1966 Thriftside J 3000

[66stepside]

The sidewinder winch is in. The clearance issue was only a 1/4" or less. So the cut off wheel made quick work of that and I welded brackets under where I cut to retain the integrity of the brace.

No pics of the process, ran out of time.

[Jeeplovingirl]

sexy very nice...

[66stepside]

Lol... Thanks!

[66stepside]

This is the bracket that bolts to the front of the winch and the front frame rail of the truck. I have to oblong the hole on the side that mounts to the winch...

[66stepside]

The holes were all in need of "oblongification". I think it took 20-30 minutes to do that.

I had to uninstall the winch portion three times as two of the holes on the hanging mounting bracket also needed the oblongification, too.

I pre-drilled the holes in the frame and used self-threading bolts; while they're not grade 8, they'll do just fine until I want to winch the truck up a tree like they did in the ad. That's not going to happen on my watch.



Now I have to mock up the "new" bumper. I like the bumperless look, so I am not going to put it in the stock location. Just like I planned on the panel, I am going to tuck it up and in as far as I can get it.

[66stepside]

So, a visitor stopped by, but didn't feel like helping out.



So, I sent her packing.



Now I can get back to work... If you call playing with a hobby "work".

[66stepside]

Some might wonder why I keep so many spare parts. This is why:



Then (after a quick date with the cut of wheel and the wire brush attachment):



So now I'll bolt these up to the factory location (over the winch bracket), mock up the bumper, trim that bracket as-if needed, weld the pieces together and mod where the additional brackets that bolt to the front of the frame, too.

The point of all of this is to tuck the bumper up and in as close as I can get it. Once this is done, I'll fab up a skid plate for the winch to replace the one that did not come with this one. I'll also reinforce it to hold a roller fairlead and a recovery bracket to hold the cable. I also need a spot to mount the remote switch housing... Then I'll hook it up and test it out!

[66stepside]

A trip to the recycling yard yielded these two... Time to measure, bend, cut, drill, grind, weld, repeat.

[66stepside]

The template took about 25 minutes to work out, and rework.



Mocked up for final fit...



And...



Time to get the cut off wheel. I don't have the means to bend up this thick of metal easily, so it'll be a two piece unit welded together.

[66stepside]

It's cut out in one piece... I'm going to score a line where I want it to bend before I cleave it in half...



Cut of wheel, angle grinder and die grinder.


Edit:

Now on to mark the holes where it will bolt to the sidewinder winch spots at 4 corners, bolt it up. Truss it a little. Then take it off weld the score and then paint and/or bed-liner it.



And...

[66stepside]

Here's the winch in action...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG8_APf1E-U[/youtube]



Here's a vid I took of my 401/T-18/DANA 300 combo...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVJIpycfsbE[/youtube]

[66stepside]

Here's the final product minus the bumper...




Edit:

Here's how it turned out. I miss the old bumper already. Maybe this one will grow on me.

[Mars]

Looks great man nice work

[66stepside]

Thanks, Mars.

Meanwhile... I dug through a bag o' emblems and came up with these.



The hook came off an early 60's J Truck many, many years ago. It was the only hook like it on the truck; I thought it looked cool, so I kept it all these years thinking I'd find three more. I never did. So the emblems and the hook will go toward fab'n a front plate thingy-majig-do-hickey so I can secure the winch cable. I'll use leftover scrap to cut out a plate that'll work. I may not use all the emblems, but that's ok. I will eventually put all the exterior emblems back on the truck anyway. It's all good.

[HowardT64]

Loved the video of pulling the trucks...LOL!!!

[carnuck]

I had those hooks on my J4000

[66stepside]

Loved the video of pulling the trucks...LOL!!!

Thanks! It was a fun video to make, my niece was a good sport, too.

I had those hooks on my J4000

Really? I have only seen the one. Wonder where else they show up- other vehicles. It's pretty funky looking.

Speaking of funky... Here's my first attempt at the cable holder.



I can't wait until the fenders are done.

[66stepside]

Before the drive to scope out a parts jeep truck, I cleaned out the stash o parts on the side of the shop. I am thinking of putting up an 8' fence of metal siding on that side.



There are three piles, "scrap/why was I keeping this", "need it pretty soon", "next on my list I
0' stuff to do" (another cowl induction hood- this time for the 66).

[Mars]

The piles look familiar.. I did something similar when I moved last year.
Had the majority of 4 FSJ's not including the three in the driveway

[66stepside]

Well, my first trip to the scrapper earned a whopping 25.00. Not bad.

When I was cleaning up I found the factory skid plate for the sidewinder winch. Lol. I guess it did come with one.