98_k1500
strange noises are normal
Update: THE SHORT BED IS ON AND COMPLETE!!! It is bolted on and fits like it came on it. Body lines are perfect. The rear bumper has been mounted. The truck looks like it came this way from the factory. The first thing we did was drill all the rivets out of the spring hangers. It was very time consuming and we were very careful not to miss center and egg any of the holes in the spring hangers. Used a 1/4 inch bit as a pilot hole then drilled them with a 3/8. This left a very thin cylinder that was easily removed with a punch. We then took some careful measurements and got it all back square with the axle 14" forward of where it came factory. At this point, we realized that if the suspension was squatted much, the axle was going to hit the gas tank. We made some custom gas tank straps and moved the tank forward 3". This gave room for the axle to move properly and also aligned the filler neck with the door on the short bed. We also had to remove the factory muffler. Had the same clearance issue with it, and there is no way this truck is gonna be quiet when its finished anyway. We used C-clamps to attach the spring hangers to the frame and hold them in place when we got them where we wanted them. We drilled 1/4 inch pilot holes in the frame, then used a 31/64 drill bit to drill through the spring hangers and the frame. We used grade 8, 1/2" bolts to attach the spring hangers to the frame. They were a press fit in the holes, and driving them through the slightly smaller holes enhanced the hold of the self locking nuts. We also moved the rear cross member 14" forward, along with the shock mounts. We then cut 19" from the back of the frame rails. The drive shaft needed 13" cut out of it for it to be in the center of the slip yolk with the truck on level ground. From the design of the drive shaft, we had to cut 6.5 inches out of each end of it. The front bed mounts were correct, but we had to drill 4 7/8" holes in the frame for the rear bed mounts. The bumper mounts had to be trimmed, but the 2 bolts on each side lined up with existing holes in the frame. This is all the bolts we put in the bumper, it does not have a ball on it anyway and will only be used for looks and as a step. It has not been for much of a test drive because it is very low on gas, but the short ride it went on went well, no strange vibrations or anything. This is all we got done this weekend. The interior still needs major help and it still has the bad fenders/doors/grille on it. We did install the good hood on it. Surprisingly the shade of the red paint matches EXACTLY on both trucks. I cranked the torsion bars up on it, but it still sits a little high in the rear. I cannot find any upper control arms with more droop stop clerance, so i will be fabricating some soon so i can crank it up until it is level and correct the angles/alignment. Our next step will be to swap over the fenders, front bumper, grille, and doors. Then all i will lack is an interior and a set of wheels/tires for it. I took some pics as it went together, but i cannot get them to upload. If anyone wants to see some pics of how it went together, PM me with your email and i'll send them to you. Sorry about the book i have written on this post, but we got alot done this weekend.
Long bed, factory length.
After we got the spring hangers removed and the fronts re-mounted. Thats my little brother with the grinder.
This was the final location of the front spring hangers. You can see where they used to mount. You can also see the gas tank strap location in the far right. The light spot on the tank directly under the rear spring hanger mark on the frame is where it used to hang.
After we put the bed back on.
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Long bed, factory length.
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After we got the spring hangers removed and the fronts re-mounted. Thats my little brother with the grinder.
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This was the final location of the front spring hangers. You can see where they used to mount. You can also see the gas tank strap location in the far right. The light spot on the tank directly under the rear spring hanger mark on the frame is where it used to hang.
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After we put the bed back on.
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