I'm not to concerned about not having a cover on there, the oem one is bare, the one I swapped on is bare. I'm satisfied with it the way it is now.
CK5
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Zeus
- Thread starter Zeus33rd
- Start date
I forgot to mention, If anyone close to Grass Valley, CA can make it to give me a hand tomorrow, (13nov) I could sure use the help. It's my gramps place and out of respect for him I want to drive in and drive out same day. Leaving the truck on jack stands stresses out my grandma. 
I've got to do the Alcans front and rear, a DIY shackle flip and DIY front shackle frame eye hanger. And if required cut and re-weld spring perches on the rear 70. And if it goes well enough, the weld on and bolt on steering braces.
My buddy and I should be bangin away at it for most of the day and into the night, up to about 9pm or so at the most. If anyone decides to make the trip, the address is 14277 Hollydale Dr, Grass Valley, CA. Map quest or GPS it. Call 5 three 0 two 7 three 7 six 4 eight if you have problems. Ask for Joe.
Pretty much all I can offer is some beers and maybe some pizza or something. And again, it's my grandparents place, so craziness will NOT be tolerated.
I bet none of you show up. Pussies.
I've got to do the Alcans front and rear, a DIY shackle flip and DIY front shackle frame eye hanger. And if required cut and re-weld spring perches on the rear 70. And if it goes well enough, the weld on and bolt on steering braces.
My buddy and I should be bangin away at it for most of the day and into the night, up to about 9pm or so at the most. If anyone decides to make the trip, the address is 14277 Hollydale Dr, Grass Valley, CA. Map quest or GPS it. Call 5 three 0 two 7 three 7 six 4 eight if you have problems. Ask for Joe.
Pretty much all I can offer is some beers and maybe some pizza or something. And again, it's my grandparents place, so craziness will NOT be tolerated.
I bet none of you show up. Pussies.
No problem Joe. I'm leaving now.
I figure with stops for gas, and if I drive straight through and don't sleep, I should be there about 6:30 PM my time on Sunday evening.
4:30 your time.
That gonna be too late??
I figure with stops for gas, and if I drive straight through and don't sleep, I should be there about 6:30 PM my time on Sunday evening.
4:30 your time.
That gonna be too late??
79rustyk10
3/4 ton status
If you were within a reasonable distance from me, you could bet your ass Id be there to help.
Problem is Mn is a little far away.
Problem is Mn is a little far away.
I forgot to mention, If anyone close to Grass Valley, CA can make it to give me a hand tomorrow, (13nov) I could sure use the help. It's my gramps place and out of respect for him I want to drive in and drive out same day. Leaving the truck on jack stands stresses out my grandma.
I've got to do the Alcans front and rear, a DIY shackle flip and DIY front shackle frame eye hanger. And if required cut and re-weld spring perches on the rear 70. And if it goes well enough, the weld on and bolt on steering braces.
My buddy and I should be bangin away at it for most of the day and into the night, up to about 9pm or so at the most. If anyone decides to make the trip, the address is 14277 Hollydale Dr, Grass Valley, CA. Map quest or GPS it. Call 5 three 0 two 7 three 7 six 4 eight if you have problems. Ask for Joe.
Pretty much all I can offer is some beers and maybe some pizza or something. And again, it's my grandparents place, so craziness will NOT be tolerated.
I bet none of you show up. Pussies.
I can not promise I will, but there is a slight chance I might finish what I need done today, if so I will come over after church tomorrow.
Now if you were to come over today and help me I sure can come over tomorrow.
I will call if I can make it.
Got the front of the truck complete and about a third of the way done with the rear. About 12 damn hours. Like 13 trips to town to get bolts, beer, food, beer and drill bits. $24 for ONE damn bit. Anyways, I think we would have gotten more done, but my buddy and I got all liquored up and kinda lost focus. 
He introduced me to one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time-
Newcastle in a can!!
Anyways, on to the pictures. I forgot my regular camera, so all these were taken with my phone-
This is how it looked at about 0830 this morning-
This shackle side and bolt wouldn't come loose from the sleeve, so I cut it off-
Axle/springs removed-
My buddy Joey removing the old springs-
Old springs next to the Alcans-
DIY4x front shackle frame eye hanger compared to the stocker-
Where the stock frame eye hanger came from-
I used this to enlarge the hole for the DIY part-
Modified to fit-
He introduced me to one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time-
Newcastle in a can!!
Anyways, on to the pictures. I forgot my regular camera, so all these were taken with my phone-
This is how it looked at about 0830 this morning-
This shackle side and bolt wouldn't come loose from the sleeve, so I cut it off-
Axle/springs removed-
My buddy Joey removing the old springs-
Old springs next to the Alcans-
DIY4x front shackle frame eye hanger compared to the stocker-
Where the stock frame eye hanger came from-
I used this to enlarge the hole for the DIY part-
Modified to fit-
DIY shackles with DIY thick washers tacked on and welded-
I discovered this when I pulled the springs from the front hangers. 5 mins with the welder and die grinder and that was fixed.
Axle mounted to springs-
Schackle angle with full weight on the springs-
Tires mounted-
And this is the most awesome picture ever...my grandma came out to tell us there was food on the table. Had to snap a picture. My grandma kicks ass!
The stock spare was still under the truck, interesting comparison-
And this is how it sits as of 2130, minus the springs. I forgot to snap a picture after they came out.
Gonna finish up the rest tomorrow, DIY flip, new spring perches, possibly the weld on and bolt on frame braces and the ORD engine cross member. I'm sooooo tired right now.
And no, none of you pussies showed up today. Wtf over?
I discovered this when I pulled the springs from the front hangers. 5 mins with the welder and die grinder and that was fixed.
Axle mounted to springs-
Schackle angle with full weight on the springs-
Tires mounted-
And this is the most awesome picture ever...my grandma came out to tell us there was food on the table. Had to snap a picture. My grandma kicks ass!
The stock spare was still under the truck, interesting comparison-
And this is how it sits as of 2130, minus the springs. I forgot to snap a picture after they came out.
Gonna finish up the rest tomorrow, DIY flip, new spring perches, possibly the weld on and bolt on frame braces and the ORD engine cross member. I'm sooooo tired right now.
And no, none of you pussies showed up today. Wtf over?
DEMON44
Low-Tech Redneck
yup looks good. definately gained some vert back on the front end 
How tall is your g-ma? How about a pic of you beside the truck so we can get an idea how tall the truck is.
Joe,
A lot of us are right with you in spirit....
I hope you get the rears installed today so we can hear about your driving impressions with the new springs. My guess is that the Alcans are going to RULE!!
A lot of us are right with you in spirit....
I hope you get the rears installed today so we can hear about your driving impressions with the new springs. My guess is that the Alcans are going to RULE!!
Looks great dude! Can't wait to see the final product! Are you gonna be bringing it back home with you when you get off leave?
Does anyone know of a specific list that Alcan asks about your rig when ordering and designing springs?
I get a bunch more pictures today. I know that with the hood up, I have to stand on my tip-toes to reach up and close it. I took a measurement of the rear yesterday. 46" to the bottom of the rear fender openings. I'll measure today after the rear is done.
There's an order sheet thing on their website. They ask pretty much the same stuff on that sheet. They get into a little more detail about how your gonna use the truck, what your expectations are as far as ride quality etc. Pretty much exactly what you'd expect. I'm really impressed with those guys, great customer service.
Joe,
A lot of us are right with you in spirit....
I hope you get the rears installed today so we can hear about your driving impressions with the new springs. My guess is that the Alcans are going to RULE!!
I'm hoping they kick ass...Should be able to drive it wround today, so we shall see.
Yeah, it's definitely going back to Georgia with me.
Last edited:
Well, today just sucked ass. 
Between having to re-work/re-engineer parts that should have been bolt-on, my own dumb ass brain farts and malfunctioning tools that shouldn't malfunction, I didn't get much done.
I did get the DIY4x shackle flip and Alcans bolted on. That was it. Nothing more.
Pictures-
This is where I started. Rivet removal.
After about 15 mins with the grinder-
Exactly 6 whacks with the hammer-
Another few minutes with the grinder-
Knocked out what was left of the rivets with a hammer and center punch-
All in all, using the grinder method, it took about an hour to get the passenger side brackets removed from the frame. Not to mention laying in weird positions trying to get the right angle with the grinder to get at the rivet heads and the resulting sparks in my ears, nose, in my socks and a lot of bitching and cussing about it.
No way I was going through that again for the drivers side, so I cranked up the hypertherm-
I was completely done with the drivers side in less than 20 mins.
Love this stuff. Non carbonated and tastes just like lemonade. Gets me juiced up like a 2 stroke motorcycle.
DIY stuff ready to go-
You're lookin at $48 worth of grade 8 hardware, and a $8 sixer of Newcastle-
Everything installed. Not really sure how happy I am with the shackle angle. I'll have to drive it around a bit and see how it rides. If I have to, I'll relocate the DIY bracket forward a couple inches to adjust the angle a bit.
DIY spring plates-
Alcans-
If anything, the pinion needs to come down-
I ended up mounting the Alcans opposite the way the stock springs were mounted. At first I mounted them with the short side forward. Got all the way done, put the tires back on, and cracked a beer to celebrate. Stood back to look and it just didnt look right. Tires where waaay to far forward in the wheel well. SHiiiiit. So I had to tear it all the way back apart and flip the springs around. I can't even tell you guys how bad it sucks doing that twice when you're working by yourself. I was pissssed. Had to take a walk, have a cigar and another beer. It worked out better I think. Axle located slightly rear of center, as you can see by the picture.
The down side to that. I''ll be taking a ride up to High Angle Driveline sometime this week to get the rear half of the drive-line lengthened. A little more than 1.5" of spline engagement-
The front shaft wasn't even close to usable. I could have extended it out enough to reach the yoke on the 60, but the angle was so severe, if I had engaged 4x4, the cv would have exploded almost instantly, even on flat ground.
Continued next post....
Between having to re-work/re-engineer parts that should have been bolt-on, my own dumb ass brain farts and malfunctioning tools that shouldn't malfunction, I didn't get much done.
I did get the DIY4x shackle flip and Alcans bolted on. That was it. Nothing more.
Pictures-
This is where I started. Rivet removal.
After about 15 mins with the grinder-
Exactly 6 whacks with the hammer-
Another few minutes with the grinder-
Knocked out what was left of the rivets with a hammer and center punch-
All in all, using the grinder method, it took about an hour to get the passenger side brackets removed from the frame. Not to mention laying in weird positions trying to get the right angle with the grinder to get at the rivet heads and the resulting sparks in my ears, nose, in my socks and a lot of bitching and cussing about it.
No way I was going through that again for the drivers side, so I cranked up the hypertherm-
I was completely done with the drivers side in less than 20 mins.
Love this stuff. Non carbonated and tastes just like lemonade. Gets me juiced up like a 2 stroke motorcycle.
DIY stuff ready to go-
You're lookin at $48 worth of grade 8 hardware, and a $8 sixer of Newcastle-
Everything installed. Not really sure how happy I am with the shackle angle. I'll have to drive it around a bit and see how it rides. If I have to, I'll relocate the DIY bracket forward a couple inches to adjust the angle a bit.
DIY spring plates-
Alcans-
If anything, the pinion needs to come down-
I ended up mounting the Alcans opposite the way the stock springs were mounted. At first I mounted them with the short side forward. Got all the way done, put the tires back on, and cracked a beer to celebrate. Stood back to look and it just didnt look right. Tires where waaay to far forward in the wheel well. SHiiiiit. So I had to tear it all the way back apart and flip the springs around. I can't even tell you guys how bad it sucks doing that twice when you're working by yourself. I was pissssed. Had to take a walk, have a cigar and another beer. It worked out better I think. Axle located slightly rear of center, as you can see by the picture.
The down side to that. I''ll be taking a ride up to High Angle Driveline sometime this week to get the rear half of the drive-line lengthened. A little more than 1.5" of spline engagement-
The front shaft wasn't even close to usable. I could have extended it out enough to reach the yoke on the 60, but the angle was so severe, if I had engaged 4x4, the cv would have exploded almost instantly, even on flat ground.
Continued next post....
And some measurement pictures.
I'm 6'1"-
64.5" to the top of the bed rail-
49" to the top of the rear fender opening-
53.5" to the center of the headlight-
Tomorrow will be bolting on the extended brake line for the rear, bleeding the lines, figuring out a way to make the e-brake cable work and bolting on the Bilstien 5125's. Basically just making it drivable.
I'm tired.
I'm 6'1"-
64.5" to the top of the bed rail-
49" to the top of the rear fender opening-
53.5" to the center of the headlight-
Tomorrow will be bolting on the extended brake line for the rear, bleeding the lines, figuring out a way to make the e-brake cable work and bolting on the Bilstien 5125's. Basically just making it drivable.
I'm tired.
mudboggink5
1/2 ton status
Truck looks Bad Ass! Nice work.
smalltruckbigcid
1/2 ton status
Looking at the flip brackets, it looks like they are on the wrong side. Is it just an optical illusion or could switching sides get you a better shackle angle?
The truck looks awesome
The truck looks awesome
90'K5
1/2 ton status
Truck looks awesome!
Maybe I missed it, but how long the are Alcans? It looks like the shackle flip is mounted backwards, flipping sides should correct your shackle angle.
Maybe I missed it, but how long the are Alcans? It looks like the shackle flip is mounted backwards, flipping sides should correct your shackle angle.
Looking at the flip brackets, it looks like they are on the wrong side. Is it just an optical illusion or could switching sides get you a better shackle angle?
The truck looks awesome
It looks the same to me as well. There's about 1" of offset built into the brackets from the looks of it, and it looks like swapping them around would move the upper shackle bolt a total of 2" forward.....just about perfect to fix that shackle angle.
I agree, if you switch sides on the flip it will improve you shackle angle but it will also move your tire back farther. I hate to be the one to say it but it looks to me that if you switch the springs back and switch sides on the flip your tire will be very close to the center of the wheel well. On the bright side it may keep you from having to get the rear drive line lengthened.
The truck looks great though! Thanks for your Service
