Springs and Bumper off

The family was out of town for the weekend visiting cousins so I spent most of Sunday in the garage and made some progress on the old 4x4.

The springs were stubborn but they eventually came free. The front pin bolt was basically fused to the rubber bushing so it took some persuasion. Now that they're out I'll send them to a spring shop to have new ones made.

The bumper was especially frustrating. A massive hitch had been welded to both the bumper brackets and the frame. I had to cut awkwardly through the welds and pry it off.

Rotten old springs. The one on the left has a broken leaf 

Axle supported on stands. I plan to take the drums in for sandblasting then I'll paint them

Bumper brackets welded on

I'll blast and paint the axle housing as well

Old gnarly u bolts and their expensive OEM replacements

With all the free space I decided to pop the fuel tank skidplate off. I'll be sandblasting and painting it as well. The tank itself is in great shape

Factory coating on the tank has held up well. Just needs to be cleaned. The pump and gauge pods are pretty furry but they'll be fine.

Now I can clean up the frame with a wire cup and flap wheel, then hit it with some rust paint.  Getting the bumper off left the end of the frame rails a bit mangled. Maybe I can weld in some gusseting. 

This will all look like new when I'm done with it.