New Guy with M101A3

[John Galt]

Haven't done much other than complete the wiring for the lights and remove the entire brake system. Got tired of being quoted $200 for the welding work so I am taking a break to buy a welder and learn to weld. Hope to have this all wrapped up by the end of April

 

[gimpyrobb]

Wow, shame your not closer.

 

[harleyhouse]

See if there are any SS members that weld in your area.
We all look out for each other and help when able.

 

[John Galt]

This project is a good excuse to finally buy a welder. I doubt this will be the last trailer I want to do this work on....

gimpyrobb, you win the creepiest avatar award

 

[gimpyrobb]

A welder is a great thing to have but be careful, they are like MVs. You will have more than one in no-time. The avatar is a joke from another thread.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

gimpyrobb, you win the creepiest avatar award

He usually does!

But hey, aren't you glad he doesn't use his picture?

 

[Scarecrow1]

Great find, and welcome from SC

 

[Blueegg]

Haven't done much other than complete the wiring for the lights and remove the entire brake system. Got tired of being quoted $200 for the welding work so I am taking a break to buy a welder and learn to weld. Hope to have this all wrapped up by the end of April

Sorry to hear about the welding problem, but been there with that issue myself. Got a Hobart 140 a few mos ago and its great for tacking things together and small jobs. With my hitch tacked together I found a reasonable fellow($40) with a big welder for the hitch welds. We have no worries about it breaking.

 

[harleyhouse]

http://www.superpages.com/yellowpages/C-Welding+Services/S-TX/T-Fort+Worth/

Lots to choose from

 

[John Galt]

Took another step forward with this project today.....

Also got the hubs back together and am waiting on some 1/4" spacers.

Cleaned and painted the new wheels.

When attempting to dry fit the new wheels, it became apparent that all 8x6.5 lugs/ lug nuts are not equal. The lug nuts that came with the 16" Chevy wheels were metric and the trailer hubs are 9/16-18..... so I was off to find some dual thread nuts that would allow me to use the wheel center covers. Fortunately Costco came through and has them at $0.70 a pop.

Just need to buy some tires, learn to weld, and weld the channel to tongue bracket to wrap this major portion of this project up.

 

[harleyhouse]

Nice work, Like the wheels!
I bought my lug nuts off ebay after heading to the auto parts to figure out the thread and pitch.
Looking forward to seeing the wheels mounted.

 

[Blueegg]

Nice welder! Please post photos of finished product.

 

[paraclete comes]

looking good

 

[John Galt]

It is rolling !

Wheel spacers arrived.

Seems like everyone was pretty proud of their used tires in my area so I decided to give the Dextero brand a try from Walmart. Picked 225/75/16 for a 29.5" overall tire height. These actually seem like pretty decent tires for $111 each. They are all season type and E-rated.

 

[harleyhouse]

Looks great and dropped the ride height a few inches. I like the black rims and centers.

I hear you on the local tire prices a couple years back you could get e rated tires under $100.00 I paid $169.00 each for my
current rollers 235-85-16 You would think with all of the 17" to 22" tires the manufactures are pushing that 16" would be cheaper.

 

[John Galt]

My dad was out this past week so we made a lot of progress.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Can you post a picture from the back. I want to put 235/85R16 tires and rims (CUCV) on my A3 but I feared that the wide axle would make them stick out of the fenders.

 

[harleyhouse]

Very nice work!
Looks great with the truck.

 

[John Galt]

Thanks Harley, like many before me, your build was used as a template. I still have a pretty long list of things I would like to do but at least it is functional as it sits. Now that I have a welder, I am re-thinking some of my plans.

Once I figure out what to do with all of the take off parts in the bed, I will take it to a scale to see what the weight is.

I will get a picture from the back tomorrow. With these rims, the inside of the wheels are pretty snug to the inside of the fender.

 

[harleyhouse]

List the surge lunette and brake parts on the SS forum.
I sold both sets of my trailers within a week.
Tires are hard to ship, so I would list them on craigslist or contact a local 4X4 shop.