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Project Snow Bear K20!

Overview Gallery Discussion
sreidmx said:
I like and agree with your choice man!! The ls will pull the weight but having both and towing the same load with both back to back, the big block just does it sooo much more comfortably.. sounds like you got a dang good combo to start! Plus big blocks sound better!
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Plus it's ready to drop in! All I gotta do is bolt it up. It will eventually get fuel injection I'm sure but for now it should do just fine.
 
Vombrown said:
Yeah he's got most of that there for the engine. brackets at least I'm not sure about the PS pump and alternator.
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That's good! The brackets are sometimes hard to find.

I actually had to make them for my 454. I couldn't find any...for a reasonable price.
 
Got A LOT of fab work done today but had to get back to the house to get some firewood split. WHOOPED to say the least. Didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would to get it all together.

I ended up with a 42" lower arm, center to center on the front bracket and rear link to the frame. Welded my rear tube mounts in for the upper links at 16". I have no mathematical reason or competent assessment of why I put them there, it just looked like they needed to go there...HAHAHAHAAAAAA. Seriously though, locating them at 16" from the bracket centerline puts them just outside the rise in the frame for the front wheel well. In all honestly it should never flex that much (reminding you guys, not a rock crawler) to touch the frame or front body mount. My buddy Tim the welder is tig welding all my crappy Mig tacks and nonsense into a really nice piece. Front radius arms should be ready tomorrow I think. It cost me a case of beer. He'll likely drink all the beer and weld my stuff up tomorrow....when he's sober again.

I have a solid plan now for the crossmember with the rear lower links tied into it. Spent some time in the shop drilling holes in angle which will make up the supports on the outside of the frame. Made a template to bring home to transfer those holes into the frame of my truck. Once the cab is off the frame the crossmember and then the front axle should just bolt right in. Then the real work of locating the drag link and steering components begins. I am fairly certain I know what I am going to do there as well. Just need to do it.

These are the days I wish I had some local homies to come throw some help my way. In all seriousness, I believe If I had extra hands and didn't have to take ten steps to grab a tool or part I could have this truck finished by the end of the month. Waiting on things to get here is the Bain of my existence.
 
OK guys here are some pics from today. Moving pretty quickly on the rear suspension. These rear springs almost installed themselves. Front bracket behind the fuel tank was relocated 1.5 inches to the rear. Being that the super duty rear axle is located 2" forward on the spring. This will help relieve some of the distance. Ok, then I flipped the rear bracket upside down. These holes lined up almost exactly needing only a little clean up and drilled out to 1/2" hardware. The top Rivet locations will get cleaned up and rosette welded to the frame. This resulted in a little more lift in the back and should help it ride and flex a good bit better. Essentially it's the same as the aftermarket shackle flip kits out there. Weight on the rear and sitting on the axle will push the shackle back lowering it a good bit. It should still be worth around 1-2" actual lift when it's all said and done. After looking at the way this spring is designed I may go ahead and weld frame brackets in to take advantage of the heavy duty overloads on the Super Duty springs. You never know, I might need them. Both the front and rear brackets were located on at least one factory hole in the frame. This allows a repeatable position. No measuring required and you can be assured it is correct side to side. The hardware I am using is all AMERICAN grade 5 fine thread 1/2". Since the factory rivets are close to 3/8" the 1/2" stuff should be MORE than enough in the strength department. I certainly could have went to grade 8 but honestly there was no reason to do it. All bolts are double washer/locknut and locktited. Working on the other side now then the rear axle will be set into place to measure and install new spring perches. I'll then relocate the shock mounts and get the rear brake line sorted, essentially finishing up the rear. At some point later I will pull the rear axle down for new brakes/rotors and fluid. For now I just want it to roll again.

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Also, before someone mentions it.....I am aware that the rear bracket is taller than the frame behind it. The total height doesn't exceed that of the wheel opening angle. So a bed will still sit flat, missing it completely. It will be tight right there mind you but it will work just fine.

The rear bracket: I certainly could have lowered them to get more lift. I didn't for a lot of reasons. First and formost this spring pack and axle will result in about 3-4 inches of lift on the rear axle without any help from me. Flipping the rear shackle will give me 1-2" so together I am hoping it settles out resulting in about 5" of total lift. There is honestly no way for me to know until I get the axle in and weight sitting on the frame again but this is my goal. No matter is will have about two times the amount of flex and droop as it would have had in the stock configuration. It's always a plus if you get it for free...
 
If you notice in the picture with the leaf spring hanging. There is a misalignment of the bump stop and the center pin on the springs by about 1.5". My hope is that with weight on the bed this will settle to center. I believe that it will.
 
When I get the axle back under it I plan to stack a bunch of weight on it, say 800 pounds to level the suspension out. Then assess from there.
 
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