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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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#182 ·
I dont think that was the filter. I still need to go back and try getting the right filter or just break down and get the remote kit.





I ended up ordering new 52" springs to replace the worn out fronts along with the stud kit.

The new springs are 4" lift 52s. I removed the overload spring and replaced it with the shortest spring out of my old front lift springs. I also had to remove my zero rates due to the new springs being way too tall. On top of that I redrilled my shackles and lowered the rig a bit more. Over all I think I am at least 2" taller than before.





the new stance, its a bit taller in front but the hump in the driveway makes the back look level.



I need to find someone local to recharge the rear air shocks and it should be good to go. I will have it out tomorrow at a freinds house to do some tuning on the propane and front springs.
 
#184 ·
thanks.


Went out for a couple hours and tested the mods. The propane operated flawlessly.

Front driveline is too long now and will need to be shortened. Also the left rear fox shock is sitting lower then the right. I ordered an N2 shock inflation kit from poly performance today to take care of that. Still need to adjust my bump stops. Other than that it was a fun day.





I'll post a few more pics after I get them downloaded.
 
#192 · (Edited)
right on.... I bought the filter but havent had time to go out and mess with it yet.


I also bought the polyperformance N2 shock inflator kit to tune my shocks. I finally know what I am running for pressure now. The truck as been leaning lately. The softer lower shock has 300psi and the stiffer taller side has 275psi? not sure whats up there? I think I am gonna bump the pressures by about 50psi and run it. they were set about right before adding the propane tanks and didnt lean.
 
#193 ·
man i love your truck and i enjoy seeing it evolve on this forum good work.

ps if you could go back would you change to a coil over or keep the air shocks? does your weight seem to effect their performance any? thanx:smokin:
 
#194 ·
I'm not sure if I would do coils or not. If I had the money at the time I think I may have gone coilover. The air shocks were just a good alternative for the funds available at the time:D. When I redo the front I will go coilover due to the weight.
 
#200 · (Edited)
We went back to sandlake at the beginning of the month. Found a few more things I need to work on.











Of course I find a way to dent my door while at the dunes :shaking: By the end of the day I couldnt even open the passenger door.

It was a pretty good day. Right off the bat the ranger flagged us down to go pull his buddy out that killed his truck. Turns out the guy that worked on it for the kid bypassed the clutch switch by cutting the wires and twisting them together.
 
#203 ·
I had it out on saturday at a neighbors place who held a mudbog party. I think someone there video taped it. I will see if I can get a copy. It really doesnt sound like a big block to me. Some reason with pane and the flowmasters it sounds fairly tame. My sons 305 sounds bigger.:laughing:

how did the pane do with the rev needs of sand
I could definetly tell there was a power loss at the top end. However the last bigblock I had in the sand was new and I ran full throttle every where in it. Of course it cracked a cylinder wall and bent a rod. So now I try not to hold revs over 4500rpm while climbing.

I over revved it a few times and it didnt feel like it was making anymore hp when I did. 3500-4000 and it would just pull hard and took me anywhere I pointed it. I played around with the different tcase shifters.

I use to have to run in double low with the sb350 and run the engine as hard as it would go but it climbed wherever but that poor lil motor was getting ran hard.

I think just low was about right for it to pull hard all the way to the top of the hill. I cant remember if I was using the 205 low or the 203 low? I tried in high range but the bottoms of the dunes were too tore up and my front driveshaft was bottoming out so I couldnt really run at anything. The 4.10 gears in the axles are kinda limiting. When doing reverse hill climbs my gear is either just a little off. I could make it but had to run the motor harder than I wanted.

Now that I think about it I might have some video of running across the sand. I will look after work.

This winter I may look at a duel mixer setup. I wanna get some seat time in before tearing into it to deep though.
 
#205 ·
I did clock the 205 up a little. Its hard to say how much. Maybe 1 to 1 1/2"

I couldnt clock it to high because the front shaft angles were getting bad.

I built a crossmember for the 203 and adapter plate. Plus I use the side mount on the 205 and go to the frame with a poly bushing. I also have a poly bushing on top of the 203 that goes to my cage. Future plans include making a mount that bolts on at the pto cover.
 
#208 · (Edited)
just got back from the con last night/this morning. It was an awesome time.......:smokin:



stayed at robbs each night and wheeled mon, tues, wed. we only made it just past buck island due to 2 rigs breaking and a few jeeps that were on a much slower pace than us.






having a bar to your disposal after wheeling is great. even learned what a pirate shot was.
 
#209 ·
Got a few more runs on this setup and have finally decided to upgrade the front suspension.

I broke the studs in the d60 housing for holding the spring plate 2 times this year. the first time it had no shims but still snapped. the second time I had shims under the new spring packs but also put shims on top as not to bend the studs. Finally I just put grade 8 bolts in it and have been running it that way.

On a trip to sandlake I bent the drivers side spring bad. I got it straightened and just been running it that way. Yesturday I bent the other side when I was hung up in hte rocks. Too much traction with little weight on the tires is the only reason I could see?



I dropped the driveline a couple times but I knew that was an issue because I hadnt gotten it lengthened when I moved the axle forward 1".

A few shots from the last trip to the crushers.


my son driving after I broke the truck. It went much smoother spotting for him then me driving with no spotter. I think I may just have him drive from now on and play spotter for him.










So now I need to start gathering 4link parts for the front.
 
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