the stepside: a drivabeater thread

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dusterbd13

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ok, I'm going to link to another forum for the start of this. hopefully that's ok here.

I'm finding that this forum is where I wing up for all the model specific information, and inspiration. so I would like to give back with a build thread. its been going for about 2 weeks now, so I apologize for anyone reading it and wading through a few pages. but its a fun read.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/f...gap-gmt400-a-drivabeater-thread/136993/page1/

ill add my latest update here as well

Budget first:

previously was 256.96

new money:

3 /4 ton leaf spring: 20


Now: 276.96


first off, I spent a hell of a lot of money this week on maintenance/repair parts. However, none of it has arrived yet, and I don't quite remember off the top of my head, so im not adding it in today. Maybe when it comes in....


also, we settled on the elky with insurance, and im keeping my billet centerlines and nardi wheel from it. So those will make an appearance at some point in the near future.


Since nobody likes a thread without pictures, ill do some.


First: the cherokee steering box that may or may not work. First round of cleaning on it is done, but it needs a lot more before I can paint it and install it.

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20180225_175456 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


also, the set of 3 /4 ton leaves I grabbed from a big rig repair shop for 20 bucks. They may be too stiff in the back, in which case ill pull short leaves until it rides right. The sagging, broken springs on this now have to go. My thought with the 3 /4 ton leaves is that they will have a higher rate, for less bottoming and better handling. In addition, should hold up better for tow dolly/flat tow usage. And engines. Every truck I have ever owned has hauled at least 1 engine over 100 miles in the bed.

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20180225_175428 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


next up, picture of the sub box that didn't fit. Its behind the seat now with perfect clearance, but its not where I WANT it. After other things are finished up, and I get some time, ill build my downfire underseat box again. And make it fit this time. However, the design in my head has changed a bit....

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20180222_082800 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


while cleaning out all my elky parts, I came across some stuff I almost forgot I owned that I can use on this truck.

Aluminum underdrive alternator and crank pulley from March:

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20180222_082827 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

the crunch 300.1 amp, wiring, and a K&N extreme top/spectre air filter combo. You can also see a backup camera and a set of tokiko HP struts for a miata hanging out in the corner of the picture. Backup camera may get used on this if I can find a good, unobtrusive spot to mount the monitor.


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20180222_082811 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


the yukon mirror I scored

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20180222_082818 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


I didnt take a picture, but I pulled a side post stud adapter and a couple of terminals out of various boxes for the 6 gauge amp cable, some RCA cable, and some other odds and ends while cleaning.


Now, so this post has actual content instead of just pictures of parts laying on various surfaces, I present the exhaust swap. Remember I had picked up an unknown flowmaster catback from pull-a-part. Well...


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20180224_092928 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180224_092938 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


unfortunately, its louder than I care for, and I can now hear the catalytic converter rattling. Dammit....


I also got my new dash bezel in. significantly less broken than the old.

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20180222_130730 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


today we had some fun. This is what a drivabeater is all about. Fun, friends, and family. See, I had bought a new pressure washer last night, and got it put together after church. Needed to run it for a good 30 minutes to break the motor in and then change the oil. I started by using it to clean the steering box. That took like 3 minutes. So I went after the engine bay a bit.

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20180225_172123 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180225_172109 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


changed the oil, and my buddy art (who's the best $200 paint and body man ive ever seen) came by to hang out and see the new truck. My wife and daughter came home from the girl scout cookie booth, and my daughter wanted to try peeling some plastidip. She has fun doing it for some reason. I wanted to tru the pressure washer method of peeling plastidip, and art wanted to see what was under it in preparation for spraying real paint on it. So we messed around in the driveway for a while. Art and Mary had a plastidip fight with the peelings, and Mary played in the gravel. And we wound up....


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20180225_164416 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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until next time
 

dusterbd13

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Budget first:

previously was 276.96

new money:


rockauto order: all brake flex lines. Pitman, idler, idler bracket. Upper and lower radiator hoses. Plugs, cap rotor. Trans filter. Power steering pressure and return hoses, inner tie rod ends: 170.36


pair of new upper control arms: ebay 53.98


used kenwood hd/bluetooth stereo, ebay: 44.77


gallon kit viper red paint: paintforcars.com 109

soft tonneau cover, ebay seller gtracers: 113


gallon of valspar rust tough paint: lowes, 32


plug wires: had


k&n filer setup: had


plug wire looms: had


195 thermostat and gasket: had


amp wiring: had


underdrive pullies: had


Now: 700.07


still to add: LCAs from Patrick, calipers and wheel cylinders, new 3 rd brake light (mines broke)


lots of parts came in, lots are in the mail. I got pretty much an entirely new suspension here, some speed parts, some cosmetic parts, etc. lots of stuff. Lots of work to do coming up, as I like this truck enough to give it a good hold on a second life. After all, who wouldn't like this?


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20180228_182419 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


next, the pile of parts that is RAPIDLY drowing. Im running out of workbench space pretty quickly. Need to start getting parts on the truck.

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20180228_210841 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180228_210853 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180228_210902 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180226_165549 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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last night I got started with painting and doing the basic tune up. Truck had developed a slight miss at certain loads and operating conditions. Jeremy had put new NGK plugs in it, but couldn't remember if he had done wires, cap, or rotor. I found some Accell 8.8 cut to fit wires in a box, so I had those. Ordered some AC Delco R43TS plugs as that's what I have found to run best in the TBI engines. Good cap and rotor with brass contacts. Had some yellow wire looms in a box as well. So I threw a tune up at it. This was my first time with Accell cut to fit wires, and I must say that working with them was much more difficult than the MSD sets I usually use. However, I was willing to deal with them for the price. Modified the Mr. Gasket looms a bit to fit the bigger wires, and bolt to the factory wire loom spots. Put some never seize on the plug threads (all plugs looked exceptionally good for a 50k motor, let alone one with 200k!), and got it done.

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20180302_220233 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



found carbon tracing and some broken plug wire insulation as I was inspecting the old parts. Haven't driven it yet to confirm the miss being gone, as today was my parents 50 wedding anniversary and we needed the minivan. But, idles much smoother in the shop. I also opened plug gap from .035 to .044. I have found power and fuel economy gains with a wider gap on other TBI engines, so well hope that streak holds here.

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20180302_164430 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180302_164440 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


I picked up a gallon of valspar rust tough paint at lowes. This is a rustoleum equivalent, though I have found that it covers far better, resists fading better, applies smoother, and is more durable than rustoleum. Not quite POR15 quality, but good enough for what its for. And at 32 a gallon, far cheaper. I actually started painting frame rails as well, but no pictures, as I didnt get very far before my shoulder started killing me. Did get the steering box painted, and part of the 3 / 4 ton leaves.

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20180302_075237 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180303_084955 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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lastly: im good at violating my own rules. My rule of “safe, reliable, and cool. In that order) is pretty well shot at this point. Ive hooked up the sub temporarily (and then the old JVC from the box of stereo stuff died, hence the new to me kenwood. Same one I have in the daily driven miata), started painting the frame that still has serious play in the steering, and not even tried to figure out which pulley on the accessories is noisy as hell. In my defense, its because I was presented with a golden opportunity.


My buddy art paints cheap cars and builds salvage title cars for local car lots. Hes a good, cheap bodyman. Not show car quality, but better than standard 10 footers. He is the guy that came and helped me shoot the plastidip off with razor blades and a pressure washer. Hes the guy that taught me to paint cars and do bodywork (which I still suck at). His local paint supplier had gone up in price dramatically after changing ownership. We got to talking about Patrick's recommendation of paintforcars.com, and art thought they were great prices for a similar grade of materials to what he typically uses. They have a very limited color palette though. He offered to shoot the truck if id order an experimental supply kit from them.


Freaking SOLD!!!!!


first I ordered the color chip chart. They only offer one non metallic red, and I was hoping it was close to the victory red on this thing. They called theirs viper red.

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20180228_171330 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


close enough for me. So we orderd the acrylic urethane kit of viper red. Kind of interested to see how it turns out. Art has been spraying ****** materials with decent results for so many years that im not too worried about the end results of the paint is actually usable. And Patrick swears by it. But hes from Ohio, so I dunno how it will hold up and spray down here in the hot and humid and sun baked south.


anyway, after doing some side work next Friday and Saturday, my wife and I are going to do some disassembly. Sunday after church, we will be dropping the front and rear bumpers, hood, grille, and bed at arts place. He will paint them and do whatever it is he does while I rebuild the suspension, paint the frame, and clean up the rest of the truck thoroughly. Then, when the parts at home are reassembled, I will take the cab/front clip over for him to paint and reassemble the body. Wet sand and buff, and drive it some more. He also was able to work a trade for the chrome bumper to a painted bumper.


Im excited to see how this turns out. Hoping that it doesn't suck, as they have some neat colors on that chart and I like neat colors on beaters.


I do need some pictures and details on the door weatherstripping though. Mine is all out of place, and im pretty sure there's either more pieces or less than there is supposed to be. Since im pulling it all for paint anyway, id like to get it back together properly with correct stuff. NPD has the main door surround weatherstripping for 10 a side, but there's more pieces attached to the door and a-pillar on mine. Anyone have details? I also need to figure out if I can leave the door glass in while removing the window run channel weatherstripping and the belt molding on the outside.
 

Cokeman95

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Check lmctruck.com for the weather stripping. I'm digging the truck. Keep us posted.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 

dusterbd13

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Budget first:

previously was 700.07

new money:


billet grille: ebay 31.46

clear headlights/turn signals/corners: ebay 49.59

firestone sport rite bags: amazon 280.80

105 amp alternator: amazon 57.50

fuel pump and sending unit: amazon 36.98

5 gallon air tank: free

most of a DJM flip kit with shock extenders, notches, new front rotors, and unknown drop front coils: helped a friend

DJM LCAs, 2 inch drop: 150 from Patrick

rear 8600GVWR wheel cylinders, amazon: 17.66

front 8600 GVWR front calipers, advance: 20.99 ea

front wheel seals: advance 8.25

led 3rd brake light: ebay 23.99

sold 2500 leaves: 50

sold bedrails: 40

sold GMC grille: 30

new total: 1278.61


“Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.” Alcoholics Anonymous page 59



this is a very fitting quote, as in the case of almost every drivabeater there has been that point. I truly believe I am at it now. We started pulling the truck apart for paint, and I have started hunting down every evil and sin that is hiding in it. There's more than I expected, to be honest.


Lets start with chronological order, if possible,

first, my third brake light was cracked, with bad gaskets and burned out bulbs. It was within a few dollars to change the whole thing to an ebay special LED unit. Worked perfectly after clipping the yellow wire, which is apparently pretty common on them. Little strange looking to my eye, so I plan to use some VHT red taillight tint to turn the whole thing red. Maybe. Haven't really gotten that far yet.

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20180309_080506 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


I also was told by my body man to bring the bumpers and tailgate over for him to work on and use as test pieces for setting spray patterns/mix ratios/etc. Tailgate was pretty mangled, so hes getting that straightened out as well. Only a couple other dents and dings, and a few extra holes to fill otherwise. Pretty simple paint and body job in his opinion. After we pulled parts, we threw a few hundred rounds down range. It was a good night.

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20180307_180505 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


next, the LCAs came in. same day as the tonneau cover. So I mocked up the tonneau to decide what to do about the bedliner and rails. I have decided that I am keeping the bedliner, but am modifying it to make it fit flush instead of going over the rails. The tailgate piece will still wrap over, but will be done in black. The tonneau is very cheaply made, but that's to be expected when its only a third of the price of others. The hardware they sent doesn't come close to working to mount it to the truck, and im ok with that. There's some solutions going around my brain, but nothing certain yet.

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20180308_142032 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180319_203128 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180308_144734 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


I went ahead and pulled the diamond plate. Figured it was time to rip the band aid off and see what was under it. I was very pleasantly surprised. Not even a spec of surface rust. Just fantastic!

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20180311_171102 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


somewhere in there I started working on getting the frame clean enough to paint, in addition to being clean enough that it didn't drop crap all over me and the floor when I go to redo the suspension. I also had an offer from a friend I couldn't refuse: due to a hernia, he couldn't do the heavy lifting on lowering his GMT400 6/8. he offered me a smorgasbord of used stock and drop parts in exchange for helping him. So I removed the bed, notched the frame, replaced the rear axle/springs, did 2 inch shackles and a flip. Up front spindles, drop arms, and coilovers. Freaking thing is LOW. Which makes me want to make mine lower. And reminded me how nice it is to work on these things without sheetmetal in the way. No pictures of his truck because I suck. But here's pictures of the parts he gave me.

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20180319_203137 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


in addition, eBay was running a one day 20% off sale. So I went ahead and got the front lights and billet grilles, as I mangled the free billet when trying to cut and shape it, and one of my headlights is cracked.

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20180319_203145 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180319_203151 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


I also installed my “salad bowl” (an aluminum wok lid from habitat) and air cleaner. These were leftovers from the elky, as they didn't clear the hood or look right. Picked me up 1.5 mpg average over 600 miles. Ill call that a win. I do have to get the crankcase breather hooked in though. Right now its a filter into the valve cover, but id rather it be in the air cleaner assembly.

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20180308_135358 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180315_120900 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


also, I developed a squeak from one of the accessories last week. Last night upon return home, the squeak stopped. Spit the bearing out of the back of the alternator and cracked the case. In the driveway. Backing up to the shop. Couldn't have happened at a better time or place.

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20180319_191908 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


so this all brings us up to the reason for the quote: we pulled the bed last night, shedding light on a multitude of sins. First, we shall show pictures of bed just pulled, then discuss the issues I have fond and my plans to fix them.

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20180319_190451 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


sin number 1, and my biggest concern, is the notches. Im not sure that they are in the right place. The bumpstop pad on the drivers side of the axle was cut off due to contact before my purchase. They are only held in with half the fasteners, and really ugly welds. Mu first step is to pull the bolts from the shackles, pull the shocks, and drop the frame as far down the axle as I can. See what hits and what doesn't. If it clears, I will grind welds down, clean everything, and burn it in with a good 220v welder. In addition, box the back side of the frame for strength. If it doesn't, I will cut them out, fit the DJM notches I was given, and follow the same weld/box plan. In addition, the brake line bracket is not actually doing anything but adding extra strain to the hardline by being cantilevered out into space and haphazardly zip tied. This will be firmly bolted to the frame or boxing plate, and shortened as necessary.

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20180320_182734 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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next, the axle is crooked in the frame by roughly a half inch. Unknown why at this point. Axle may be bent, but more likely is that its a flip kit issue. The bottom plates are pretty bad, and the saddles to the axle tubes don't actually fit the axle. This will all be addressed after I figure out what I want to do, and how best to accomplish it. I will set pinion angle at the same time, however its pretty close right now as there is no vibration.


Next on the list of sins to fix is shocks and shackles. These two items are the biggest contributors to the poor ride quality in my mind. The unknown brand (included with the flip kit per Jeremy) shocks are at a truly horrible angle due to no extenders. I have a pair of bilsteins off a suburban (don't remember why or when I bought them, but do remember where) and the free DJM extenders for that issue. The shackles are lift shackles that Jeremy put in to cure the pumpkin hitting the bed support and level the truck some. I got the stock ones from my buddy's truck, and will use them. Biggest issue with the lift shackle is that they are in a severe bind due to hardware. The head of the upper bolt has dug into the hangar bracket, making the rear spring rate near infinite. Also, neither of the front leaf spring bolts have nuts on them any more. That cant be good.

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20180320_182750 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


lastly is springs themselves. I want to go slightly softer in the rear, and have scrapped the plan of the 2500HD springs I had bought. Instead, I bought the firestone load bags, and plan to pull the overload leaf (currently an active leaf in the pack, adding a metric shitton of spring rate) as it will no longer be the main source of weight capacity. I will check the bushings and spring pads and re-grease while its all apart. In addition, I may decide to go with onboard air for this, and filling tires at the autocross, side of the road, etc. haven't made up my mind yet. But I have a large amount of parts for onboard air already on hand....


also, I have picked up everything to go through the brakes while its apart, just to be **** retentive. Going with the 2500hd stuff, as the internet tells me that that's the sweet spot for brakes with these. Well see.


Lastly, in preparation for the rabbit hole that I am heading down, I spent some more quality time with the pressure washer.

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tomorrow it gets real.


Have a good evening y'all, and tell your family you love them.
 

dusterbd13

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Budget first:

previously was 1278.61

new money:


coil spacers from belltech: 42.32

bumpstops: 9.99

rear axle: 266.68 from city salvage

drum turning: 21.56

new total: 1619.16


well, that did not go according to plan.


I guess where things went pear shaped was when I found this:

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20180321_135249 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


I had suspected the axle wasn't square in the chassis, but this made me question weather it was bent. After some thorough measuring, I found that it was. Severely. So, a call to my local salvage yard had another open 3.42 rear dropped off on my doorstep the next day before I got home from work. This was a very unexpected expense. Im also certain I could have done it cheaper, but the convenience of delivery and having it removed for me, with the added benefit of a warranty, made it worth the money. After all, I would have had to give up a day, and borrowed a truck, to hopefully find a rear with the same ratio that was good, pull it, bring it home, etc. to save about $100. money well spent.

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20180322_204724 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


whats even better is that the emergency brake cables on this rear are in good shape. Mine were not, and I had to cut them anyway to get the rear out. So, there's the hundred bucks right there.


Anyway, while I was waiting on the rear to come in, I made the executive decision to redo the notch. I knew it would bug me forever if I didn't redo it. So, I pulled the bolts, ground through all the welds, and ripped the notches free. They are now in the scrap pile. Pulled the exhaust, etc from the back end as well. Stripped it all.

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20180321_190505 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


took the time to remove the overload leafs, pain and re-grease the leaf packs as well as make new centering pins, clean and paint the back of the frame, clean and paint the new axle, and clean and paint the front of the frame after I ripped all of the front suspension out.

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I went ahead at this point and drained the power steering system and tried the jeep grand Cherokee box. The mounting pattern is different, as well as the hardware size, it would work if I was willing to modify the frame, but I am not. So, the stock 200k box is staying for now. Im not super happy about it, but such is experimentation. I will go ahead and replace the lines that are still stamped with gm part numbers, as they stay damp. I also already have replacements, and the system is already drained. No better time.


So I went on to put new parts back in. first, a couple points of housekeeping. DJM specifically states that the drop LCA CANNOT be used with drop spindles. This is due to scrub line. On stock wheels, the pocket for the spring hangs well below the rim. Therefore, if you get a flat, the control arm hits the ground, and **** gets BAD. With that being said, this truck is on 18s, and will probably get 20s at some point. The 2 inch drop arms are a 3 / 4 inch above the wheel lip at the lowest point, and I know the consequences if things get really bad. I feel comfortable here. i probably wouldn't on 17s. The other note is about ride height. According to spindle height measurements, this truck really was 4-6 when I bough it. 2 inch springs, 2 inch spindles. Adding the 2 inch arms would make a 6 inch front drop, which would be just too damned low for a daily. But 5 wouldn't. So I picked up some belltech 1 inch coil spacers. I've used these before and like their design better than anyone but daystar lift spacers. But the daystar cant be found that short for this cheap (by me this past week at least). I used some duct tape to hold them to the coil to make install easier, as they can slip while you're trying to maneuver everything.

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20180324_000508 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


so then I went ahead and got the front end put back together. New upper and lower arms, spindles, springs, spacers, idler arm and bracket, brake hoses, cotter keys, cleaned up hardware, etc.

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since the front sway bar was out of the way and the steering linkage is still not doing anything but hanging off the pitman, I went ahead and put the under-drive pullies on. Never have more clearance than now.

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20180325_141250 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180325_163723 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


picked the drums up from being turned, and got my rear air bags in from Firestone.

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this is about where I had to call it quits. Doing this I re-injured my shoulder that hasn't been right since the elky was totaled. In addition, I have eaten something that didn't agree with me, so im on the couch with ice water, peptol bismol, and Tylenol. Watching kids movies with the family.


As a parting note, Art sent me a picture of the straightened and painted tailgate out in the sunlight. Im excited.

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dusterbd13

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Budget first:

previously was 1619.16

new money:


rear shoes: 19.99

drum hardware: 9.99

returned wheel cylinders: -17.66

serpentine belt: 39.99

power steering gearbox: 95.99

rear bumpstops: 9.99

heater hoses: had

Heater hose adapter 7.99

remove grand cherokee box from budget -40


new total: 1745.44


non picture heavy update. It was a LOT of work, but doesn't photograph well.


We finished up getting the rear suspension put together except for the notches. The DJM spring plates requires some machining for clearance of the new spring centering bolts. I went ahead and cut down the u bolts as well, as there was a good 5 inches extra hanging below the spring. Got the shock extenders bolted on, got my ass kicked by rebuilding the drums, and bolted it all back together except for the notches. Even went ahead and re-lubed the spare tire carrier and hung a donut spare from the elky up there, as I believe something (that fits) is better than nothing. And this is sure something....

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20180331_152334 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


everything is finger tight right now, except the brakes, which are completely bled, and the driveshaft. I still need to positively locate the DJM notches and fit them, and need to squat the back end as much as possible to do so. Ill tighten when I get there.


Up front, lots of work. I shortened every tie rod ½ inch per DJM instructions, re packed the wheel bearings, installed the new hoses and calipers and rotors and tie rod ends, went to put the pitman on the steering box and found that the output shaft had LOTS of play. The grand cherokee box didn't work out, as the mounting pattern is different. I found that oriellys sells the 454SS box that its quicker ratio with a lifetime warranty for 105. they knocked it down to 95 with my commercial discount. Put new lines on it, and ran it home. Went and put the drop shocks that came with the truck back on it, as I struck out on junkyard bilsteins for now. Same with the delivered front sway bar. Didn't find anything bigger on my last run. I did learn, the hard way, that the DJM LCAs need something to limit down travel with lowering springs. I had one pop out, and it cost me two hours. I also learned that the camaro wheels barely fit on the old front rotors, and the new ones had a hub that was a few thousandths larger so I had to bore all 4 wheels (tire rotation will happen sometime). Regardless, the front end is together, with the control arm to frame bolts finger tight, and no steering shaft. Had to see how it sits, and needed to bring it down to be able to reach the engine bay to put some of the engine bay back together.


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20180331_152355 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180331_152349 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


I NAILED my stance I was wanting. I wanted, on 245/55/18 tires, to have a fender lip height in the front of 28 inches. Im at 28 1/8 up front, and expect another half inch or so with all the weight on it and a properly settled suspension. Rear end is unknown, but looks right. Frame height is at 7 inches under the center of the cab, as judged with a 1x6 you can see in a couple of the pictures. The DJM LCA don't hang below the rim, and I feel comfortable with the scrub line. Additionally, I tried that “selfie” thing all the teenagers are doing. Purely as a reference point. Im 5'9, and the roof is at my nose. I freaking LOVE it. Im also uglier than homemade sin, so be warned.

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20180331_192410 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180331_192521 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180331_192441 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180331_192449 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180331_192753 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180331_192605 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


lastly, today after Easter festivities, I got the new belt on, lower radiator hose, and lower shroud in. also got the new thermostat and gasket in. old one was stuck open, so that should help. New belt wound up being 4 inches shorter than the old.

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20180401_175619 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180401_175631 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


until next time, y'all.
 

dusterbd13

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Budget first:

previously was 1745.44

new money:


new trailer hitch: 20

console: 17.50 (pull-a-part)

door: 57.50

gallon high build primer: 95 (oriellys)

welding: 40

alpine components: had

sound deadening from mcmaster carr: 120 for 5 sheets

insulation: had

backup camera: had

autometers (had the trans temp, paid for narrowband) 13

relay and wiring, as well as flood lights: had

new floodlight bulbs: 9.97 from amazon

m14x1.5 studs (20) 24.00 amazon



new total: 2142.41


so, last real update we had a roller with a kick ass stance. Since then, it seems like I haven't gotten much done, but its that last 10 percent that takes 90 percent of the time....

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20180404_195856 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


we had an issue with the un-reinforced frame getting bent. Got that straightened out, and the notched welded in by a pro. My 110v welder wouldn't touch this stuff....

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20180403_212756 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180406_085153 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



we got the front end aligned (VERY rough), everything torqued and greased, wheel bearings set, cat converter gutted (catalyst was broken and turned sideways. NFG), exhaust rehung. Etc. so we got all that sorted. I then went on to get the airbags installed. Had to modify the lower mount, as the kit isnt supposed to work with a flip kit. But we got it done. Essentially I just added another leaf clamp on the lower plate. Had to move the whole setup forward about 5 inches for clearance. Anyway, got them in, the welded frame painted, bumpstops in, etc.


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20180408_171749 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


whnile I was back there, I also got the relay for the auxiliry backup lights and backp camer wired in, as well as (temporarily and in the wrong place) one of the 100 watt floods. Holy crap we have backup lights. I need to tidy the wirig up, and when the hitch gest installed, the floods wil be mounted to it. Fill valves for the air bags wil be mounted to either side of the liscence plate on the bumper.


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20180408_171756 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


I also went ahead and added sound deadening and insulation to the drivers door, as I was in there to put oe of the alpine components in. (factory speaker died some time back) no pictures of the insulation, but will do a full writeup on sound deadening and insulation when I do the rest of the interior.

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20180405_145340 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180405_145330 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


I love overhead consoles. So I got one. Locating my backup camera monitor in the old garage door spot, and a pair of autometers in where the rear HVAC controls would be.


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20180408_172130 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


lastly for this update, ive been prepping the cab for paint. That entails removing the baked on plasti dip that the pressure washer didnt remove. Lacquer thinner and a paper towel is doing the trick though. And the paint under the plastidip is in shockingly good shape. However, I found the passengers door is loaded with bondo, and bent a fair bet. Hard to get a picture of. But I bought another door. Made more sense than trying to fix this one.

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20180406_164748 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180406_175302 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr


art is shooting the bed tomorrow. But here's a couple of pictures of the tailgate, just because im incredibly happy with how it tuned out.

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20180404_171828 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20180404_171309 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
 

thz71

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Awesome thread! looking great

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk
 

dusterbd13

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Thanks! Im spraying the back of the cab tonight in prep for putting the bed on.
 

Eveready

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Nice to see another great truck brought back from the brink of the scrapyard. Good job. Its good to see it done right.
 
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