'86 chevy on rocks-2-14 Dovetailed bed!!

[robert97dodge]

Ok I managed to get a lot done today. Started off really ****ty but turned out great. Started by getting the leaf springs mounted up. I got the shackles all drilled out and cut to length. I used 3/8"X3" flat plate so it should be really strong. I still have to do some more plateing on them but I just did them the way I did temporarily to get it on the ground. Also the front 4X4 crossmember and the front hangers are all just heavily tacked. Also all I have right now to use is a 110 lincoln so I am just tacking everything then when it is all rollable I am gonna take it to a friend shop and weld it all up with a 220 miller. As the way it sits now the shackle angles are not quite what I was wanting but I also dont have all the weight on it yet. Still have to put the front clip back on, roll cage, front bumpter, winch, core support, and all of that good stuff.
I also went ahead and put the motor and tranny in real quick before the got the front end sitting on the axle since we had to drop it down. We got the motor lifted up and almost got it in and I realized there were not any motor mounts on the side of the block. So I had to go to a friends house and get a set of motor mounts. Came back and dropped the motor and tranny in. I am gonna go put the t-case in and figure out what I am gonna build for a crossmember under it. I didnt get pics of the steering stuff. We did get the PSC 3"X9" cylinder mounted on my my friends blazer though. When we set up the truck on jackstands we set it at 43"s to the top of the frame and that is what I wanted the ride height to be. As of now with the motor in it the top of the frame is 43.50". Before I pulled the 6" lift 52's I had about 3 inches between the diff and crossmember under the motor. Now with the longer shackles and 6" lift 56" rear springs in there I have about 8"s or so. I still need to work on getting some more parts for the rear suspension so I am probably gonna go ahead and try to get a fuel tank and try to go ahead and get my motor fired up. Now onto the pics!!!

Dropped down the get the motor in.

Front suspension back together and sitting on the tires. Also got the back jacked up and sitting almost at ride height. I want it just about a inch or two higher than the front so that way when the fuel tank, coolers, tools, and spare parts are all loaded in there it will sit about level.

 

[Avery4jc]

looks good... who's blazer?

 

[robert97dodge]

looks good... who's blazer?

Belongs to a buddy of mine. 2.5 ton rocks, coil springs up front, 63's in the rear, dual t-cases, TBI 350, 700R4, disk brakes all the way around. I got my 49's from him. If you do a search under my name for hot springs there are ton of pics from a wheelin trip labor day weekend.

 

[Avery4jc]

found the thread...thanks

 

[robert97dodge]

Got to work on the truck about a hour tonight. I pulled the springs back out to replace the tie bolts and pulled the bottom leaf springs out. I got it all back together and the front end is back on the ground. I got a better shackle angles and the truck dropped about a inch and a half. I have to get the rear axle pulled this weekend because I am trading my axles for a different set. I plan on working on it sunday though and gonna drop in the MSD distributor, start wiring up the motor and stuff like that.

 

[chevy wrangler]

sweet cant wait to see pics of it out wheeling soon

 

[robert97dodge]

got some new parts. I have all my steering now minus hoses which I will get made once everything is mounted up. And I also got a set of coil springs retainers for the rear.
3X9 cylinder.

 

[robert97dodge]

Ttt

 

[Avery4jc]

sweet... you're going to be ready to hit the trails in no time

 

[robert97dodge]

sweet... you're going to be ready to hit the trails in no time

Yeah will see. I am noticing that I have A LOT of cheap stuff that is gonna be holding me back from getting it done. I think that I have bought most of my big stuff except for driveshafts but we will see.

 

[Avery4jc]

its ALWAYS the little stuff I forget about that ends up putting my projects on hold...

 

[robert97dodge]

Well I went over to a friends house today to look for a new adapter for a 400 tran to a 208 t-case and I found a gas tank that I could use but no adapter. So I am one step closer to getting it started.

 

[robert97dodge]

Well I got to work on the truck a lot this weekend. My main goal was to get the motor fired up for the first time. I got the headers on and tied up some loose ends so that I could start the motor. I still didnt get the right belt yet but I will get that this week. I got it fired up it is sounds like it is only running on about 3 cylinders so I need to change the spark plugs and still need to set the timing. After I got it running I start pulling off all of the wire loom on the new harness and factory wiring harness so that way I can get rid of wires not needed and combine the harnessed all into one.

This is the output shaft on my old tranny

This is the new one

The new one is 2 1/4"s longer than the old one so I am needing a long turbo 400 to 208 adapter if anyone can help me out. I also decided to sell my 205 and get a 200 instead and that way I can run my 208 and a divorced 200. It will be lower geared and hopefully cheaper than a 203 to 205 combo.

 

[robert97dodge]

Ttt

 

[habitatxskate]

i think your going to need a bigger step!

 

[robert97dodge]

i think your going to need a bigger step!

The one that is left is coming off and getting replaced with rock sliders

 

[habitatxskate]

yeah figured that, any idea for a cage or anything?

i'd love to run rockwells one day

 

[robert97dodge]

yeah figured that, any idea for a cage or anything?

i'd love to run rockwells one day

It will get a cage on it one of these days just dont know when I will be able to afford one. Right now I am just working on getting the truck built.


Well I havent been able to get a whole lot done since I ended up with the wrong tranny. I did however go ahead and rig up some blocks in the rear to get the truck rolling so that I could bring it back over to the house and pittle with it. I spent a couple hours thanksgiving day and got it rolling and brought it home. I worked on it a few hours today just cleaning up wires and trying to eliminate as much as I could. I did remove a lot of the new harness that wasn't used. I still have to figure out what a few more wires are but for the most part I got it figured out. The motor is at least running. I put some new plugs in it but it is still running kind of rough. I am thinking maybe because I dont have the 02 sensor on there yet and my timing is not set yet either. I put a pro billet MSD distributor in it and MSD coil and haven't set the timing up yet.

I did decide to just go ahead and use the 205 I got with the new tranny so that I wouldnt have to worry about swapping out the rear output shafts of finding a new trans. Plus with the 205 I can go ahead and put the twin sticks on it and be able to do just front wheel drive only. Bad thing is that the 205 is not geared as low as the 208 but I will just have to make do for now. Once I get the shifters and everything in I will put the t-case in and then I can build the rear suspension. I do have the 49's on it. The front is higher than I was wanting but with the 56" springs I was able to move the front axle forward enough that the tires will clear the cab if I lower it down some. So I am gonna go ahead and shorten the shackles 2" and that will lower it a little bit. Plus I still dont have all the weight on the front end and the springs will settle after a couple wheelin trips. The rear will still have to come up about 4" or 5"s. I will also be shortening the wheelbase to about 130"s and shortening the bed probably about 2 feet.
That is a 6' ladder. That is what I used to hook up my batteries in the bed. Much easier than climbing in and out of the bed.

 

[54inches]

It is looking great!

 

[Avery4jc]

Lookin' good!