Idi powered 79' stepside recovery rig build

[mudduck]

Just started into my 79' stepside mudtruck/ recovery rig build, ive taken a lot of pics from the begining all the way up to where im at now. Ill post up as i go but its not a really fast build

So heres the story-
My dad and i put together a 79 ford stepside 6 years ago for my highschool dd, 460,c6/205, d44& 9" on 34" swampers, i drove it off and on up untill a year ago when i pulled the motor/trans and its been sitting out back since. It drove me crazy sitting rotting away.

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My dd for the past few years has been a 91' f250 7.3,zf5, kp d60/10.25 w4.10s, i built a sidemount turbo for it also. The truck recently caught fire due to a faulty ( brand new ) battery. I didnt want to get rid of the truck, so i decided to do a little meaner built truck than it already was.

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[mudduck]

So i loaded it up on my brothers idi (almost identical) and got to work ripping it apart and gathering the new parts for it.

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Also picked up my new meats, 18.4x16.1 ags

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[mudduck]

I sold off my zf trans and 1356 tcase for a 2wd c6 and divorced 205. I got a wild hair and put the 79' body on the 91' frame

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I have to take 10" out of the frame for the stepside bed to fit right, im also boxing the entire frame while im at it.so i loaded it up and got it to the shop a few days ago.

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I also decided my 1 tons werent up to the task aswell, so i sold them and picked up some rockwells. To gain some ground clearance i mohawked them, and welded the spiders while they were apart.

 

[mudduck]

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[mudduck]

I temporarily put the rockwells under the truck right now using 6" blocks to mock it up to ride height, im going to do a shackle flip on the rear end and probably a reverse shackle kit on the front to get the lift i need. But heres how it sits now.

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Im going to start the frame work tomorrow and start building the mounts for my 20,000 lb pto winch. Ill post more pics as i go.

 

[mudduck]

And the truck i bought to deplace my dd after it caught fire is an 87' ford ranger 4x4 5 spd w/factory 2.3 turbo diesel. Thought you guys would like it, also just bought a rust free body for it and a 4" lift. Its kind of a side project while i work on the stepside.

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[warhog]

awesome. i love the stance of the 79 body on our frame. looks great. Though i wouldn't known where to even begin to do it,so kudos to you

 

[ZWilson07]

Awesome!!

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Do you know what years that ranger was available setup like that with the diesel and 4x4?

 

[turbo elk]

Nice.

 

[mudduck]

Awesome!!

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Do you know what years that ranger was available setup like that with the diesel and 4x4?

83-85 were a 50hp perkins non turbo diesel but ive never seen them 4x4, 86-87 were mitsubishi turbo diesels that make 86hp and all that ive seen are 4x4. Its a great little truck, drives and feels exactly like a mini version of our idi's. and without doing anything to it ive been getting 46 mpg intown. Im looking into putting a better flowing intake and exhaust on it and possibly an intercooler, i just want to free up more milage.

 

[riotwarrior]

Sweet build....I'm liking this alot!


Would love to find a diesel ranger 4x, I know where a diesel Dodge D50 4x is...hmmm....I have a ranger! Hmmm...naw...

Anyway I'm watching this build!

 

[mudduck]

I decided to recenter the wheels for the rockwell pattern this weekend instead of shortening up the frame, still got two left to do but heres the pics of what i got.

The rims ended up going pretty smooth. With the amount of offset i needed i was able to put my rockwell centers right into the back of the rim and they sat on the ridge of the rim perfectly. I still have two to get done but the first two went flawless. Just have to sandblast and paint them now. And i did only weld the backsides of them to try to keep from distorting them.

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[icanfixall]

Well your sure doing a lot of work on this... Glad to see some great looking welds too. Are you a welder or just know how to weld from self taught. Your project is looking great too. Will you keep it black or is there another color you want it to be. BTW... Sure is a nice big shop your working in. All I have is a two car garage that really only one car can fit in. And thats filled up with the 1937 Cord Sedan.. So working room is only happening when you move something out... Some day I will have a real garage where I can open it and walk directly to a clean bench thats not a storage lot for long lost projects...

 

[mudduck]

Thanks, ive been a welder since i got out of highschool. Im a welder at john deere harvester, i was lucky enough to get a space at my dads shop to work on my junk otherwise this project would be a lot slower.

 

[manimal]

That's pretty cool! Dent sides are some of my favorite trucks.