'89 R3500 Crew Cab 2wd to 4wd conversion & beyond

[kgblazerfive]

you can see what I did for the hinges

I wanted to be able to open the hood by myself. A lift off one would have made that a real pain.

 

[mrk5]

I agree a hinge is definitely preferred. I like @kgblazerfive better than a jeep hinge. I like that you created it yourself.

 

[Babaganoosh]

I agree a hinge is definitely preferred.

Why not run hood struts? I have a kit on my truck that bolts to the original mounts then tek screwed to the hood.

 

[mrk5]

Are there pics in your build thread?

 

[Babaganoosh]

Are there pics in your build thread?

No but I can take some

 

[Babaganoosh]

Are there pics in your build thread?

I forgot to take pictures but here is a link to what I have.

https://www.redlinetuning.com/product-p/21-16011-02.htm

 

[rderosier]

I forgot to take pictures but here is a link to what I have.

https://www.redlinetuning.com/product-p/21-16011-02.htm

I am intrigued, this would beat my stick.

 

[Babaganoosh]

I am intrigued, this would beat my stick.

It’s pretty sweet, I’m not going to lie. I like to pop the hood and let the struts lift it up.

 

[mrk5]

I have a kinda funny thing happen. The first couple times I drove the truck recently I would turn the backup camera on and it would show this odd car image on it.



My first thought was someone had taped a picture over the camera or something. When I finally looked, I realized what was happening. I was seeing the center of my license plate because I had it flipped up!



So it was me that put something over the camera!

And what some of you suspected might happen with my rear plate setup, it got stuck. I ended up slitting the tube which I think will work out better. It's still tight enough not to flop around but also won't get stuck again.

 

[mrk5]

Finished up the hood. Luckily I can still prop it open.





I started working on the front bumper. The original plan was to make something new, but I don't have time for that. I'm modifying the old one.

I think it's too wide....


Time to do some cutting. Took about 7" off each side.






While the grill guard would protect the fenders, it kinda defeats the purpose of narrowing the front.



Had to cut that down too.



And I started on capping the ends of the bumper.



The big news is that I drove it home!



25 minutes and 17 miles on the highway and it ran good was quite smooth at 65mph. I'm still noticing how much different the exhaust tone is.

 

[Capt Ron]

That turned out really nice!

 

[folkenheath]

I agree you can tell you have a lot of work into making it look stockish with the nose job.

 

[AgDieseler]

Fantastic work. Very tidy.

David

 

[mrk5]

I was shocked when my oldest came home that evening and said something along the lines of "Dad, wasn't your truck more of a squarebody? I don't remember it tapering at the front so much." This is the kid we accuse of never observing anything!

I have to say driving it so far I don't feel like the narrowed front is any different driving down the road. It'll be interesting to see how it is on the trail. The front clip is definitely much more rigid now. Even being chopped up, the fenders are in better condition than they were when I pulled them off.

I do have a power steering leak to figure out. From underneath I looks like every one of the reservoir fittings are leaking, I can see drips on the bottom of all 3.

 

[Truckman4life]

I want to see you drive that in rain or snow. I imagine the rooster tails off the front tires will be cool going down the highway.

 

[6872xtc]

I want to see you drive that in rain or snow. I imagine the rooster tails off the front tires will be cool going down the highway.

I tossed a rock off of my front tire and hit it with the windshield of my '90.
Of course, the windshield was only a year old, but it was able to be repaired.
I wonder how much worse is could be with a narrower nose.

 

[mrk5]

The back of the tire is still mostly covered but I suppose the tops of the tires could cause issues. I know earlier in the thread we talked about TowMater flooding out his engine and he commented in the video the narrowed front seemed to put more water over the hood. I think @Tnsejed expressed something similar.

 

[rderosier]

The back of the tire is still mostly covered but I suppose the tops of the tires could cause issues. I know earlier in the thread we talked about TowMater flooding out his engine and he commented in the video the narrowed front seemed to put more water over the hood. I think @Tnsejed expressed something similar.

I can confidently say it throws way more crap onto your own windshield.

 

[Tnsejed]

Dovenose absolutely does shoot more stuff everywhere. Also causes a different wake when going through water as the wave is allowed to come up higher without hitting a bumper. The dovetail shoots stuff as well. I shoot rooster tails in the rain from the dovetail and i've been told its impressive by @rderosier . But its all worth it.

 

[kgblazerfive]

I don't drive in the rain so I don't really know.