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1986 GMC 3+3 dually build.- cummins swap.. Round 2, 2024 update.

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few info bits.

those 60 shafts are neck down style.

and the true 4wd frames have 3" taller hangers on the rear springs front mount position. so you will prob be a little short in the rear lift department when done so plan on a block to level it or find 1ton 4wd hangers for the rear springs front mount. and fyi on that the rivit hole pattern is diffrent so be prepared to drill holes.
 
Thanks for the info! I have read about the spring hanger issue so I hope the shackle flip can help with that. Ya the front end is going to be a big tricky! The holes look close but off ill have more updates monday
 
I got a queston for the crowd. I plan on mounting a 4wd spring hanger/body mount for the front of the leaf springs in the stock body mount area. What do you guys think I should do for the rear front shackle hanger? Aka the best way to choose where to mount/drill it. Also the frames muccch wider than a standard frame do ya think I will need to make z shackles? Not a lot of these threads to read.
 
I'm currently in the same boat as you, I don't know where to mount that shackle. Looking at my frame though, there is 2 holes already pre drilled to what looks like the "boss" for the shackle to mount to. :dunno:

If this doesn't make any sense I can go outside and snap a few pictures. What ever you decide to do, can you do a mini write up?
 
I have a .pdf of the frame holes and locations...trying to figure how to post it...:confused:
 
found the link...clicky :waytogo:

it's a blazer frame, but the front end should work for ya...it's 1189 mm from spring hole B to spring hole F...46.8 inches.

FWIW, I bought a set of replacement front shackle frame hangers from Kert, and I got some stock front monts from someone here one the board in the classifieds. I put up a parts wanted ad.
 
ok time for a large update on the build, friday was the first day of my vaca so as you saw in the other pics i was able to pull the motor/trans out. Sold it the same day:woot:

Next day was a plan to attack the front suspension, get all the 2wd **** outta the truck.. here are the pics!

Ditched all this crap!

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Left me with some swiss cheese frame though, I def. plan on plating this part.

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SOOO much better!
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Well, I kept the party going, I am using the last bits of my friends suburban he scrapped, torched out the front body mount/spring hangers

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that was all for saturday, today after the whole family easter deal I wanted to keep going with the build. ill keep that going in the next post
 
So this is going to be my attempt at a write up for swapping your 2wd truck to 4wd, i am by no means an expert and I am sure there are many ways to go about this, but here goes!

This is what you start with when you get the bumper off
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I am using stock 1/2 ton pieces off my friends scrapped suburban, we torched them off.



I decided to cut the rivit heads off with my 4" angle grinder and made sure they were flush, I then popped both front body mounts off so all i had left is the 2wd body mount. I simply beat the HELL out of them for about 5minutes each from every direction.


They popped off, I LOVE CALI TRUCKS!, frame is so clean!




I then had to cut off the sway bar mounts because they were in the way of my mock up, the 4wd holes do nottt line up to anything really.




I then took them off to clean them and realized my friend beat the **** outta them and ovaled it out, nothing a big washer cant fix


Decided to primer them so paint can go on in the morning.

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Now this is where I am curious what you guys think. Do I simply put the body mount back on and clamp it on, drill out new holes and bolt it? orr do the above AND plug weld all the 2wd mount holes? I know the bolts would be fine for strength, I just dont like the idea of a swiss cheese frame.
 
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a couple 3/8" holes won't take way from the strength of the frame.
 
Today was both a good day in progress but not in the amount i was hoping for. I woke up and got a list of the parts i needed for the day, spent a few hours running around to napa, tractor supply, a local spring shop and lowes.

Got myself a ton of grade 8 bolts, paint, and ubolts.

When I finally got to working on the truck I wanted to make sure that the mount was EXACTLY where it "should" be.So the only thing that is still on the truck is the body mount, I used that as a starting point for a reference and got it to as close as possible, the 2wd body mounts and 4wd body mounts do not line up, some are close, but for the most part they are a bit off.

I used many clamps to hold it in place on one side.
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2wd to 4wd

2wd to 4wd


2wd to 4wd

2wd to 4wd



Once clamped in place i center punched all the holes so when i had to start drilling all 8holes for each side they would be dead on...oyee that hurt. Once i drilled the 4main holes on the body mount side i tossed some bolts in it for mock up.



SOOOO in order to make sure the 2nd one was in the same spot, i started off in the same manner, clamping it relativily close to body mount area. Then i started measuring the 1st one i did to match up the measurements with the bumper bolt holes and end of the frame, I ended up doing this for a while and got the 2nd one right where it "should be" in theory, seems right to me!

2wd to 4wd

2wd to 4wd


Well now that both were roughed on there, I needed to take them off to paint up the frame, again this isnt a ryoken job, i just dont have the skill/time/money/lazy, I simply primered then used duplacolor engine paint to paint the frame and mounts again. Took a break to let dry and came back to bolt them on for the final time..




Seee.. lotta grade 8 bolts, i love tractor supply, napa wanted about a buck and some changer per bolt, not even washers/nuts, at tractor supply all this fun was 6bucks.







I was almost out of time tonight but I wanted to toss the leaf springs on their for some more motivation. :woot:

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Now my plan for the morning is to mount the leaf spring shackle hanger in the frame. My idea on how to make sure I will get the correct shackle angle and put these mounts in the correct area is to measure horizontally on my blazer from the leaf spring bolt on the front of the frame to the frame shackle mount bolt on the rear. I know the frames are different technically, but these springs are designed for a burb/blazer etc. Least thats my best idea to get the shackle angle correct.

What are your thoughts?:dunno:
 
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welcome! I have searched and searched and searched for some solid pictures of this, it got real frustrating sooo if this ends up helping you or anyone else, then totally worth it!
 
It definitely is helping me. It's nice to have that visual reference before you dig into this.
 
I once thought about putting the correct height spacer(block) between the spring and frame, since they should be in line with each other. Then, put some weight on the springs. Have the shackles loosely mounted to be able to swing up to see the angle. Bam, mark it, drill it, mount it up. Make sense?
 
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I then cleaned up the hole a lil bit, held the diy4x shackle hanger up there and drilled the 4 mounting holes
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I mounted it up!

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Well,, I put the springs up there and bolted it up. I did find tho that the 2wd 1ton frames are a bit thicker/wider than the 1/2ton frames so I tossed on a bunch of washers.. I am not sure if I like this or not, I need new bolts anyways so this will change.
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I repeated the process for the 2nd side, this went a little quicker, but again, lots of measuring to make sure I don’t totally screw this up!
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The truck is back on all 6tires!!!!

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This is my shackle angle.. no engine trans/tcase in it, I figure its missing 1600lbs atleast so it should improve a little bit.

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The truck is a bit tall for my tastes at the moment, but we shall see once I get the drivetrain back in there.

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I have another question for you guys.... what do I spend 1000bucks on that I got from selling the motor/trans?

I was first thinking, oh ill just get my clutch, however i also need, bellhousing, engine xmember, gallon of rust bullet, and hydro pedal assembly.. what would you guys buy first?
 
Perfect, this is making me think this is a easy swap but it's very tedious.


Nice job. :thumb:

What kind of hole saw did you use?
 
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