mullishacrew

sounds like you did alot of work! can i see some pictures of ur 63" spring swap, i have those sittin on my other project, but i want to put them in this truck, i can build all the shakles and hangers, but id like to see some ideas if thats ok with you?

GIT-R-DONE

Nice ride ! Is that SNOW still on the ground up there ?

mullishacrew

yyessss still snow but only on some back roads where the sun cant get at it long enough

enafzige

Sure! I've been meaning to do a mini-build thread here, but was waiting until I actually finished!

Here's a few, feel free to ask for specific pictures or close-ups on anything.

Removed the front shock mounts, welding a piece of angle to make the new shock mounts a double shear design:





Did similar thing on the bottom mounts for the front:



Fronts mounted:



Here's the rear mounts I made for the 63" chevy springs in the rear. I used 3/8" plate. I got an 8" drop shackle and plated it in for strength.



A side shot...the front hangers moved forward, everything mounted up:



You can see the fore/aft rear shock design I went to. I made the bottom shock mount extend about 8" from the center line of the axle. That, in conjuction with the valving being set at 360/80, I think should help control axle wrap.



This picture shows the offset from the axle, but I ended up re-making the top mount to allow more up-travel and match the other side:



Front stabilizer brackets for a Bilstein 7100:



How she's sitting now:



It looks like I'm going to have to bring the back up about 1.5" to level it out. The tires are 35" Toyo MTs.

--Eric

enafzige

I got the engine cleaned up a little last night and painted, and hope to put in a good day tomorrow getting the bed back on, etc.




For the suspension design, I used 14" regular bodies in the rear, and 12" short bodies in the front. I wanted this truck to ride great, have tons of travel, and be riding in the "cush" zone. I think it's coming out pretty well. In the front at static height, the shocks are 5.5" inches into the travel, and the backs are about 6.75".

--Eric

SORTIE

WOW enafgize that is some job you are doing!

mullishacrew

enafgize how did your truck turn out for suspension ride after this was all done? i have mine apart in my driveway, springs are out and hangers are off, wanting to bolt the new springs up tomorrow, once the mounts are in place, were the shocks a good choice as well?

kensmachine

Enafzige someone that can stick weld alot of pepole just a mig welder I do to I don't claim to be a welder but I can welded. I had a friend call me the other day when your in town come by and see me. I got to show you the street rod I just got gone with. he had been trying to get me to come by for mouths. to look at his rat rod/fuel altered Austin when I saw it and looked at the mig welding on it I was thinking that I am going see this thing on the side of the road some day my god it was the welding bad looking. I have seen that here and other sites when the welding looks bird spatter. Take some time to learn to weld the life you save may be yours. Enafzige nice welding Ken

enafzige

Have you ran across these directions yet? http://www.offroadexchange.com/proje...er_rear_su.htm

My ride turned out great!!! I'm very happy with it.

My quick thoughts are...for my case, I should've moved the front spring hanger for the rear springs forward 1" more than the monster suspension instructions said. The 35's still stuff fully into the wheel well, but it's off-centered.

The front Alcan's ride great...that being said, I wish I would've paid $100 extra to get the soft-ride springs that use thinner springs but more of them. I didn't know that was an option at the time.

Oh, the 63" chevy springs only gave me about 4" lift in the rear instead of the 6" like I expected. No big deal, but I had to stick a small block under them.

In the fronts, I made longer shackles to allow more travel. I really need to move the front hanger forward about an inch in the front as well to allow things to move a little better.

The Bilstein 7100s are a great shock! I think I hit the valving dead on in the front. In the back, I should've gone slightly less rebound/compression. The shocks are a little on the firm side on the small bumps, but really soak up the big stuff. I've jumped the truck probably 20 times, and it's amazing!!!

If you have any specific questions, or want shock valving specs, let me know.

I'm interested to see the results of your build...you've got an awesome truck!

--Eric

enafzige

Here's a few pics...it flexes out pretty good for a 3/4 ton diesel truck.









Not sure how much travel it has on an RTI ramp, but the tires are 35" tall. In the first picture, the tire is stuffed up into the top of the fender well...and the top of the 35" tire will droop completely below the body line!



--Eric

MARF75

Not tryin to hijack but I need some advice on front shocks. I put the Skyjacker 2"/ leveling springs in my rig and want the best bang for my buck as far as the ride goes. Its a work/ plow truck but I want all the help I can get in the ride comfort department.

enafzige

Don't want to disappoint you, but if you still have the stock leaf springs, shock choice really won't matter much at all. Unless you're really pushing your truck hard (which is impossible with stock springs), ride quality is probably 10% shock quality and 90% spring quality.

You need a spring that will allow the axle to travel and move upon impact. The shock resists this movement in both compression and rebound to bring about desired result concerning axle movement...but if the spring doesn't allow much movement, there's not much for the shock to do.

That being said, I like Bilsteins. Any white body shock is going to be about the same (rancho, procomp, superlift, rough country, tough country, skyjacker, etc, etc). Bilstein 5100s would be an upgrade. The 7100s would be a lifetime upgrade as they can be rebuilt. However, I just don't think you're going to see much difference for the price without a spring change as well.

--Eric

MARF75

Will the 2" Skyjackers that I have already installed make any difference?

enafzige

Well shoot, sorry for not noticing that sooner. I think Skyjacker's are supposed to be a decent riding springs for an off-the-shelf type thing. Did you notice a big improvement in ride quality with them over stock?

penguinman

mullishacrew, any new pics? I wanna see some old one's of your other truck with the custom steel bed....drool....