S15 Resurrection

S15 Resurrection AKA Bush Buggy

This is old content that I'm just getting around to posting. I seem to have lost most of my pictures that I took as I was rebuilding this truck.

This was the last picture in a long series that documented a swap of the full rear-end from a surplus S10 Jimmy I have for this very reason.

The doors are also from the same Jimmy, with new rocker panels and home made cab corners.

Mechanically this is a super sound vehicle, the motor was rebuilt 30,000 Km ago by the previous owner, though the body was a write-off.

The S15 sat around for almost year with minimal usage as I had removed the Box with the loader on the tractor just a little too soon. A truck with an open frame rear may look interesting, but it does tend to lack any sort of utility, especially for firewood or hauling hay.

With derelict vehicles starting to clutter the yard, and the prospect of unharmonious relations resulting from the situation, I thought it best to spruce-up the S15. For a year it has been a little mud runner and used just for kicks, now it will start to earn it's keep.

I simply started with 4x4 pressure treated wood across where the box mounts were located and some threaded rod. The decking is pressure treated 2x4's screwed down with 4" galvinized screws.

The decking at this point is great for square bulky materials like hay bales, but seemed to lack when it came to more cylindrical objects like firewood.

After agonizing for a couple of months on the best way to fit some side walls on to the deck I opted to cut-up a length of angle iron, weld 3" lengths of 1" inner diameter pipe as square as I could. And I cut a series of 1" outer diameter pipes, and pre-drilled holes to accommodate carriage bolts to hold wood planking for walls.

At this point I'm well pleased with my little bush-buggy. I've had to insert a second set of 4X4 blocks to get more height. At some point soon I'll install taller spring shackles to gain even more air.

Don't be fooled by the slow vehicle symbol (orange tri-angle) as this thing flies, well as much as a 2.8L motor can fly... well it's quicker than the tractor.

Feb 2003 - Update

Only a year and half has gone by, but I finally thought to get some shots of the truck.

I did fabricate some quick & dirty shackles. The metal is 1/2" by 1 1/2" plate. The holes were drilled at 11 inch centers. As the axel is mounted approximately mid-way on the leaf-spring the net gain in height is approximately half of the total increase.

The original shackles were somewhere around 5" between centers so I was able to achieve 3 " of additional clearance.

The bolts are a grade 6 bolt to accommodate the load bearing effect on them.

This picture shows a handy towing package I pulled from my Blazer, complete with 1 7/8ths ball. On the rare occasion that I need a trailer or have to move a hitched device, this is the ticket.

The towing package is bolted directly to the frame and is perfect for skidding logs out of the bush in 4 wheel Low.

Also I pulled the entire deck and inserted additional 4X4 pressure treated blocks to gain more height. The original shot didn't show them as well (where the side racking was made...)

I can't say enough about this little truck, it's a toy, a friend, a worker and always does what I want to do...

This summer for sure, new front cab-mounts and floor, and a fresh skin of paint... I'm waffling between full camo or red with flat black accents.

Some Electrical work to place a monster lighting system front and back, to better see things at night is also on the list.

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