HOLY SQUARE TUBE BATMAN!

I hate to laugh at people but you need to redo that grille guard. At least take some pride in your truck and grind down the welds so it looks clean. IMO using the stock bumper as a base isn't a good idea even if you dont do any hardcore wheeling. Other than that props on trying to do something new.

Well, in his defence the bumper is still in progress. so lets just ease up and see what happens. I give him credit for attempting his own work.

Any updates?

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wow this reminds me of the go-cart build a few months back or was it years :think: but anyhow I think the effort was good and its a great learning experience.


jfowl31 is steeping out of line and for only currently 9 post he should whoop'd'do you have a handgun and a gay rifle. This is called cyber bulling cause odds are you wouldn't say that cause you would get a beat down. That type of comments won't fly at YT, but maybe on Pirate4x4.

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yeah you can say it is crap you just took it to way to far. And as for you kid quit trying to start it back up .:horse:

Glocks and SPC are nice just not practical for what i use guns for. Im not into what it intended design is for.

Jeez people, it's really not that hard to get a long. Especially here.

Btw Mic09dcsm, keep up the good work man, you should think about a heavier more sturdy front end if you want it thold up to a bashing, but I applaud your effort and ambition. I was the same way in highschool, so were my buds and without this experience, we would of never gotten to where we are. Keep persueing your stuff man, and don't take the bullsh i t criticism personally.

Cheers!

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Hey everybody one of your friendly neighbourhood moderators here...

whew! a whole lotta hatin' and a flamin' goin' on here... I had to do a whole heap of editing to clean this mess up... lol
I remind you all of rule #2 quoted above...

I'll toss in my 0.02 on the build now if I may...
the OP said at the outset that they were side step/wannabe sliders not sliders or body armour so if they work for him and look good to him great.

The stinger up front looks like the genesis of a good design and while it may not be "Baja ready" now I say lets relax and see where it goes. It does appear though to be tabbed in under the hood to the top of the rad mount, if this is the case you may want to rethink that Mic since any hit may tweak the rad mount and or crumple the hood edge.

On the apparently missing body mount that really is something you should address if it is in fact missing. I don't know the laws in Cali. but up here they will take your truck off the road on the spot literally if a cop/transport inspector sees it like that.

Everybody seems to use round stock for their stinger bumpers and so on... nice idea going your own way with the square stock. Keep working on your welding skills.

Bumper looks cool, but its gonna be weaker then crap.. A small tree would annihilate that thing, but then again I'm also partial to bumpers that can slay a deer at 80 and keep on truckin.. :hillbill:

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I give you props for attempting something out of your comfort zone. That's what makes you grow as a person. Where I think you need to be careful is in the structure welds you are attempting. You should get someone with better welding equipment and skills to help you and teach you about mounting shocks.
Failures in that area are more dangerous to you and others around you.
Keep up the creativity, but use others to help you with the crucial stuff.
Listen to the experienced builders that are chiming in with constructive criticism. That's another way to advance your skills. I can see where you mind is at.. I was 18 long ago and knew everything till I didn't .
Good luck
Don

x2
Great Post!!

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Unfortunately the only thing you got from my post was criticism. That's why these folks are busting your chops. If you open your mind, you will see some of these people are trying to help you with constructive ideas.
good luck

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Thanks Your quote from Bertrand Russel is so apropos.

YES!
I agree!

if you see that people are trying to help you maybe you should ask Puul what he would do to change the shock mounts instead of insisting they are "firmly planted". those mounts might last a while on the road and maybe a few trips off road, but they are going to fail. many of the guys on here have more years welding than you do breathing. I'm sure if you asked their opinons they would be happy to help you

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Nice work dude, to each his own...just like in other things, some people dont like stingers, some do. Some like Toyotas, some like chevys!

With this type of flaming, it makes new yotatechers go to other forums, and its sad because of the wealth of information here. Opinions are like buttholes, everyone has one! But when you are just flaming someone, expecially when you have less than 10 posts, thats just sad. No one thinks your cool because you are talking crap over the internet, now some of the info was helpfull, but some of it was just mean...I mean, I wish I had access to a welder, or new how to weld. This kid is lucky...(like im that much older :hillbill:)

Now I do agree about the shock mounts, what happened to the originals anyway?

See there you go again . You are always the victim The way you mounted them just doesn't look right. Since I don't own a rig like yours I suggested you listen to experienced people here who were trying to help. It wasn't about your age. You were the one that repeatedly referred to your age. I was just relating to how I reacted at your age.
So do your own engineering and make sure you defy any suggestions from others who obviously have none of the worldly experience you have and hopefully you don't create a victim from your engineering.
nuff said here

If you are referring to me you should go back and read my original post. No flame at all. Just because I don't have 700 plus post on this forum like you doesn't mean I cannot offer constructive suggestions to someone I was actually sticking up for. Post count doesn't count for anything other than the ability to type and click.

i agree with everthing puulboy said so far.. and besides that i think alot of people think that because they have a welder and can "weld" that makes them a welder.. same with people who assume that because they can turn a wrench that means they are a mechanic ( refering to the fly by night shops that do nothing but screw things up worse then they were).. please dont take these comments as a flame.. what im saying is maybe it would be a good idea to grab some scrap metal and do some practicing. practice different joints like a butt-weld, plug weld, lap weld, ect... then try them vertically and then overhead. i did this non-stop when i was in highschool and i now consider my self a decent welder and can pretty well hang with the fabricators at my work. it just takes practice.

on another note im just curious about the way your shocks are mounted, are thoes the shocks you plan on running for good? from what it looks like to me their stoke may max out before you suspension can really droop. As i said this is from what it looks like to me. I cant really tell in the pictures to well. If they do max out it can and will damage the shock (end result is failure) not to mention possibly break the mount loose.

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you said I was ignorant and arrogant when you said "I can see where you mind is at..I was 18 long ago and knew everything till I didn't" And if you meant nothing against my age then there was no reason to refer to this in your post.

You again put words in my mouth
Good luck ohh wise one I give up trying to help

Ok everyone lets calm down a little here, no need to slag each other...
I will preface my comment here with the statement that I have very little welding experience but mic09 your welds do look a little slag-ish to me... not saying they're not strong just slag-ish but then I am very picky about fit and finish and like everything "just so"...[which is why I have'nt started welding on my own truck, I'm not good enough yet lol] ...
the upper shock mount does look a little weak in the pic but maybe it is more robust then it appears...
Cudos to you though for having the courage to post pics of your work for all to comment on... I would not take anything personal feedback is how we get better...

Honestly how much better could it get... I'm not sure he can dig himself out of that hole

"oh im just in high school" an " uh this stuff is hard" isnt an excuse. Im in high school to an if your weld beads came out of my gun id cry. first thing you need to do is pick up some perfectionist qualities (best things in life are free). Grind the f out of that bumper i can see welds through that line x or hurculiner or what ever that is. Chepo PIPE bender an a restart wouldn't hurt either

awesome tire chioce though

No, not to you specifically...I meant in general, you are an exception, just a lot of the time, people get on the website knowing nothing...and thats what I was talking about!!

I think we all need a :grouphug:

I seemed like you were talking about me My bad
Glad you brought that to my attention.

One of my concern is with the fact that the welder he is using does not have the capacity for structural welding. We all know welding is not about just adding some steel like glue, its about fusing the 2 parts together with the proper penetration and the rod just acts like a filler to add between the fused metal. There are ways to make a welder exceed its capabilities , but that takes experience. I had a 135 mig 110 volt that worked fine for smaller thinner projects. When I decided to weld a new axle on one of my work trailers, I promptly advertised my 135 on craigslist and sold it for $375.00 then found another 180 welder 220 volt on craigslist and only paid 25 bucks more for it so I could do more structural welding. I would not have put that axle on with my 135 Again not enough penetration for the abuse vehicles go through. I am average at best in my welding, but now that I have a more versatile machine I will practice and get better. When I have a project that requires more intense welding I refer to my buddy Jon who is building his rock crawler.
Thats why I joined this discussion
thanks
Don

Good on ya for havin a go at doin it yourself.

A+ in the effort department, but being a fabricator and welder myself, that shock setup is a hazard to you and others around you, what may seem strong sitting on flat ground can easily change during wheelin. For example did u bevel any of the joints to help acheive better penetration while welding? its the small simple things that will fail first, not trying to give you a hard time just some things to try in the future, the last thing u want is something to break and have a serious problem because u didnt know how to weld correctly. Welding is a skill, yes anyone can burtcher there way through a project that has little welding exprence but it takes a true fabricator to build something that is designed correctly and can function as you intened it. In all honesty i would not hold out much hope for thoses welds to last.

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I just read this entire thread and this build is a perfect example of why I tell my wife to steer clear of modified trucks on the highway.

I'll give you an "A" for effort but in the immortal words of Dirty Harry "a man's gotta know his limitations". lol!

Wise words neo but on the other hand if we never try to exceed our limitations we never acquire any new skills or achieve excellence...

A moment of Zen
"It is only by trying to exceed our limitations that we find out just what they are."

It's best to practice new skills before applying them to real world sitiuations.

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