The Bigger Red Pig

[lstzephyr]

I still have the truck. I have replaced the tires, brakes, steering, a/c, tint, and lots of little things. I slowly go through parts fixing rattles and other things that are bothering me. The old truck just keeps working and is now my daily driver again because I have graduated college and I am now a RN.

 

[redthies]

Good to hear you're still out there! Looking forward to seeing some new adventures now that your cash flow might be going in a positive direction again!

 

[Rot Box]

Good to hear. Have you been riding much? :bike_rider:

 

[Bojak]

The question is will you have more or less adventures now that you are out of school but now have a career? I have read your build 2 or 3 times and love your truck and am impressed by your adventures so far.

 

[lstzephyr]

Thanks guys. I haven't been riding much lately. I have found a few dirt bike loops out in the two national parks in northern Alabama. I am looking forward to doing some riding in the spring. I still have my XRR and it needs the cobwebs blown out.

The question is will you have more or less adventures now that you are out of school but now have a career? I have read your build 2 or 3 times and love your truck and am impressed by your adventures so far.

I don't know. My career choice is very flexible toward moving and relocating. I need experience before i go anywhere but having the positive cash flow, a flexible career and time is what I have been working towards the last few years.

 

[lstzephyr]

I have a couple updates. I put crossover steering on the truck. It has a drop pitman arm that sits a little lower than I would like but it allows a straight drag link. So far it hasn't hit the spring but the shocks are limiting suspension travel by about an inch. I eventually will put a different pitman arm and add a bend to the drag link which should allow a bit more travel but that would mean extending the shock mount. I may just leave it. On the to-do list right now is a lower kingpin rebuild, a shackle flip out back and some bodywork. I would like to get it driving smoother and looking less battered.





I have mostly just been bombing around in the woods and driving it back and forth to work. It is pretty muddy right now because it snowed a few inches at the start of the month. I hit a pole too so I need to replace one of my tail lights.





This is bankhead national forest after some rain and sleet.

 

[Metcalf]

What pitman arm did you use?
Did you end up adding a single bend to the drag link?

 

[lstzephyr]

My drag link is still straight. I wanted to try it straight before I put a bend in it but I did leave extra length in the adjusters to compensate for bending it if needed. I can adjust it out about 2-3 inches total so it should be long enough after a bend.

I used a 3.5 drop arm from chassisunlimited.com that came in their kit. http://www.chassisunlimited.com/product/steering/complete-steering-kits/dana-60-complete-1-ton-crossover-steering-kit-with-arms-studs.html It went together fairly easily with a little welding and cutting. I will probably order a wj pitman arm, put a 3* bend in the link and some f250 front shock mounts to extend the shocks up a bit. That should give me 1 more inch of travel.

It drives pretty well. It takes a big hit to bottom out the shocks. I put a zip tie on the shock to measure travel and it only moved the complete travel after hitting a rather large pothole at speed. The spring hasn't hit the tie rod yet. The steering is a little quicker and a little vague but I think if I tighten up the steering box a little and replace the lower kingpins it should improve that. At the moment the slack is acceptable and less than the old system. It is very nice to have complete lock to lock steering.

 

[lstzephyr]

Ive been chasing front end vibes for awhile so I did another battle in the war against the bad vibrations. I replaced the front kingpins. It was a complete pain and took about 4 days total but it has made a huge difference. The truck vibrates a little at 75-80 but it is much less. The steering is tighter and the truck goes where it is pointed so that is a positive result!

I also picked up a new bumper from a junkyard. It is off an early 80 half ton. The bumper sits up much higher and closer into the grill so it has improved approach angle, less likely to get bent and is shiny to boot. I have the grill and driver's fender to put on as well. That will get rid of a bit of the ugly. I may have to do some modifying to get the grill to fit. I like the 91-93 grill but I think the 81-85 grill will look good too.





I took the truck out to talladega national forest for a bit. I had a good time wandering around the woods.

 

[lstzephyr]

I finally got around to putting the junkyard grill on my truck. It makes it look a little older but I like it. It is an 84 grill which has the advantage of being metal. I cut up the core support a bit but the support was already twisted from the wreck years ago so not a great loss.





The truck spends most of its time sitting around in parking garages lately. I walk to work and the grocery store so I only use the truck to get outdoors. The old truck doesn't really blend in with the fancy cars at my apartment.



I've got a new drivers fender in primer for it so that will go on as soon as its painted. Other than that the next few things planned are some new interior vinyl or carpet, some sound deadener and maybe some bedliner. A shackle flip, some nicer wheels and some more chrome might happen too. I use it regularly to get outdoors though so it will take time but I'm still enjoying the old truck.

As far as traveling goes I tend to take planes now instead of the truck. I went to Turks and Caicos this summer to go scuba diving, flew to florida to visit a friend, flew to Arizona for my sisters wedding and in a couple weeks I'm taking off to Africa for a couple weeks for my birthday.

 

[Bojak]

New grill looks good and very classic. Keep up the good work.

 

[lstzephyr]

I've been meaning to update this. It has been awhile. I went to Cameroon last September. It was quite the experience although I'm not sure I would do it again. I did get to see my friend who is in the peace corps so that was worth the trip. We played with young chimpanzees on my 30th birthday at a sanctuary in the jungle.





A few months after I returned I decided to try travel nursing. I take 3 month contracts across the country. I went to Washington state first. I prepped the truck and put the cap back on. I had intended to buy a new jeep or something but in the end I kept the truck for various reasons not the least of which is that I just like it.



I visited canada while I was there.



I did some snowboarding. I went to as many resorts as I could find. Whistler was a highlight.



I visited the olympic peninsula.





I tried to get out in the woods at every oppurtunity as well.

 

[Atl-atl]

Just read through your thread. Great truck and great experiences!

 

[lstzephyr]

Thanks Atl-atl. I enjoyed reading through your thread as well.

After Washington I took a job in Arizona. I took a month off and traveled around a bit but it was mostly to weddings and family functions. I left the truck sitting in long term parking in Seattle and flew back to pick it up. I drove down the coast as much as I could while visiting national parks along the way. I went to Crater Lake, Redwoods, Yosemite and Death Valley. I also drove down highway 1 in California. The whole trip was gorgeous. One night I splurged a bit and stayed at a bed & breakfast on the coast as I wasn't sure when the next town would be. It was a highlight of the trip and one of the nicest places I've ever stayed.



Crater Lake was amazing.





The B&B had a private beach attached to it.



Redwoods



Highway 1





Yosemite



Death Valley





Every place I stopped I wished I could have spent more time exploring but I am very glad I could see what I could. It was a great trip.

 

[boll_rig]

Man all your photos have me really itching to get out there! Love hearing about all the places the ol truck has taking you. She looks great! Keep it up