sewlow
Bitchin' Stitchin'
Been meaning to post this for a while. This started out as a simple rear Upper Shock Mount relocation. We got a little carried away!
Anyway...
First, we ground off all the old brackets on the rear end housing.
New urethane spring bushings
New spring perches
Custom 'C' notch. You can see the factory location of the upper shock mount in this pic, & the hole in the frame from the factory, that the U.S.M. will be moved to.
Finished 'C' notches. Wasn't around to get pix of the process.
U.S.M. moved to new location. You can also see what we had to cut away from it, in order to make it fit in behind the inner frame gusset.
The other side is done very similar, except that the distance it was moved, is not the same. This is because the factory locations are not equal. We set that one up so that the distance from the rear housing would be equal on both sides.
Sway bar frame mount installed. The hole in the center of the mount is so that it fit over top of the U.S.M. bolt.
Because the frame gets narrower as you move to the front of the truck, the rear 'leg' of the U.S.M. had to be modified to fit.
Modified shock extender from the original DJM flip kit.
Mark, the mad fabricator doing one of the many test fits. In this pic you can see the new short spring in the leaf springs. We took the overload spring out, & had a new one made that followed the contour of the others, instead of it looking like it was upside down. This really helped to make the truck feel more solid, & connected to the ground when tossing it around in the corners. This also gave me the 7" drop that I wanted.
Test fit.
New sway bar & shock mounts. Painted & finished install.
Bed notched & relocated brake line.
Done like dinner!
Next to be done, probably during the LS swap, is to box the frame, with dimpled lightening holes, from just in front of the rear cab mounts to the bumper brackets.
Anyway...
First, we ground off all the old brackets on the rear end housing.
You must be registered for see images attach
New urethane spring bushings
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
New spring perches
You must be registered for see images attach
Custom 'C' notch. You can see the factory location of the upper shock mount in this pic, & the hole in the frame from the factory, that the U.S.M. will be moved to.
You must be registered for see images attach
Finished 'C' notches. Wasn't around to get pix of the process.
You must be registered for see images attach
U.S.M. moved to new location. You can also see what we had to cut away from it, in order to make it fit in behind the inner frame gusset.
The other side is done very similar, except that the distance it was moved, is not the same. This is because the factory locations are not equal. We set that one up so that the distance from the rear housing would be equal on both sides.
You must be registered for see images attach
Sway bar frame mount installed. The hole in the center of the mount is so that it fit over top of the U.S.M. bolt.
Because the frame gets narrower as you move to the front of the truck, the rear 'leg' of the U.S.M. had to be modified to fit.
You must be registered for see images attach
Modified shock extender from the original DJM flip kit.
You must be registered for see images attach
Mark, the mad fabricator doing one of the many test fits. In this pic you can see the new short spring in the leaf springs. We took the overload spring out, & had a new one made that followed the contour of the others, instead of it looking like it was upside down. This really helped to make the truck feel more solid, & connected to the ground when tossing it around in the corners. This also gave me the 7" drop that I wanted.
You must be registered for see images attach
Test fit.
You must be registered for see images attach
New sway bar & shock mounts. Painted & finished install.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Bed notched & relocated brake line.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Done like dinner!
You must be registered for see images attach
Next to be done, probably during the LS swap, is to box the frame, with dimpled lightening holes, from just in front of the rear cab mounts to the bumper brackets.
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