Build Thread - 1-ton Chevy Swap

[JohnnyU]

full hydro is when you start to break things cuz you cant get a feel in the wheel. plus its not street legal and a horrible idea for the road. if it never sees the road then you will be ok. if you get full hydro and the motor shuts down while your driving, you wont be able to steer. my axle was set up for hydro when i got it but i cut everything away.

Don't just regurgitate bits of misinformation that you've read on the internet. Full hydraulic steering can provide as much or more feedback than conventional mechanical steering systems. It's highly dependent on the type of steering control that you use: load reactive or non-load reactive. Most if not all hydrostatic steering controls (commonly referred to as an orbital) have internal check valves to prevent the oil from returning to the reservoir in the event that the pump stops working. This coupled with displacement of the spool inside the unit provides working pressure enough to maintain control of the vehicle in the event that the engine dies...

john do you plan to drive your truck on the street besides around the block or something like that

hydro assist is legal in Mn to run on the road they use it with large rigs full hydro is not legal

I don't really know what I want to do with it. It won't be so big that I couldn't drive it on the street, and I did design it with road manners in mind. I'd trailer it 90% of the time at least, but it would be cool to drive it on occasion.

just throwing in my .02.
we did a SAS on my buddies 94 GMC using leafs. it was an easy way to do a SAS and resulted in tons of lift. As far as driving on the road, we are from MA where the local and state cops dont like lifted trucks. With the swap and using 6" lift leafs from an earlier model chevy he ran 40" TSLs with alot of room. he drove for a week and than the cops pulled him over and told him that if they saw it on the road again they would tow it.

I've been researching this project for 8 years. I've found numerous "kits" that will bolt on and let you run leaf springs, but that's not at all what I was looking for. I've never been known for buying parts and just bolting them on, I wasn't about to start doing that just because it was 'easier'. I'm also not really looking for a huge amount of lift out of this truck, it's just turning out to be that way. I can always pull the 3" body lift to drop it down if I need to. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[BIIprospector]

I've been researching this project for 8 years. I've found numerous "kits" that will bolt on and let you run leaf springs, but that's not at all what I was looking for. I've never been known for buying parts and just bolting them on, I wasn't about to start doing that just because it was 'easier'. I'm also not really looking for a huge amount of lift out of this truck, it's just turning out to be that way. I can always pull the 3" body lift to drop it down if I need to. Thanks for the heads up though.

yea, no problem, he took the easy way out, and his use was stricktly mud and some logging trails/powerlines. every builder has a vision for their rig, and like you said by the sounds of it, your vision is MUCH different. i was not questioning your research or vision, and did not mean any disrespect, just thought i would let you know. good luck on the build and i am looking forward to the end result as well as the rest of the build process.

nick.

 

[Dangeranger3]

Trucks coming along nicely. Just wondering why you went with an electric fan...

 

[JohnnyU]

Less mechanical drag on the engine, especially when crossing deep water or mud. It's an OEM Taurus fan, should be better quality than the aftermarket units (right Wirsch?). I've had it on the truck before and it kept the truck cool even plowing snow, but it put too much of a draw on the electrical system running in tandem with the snowplow hydraulic pump and warning lights all night long. Now that the plow's gone, the fan went back on.

 

[JohnnyU]

Truck is sitting on springs supporting it's own weight.

I need to align the axle still, but at least it's a step closer.

 

[94 4.0 5-spd 4wd ranger]

Sweet rig man, i really like the trackbar mount that you fabbed

 

[danger88ranger]

Looking good John.

 

[Bray D]

Looks great, so fresh. I wasn't a huge fan as first but the yellow's starting to grow on me. I can't wait to see it in action on the 25th.

 

[zainyD]]

Nice!!!

 

[dabomb5756]

Man, i wish you were the paint bitch during my build

 

[JohnnyU]

Man, i wish you were the paint bitch during my build

It's all about taking pride in your work.

 

[dburton07]

sickness

 

[JohnnyU]

Well, today was a fairly productive day. I got the hoses run for the Hydraulic cylinder, all new brake lines run for the front, as well as the flex lines, calipers, hubs, rotors, etc. I also managed to get the truck sitting down on a pair of tires. Essentially, the truck could drive at this point, however I still have a laundry list of things needed before it's actually "finished".

 

[bradz71]

Damn that looks good. Can't wait to see it in action!

Now you just need to mount your boggers and that will get your motivation going to finish the project.

I might have missed it, but did you end up running the stock leafs in the back or what?

 

[86freebie]

the only thing that could be better is if it was a ranger.

looks good, i love the yellow.