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Stomis' Return of the Truck Build

Here is a tip: avoid rare pork chops. :D


Lol they werent even pink. IMO they were cooked perfect and thats from someone who likes his pork a tad pink.


Btw I fixed my blower. When I went to plug it back into the relay I bent a prong. Damn am I happy about that.
 
Alright lots of stuff done today considering it was down pouring for about half the day. I got my whole ign/12v constant bus wired behind my dash. Also routed my speaker,amp,amp rem, and computer wires neatly on the trans tunnel.

I got my dash skeleton cut out for my touch screen, and cut out the section of dashboard I am plating around the gauges. Also through in a picture of where my oil pressure and cb will go.

On top of that I got my custom def/heater door I built in my vent box rigged up to a vacuum line and fixed my blower switch (bent prong on the stupid relay).

cbmock.jpg

dash1.jpg

dash2.jpg

dash3.jpg

dash4.jpg
 
Alright well I got some wiring/birds-nest cleaning done today and got my breather plumbed into my filler neck. I also got my sheet metal part of my dash done, my cb mounted, my ashtray turned power station back in, and my touch screen flush mounted to the dash skeleton. On top of that I painted all the bolts and washers black on the bed and got my new grill and light bezels on.

Yes the dash shots are all rough. Idk why I painted the stuff before I welded it in but I did and the welds came out snotty cause of it. I got shut down by rain before I snapped pics of the finished product all ground down and painted back up.

I personally think the grille looks 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 times better.

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dashrough3.jpg

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dashrough1.jpg

cbmount.jpg
 
Well its been a while.

If you've read any of my other posts you know my truck is torn down getting the trans and case rebuilt after me running it over some very large rocks for the first time :D

I've been working on other things while its down in the driveway. My parents have had enough of me f'ing the driveway up with fluids and such so this is my last horrah on the truck here so its all getting done probably within the next week.

I started relocating my front shocks today and built a high clearance crossmember for when the trans and clocked case go back in.

Tomorrow I'm gonna finish welding the other knuckle mount shock tab on the axle (I couldnt get them to weld clean for the life of me but they are on good and solid despite being ugly...). The main thing tomorrow is getting the 52's in the front of the truck. I'll be removing the front lift springs, probably putting one of the springs in my 52 pack since I dont want them to be super soft and putting two of the other leafs in the back springs so I have some carrying capacity.

Other thing tomorrow or the next day will be moving my ford shock towers to vertically mount my shocks. Start cutting for the boatsiding and get some tube welded in there. I've also gotta change my zero rate out in the back to get me back to the stock wheel base. I had my rear pushed forward to center my tire under my bed and it was just killing my departure angle, banging my shackles on everything last week.

The updated list

The Surgeons List:

52in front springs
14in travel vertical mounted shocks
hardline the front axle and move flex lines to center
weld in adjustable spring mounts up front
mild boatside
clean up all the wiring in the truck so its nice - DONE
piece together a custom dash - DONE
put another coat of herculiner in the cab
plank the deck (lol) - DONE
stinger for front bumper
finish front bumper so it wraps the fenders
cage the bed with poop pipe
reinstall my toolboxes - DONE
clock my transfer case
switch out my transmission for the rebuilt one I have thats been sitting in my friends yard for a year
build a hi clearance tranny cross member - DONE
higher clearance headers into a single stack behind the cab (not to be cool for water tightness)
ARB snorkel
And lots more I know I'm forgetting.
 
Well another whole day of work into the bitch. Got the old hangers out, welded in kurts. Got my springs together (stock 52's plus a leaf from my lift pack to give me a stiffer spring for DD'ing) got one hung. Shackle angle looks like its gonna be perfect.

Got kurts knuckle shock mount boogered in >.< damn axle tubes.

Tomorrow I'm gonna build some new shock towers from some c channel since my fords are all chopped up and I cant wait for them to get here, get my shocks in, finish mounting the other spring and get the axle bolted back in, and start boatsiding. If I can get a ride to get a piece of metal I'm gonna start finishing the bumper.
 
truck is looking sweet love the dash so far just gotta clean up the welds :D
 
Got new shock towers made. Basically a copy of ford but made of 1.5in c-channel I found in the scrap pile at the local steel place.

Got all the pain in the ass brackets cut off the f'ing frame (IHATERIVETS!) and got the springs all bolted in finally. Had a 2 hour ordeal exchanging 9/16ths and 5/8ths twists bits at lowes. I kept twisting them, and they would bend, BAD. Like the center line would be 3/8ths off at the top from the centerline at the shank. Finally realised my drill was shot and the thing has a wobble too it.

Tomorrow I've gotta put the truck down on its own two front feet again so I can measure where to mount my shocks. I know I'm gonna need limiting straps so what can I make them out of? I know you cant make them from ratchet strap straps cause they stretch like crazy. So what do I make it out of?

Tomorrows list: Torque U bolts

measure and install shocks/towers

begin finishing front bumper

add leaves to rear pack



The rebuilt trans and tcase will be here tomorrow night and it will get painted and bolted together with the clocking kit.
 
Another mess of a day... Got my trans and tcase mated and clocked. Got my breather tapped in and tubed together.

Then the let down. Right before I was about to begin the process of trans installation I realized something very terrible. Apparently there are two different sm465 to 208 adapters. One sharing the same trans mount as a 700r4 (which is what I designed my nice crossmember to use) and one that isnt. Well I gave the guy that rebuilt my stuff the wrong one so now I have to go up there tomorrow to have him switch them out so its still warrantied.
 
Well another pictureless update. Working too fast taking advantage of friends help.

Got the trans and trasnfercase in and bolted up. The case is clocked mild and will give me a flat belly with the crossmembers I built that will drop a skid 2" below frame level.

I water proofed the shifter on the sm465 with a rack and pinion repair boot from auto zone. Cut it in half and a few hose clamps. It stretches perfect over the shifter inlet on the top plate and shrinks down and stretches perfect over the shifter. I finally didnt have to witch hunt for something...

Tomorrow I've gotta skoot my axle back, add an overload and leafs to the rear, measure and mount my front shocks, fill everything up, and build the transfer case crossmember.
 
List:

52in front springs - DONE
14in travel vertical mounted shocks
hardline the front axle and move flex lines to center
weld in adjustable spring mounts up front - DONE
mild boatside
clean up all the wiring in the truck so its nice - DONE
piece together a custom dash - DONE
put another coat of herculiner in the cab
plank the deck (lol) - DONE
stinger for front bumper
finish front bumper so it wraps the fenders
cage the bed with poop pipe
reinstall my toolboxes - DONE
clock my transfer case - DONE
switch out my transmission for the rebuilt one I have thats been sitting in my friends yard for a year - DONE
build a hi clearance tranny cross member - DONE
higher clearance headers into a single stack behind the cab (not to be cool for water tightness)
ARB snorkel
And lots more I know I'm forgetting.
 
Damn dude I feel so lazy every time I read your updates. My 3/4 ton axles showed up a month ago and they still aren't in yet. I was hoping if I parked the truck close enough they'd just crawl under there themselves. :doah:
 
I'll take some pics right now. I'm takin the day off and going fishing once I clean up :D

Btw I'm banging stuff out so fast cause this is my last horrah in the parents driveway. They said once the trans was done its out and I have to reseal the driveway and then no more major work here. Little does mom know that dad pulled me off to the side and said get those ****ing springs under your truck and finish the major **** on your list :D
 
Alright first is some pictures of the Rack and Pinion repair boot I used to seal the shifter on the transmission. Also is a picture of how much I trimmed.

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boot2.jpg

boottrim.jpg
 
Heres some pictures of ride height. Not sure if the zero rate is going back in front or not yet.

Also snapped some pictures of the shock towers I built. and threw in a shot of my shackle angle with a 6" shackle.

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Shackle angle.jpg

shock tower2.jpg

shock tower.jpg
 
Some shots of the belly clearance of the truck. My pinion angle which is finally decent again. and a shot of the back of the tcase clocked.

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Heres some pictures of ride height. Not sure if the zero rate is going back in front or not yet.

Also snapped some pictures of the shock towers I built. and threw in a shot of my shackle angle with a 6" shackle.

Stomis you have given me good advise in the past. When I do my 52 swap what shackle length should I look for or will the stock ones work out ok?
 
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