Just Plain Stupied

[gregs]

Yep I have the the 36 std cab kit. I bought it from the original purchaser who was moving. He didnt get very far with it, basically just getting the chassis ready and sitting the cab on it. I have been working with trying to line everything up while trying to also set the body as low on the chassis as it will go to give it a nice stance. Been having some clearance issues with the drivers side front fender and the steering box.

 

[doorgunner]

danger____excellent idea....but I'll have to buy a short water pump & pulley now that I've moved the radiator back another inch to fit the condenser between the grill & the fan........no biggie!

gregs______bad news first---you have to set the cab at the height specified in the instruction manual to get the front fenders to clear the steering box.......I STILL had to notch the fender & inner panel to clear the corner of the steering box.....


OOOOOPS....wrong side of truck...but the gray panel got notched on the driver's side to make room for the pump......

don't get in a rush....it takes a few days to get EVERYTHING set in place correctly---another angle of the s-box...

block the cab up on the chassis using 2 x 4's...it'll look too high, but it'll work out just fine....get the body square with the chassis measuring from the outside edge of the body to the chassis on 4 corners....and from the bottom edges of the firewall to the OEM alignment pin on each frame rail....

LOST THAT PIC>>>photobuckettttttt

good news is.......if the driver's fender has plenty of clearance over the steering box once you have the radiator support & grill in place....you can lower the cab on the chassis until the fender lip is about to rub on the steering box, or do what I did---lower it too much & have to notch the fender lip in the pic above.

 

[gregs]

Did you change how the radiator frame mounted? It looks like yours is against the steering box. Mine is supposed to attach to a flat plate the mounts under the frame in the same holes the sway bar bushings are bolted to.

Can you get some shots under the truck where the cab body mounts are? Thanks

 

[doorgunner]

gregs....I'll get some mount shots today...I've bought the extra-cab & had to move all 4 mounts to fit the larger body.....yep.....my radiator support was supposed to attach to plates also, but I goofed up and had to mod & mount the drivers-side radiator support plate to the top of the steering box (V.A meds...can't think with em--can't think without em!!!!!!!).

 

[gregs]

It looks like the steering box is the hold up on dropping the body more. I was looking to see if I could remount the box lower or use a different box, but nothing looks good. I wish someone had a kit to drop a rack in these trucks.

 

[doorgunner]

you could probably drop the box an inch or 2....but you'd have to cut the frame-rail off behind the box...lower it...tack it in place...then reweld & beef up the modified frame rail.

BUT...you'd still have to deal with the tips of the frame rails where they were cut according to the instruction manual....

Let me get some pics.......you can see from the passengers side frame rail that there's only about an inch more the fender can be dropped before it hits the modified frame rail....(you could chop off more of the passenger-side frame rail to lower the fender/cab...but you'd definately have to lower the steering box an inch or 2 first!

NOTE: I made sure EVERYTHING fit correctly on the chassis before I repositioned the 4 cab mounts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

drivers-side front cab mount--rivets drilled out--OEM cab mount has been repositioned by me to be able to use OEM rubber grommets/OEM bracket....

drivers-side rear cab mount also repositioned so I could use OEM bracket/rubber grommets

the stance looks O.K. following the directions of the instruction manual....the bottom of the running boards are 9" from the pavement...that's low enough for me--I wasn't after the old school streetrod-runningboards-down-in-the-grass-look.....I didn't want the tires-up-in-the-wheelwell-look either....

just be positive the steering linkage will not bind on anything if you decide to lower the steering box...

 

[mn_smokeater]

woah thats cool how it all comes together

 

[dangerranger83]

I still cant get over the color you chose for the truck, its perfect for it. What is the colors name?

 

[doorgunner]

short story long.....I've wanted a red truck since hight school...19.....uhhh....60....8

thennnnnnnn I got married....my wife said NO RED TRUCK!!!!


thennnnnnn I took CONTROL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Metallic RedFire(pearl basecoat/clearcoat)....either Ford or Dodge


annnnnnd A/C is charged!!!!

will post pics of icecicles tomorrow...Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaaaa

 

[dangerranger83]

Only problem I have with red vehicles is over time they fade due to the sun, and im to lazy to polish every other week.

As for my truck, its going to be gray in color, what shade Im not sure yet, had enough money to finally insure and plate it today.

Maybe you should make an A/C cooling duct go to where the cupholders will be to keep them cool.

 

[ozziemo27]

thennnnnnn I took CONTROL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bout time! I sure hope she chipped in for that pricey AC that she wanted!

 

[gregs]

Thanks for the pictures, that really helps. I am going to look a little closer to see if changing that much stuff will be worth the effort to only gain a couple of inches. It helps a lot when someone else has done it before. I think I am going to have to open up the firewall like you did to set the engine far enough back for some decent radiator clearance.

 

[adsm08]

Maybe you should make an A/C cooling duct go to where the cupholders will be to keep them cool.

Out of this exceedingly epic build thread, that is possibly the most epic idea put forward to date. I like it.

 

[doorgunner]

GREGS....1 or 2 inches is a lot when it comes to ground clearance...if your after the low look---go for it!
You're only talkin about adding another 4 hours to the project!

Out of this exceedingly epic build thread, that is possibly the most epic idea put forward to date. I like it.

hmmmmm.....so THAT'S why the A/C unit came with an EXTRA cold air outlet...................I need a bucket to catch the ice cubes from the extra cold air outlet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




COOLER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


while I'm at it....I might as well tie into the heater duct and run me a coffee cup warmer too!

 

[MountainMike]

while I'm at it....I might as well tie into the heater duct and run me a coffee cup warmer too!

Pure genius right there.