Well not really building anything yet, but just trying to keep all my updates in one place. I bought the truck last year (1995 M/M) with 89,000 miles on it, body/paint looked great, new tires, all smiles until the first rain storm. Well I though the windshield was leaking only to find the upper trough was rusted through letting water into the interior. The front end had a few squeaks and pops, so on a closer look found the idler arm was crap and was in need of lower control arm bushings.
The left side was a different story, a bit harder to get to but not too bad, after new metal was welded in place, POR 15 was then added and topped off with seam sealer.
The truck never came with a bumper, I looked and looked for a style I wanted. I didn't want a step bumper but just a regular bumper. I found one in a LKQ for cheap but it had a little rust/dent issues. I figured it was all cosmetics since I'll be installing a trailer hitch to pull with not the bumper, so out came the grinder/cut off wheel/hammer,dolly/welder to fix her up....
Here's the finished product with hitch. To make sure just how well it works, took the VW to the Jacksonville port to it's new home. Next on the agenda.....new front suspension parts, oh and some lowered spindles, and 3" blocks for the rear. Oh did I mention, new wheels and tirescan't forget those.
That is a nice mitsubishi
Last edited by 92bluemax; 01-24-2013 at 08:30 PM.
good to see the progress u made on this truck man. keep up the great work. I love the color on that truck and that u painted the rear bumper black. I was wondering how u installed that tow hitch. when I got my truck many years ago it came w/ a tow ball but it was attached to the stock rear chrome bumper right by the lic. plate. I like ur tow hitch better, what is it attached to?
It's mounted to the frame, you can mount it with a bumper or without. I looked for a while when looking for one. Here's the best deal and now looks like it's on clearance. http://www.hitchweb.com/product/88/7...Mighty-Max-SPXOriginally Posted by ikeepzitclean
my dads 88 spacecab had that hitch on it for years - it ended up being the rear crossmember of sorts when the spare tire carrier rotted so bad you could have pulled it off the truck without much effort.
Pennyman1
The best Dodge that Dodge never made
Living the D-50 lifestyle since 1980
oh i see.. i figured it wouldn't be cheap. lol however, is it bad to keep the "trailer ball" the way it is mounted on the OEM bumper now? its been on there like that for as long as I can rememberand the bumper had a pre-drilled hole in there for it.
mother nature is responsible for that truck mod.lol
hopefully I get lucky at the JY one of these weeks and come across one. are these hitches pretty universal?
a bumper hitch has it's limits, it won't pull much, and at the jy as long as it's a Mighty Max/D 50 and 2nd generation you should be goodoh i see.. i figured it wouldn't be cheap. lol however, is it bad to keep the "trailer ball" the way it is mounted on the OEM bumper now? its been on there like that for as long as I can remember
mother nature is responsible for that truck mod.
hopefully I get lucky at the JY one of these weeks and come across one. are these hitches pretty universal?
true.. but the bumper itself is pretty thick steel and is mounted to the back of the frame via brackets same way the trailer hitch is. however, for the hitch u got on ur truck, are the brackets (via which the hitch is mounted to the frame) significantly thicker or about the same as the brackets from the stock steel bumper?
There thicker, it also bolts to the side of the bumper brackets, all kind of hooked together
ah ok.. sounds like the aftermarket tow hitch is more heavy duty than stock bumper. me and camoit were discussing this last night and we kinda guessed it by lookin at the pic on their site, but u confirmed itdid u get yours off that same website u showed me yesterday? and approx. how much did it run u?
Yes I got it off that site, only 2 web sites carry it, this one has free shipping (see upper right hand corner of web site) so the $135.55 is to your front door. You can look at the installation instructions on the same page, shows how it bolts up with or without bumperah ok.. sounds like the aftermarket tow hitch is more heavy duty than stock bumper. me and camoit were discussing this last night and we kinda guessed it by lookin at the pic on their site, but u confirmed it
fasho.. sounds good. yeah the install is pretty straight forward from what I read and seen on they site. btw, i like da way the rear bumper looks in black..what grit did u use to sand down the chrome bumper to paint it. i assume it was originally chrome finish.
those bumpers came black or chrome and are a universal facebar with different mounting brackets. They were also used om the toyotas and nissans around the same age. There are a set of 2nd gen brackets on ebay right now for that bumper - just need the face bar.
Pennyman1
The best Dodge that Dodge never made
Living the D-50 lifestyle since 1980
Nope...it was black, it came off like a 88' or 89' model 1 ton Mighty Max
really? thats news to me.. I have a chrome one on there now. but mine looks a bit thicker. weird...
I dont think I've ever seen a black on in person. 99% of the ones I did notice were chrome.
Im just gonna add a tube bumper to the rear
use self etching primer on the chrome after you scuff the chrome with a red scotchbrite pad, then paint it.
Pennyman1
The best Dodge that Dodge never made
Living the D-50 lifestyle since 1980
thanks man. i appreciate the tip. wet or dry? so no sand paper required then huh.. is there a specific brand of self etching primer that u've used or would something like dupli-color work ? I just want the paint to stick and not chip or react and bubble up.
Dry for the scotchbrite - duplicolor self etch should work. Trucks and Musclecar on Spike have used it on chrome with good results.
Pennyman1
The best Dodge that Dodge never made
Living the D-50 lifestyle since 1980
thanks for the help pennyman
meandmit, my fault didnt mean to hijack ur thread..just trying to see how I can make my bumper like yours, looks better in black as opposed to chrome. lol
No problem....all activity is goodthanks for the help pennyman
meandmit, my fault didnt mean to hijack ur thread..just trying to see how I can make my bumper like yours, looks better in black as opposed to chrome. lol
fasho.. u got any plans for this truck besides what u did so far?
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