started to work on the bracket today. i first started out with my 3/16s angle iron and marked it for cutting



once i cut it to 32" i rounded the edges. really not neccisary at all but i wanted to give it a finished look along with ridding it of edges for any possible work in the engine bay. i know how a rough corner can **** a person off



then i took it one step further and did the entire thing



done



next i went to work on making the bracket hangers. this was by far the most labor intensive part of the job. i basically used regular fire forging techniques that i was familiar with to bend the 3/16th flat stock to the angles i wanted them to. i screwed up the first one and thankfully had enough left over to end up with 2 perfect copies



finished product ready to be welded up. hopefully sometime this week.

 

Truck Looks great man!

 

Looks great man! really tasteful mods except for the HIDs. four 55watt HID bulbs in chrome reflectors is ridiculous, I'd sure hate to drive toward you.

 

i ended up removing the HID's from the fogs due to reliability issues and excessive glare, but the headlights are still in and working fine. i have yet to get flashed by anyone and i have them aimed well. granted the cut off is not what i could be with HID specific projectors, but it is very crisp for a reflector with only minimal glare.

id like to have these housings converted for FX-R projectors, but its simply not in the budget. as of now im not hurting anyone or being obviously annoying so oh well. i do appreciate your opinion and critical analysis however, it keeps the knowledge out there that its still not a good idea no matter what the excuse.




Current long term plans are:
-get the grabbers and get them mounted
-N-Fab RSP front bumper
-Magnaflow Pro-Offroad exhaust
-AFE Pro-Dry CAI (dont argue with me please)
-Camburg upper A-arms
-FiberWerx glass front fenders
-Superior Gear 4.56 R&P
-SCT3 tuner
-Front Eaton E-locker

 

finished product. hoping tomorrow to get all the holes drilled out and it painted and mount the lights. then once thats done the only thing i need to do is wire the setup and we're golden

 

Enjoying following your thread and congrats on the rugrat. Truck is looking good.

 

thanks hemigod!

painted, needs a few more coats and it should be going on soon

 

Haven't checked this thread for awhile=)
Congrats on the baby, Marshal!!!
Did You install some sort of mesh behind the grill or you're planning to do it, when the lights are finished?

 

Not sure why he would want mesh behind the grill? I sure wouldn't. Care to explain why you would suggest this?

 

i originally was going to put mesh behind it so you couldnt see the radiator, horn and tranny cooler but now with the lights being there it wont be necessary.

 

ive been reading up on your mods, and the truck is looking good man.. had a couple questions. whered you get the grille and brand, thats powder coated black right? also you put the 1.5 backspacers to allow the 35's to not rub on upper control arm right? thinking about a similar setup as yours but buying rims with the backspacing in it.. btw congrats on the baby

 

the grille is from Precision Grilles. and yes its been powdercoated black. and yes on the spacers. you really only need 1/4" spacers to keep 12.50's from rubbing on anything, but i obviously opted for considerably wider for the stance and i wanted some tire exposed from the body of the truck.

thanks for the complement on the truck and the well wishes, shes something else - i never thought id be a dad but this is great.

 

progress is moving! i have the lights mounted (but not wired yet) i also have a set of Hella 700FF lights coming sometime this week that i will be night shading and converting to H3 55watt HID using the kit i had for my foglights originally (with H3 bulbs) these will be in addition to my current lights and will be mounted on the outside part of my light bar.

im also going to convert the new lights in the center to 2800K color (incase someone missed that)

im really happy with how it looks!

 

did I miss something about you relocating your horns or do the new trucks have them located there?

 

thats where the 09+ have them located. i had to modify the bracket slightly and push them further back into the radiator support to clearance the lights though.