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Another chevy build

410K views 1K replies 205 participants last post by  cda 
#1 · (Edited)
This is gonna start off more of an evolution thread being my truck is about done. A little back ground on how it got to where it is now.


this is about what it looked like when I got it a few years back.


fastforward thru a couple transformations and tire sizes.


always changing


the best it looked when still street legal, didnt have a digital camera back then so pics were few.


I skipped posting a lot of the mods I did to this point because they were all the normal chevy things, big bumpers, rock sliders, body lifts and normal junk like that. At this point the truck was still 1/2 ton 4" lift, 3" body lift. 38" tires.

The turning point that got me in the direction I am at now would be the tube bed. I got tired of smashing in the fender sides so I built this. It was actually 1 1/4" schedule 40 poop pipe, but worked great. Low budget was the only way I could afford to wheel.


I ran around with that bed all the way up till this year. At this point it was still a daily driver I used to get to work. Shortly after I also built an inside cage out of the same poop pipe. No pics of of that, I will have to dig thru old piles of photos.

I pulled the rock sliders for more ground clearance and before I knew about boat siding a cab I just cut the rockers off and welded some square tubing at the door opening, also cut the rusted corners out and reinforced the corners. These work good, actually still running the cab like that, simple but effective.



Never being able to leave anything alone I decide to tube the front end with the intent of leaving it street legal, I didnt own a tow rig or trailer so I didnt have any choice. So out of more poop pipe I run the cage thru the front firewall and built a pipe core support. That only lasted until I went to put sheet metal on, cause the first thing I did was narrow the front end. So a tow rig was now in order. Anyway fast forward again thru some more boring tech this is where I was at.


some beadlocks and the best upgrade I had done, a Dana 60 14bolt combo.


more to come.
 
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#84 ·
More!!

Come on Dude,let's see some more. I really like the paint scheme on your truck.My buddy's Jeep has a chevy60 front and we use wagoner leafs on the it. We had the same problems your having,we just built the spring packs up. It does great now, just a little stiff in the front though. :)
 
#87 · (Edited)
I pretty much ditched the inner fenders and core support. I made a new support out of tube. The tubes you see going to the support come from the roll cage in the cab and thru the firewall. I used some VW exhaust flanges to make the front end unboltable.

With the original plan of having a full front end I mounted the new support in close proximity to the original core support. Looking back I should have moved the support closer to the engine about 3 or 4 inches to make up for how short the front becomes when you dove tail it.

As for where to bend the front fenders I bent them as close to the fire wall as I could so about 12"-14" forward from the door seam is where they got bent. I used a cutoff wheel and every couple inches I made a cut on the fenders without totaly cutting it apart. This made the sheet metal act as a hinge and hold the body line straight. Once it was pushed in as far as I wanted it I simply filled the cuts with the welder.

I plan on putting another set of fenders on on the next week or two so I will take pics of the process. Its funny how narrow I got it and still find ways of bashing them in on trail runs.
 
#89 ·
Now that I have the new engine sitting on the floor waiting to go in I can start the tear down again...

I snapped another shot of the front so you could see the dove tail, nothin special. it looks kinda goofy with the fenders beat up and lights pointing in odd directions



And with the doors and front clip sheet metal off.



I didnt get much more done than that today. The ups guy dropped off the rest of my rear driveshaft though.
1350 yolk and HD spline.




looks like I am in need of another front spring. I was using worn rear 52" springs and now I think this one is about done. Probably is part of my drive line problem.

 
#91 ·
I didnt get much more done than that today. The ups guy dropped off the rest of my rear driveshaft though.
1350 yolk and HD spline.


Where did you get that from?
 
#98 ·
Only had a little time to work on the truck today. Our baby is due in just over a week so my free time is getting shorter.

I got the front stripped down and ready to pull the eng. I will finish boxing in the frame and after dropping in the eng I will bend up a new front cage.

 
#101 ·
Sorry no pics to add, not much interesting that you havent seen before anyway.

I did get the the 454 bolted in with some DIY4X mounts. Also have the 425 mixer mounted. I started cutting up some headers to try and build a set of shortys. I'll get some pics posted once some decent progress is done.
 
#103 ·
Radiator is mounted solid to the cage now.





started cutting the new fenders so i could figure out the rest of the cage. Here is a shot of the fenders at stock width with the old narrow hood so you get an idea of how narrow it is.



I cut roughly about where they will be, I left a little exra to trim off after it is mounted.



flip it over and cut around the edges and it will come apart in 2 pieces with less mess. First time I did this I used a cut off wheel and it sucked. Now with the plasma I can cut a fender in about 60 sec.



here is the cut fender. I think I still need to take a couple inches off it. I will wait until I put the boggers back on and maybe run it up the ramp and cut to fit from there.



Tomorrow I will try and get them cut and narrowed.
 
#106 ·
thanks...

The shop is 30'x35' give or take. I kinda have the truck backed into the corner because of a few other projects taking up the rest of the shop. Its nice to finally get the rig inside. I've only had the shop for the past 1 1/2 years. The truck use to sit in the drive way to get worked on.
 
#108 ·
waiting on parts to do anything else with the steering and propane so I put together my thick driveshaft. I had to take it out when I out the th400 in and upgraded to 1350 yokes.

I ordered the slip and yoke from arizonadriveshaft and either i messed up when ordering or they misunderstood what I wanted but thats what i get for not calling and simply ordering online. The problem was the tube size for the splines was smaller than my drive shaft. I thought o well shit happens. So I had a friend get me a piece of DOM and cut it down to act as a reducer.

The other end of the drive shaft has a used 1350 yoke from a junk yard drive line I had. I just cut the yoke off and left about 6" of tubing on it. The tubing slipped perfect into my new tube. Tacked both ends up and checked runout on my welding table with a piece of angle iron and a dial indicator. Once it was close I test fit it in the rig and spun it. It didnt look like it had any wobble so good to go as far as I am concerned. It actually looked straighter than the one I made for the th350 and it worked for years.





Not as purdy as aftermarket stuff but it should get the job done.
 
#113 ·
Got the driveline installed yesturday and a few little non essentials done. Looking into upgrading the winch now.

Didnt get anything done on it today because as of 12:56pm I became a poppa for the 2nd time.:smokin: Probably gonna be a few days before getting a chance to work on it again.:D
 
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#120 ·
I called PSC and Gotpropane this morning and ordered some early fathers day gifts. If I were to get voted into TTC this will make a huge difference for me.

I ordered the full hydro kit with the double end ram. My hydro assist was just not up to the challenge of 44's and 2" backspacing.

I also have a new porpane kit on its way. I have all the main goodies to put a kit together already but they were all used unknown parts that I didnt wanna trust during a comp. Unfortunately he no longer sells the 450 mixers. (sold his last one last week) So I am still having to use the 425. If for some reason this doesnt give me the power I am after I may try the dual setup but I am thinking after talking to him that the 425 will be fine. I may not make the most power in the mud pit but should have plenty of torque.

All I can say is thanks to my wife for the new baby girl and the "fathers day" gift she just bought me.
 
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