97 chevy rcsb sleeper

[bluedevil]

Definitely kickin ass tonight. There have been some slow months, so I have to pat myself on the back when I get any real progress done, lol. I sold the set of belltech hangers and shackles I had, and ordered factory replacement shackles from dorman, so its settled on 6" for the rear. Also today I picked up my 2" drop spindles, so if I leave the springs the way they are now, it will be 5" drop front. Not sure if I should toss the belltech spacers in and go proven 4/6, or chance it and see how weird 5/6 looks? Another score today was princess auto had a sale on square tubing. So I picked up some 2", and 1.5" to build notches and a back bridge for upper shock mount location. I tossed in the perches, and diff, snugged up the plates, and tossed in a tire for my viewing pleasure, and Im happy. Wild ass guess on shock length looks like 18" length at ride height, running from the lower spring plate to where it would meet up with where the bridge will run, with enough angle for the shock to clear the frame (could also pocket the frame too if need be, but the angle doesn't look bad). I also tried my junkyard rear sway bar (89 f-150) and the bar sits across the diff nice enough, but the sway link on the drives side interferes with the gas tank so I couldn't get it centered...really to early to say if it will work, but I think if need be I could rear mount it also. It was dark by the time I wrapped up, but can't go without some quality cell phone pics.

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I still have to play with pinion angle so I can weld on the perches. Everything is marked now, so I can remove the box, blow it all apart again, and start cutting to build the notches. I'm wanting to do something along the lines of the avs underbed super c-notch...aaaaand offcoarse a butt load more cleaning and painting.

 

[Crash]

I really like that style of reg bracket, but already had the braided lines so its gotta be a littler further away.

I get it, that crap is not cheap.

 

[bluedevil]

Things are continuing to move in the right direction. I got the drop spindles installed, and removed the 3" drop springs to install the 1" spacers. I also scored a smoothie bumper for the truck, so I decided to ditch the rear bumper and go with a roll pan.
I made another milestone this weekend, and finally got the garage wired for 240v. Now that I have the capability to run my larger mig, and more amps on the plasma cutter, it blows my mind that I waited this long to do it. I was pretty excited, so I got the truck spun around, and knocked the box off, and removed the gas tank, and the rear end out again. I mentioned I picked up some tubing a little while ago, so I put it to good use, and built sort of a truss for the c-notch. They will end up looking kind of like the avs super notch, but a bit beefier. I will end up plating the inside too, then build the bridge for the relocated shocks. Here are a couple pictures of how things are starting to look.

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Now that the fab stuff is happening, i'm playing with the idea of relocating to a rear mount fuel tank. I got a rear tank from the same ford pickup that I scored the rear sway bar from, and rough measuring shows it will fit the frame rails. I just have to see how it looks after the notch is done, and get the rear end mocked back up so I know how much room the shocks need. Double bonus; if it all fits, then the sway bar will work perfect also. More progress pictures coming, as i'm making steady progress.

 

[bluedevil]

Getting close to finishing up the c-notch. There are still some unknowns yet as to which fuel tank I'm going to run, and how the sway bar fits into the equation. I have to order up some shocks, and mount them yet to the rear bridge bar, so there will be a little bit of fab left before I can wrap it up. A little out of left field, but I made a sweet purchase a few days ago, and picked up a 95 ld2500 rclb with a 5.7/nv3500 combo. It will give up its 5spd, and possibly the sf 14 bolt if it isn't too much to convert to 5 bolt pattern. Technically I could yank the hole fuel system, tbi wiring since its already sbc/5spd since the harness is quite a bit thinner to begin with than my truck was, and not have to run my noisy holley blue pump haha. It also doesn't have a/c so I will steal that stuff (even though i gutted the a/c from my box already), a bunch of interior (may use the 95 dash too), and other odds and ends. Its a little late in the game since the truck has new brakes, ordered wheels and tires already, but the thought of just going 6 bolt all together has me intrigued. Anyways as usual here are some pics.

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[bluedevil]

Well, I got a little impatient with the plasma cutter again, and cut out the x member, and test fit the ford tank. Fit is practically perfect. I have the rear crossmember from the F150 too, and although its frame rails are a little taller than the chevy's, it looks like it will work with minimal mods. Width was perfect though. I am going to tube the rear in more to add some strength. I could possibly route the filler to the factory location, but it might look stupid, so I will most likely 90 up, and put a filler door in the bed floor.

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[bluedevil]

So I called to check on my wheels, since it had been a few weeks since they were supposedly started; Wouldn't you know, Wheel Vintiques didn't even have any centers for the wheels to build them. We had a discussion on how I was able to pay for wheels (not that its a bunch of money really) that they didn't have parts to build, and wait for 4 months for that update. They were good about the whole deal though, and now they are going to build me a different set of wheels. I ended up with a set of Corvette style rally's 15x7 fronts, and 15x10 rears with the same 6" backspace, powder coated all for 600 bucks. I'm happy again, so hopefully I have the wheels in hand this time in 4-5 weeks as promised.

As far as truck updates, the donor truck is stripped now, and I also decided to cut the truck in half, and save the box to make a trailer for hauling garbage etc. Im sure the neighbors love it, as last night I rolled the box and cab halves out seperatly and stacked them sideways on the driveway haha.

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The scrap guy is going to pick up the cab, and a bunch of other steel I have accumulated, so the yard will be nice and clean again. I also pulled the 700r4 out last night to install the flywheel for the nv3500. I have to cut the shifter, and clutch master holes yet, then install the clutch pedal, and tranny...but Whoohoo for progress. I can't wait to bang gears!

 

[bluedevil]

Its been a little while since I've updated. Things have got a little out of control, and off track a little bit. I decided to part out an extended cab I had, so it could donate its grey / leather interior, and make a little cash to carry on again.

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I got the 95 gmc trailer finished. The box sides were super tough, so I got the bright idea to trim them off...she's pretty ugly still, but handy as hell.

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But finishing up this beauty came at a cost of trying to cut my thumb off (exaggerating a wee little bit). The grinder I was using with a cut off wheel decided to run over the palm side of my left thumb below the knuckle, while trying to trim stuff up on the frame in a wierd spot...who would have thought that using the supplied guard would have been a good idea. On the bright side I can't feel it from the cut up to the tip, so next time it won't hurt as bad...Lesson learned. The digit is the mend now, and soon I can start making progress again. Its been killing me lol.

In the mean time, I've been evaluating a couple things in the rear end, and decided against using the F150 cross member for the tank. It looks kinda crappy, and I have some 2x4 tubing to build a nicer one anyways. I also want to finish the notch by add a front bridge, come up with frame sway bar mounts, then come up with a plan for the shocks. Not sure if I want to stagger them, or what just yet. If anyone has any experience on shock relocation (totally relocated or custom, not just extended mounts and corrected angle in the stock location) some feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I was also getting carried away with idea's of shop truck themes...possibly changing the doors over to power doors, and thought maybe a door logo would be cool. I spent a little bit on the computer messing around trying to make some cool looking hot rod logo's. I'm not 100% on the title, or script yet, but I think something along these lines would look kinda cool...a lot cooler if the truck was satin black, haha.

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[ccreddell]

I like your gauges. This is what I did to mine last weekend.

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[sewlow]

Just read this whole thread for the first time. Looking good so far!
Like'n 'the shop truck' look!
Good pic of the camber knock-outs. Saved it! I've tried to explain them to others before, but without pix...
Couple of things. Don't remove the overloads. That'll mess with the spring rate. I did that to mine to get the truck to a 7" rear drop. Found that when pushing hard in the twisties, the rear suspension seemed to hit a point where the truck would blow through the travel & do a bit more than just kiss the bumpstops. I replaced the overloads & got the 1" back with a set of drop shackles set at the 1" lower setting.
A 3" difference front to rear is what these trucks need to sit level. With 4/6, the truck still sits at a bit of an angle. Another inch in the rear is just right, IMO.
While you had the box off (is it still off?) I'd recommend to box the frame from the rear cab mounts to the last box mount. These trucks suffer from 'beam walk'. A cause of a lot of vibrations in GMT400's. GM's aware of this, & their solution is 500lbs. of 'ballast'! WTF? Boxing the frame makes a huge dif n how they handle, especially when any kinda power is stuffed into them, or if they are gonna be used to carve corners.

Gotta question for you. Did you have to do any mods to the engine frame mounts when going from the V6 to the V8?

You asked for rear shock relocation pix. Here's a pic of a rear suspension/shock set-up similar to what you are doing. Check out how the frame has been boxed.

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I sure liked your blue RCSB. That was a nice truck!
Still gong with the NV3500? You'll need this!
http://www.gmt400.com/forum/showthread.php?15248-Core-Hurst-NV3500-shifter-install

 

[bluedevil]

Thanks for the complements. Since I did the 4/6 drop instead, that ship has sailed on altering the leaf springs. Once its back together I may play with the drop a little more depending how it sits. I do want a slight stance to it, but definitely not raked. My Blue rcsb was 4/6 and I thought it sat nose high. Another inch drop in the front would have made that truck look way better (although the shorter front tire didn’t help). My truck looks like a twin to the frame pic above, and that's what I originally had in mind with the shocks arrangement. The box is still off as there is plenty of work to finish up back there yet.
The engine mounts were pretty simple since I took everything apart to paint it. I chucked the 4.3 mounts in the garbage, and bought new V8 mounts and bolted them up in the factory holes. Looking back I should have went with poly mounts instead of factory rubber ones. The NV3500 is in the truck now, but i'm not sure how long it will last with my intentions. I'm pretty sure it will just poop its pants when I start beating on it. It would have been the same deal with the 700R4 though; it’s just way more fun to bang gears. It’s a slippery slope. I’m sure it won't be long until I’m looking for a 6spd. The core shifter would be a nice upgrade from the factory piece for now though. I keep telling myself, baby steps...but the devil on the other shoulder wants a turbo race truck right now! Lol !