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HELP! cutting the degree out of my lift block - 86'ed to a flip kit

FYI: I found a cutoff wheel works way better than just a grinding wheel. Slice the head off flush with the bracket and punch it out with a hammer. I did 6 rivets in less than 30 minutes yesterday.
 
daaaaaamn! i did a few and threw a few wrenches, did a few more. lol this sure was tedious and HOT. now my big struggle will be knocking the brackets off. ive heard a punch and a BIG ass hammer do the trick. its just hard to swing that thing under a fender. i was thinkin about hackin them right off.

i just gotta drill out the rivets now like alot of folks have done, supplied bolts are larger than the frame holes? whats that all about? why not just use the same thing?
 
The larger bolts help make up for the slightly less strengh compared to the rivets (which are solid).

One thing I've found on the rivets is to grind off the head flush so you can see the round line form to make sure the whole head is off. Even a little bit of metal left makes it tough to hammer out. Then just a punch and any old hammer should work. Or drill them, that works too.

A crowbar will be yuour friend here too.
 
ive always used an air hammer and chisel to cut hte heads off the rivets then a punch in the hammer to push them out...works wonders....good luck on the build
 
I hear a lot of people who use an air hammer, but when I tried one, the only damage it did was to my ears (even with ear plugs). What kind of hammer are people using for this? It must look like a jackhammer!
 
Yes, a cut-off wheel is much faster. You should probably go back to the grinding wheel afterwards and get every bit of the rivet head off. You will have to grind into the bracket a little. I used a drill to make a little centering hole for the punch and then had at them with the hammer.

For some reason, it's much easier if you get the bracket off first. It must be because you are pushing it out of just one piece of metal instead of two. With the bracket off, cut/grind the rivets again until they are flush with the frame. Then hammer.

I wonder if a ball-joint press would work to drive the rivets out. I don't know if there's room to set one up in there, but you can rent/borrow the press from Autozone.
 
well i got it all done and all i need is new longer ubolts. the ones i ordered with the kit were too short even though i said how long they need to be. ORD is having them shipped to me super fast and theyll be here thursday, the day its gonna storm! oh boy! but they are taking care of me like they always do. i think the best tool for this job is a BIG BFH. i just ground the heads off and just whacked the **** out of the brackets each about 3 times. came right off without any other tools.

got lots of exhaust clearance and a good pinion angle so im pretty stoked.

before and after:
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got the flip in and shimmed. i was pissed cause i still had to shim it that same damned 9* WTF. stayed up late last night getting these shims right and it payed off. these worked great. however i still get some vibes at around 45-50. speedo is off so im just guessing. ORD hooked me up with some 2nd day air Ubolts that fit and they fit great. theyre torqued to 180 twice so far. she sits up really high in the back now and the bottom of the top is like at eye level:eek1: its HUGE. this is hwo they get ya for the zero rate in the front. thats probably next.

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"true wood cabinetry" for all your custom 4x4 needs. :D

aren't you glad you did this instead of messing with the lift blocks.
 
yeah i did, 1.5 inches worked like a charm. and the cabinet guy is the neighbor, hes an allright dude. theres a 60 something camaro and a pretty trick chopper in the shop. we also got a few motorcycles in pieces. theres a 69 triumph and a 69 arlen ness chopper. pretty sweet place to work. however i just groove tires mostly.... thats what my job title is.

this thing handles wierd now, i guess i just have to get used to it. or its all in my head. i cant figure that out.
 
i edited it after you posted i guess, i used the 1.5. i also have an aal in the pack too.
 
Thanks for the info. I'm getting some bad driveline vibes. I think I will go with the exact same setup after I get new tires.

Where did you order your degree shims from? Summit?
 
no i had to make it. i used my old lift block. wish i took a pic. i cut it out pretty close on the horizontal bandsaw really slow. then i took it to the belt sander and got it perfectly planed and degreed properly. then i drilled a pilot hole perpendicular to the cut edge and made it big enough for the zero rate centering pin. all in all this took about four hours. i suggest buying one lol. nowhere i saw was there a 9* steel shim. and i needed it in a few hours. i have got to drive to georgetown in about 30 minutes. strangely this didnt completely eliminate ALL of my vibes but its one hell of an improvement. this cv shaft plays a big roll as well.
 
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