1996 2 door flareside TRX KILLER!

[Roert42]

All the people I see keeping rusted junk going from the rust belt makes me strongly question why they live where they do constantly... I mean I understand the drive but question the motive to keep ruining all the good stuff... all my junk is older than most of what I see here and I can pick any random bolt and just pull it willy nilly like... my '97 ranger has factory exhaust at 240k, '00 Explorer has factory exhaust at 260k...

I mean you do you bud but dang... no envy

Wouldn't have it any other way.

Plus, we have great weather here.

 

[Blmpkn]

Finally got my big fishplate welded on (I radiused the corners )

I cut it slightly undersized height-wise so when I welded the top&bottom the bead would hitting both the web and flanges of the frame. Also got the extra strip welded on the bottom flange because it was starting to get thin in spots and I figured it this whole area could use as much reinforcement as possible. Did two passes along the 'crotch' of the fishplate & bottom strip for the same reason.. whether or not the extra pass will make any real difference or not I have no idea sounded like a good idea though.

Gonna put another strip along the upper flange of the frame next weekend and hopefully get the crossmember burnt in as well.. I have a trick up my sleeve with this crossmember that should add quite a bit of rigidity too.. just gotta find a 2.5" hole saw..

 

[rumblecloud]

Nice work !
Sneakers...not so much.

 

[Blmpkn]

Nice work !
Sneakers...not so much.

Thank you! It's my first time really doing this caliber of frame repair.. learning a lot and enjoying myself (for the most part lol)

Ha.. yeah.. not only sneakers but sneakers that are well past their experation date

They've been relegated to only being worn on days that are nice and dry lol. It was definitely a mistake wearing them in the garage though.. absolutely no support. My legs were killing me at the end of the day.

I'd buy a new pair but... They cost the same amount as the fuel cell I'm gonna buy so... Priorities! (Lil bit of cheap Yankee too honestly)

I DO wear real boots whenever there's risk of dropping something heavy on my feet though.

 

[Rick W]

Thank you! It's my first time really doing this caliber of frame repair.. learning a lot and enjoying myself (for the most part lol)

Ha.. yeah.. not only sneakers but sneakers that are well past their experation date

View attachment 132615

They've been relegated to only being worn on days that are nice and dry lol. It was definitely a mistake wearing them in the garage though.. absolutely no support. My legs were killing me at the end of the day.

I'd buy a new pair but... They cost the same amount as the fuel cell I'm gonna buy so... Priorities! (Lil bit of cheap Yankee too honestly)

I DO wear real boots whenever there's risk of dropping something heavy on my feet though.

E6000/GOOP Can fix those.

And then mix up some 50-50 brown rust, oleum, and mineral spirits, and just lightly dashed them with a cheap brush.

They’ll be like new

 

[Blmpkn]

E6000/GOOP Can fix those.

And then mix up some 50-50 brown rust, oleum, and mineral spirits, and just lightly dashed them with a cheap brush.

They’ll be like new

I e6000'd them a couple years ago lol.. suppose I could try another application though.

 

[Blmpkn]

Big day today. Yuge. Perhaps the yugest day this country has ever known, all thanks to me. The deal maker. Nobody makes deals like I do.. and if they do.. they're nobodies

Anyhow.. essentially done with the driver's side spring hanger frame repair, and dangerously close to being done with the crossmember.

I got the strip to reinforce the top flange of the frame cut, bent, and 99% welded on. Much like I did with the strip along the bottom flange.. I made an initial pass with the welder to melt the strip to the fishplate and then made a heavy 2nd pass over the first. Idk if that's gonna make anything truthfully stronger or not but... Sounded like a good idea!

I'm not happy with the vertical weld on the left side of the fishplate.. the frame wasn't really clean enough and I tried running the puddle uphill.. didn't really work. It may be good enough but.. it looks like crap and I don't like it. I'll flatten that ugly SOB and go over it again for both peace of mind and for the sake of useless vanity lol.

"Welding... I NEVER said I was good, all I said was that I could"

NICELY RADIUS'D plate to weld the crossmember to (passenger side obv)

The crossmember with the bits of steel I broke in my drill press punching holes in.. they fit like a glove I fking love drill presses!!

Crossmember tacked Into place..

And pretty much what it'll look like once it's done.

The fishplate may have been enough.. but i like the peace of mind that the slight boxing will provide me. Once I'm done welding the crossmember to the frame I'll be welding those plates to the frame and then welding the seam between the crossmember and the boxing plates. Should be plenty strong enough for where we're going.

Incredibly happy with the day.

 

[racsan]

The only issue I have with boxing a frame is that it will hold dirt/moisture better & then create (another) rust issue. Granted it has more days behind it than in front of it . Your patch looks well done, the pipe crossmember going to allow the fuel tank to fit? just looks low to me. I need another ranger project once I have the tractor finished. Having a shoulder issue really has slowed me down this summer. Check your frame at the rear shock brackets too, my ‘94 had holes there on both sides.

 

[Blmpkn]

The only issue I have with boxing a frame is that it will hold dirt/moisture better & then create (another) rust issue. Granted it has more days behind it than in front of it . Your patch looks well done, the pipe crossmember going to allow the fuel tank to fit? just looks low to me. I need another ranger project once I have the tractor finished. Having a shoulder issue really has slowed me down this summer. Check your frame at the rear shock brackets too, my ‘94 had holes there on both sides.

Thank you! Everything fits just about as nice as it could considering my near caveman methods & equipment.. and I'm super chuffed with how it's turning out.

Holding dirt/moisture is a non-concern for the build though, it's gonna be an 8th mile racer & burnout machine once it's done. I'm going to strip the remainder of the por15 that's barely hanging onto the frame (there's not much left), corroseal it, and then slather it in nice thick implement paint. I may even go as far as to actually mix the paint with hardener and shoot it with a real gun..

Either way.. minimal dirt roads, no mud, no salt, regular washes.. I'm hoping I can keep it solid for a good long time.

Stock tank definitely wouldn't fit though, no. I'm going to be running an aftermarket fuel cell that'll be mounted as far back as I can get it inside the bed.. probably a 10 gallon cell.

My shock brackets were toast and there was a small hole in the frame next to the bracket on the driver's side. Cut it out, scabbed a piece into the hole, and then plated over it. I messed that one up though and put the plate on the inside. Now the shock mount won't go back on straight unless I space it out with washers on 2 of the holes lol.. shoulda plated the outside.. oh well learning experience.