For the original build I really wanted to have a scale frame. So with pictures of a real frame and some sheet metal, hours where spent bending and welding the frame. The suspension on the other hand was kind of a let down for me the first go around. I wanted the ford control arms in the front and leafs in the back. I did manage to get the front close but as hard as it is to believe now, leafs were hard to come by then. So a four link was used in the back. The motivation for the truck was to be a full Emaxx setup, putting the power to the ground threw TLT axles. Now since the after market wasn't there, new trucks where bought for both. So off to the hobby shop to buy two new trucks… The look on their faces was great when I told them I was just using them for parts! One benefit I had not planned on was that the Emaxx flairs worked really well as Bush Wackers with some small screws and black paint.

Now being a fabricator most my life the whole build of the truck didn't take that long once the parts were all on the table. I think the first build took around a week. That being said the endless amounts of driveline problems seemed to make me think Ol' Billy would never last. Discouraged and with a part number for leaf springs, I went back to the drawing board, about two months later. This was to be the beginning of a rebuilt Bill Bob.

A new drilled frame was fabbed up to give better mounting ability for the Emaxx transmission and the Juggernaut leaf springs I had acquired. Once the frame was built and the transmission was mounted, I took some ''southern ingenuity'' and built the lift for the truck into the leaf mounts. Mounting the axles to the leafs, well that was another story since I knew the mounts would have to be beefy. For that I had some steel bent up and fabricated C-clips that would hold the leaf in place but still allow flex. The shocks from the TLT worked great but where too big, so with drill and file I turned them down to a more presentable diameter. The steering stabilizer was one thing that I wanted to work, so I used another TLT shock for that, and made a mount on the diff and valved it so it would be able to run oil.

In the early stages the truck ran Emaxx 550's, but now it usually runs 2 55T's. The two six cell packs are mounted saddle under the floor boards, with the esc mounted in a waterproof case in the bed area.

This truck has been nothing but fun for me since that rebuild. It’s been painted several times, some with body work done and some without. Pretty much all the paint damage is from running the truck. It has an all scratch built interior complete with padded bench seat and dash. I built this truck to drive hard and it has more than met my expectations. It's gone through one diff case, two or three ring and pinions and a few rear leafs. That being said, I run it as hard and put it away wet every time I take it out. It will plough through more mud than ever expected and will pretty much go where ever it’s pointed. The truck looks good dirty so it’s usually left just that way. And in the off chance I do feel it should be washed....it's down to the car wash and five bucks later it’s clean as a whistle.