I'm starting a project soon, and could use some "i've been there" type help.

Let me fill you in....

I'm taking an '87 chevy shortbed..divorcing an np205 to the center...putting the whole thing on some Rockwells and 42" Swampers.

It has a small block in it now, that'l have to do for a while. $$
Tranny is a Turbo400...but the 205 was attached to a sm465.

Will that be alright 'cause of the jackshaft or will I have to do something ?

Also...and my big concern....my idea is to find a 12" or better set of springs and make some custom hangers to drop it another 8" or so. Then make some pads for them to sit on on the axles.

My question is...what little things should i know before i start all this ?

Such as..should i keep the springs where they are, or move them under the frame..or the opposite ?

Are the springs even up to handling the axles ?

what about the shaft setups ? as far as making custom ones from the 205 to the 2 1/2s ?

And what about other susspension ideas that you guys have tried ? I'm not a rock crawler..i like mud and some trails.

Any feedback on this stuff and anything else you can come up with would be great !!

Brian

with 20" of suspension lift, and an inch or two from the extra axle housing what the hell do you plan on running for tires? I had 4" lift and 37's on a chevy, so you could run something like a 54" tire without to much trouble I would imagine. Sounds like alot more show then go, get a set of cheap 6" springs drop the hangers a few more inches and cut out the fenders. It doesnt matter what type of wheeling you do the lowest center of gravity possible is always best. As far as a divorced 205 and a TH400, I would imagine just use a 2wd 400 and make sure the mounts are solid

Is 5 midgits spanking a man covered in thousand island making love?

Southpark!! Baaaahahahaha!

yup 20 inches is way overkill. I run six inches of lift with 63 inch chev rear springs on both ends and it works awsome, lots of trimming allows travel and soft ride.
the case will be fine it will just require a different shaft

:eek:

20 inches of lift?

[best british accent] are you daft man? [/accent]

With 12 inch springs, you might as well just use steel tubing, for all the flexing they are gonna do.

Cut the fenders and move the engine/drive line up a few inches if you need more clearance, cut out the floor where needed.
You want to stay low so it handles well at speed.
I'd put the axles under the rig (without springs) and raise them until something important hits... put the bumpstops and shock bottoms at that point . Then start measuring for tire clearance...
If something gets in the way, relocate it, or throw it away.

I like that idea....i just pulled 20" out of the air. I just assumed that ALOT of clearance was needed for those top loaders. I could just imagine myself landing off a jump and ripping the truck to pieces after all this work.

So, then you guys are saying that normal truck springs will work just fine !?

Just to give a little more info.......this is NOT going to ever see the road again...

Where I live, lift laws are bad. 4" is allowed with stock tires. Some towns enforce it, some don't push it much. My daily is a full size with an 8" with 36's on it. I think the only reason I get away with it is the fact that it is really nice looking and they might assume that it is well built and safe for the road. I notice all the big trucks that are 5 different colors or so, don't last long.

So...I don't care much cosmeticaly about the truck. I just want it to function well, and hold up under some abuse. I think i'm only going to put 42" swampers on it for now...but maybe it'll end up with 44's or even 48's if I get a little wild.

Anyway...keep up the advise....I'm lovin it !