Project WidowMaker - The Build Thread

[The WidowMaker]

a little more progress has been made. i started on the trunk last week in an effort to raise the gas tank for a little more clearance. although the ricks tank is no deeper than the stock tank, with my slammed height, i had about 5" of ground clearance. enough, but more would be nice. so i set off to raise the tank 3". on the first mockup of the pieces, i was at 3 3/4", so i said f-it and made it a little more than planned. it is all still really rough and all the welds will be ground for the finished appearance, but i figured id post a real update. also, the pictures really make the surface rust look much worse than it does in person. the bottom is going to get reblasted and expoxied after the exhaust is done, and the inside will get a good sanding in the next couple of weeks, followed by the interior getting por 15 and dynamat. ill have more interior pics to come.

in order to raise the sides, i needed a piece that was curved for the bottom to match the existing outer floor braces, but flat on the top for the new floor. since i wanted a 90* on each side for better mounting, i had to use two pieces. the lower was shrunk to match the curve, and the top is just a 90* done in the brake.



this is the inside at the start of the tack welding. i left the side mounts long so that the floor can be extended over to the quarters.



old floor braces tacked in place. they were curved at the back where they rolled and started to go upwards, but i made some relief cuts and made them flat to fit the new floor. if i would have cut the extra off, they wouldnt have been long enough.



this is a pic with most of the final welding done. who ever has to take this all back apart is going to HATE me. i hated the gm worker for just spot welding everything. but, once finished, it will be nice and smooth. you can also see the front mounts i welded up. 2x2 tube and threaded to accept the front strap bolt.



i was initially concerned that it wouldnt be ridgid enough, but a tap gets a nice firm sound. a little dynamat on the inside and u-pol on the outside and it wont make a sound.

Tim