B3200 PreRunner Build.

[Shawn@BMS]

Post up in the axle or part needed forum

I like how his truck is "Used for off road racing"

~Shawn

 

[Shawn@BMS]

Ok so i went back out to the spot. I was on a mission, to get some part of my truck off the ground. I had my buddy fallow me with his pretty bad ass 4WD Jeep in case i got stuck (i did). My buddy snapped a few pics while we were at it.


We scoped out a possible jump. It dosent look to big but its pretty steep.

I rolled it just to make sure i had good clearance.

Next i gave it a shot. I went slow just to make sure i didn't plow into it.

Second attempt. Only 3 wheels of the ground.

Ok. Here we go. 3rd attempt. All four off.

Some more shots.

Bent my tag some how.

~Shawn

 

[Shawn@BMS]

Here is my favorite set of shots. I took my buddy for a ride.

My buddies face is classic....

Over all i had a blast. The truck held up great and i feal way better about the parts i made. Iv never built any off road suspension parts (Beams/coil buckets) and very happy with what i made. There are a few things that im going to do soon. 410's with a LSD, 10" or 12" shocks in the rear (maybe a mini bed cage), F150 leafs with a flipped shackle, extended radius arms, seats/harness's and a few other things. I got a taste of air in a truck, im hooked....

More soon....
~Shawn

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

man thats pure awesomness!!

 

[MountainMike]

Wicked pics Shawn!

 

[sabian0004]

hell ya!! dude your truck turned out ****ing sick! awesome job and badass photos. magazine quality.

 

[Shawn@BMS]

Im going to try to make another productive weekend. I picked up some 98 F150 leafs for $75 today. Im going to remove the overload spring and try to add one of my ranger leafs. Ill be doing a shackle flip while im at it. Im also going to make a aluminum skid plate for my HF jack. Maybe make a mount for it in my bed. Ordered some quick fist's to mount my jack handle in the bed and some more to mount other things in the cab. Im going to try to pick up a ammo can and mount it in the bed so i can store stuff. Ill get some pics up by the end of the weekend. More soon....
~Shawn

 

[Shawn@BMS]

I whipped up a skid plate for my HF jack. Took about an hour and some spare aluminum i used for my skip plate. It was pretty easy, just need to weld the front part of the skid together. If you have a jig saw with a metal blade and a vice you in business...

Made a card board template. Then i copied it to my aluminum sheet. Then cut it out.

Then i bet it all and drilled out the mounting holes.

Installed. Just need to weld the front corners of the skid and get some nuts for the front bolts.

I know there are a lot of nicer skids out but free is free and came out pretty nice if i say so. Im going to make some lockable mounts in the bed this weekend. I also ordered some quick fists to mount the jack handle. Ill be tackling the F150 leafs and flipping my shackles. If i have time ill be pulling my bed side too.

More soon...

~Shawn

 

[TheTopher]

This truck has really made some progress. Lookin good, bud.

 

[Shawn@BMS]

What a day... I made some really good progress. I was doing it by my self (always takes longer) again but i got a lot done. I flipped my shackle mounts, installed the F150 leafs, pulled my bed sides, dumped my exhaust right after the muffler (thank god it still sounds stock) and a few other little things. Tomorrow im going to mount my jack in the bed and find a ammo can for bed storage. Ill have more details tomorrow and pics. Im beat...

~Shawn

 

[Shawn@BMS]

Ok. I took some pics from this weekend. Hopefully it helps out some guys. Again this is not a how to just my personal experience, there maybe better or other ways.

So i first tacked the leaf springs and shackle mount flip. Just a quick over all review and solid facts. I didnt find a whole lot of info on this set up. I was told it would give about 1-2" more lift and a lot more potential for travel. Basically a very mild set up. For now that sounded like what i need. The common Chevy 64" leafs calls for relocating the front leaf hanger and some other things. I wanted to keep it simple as my front end is pretty mild. The F150 (i got mine from a 98 2WD) leafs will add about 3/4" lift with the shackle hanger flipped. I was hoping to get about 1.5" of lift but im just happy its not any lower than it was. I like the low look anyways. Gives it a good stance. So if your looking for a lift this is not for you. If your looking for some extra travel and a simple swap id recommend it. I dont have any solid numbers as my 8" fox shocks are limiting the travel alot but with some 12"-14" shocks i think i could really benefit. On to it...

Here is a pic os the Ranger and F150 (back spring). The F150 spring has a higher arc as you can see. The F150 spring (eye to eye) is about 1" longer from the centering pin to the rear bushing than the Ranger spring. Keep that in mind for later.

I took the over load spring out of the F150 pack and painted all the suspension parts with some industrial black paint. Looks clean and should hold up pretty good. I sprayed (spray paint) the cat back with some high temp black while i was in the booth.

I know this is very basic stuff but for you guys who might not know or are confused on flipping your shackle. Below is a pic of the mount in OEM position.

The front of the leafs was just bolting it in like stock. The rear shackle mount was a fun task. Once i removed the rivets that held it on i cleaned up the frame. Because the F150 leaf pack is 1" longer from the centering pin back the mount needs to be moved 1" back. So i drilled 4 new holes 1" back (towards the rear of the frame). I used grade 8 1/2" bolts. The nbolt on the shackle and then bolt on the leaf pack. Pretty easy. I noticed when the suspension was under compression the shackles rubbed the back of the bed. This is not to be confused with the top as the chevy 64" leaf sway need you to cut into the top of the bed. Just some of the sheet metal need to be removed. Here it is installed. Over all a pretty easy job with good benefits. The truck ride pretty well. Better than before and is WAy better off road.

Last time i was play'n with the truck off road, my exhaust may have got knocked funny and has been rattling. I had it cut so it dumped just past the axle. Iv been wanting to dump my exhaust after the muffler. So i cut the bend the turns up just past the muffler and rotated it down and re-welded it. I like it a lot as it looks clean and sounds stock. Not more rattle!

Also last time i was out i had my rear tire rubbing the bed under full bump. Iv been wanting to just buy some glass bed sides but living on the east coast its not cheap. I havnt been able to find some one willing to sell be some used ones and ship them. honestly i dont blame anyone. So that means ill spend at least $1,100 for some crapy bed side. I figured ill pull my bed in the mean time. Again a pretty easy job.

First i cut the inner bed support down the middle. Then i placed the jack between a 2X4 and a 4X4. Then just jack it out till you have enough clearance. I pulled mine 1 3/4".

Im kinda pissed off, but i went to the metal shop and bought some thin aluminum sheet for this but i forgot it. I had already cut my bed so i figured id make due. So i just cut some aluminum plated and used some self tapping screws to hold it. It works fine but ill go back and make it cleaner.

After i pulled the bed. Kinda hard to tell.

Well thats it for today. I also got a ammo can to mount in the bed. So i can store crap in it. I also made a mount set up to fix my floor jack in the bed. Just need to finish it up.

More soon...

~Shawn

 

[TheTopher]

Can you give us a more overall pic of the truck with the pulled bedside? I'm really curious how it looks.

 

[Shawn@BMS]

Ill get some pics for ya. Its nothing crazy.
~Shawn

 

[dieseldane]

Man looks like your little photo shoot was a freakin blast! This one looks awesome to me...

 

[Shawn@BMS]

Thanks man^.


I added some limiting straps today. Just some rough numbers.... Looks like i have 11.5" of travel (bumped and strapped) in the front and about 9.5" of travel (bumped and strapped) in the rear. At this point it looks like i have my radius arms maxed out with the bushings binding. Im going to build some extended radius arm on heims in the next month or two. The rear im really limited with my shocks. Im going to add some 12" shock soon as well.

~Shawn