latches.

https://www.4xinnovations.com/Tube-Door-Slam-Latch-Kit-Included-with-all-door-sets_p_96.html



That's it for now...I'll update you all in a few days.