Chassis shock

The original chassis had seemed to be in pretty good condition during the initial assessment last month, with a brand new crossmember welded in place at the rear, along with a couple of replacement outriggers. It was hoped that it would serve well for at least a couple more years before needing further welding. However, with all parts and body panels completely removed from the old chassis, a few more issues were revealed. Worst of these were the rear spring hangers, where rust holes manifested themselves as we battered at this area to release the old coil springs that were jammed in place. Lots of big rust flakes rained down on the workshop floor as the alarming holes appeared. Other areas of the chassis were far from perfect too, and it came as an easy decision to cut my losses with this chassis and purchase a brand new one – I do not want to be chasing rust with the angle grinder and welder every year.

The cost of the new chassis was offset by selling the old one, exactly as is, for a fair price. The new owner has plans to use the old chassis to build some sort of off-road trailer for his logging business.

While I have splashed out on a new 110 chassis, this is not a project where the budget is unlimited. I am going to make use of quite a number of parts that I have around the workshop and storage barn, rather than buying new. For example, I know that I have a full set of coil springs that have never been used, but cannot be sold as new parts. I also have a special front and rear shock absorber setup that is unused, although the components for the front will not be suitable for this truck.