So I was left with a 80lb, seemingly useless ’91 Dodge truck bench seat in near-new condition after the interior upgrade. I offered it for free on the truck forum sell/trade pages, but nobody wanted it. So I scrapped it. In the process, I noticed that with a bit of cutting, bending and welding the large back frame piece might be a good candidate for a headache rack. I had more steel tube from some other scrapped furniture, so another fabrication project took shape.
The main front section is 1 1/8″ O.D, the sides are 1″ and the braces 3/4″, all assembled and contoured to match the cab shape(s). I spent a week putting it together with most of the time invested in grinding and going over the welds for a smooth, 1-piece look. The headache rack is nice for carrying long pieces of pipe or lumber more securely. But the two really cool things about it is how it works with the toolbox and being the mount for a new LED light bar. Every rack I’ve seen for sale involves some sort of compromise with the toolbox, either needing it moved back or just won’t work at all, depending on the design. Custom was really the only acceptable answer, to me. The light is a 150-watt Cree spot/flood combo and really lights things up well.
The light cost $49.99 off Amazon, bringing total project cost to 30 hours of my time and $80, including maybe $30 worth of welding wire, gas, sandpaper and paint. The truck now only just fits in kissing the weatherstrip under the 8-foot garage door after another rear spring adjustment. The skyjacker springs held up well in front, but the rears sagged quite a bit over the years, requiring several adjustments. So it is staying outside from now on while Phoebe’s new Jetta gets the CTD’s old garage spot.
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