Trail rig

[99z28monster]

First I would like to start by giving a baseline of what I have and what my ideas are so far. A few months back I picked up a 94 ext cab z71 that was supposed to have a bad transmission. Ended up being a bad fuel filter sucks to be the guy I bought it from. So my build is starting with a 94 half ton Silverado everything is stock except a 14bolt Sf rear end with 3.73 gears and a leer camper shell. It is a 5.7 liter backed by a 4l60. I have just been throwing money at it right now to get it into decent shape. So far I have purchased new carpet and all the crap that goes with that, new mirrors, new bumper for rear " didn't like the roll pan", new 14bolt sf, new front fenders, replacement panels for rust, 3 inch body lift, 15x10 rock crawlers, and 33x12.50 wrangler dura tracs.

I am trying to keep this build with in reason so that it will still function well as a daily driver and get me where ever I need to go be it a cross country road trip or back in the woods to hunt. I am thinking it needs to stay relatively low to fit in tight trails being its not a small truck to start with. I have it in my head that I can make a obs 4x4 with 33s an extremely capable truck off road and still be a good DD. Maybe I am wrong that's where you guys come in to help me bounce ideas around.

As of right now I am thinking paint will be olive drab being that I like the color and it is really easy to touch up. The wd carc that the military uses would be best but I am not paying 189 a gallon if I will need a few gallons to do the truck and Camper shell. Being that I did the body lift I don't really have a good recovery point right now. I would like to get rid of the front "hooks" and replace them with shackles. Would it be easier and cheaper to just use a tow hitch for the front and rear to get solid mounts for the D-rings? Right now Custom bumpers are not possible I have two kids that come first. I am thinking as for lockers that I will go with selectable rear and a limited slip front. I would like to go cheaper but I don't care for lockers in icey conditions and I believe up state new york gets some weather like that every now and then

I hope that helps you guys get an idea of what I am looking for and the idea I have for the truck. All suggestions are greatly appreciated. Sorry for all the rambling but being in Iraq I have plenty of time to brainstorm for the truck build. Oh and if anyone has a pic of an Obs in olive drab could you post a link or something? I am having a hell of a time finding one.

 

[6chevy9]

well i think your set perfect with the 33s and 373s just as my truck is and thats very capable. now i have a detroit eaton locker in the rear...its not fun in the snow so if i could do it again i would go selectable. i was turned away from messing with the front diff as its said to be very weak and prone to breaking with a locker or limited slip. and to be honest i use my truck for the same you mentioned above and it does not get stuck easy at all! lets see assuming your going to keep it ifs, if i had the money i would buy rcv cv shafts as an upgrade. they are supposed to be the best. https://www.rcvperformance.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=36 try that link it should work. also for steering i would run these bullet proof tie rods http://bulletproofsteering.com/gmifstierod.html with all that said i dont think you would have even a question of anything breaking doing what you mentioned. personally if i didnt want to sas this is the way i would go. let me know what you think. its pricy but deff tough!

 

[99z28monster]

Hey thanks for the link just the kind of info I was looking for.

 

[6chevy9]

yeah no problem man. i have yet to find stronger ball joints but if you come across some let me know!

 

[99z28monster]

Any one have an idea of what tow hitch will work with the 3inch body lift?

 

[6chevy9]

x2 on that one man

 

[99z28monster]

So right now I am thinking about getting a new motor and transmission for the truck. I figure it wont be more than 2500 so that is not bad for the piece of mind it would give me. The truck has like 240k on her.

 

[6chevy9]

are you going to upgrade and go vortec? i would if i had the bucks man better mpg and more power cant pass that up!

 

[99z28monster]

Bumping this up. Adding some pics of the progress on the truck so far looks pretty rough right now. So far it has a 3inch body lift. Goodyear Duratracs 33x12.5, 15x10 rock crawlers, and some body work done. Still need to have the carpet installed and the rear body work finished up. After that off to get some paint put on, I was thinking of just rattle canning the truck. However macco is cheap and will look better. Need to get my flowmaster single chambers welded on and I am putting a new tranny in the truck. After that I am fresh outta ideas for the time being. Let me know what you guys think. I am thinking the 33s are a bit too wide maybe some 35x10.5 would look better on the truck and fit better.

This is what the truck was like when I got it. notice the good tires the guy that sold the truck told me it had haha.

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replacing the fenders, body lift install, and cab corner rust fixed.

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I am not sure I like the look from the front of the truck. Maybe when I see it in person I will like it.

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this is how it sits as of right now. Fronts rub a bit with cranked bars and 3inch body thinking my wheel offset is jacked.

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[6chevy9]

looks good man! its really coming along. i like the black on black look its got going on too. those tires really look like they almost clear. i bet of you got a little less offset they would be fine!