1994 Chevy C3500 Crew Cab Long Bed Build Thread

[mars2878]

Looking good

 

[JScott23]

So a bit of an update, both of these builds are going by so slow, and it kills me... But what can you do.


I've been struggling for a while with this crew cab short bed project for about a year now. Swap it to the short bed chassis? Don't swap it? Sell the chassis? Well, a red on red crew cab short bed 4x4 with older style interior is about as much of a dream GMT400 as i can think up, but it's hard. Building the truck from the ground up is a TON of work. Something i highly underestimated.

I actually came very close to selling the frame, pulled the bed, motor and transmission out of it, then decided. in restoring the frame I've simply got too much time into it to give up now.

So we're going for it. And this next batch of work will basically cross the line of no return, as the front end overhaul won't be cheap. I also, can't seem to find another good cab since that one deal fell through. And since this 94 is rust free, red with red interior, and it's front end is already shot along with the trans being on it's way out, i might as well just simplify and kill two birds with one stone... and swap it over to a short bed, subsequently building my dream truck. (which wasn't avail from the factory)

The only major obstacle between dream truck/no dream truck is the crank windows, but it's whatever. I can always try to find a burb or something to snag the power window harness if i so choose down the road.

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Upon inspecting the front end, this chassis is definitely in need of an overhaul. The ball joints themselves look fine, but the tie rods, and hub/CV's are definitely all nasty. Common sense says, if you've got the frame stripped down to the chassis only, it's probably a good idea to replace everything now and start fresh.

So that's what i'm going to do.

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Plan to replace:

Steering Box
Pittman Arm
Steering Stablizer
Tie Rod Ends & Sleeves
Lower Ball Joints
New Upper Control Arms (with ball joint installed)
Hub Assembly
CV Shafts
Rotors
Calipers
Brake Lines
Steering shaft (upgraded XJ Shaft)

And i'll wire wheel and paint the knuckles upon removable.

This should make the entire bones of the truck brand new suspension and steering wise.

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The 4x4 transmission and transfer case were used, but purchased from a friend and due to a realistic budget will not be rebuilt. Nor will the 6.5 that i put in, it. But those things are in good operating condition and can be replaced down the road as needed.

Realistically the truck will be ready to swap after i complete the front end overhaul.


Also,

I've been having some trouble finding rear GMT400 leaf springs that don't cost an arm and a leg. While i could easily take mine off my truck when i cab swap it, i have been considering using some GMT800 1500HD leafs that i got from a friend. I can't really use my rear axle anyways being a 4:10 ratio. (chassis is 3:73) So regardless i'm going to have to use a different 3:73 14 Bolt FF axle anyways... and i'd like to have this chassis completely ready to roll (drive shafts installed) before i swap the engine/cab speeding up the whole process.

This truck will not work nearly as hard as my 1 ton Chummins, so the extra leafs aren't really needed, and they are from a 1500HD 8 lug, so they're a lot firmer than a half tons leafs. This truck will still do work, but , i'm not really sure i'll need the extra springs of the 1 ton as i'm probably going to treat this truck like a beefed up half ton. I suspect that those 1500HD springs will provide a little bit softer ride too, although it probably won't be significantly noticeable.

 

[mars2878]

nice to see some updates, keep them coming

 

[JScott23]

Made a little bit more progress on the front end work.

Got some of the parts ordered, going to do little bits at a time, hopefully everything will be done and ready to swap in a couple months.

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First time doing ball joints/ hardcore suspension work

Got them popped.

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Need to rent the ball joint press to get that lower ball joint pressed out.

The knuckle doesn't really want to pop out of that lower ball joint, so i'll probably end up leaving it for now until i rent the ball joint press. I don't really want to get carried away with a hammer and pound against the knuckle or lower control arm.

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Patiently awaiting it's new chassis....

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[mars2878]

nice

 

[JScott23]

Got some of the parts in.


Ended up just supporting the lower control arm and pounded out the lower ball joint, and cleaned everything up.

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Ended up having to back off the torsion bars to get e everything back together. with no engine/cab weight it was really the only option.

Ended up replacing the UCA's, just was easier than trying to mess with the old upper ball joints. Marking the cam bolts and replacing them with new cam bolts in the same location made this pretty easy. Plan to do the same with the tie rods so it should be close enough to drive it in for an alignment.

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Having not worked on any 4wd suspension in the past, this wasn't bad at all. A lot easier than the 2wds. (All prior trucks have been C2500/C3500s')

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Chassis is looking pretty good. Hubs, rotors, CV's, tie rods, and a new steering box should complete the front end rebuild. Then a set of new shocks, a fuel tank sending unit, set of rear shackles, and a 3:73 rear axle should have this thing ready to hit the road.

 

[mars2878]

coming along

 

[454cid]

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Since you mentioned not having worked on a 4x4 suspension... Did you get new seals in the back of the knuckles yet? If not use a wire wheel and clean up that rust in there, and then put a new seal in. Before you put the hubs in place, coat the mating surfaces with anti-seize, but be careful not to get it on the seal, you'll want to use grease on the seal, or maybe put it on the CV axle instead. I suppose you could use grease instead of anti-seize on the mating surfaces, so as to prevent cross contamination.

The hubs can really stick on the knuckles, which makes disassembly a pain next time...and as you may have noticed hubs have to come off to replace rotors.

You can get new hub bolts from the dealer or Dorman, coat those with anti-seize too.

 

[454cid]

What's the old blue truck in the corner?

All that room you have sure is nice. I wish I could rebuild my truck.

 

[JScott23]

What's the old blue truck in the corner?

All that room you have sure is nice. I wish I could rebuild my truck.

After battling with the bolts upon disassembly i was definitely going to put anti-sieze in there. And noted, on the seal, i was planning to replace that when i saw the condition of it... it was kind of a mess to disassemble.

The blue truck in the corner is a 51 chevy on a 78K10 chassis. That's a project for a later date, one far from now...

Gotta focus on a daily driver first. lol