Big Blue's Transformation

[ArdWrknTrk]

. But I'm using 10mm x 1.50 so that limits it a bit.

Refine your search by "lifting nut Japanese style"

https://www.amazon.com/Lependor-Lifting-Stainless-Hardware-Shaped/dp/B083BZZJ1F/ref=sr_1_2?c=ts&keywords=Eye%2BNuts&qid=1658793660&refinements=p_n_feature_eleven_browse-bin%3A3622111011&s=industrial&sr=1-2&ts_id=16409951&th=1

[grumpin]

. But I'm using 10mm x 1.50 so that limits it a bit.

Refine your search by "lifting nut Japanese style"

https://www.amazon.com/Lependor-Lifting-Stainless-Hardware-Shaped/dp/B083BZZJ1F/ref=sr_1_2?c=ts&keywords=Eye%2BNuts&qid=1658793660&refinements=p_n_feature_eleven_browse-bin%3A3622111011&s=industrial&sr=1-2&ts_id=16409951&th=1

I was looking around on Hi-Lifts website, I forgot the base comes off.

If you wanted to store the base in a different place, that would take some weight off.

[Gary Lewis]

I was looking around on Hi-Lifts website, I forgot the base comes off.

If you wanted to store the base in a different place, that would take some weight off.

Dane - Good point. It would be easy to take the base off and put it in the toolbox. Not only will that reduce the weight, it'll stop a rattle as the base is somewhat loose on the jack.

Jim - Yes, I have the pad that goes under the base for soft ground. And I have a piece of 1" thick flooring that can be used to further spread the load.

And that's a good find on the lifting eyes. I'll check tomorrow to see that they'll fit.

And yes, I could drill the center one out, but let's wait and see how the other two go in. I may learn something there that can be used on the center one as well. I'm thinking of welding a nut to a piece of strap and gluing it to the backside of the inner bedside.

As for the bumper, I don't have time to get that done before the trip in October. And, I don't have all of the parts yet either. Welder Scott has been gathering the pieces that are needed as he comes across them at his work, and I don't know where he stands on that at the moment. But he's supposed to come over in the near future and we are going to rebuild the 2150 on his '79 and I'll find out then. So hopefully we can do that this winter.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Dane - Good point. It would be easy to take the base off and put it in the toolbox. Not only will that reduce the weight, it'll stop a rattle as the base is somewhat loose on the jack.

Jim - Yes, I have the pad that goes under the base for soft ground. And I have a piece of 1" thick flooring that can be used to further spread the load.

And that's a good find on the lifting eyes. I'll check tomorrow to see that they'll fit.

And yes, I could drill the center one out, but let's wait and see how the other two go in. I may learn something there that can be used on the center one as well. I'm thinking of welding a nut to a piece of strap and gluing it to the backside of the inner bedside.

As for the bumper, I don't have time to get that done before the trip in October. And, I don't have all of the parts yet either. Welder Scott has been gathering the pieces that are needed as he comes across them at his work, and I don't know where he stands on that at the moment. But he's supposed to come over in the near future and we are going to rebuild the 2150 on his '79 and I'll find out then. So hopefully we can do that this winter.

Mid-day update: I ordered the stainless lifting points to use as nuts. Turns out that when you remove the base there's plenty of room for one down there. Thanks, Jim.

And I made two 3" x 4" x 1/8" backing plates and welded nuts to them. After a bit of blasting and powder coating they'll be glued on the inside of the inside bedside with some seam sealer.

And if you are wondering, the front and rear holes, where these go, are just below the rib that runs along the bedside. So the nut is 1" off the bottom edge and the rest of it goes vertically across the rib, as shown below with the backing plate in red. Also, if you are wondering why I didn't move the jack down a bit to stay away from the rib, that would have put the center stud on the curved part of the stake pocket. This was the best compromise.

[Gary Lewis]

Mid-day update: I ordered the stainless lifting points to use as nuts. Turns out that when you remove the base there's plenty of room for one down there. Thanks, Jim.

And I made two 3" x 4" x 1/8" backing plates and welded nuts to them. After a bit of blasting and powder coating they'll be glued on the inside of the inside bedside with some seam sealer.

And if you are wondering, the front and rear holes, where these go, are just below the rib that runs along the bedside. So the nut is 1" off the bottom edge and the rest of it goes vertically across the rib, as shown below with the backing plate in red. Also, if you are wondering why I didn't move the jack down a bit to stay away from the rib, that would have put the center stud on the curved part of the stake pocket. This was the best compromise.

Got the backing plates powder coated:

And while they were baking I drilled the holes for the front and back studs. And then I tried my hand at making a wooden spacer. Unfortunately it is 1/4" too narrow, so the paper in this pic is spacing it out enough to hold the block in place. But you can see the notch in it that fits the rib in the side of the bed, so that part worked out nicely.

But I'm sure I'm using the wrong kind of wood and running the grain the wrong way, so I'm looking for suggestions. Here's a couple of shots of the spacer and you can see the measurements. And the blue dot on the end is where I'd need to drill it for the bolt to pass through, but I'm pretty sure the thing will fall apart if I do that and put a load on it.

[1986F150Six]

Mid-day update: I ordered the stainless lifting points to use as nuts. Turns out that when you remove the base there's plenty of room for one down there. Thanks, Jim.

And I made two 3" x 4" x 1/8" backing plates and welded nuts to them. After a bit of blasting and powder coating they'll be glued on the inside of the inside bedside with some seam sealer.

And if you are wondering, the front and rear holes, where these go, are just below the rib that runs along the bedside. So the nut is 1" off the bottom edge and the rest of it goes vertically across the rib, as shown below with the backing plate in red. Also, if you are wondering why I didn't move the jack down a bit to stay away from the rib, that would have put the center stud on the curved part of the stake pocket. This was the best compromise.

As always, excellent work, Gary!

[Gary Lewis]

As always, excellent work, Gary!

Thanks, David!

I talked to the guy at Tulsa Plastics again at about 4:00 last evening and he said he'd find me something and would call back in 30 to 40 minutes. He didn't call back but I'd told him to take his time so I'm not surprised. Maybe today and we can go get the stuff today or tomorrow.

Meanwhile I'll cut a new piece of 2x4 and see if I can get the size just right. If so I'll make another the same size and paint them so they don't look so much like wood. And so they might not soak up much water if they do get wet.

Then I'll clean the back side of the bed's inside wall, goo up the backing plates, and put them in place so the adhesive can cure enough the bolts can be taken out. And this evening the all-thread and nyloc nuts are due, so tomorrow I can put them in place.

I think it just might work!

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, David!

I talked to the guy at Tulsa Plastics again at about 4:00 last evening and he said he'd find me something and would call back in 30 to 40 minutes. He didn't call back but I'd told him to take his time so I'm not surprised. Maybe today and we can go get the stuff today or tomorrow.

Meanwhile I'll cut a new piece of 2x4 and see if I can get the size just right. If so I'll make another the same size and paint them so they don't look so much like wood. And so they might not soak up much water if they do get wet.

Then I'll clean the back side of the bed's inside wall, goo up the backing plates, and put them in place so the adhesive can cure enough the bolts can be taken out. And this evening the all-thread and nyloc nuts are due, so tomorrow I can put them in place.

I think it just might work!

Mid-day report: The stainless all-threads and the nyloc nuts came in. And I got the front and rear spacer blocks cut out of 2x4. (Still haven't heard about the plastic.)

Here are a couple of pics, but they are now getting coated with black paint. And if you are wondering what the recess is for, that lets the nut/washer combo clear the web of the jack's rack so it just touches the spacer block, not the nut.

[grumpin]

Mid-day report: The stainless all-threads and the nyloc nuts came in. And I got the front and rear spacer blocks cut out of 2x4. (Still haven't heard about the plastic.)

Here are a couple of pics, but they are now getting coated with black paint. And if you are wondering what the recess is for, that lets the nut/washer combo clear the web of the jack's rack so it just touches the spacer block, not the nut.

That looks good! I’m ready for the pictures of the end result.

[Gary Lewis]

That looks good! I’m ready for the pictures of the end result.

Thanks, Dane.

But I think you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the almost-final pic, and Friday for the final one. I say that because I just got the backing plates installed behind the rear holes and the seam sealer I used needs to cure overnight so I can take the studs out that are holding them in. And Friday because the wing/lifting nuts don't come in until sometime tomorrow.

Boy was getting those backing plates in a BATTLE! The places where the backing plates go are almost, but not quite, unreachable. I'd realized that there was no way I could hold the backing plate in place from under the bed and simultaneously be in the bed and feed a bolt through into it. So I put short studs in the backing plates, gooed them with seam sealer, and gingerly put them in place - long end up. Then I got in the bed, checked the mark on the stud to ensure they were still pointing up, and gently ran nuts down on the studs until then were tight. And, luckily they were still pointing up.

So I'll wait until tomorrow to pull the short studs out and put the new stainless studs in - with Loctite. But the spacer blocks are ready. Here they are after about 4 coats of paint and curing in the powder coating oven at 150F for an hour.

And, speaking of powder coating, I had a thought as the paint on the blocks was wet - powder would stick to that wet paint. So I painted yesterday's spacer and then hit it with powder. That's it above the painted blocks. Didn't turn out all that well as it has goosebumps that are hollow. Apparently the paint came up in a bubble and the powder cured on top of it.