Yet another axle swap

[kris97ranger]

this thing looks awsome

 

[dangerranger83]

It just keeps getting better and better.

 

[1freaky1]

Did a little trimming.

Fender well before

What I cut out

What I ended up with

I did fabricate some wheel well liners to enclose the gap and hold up the plastic wheel well but have not taken a pic of that yet. I will get one once I grind down the welds and paint it.

 

[1freaky1]

After seeing how much the stock FS Bronco springs compressed it was not what I wanted. There was only 5"s of clearance between the 44 and the frame so today I ordered some 4" lift coils from Wild Horses. Now that should help out a lot and the better part is they are Progressive Rate Coil Springs.

 

[azbronco2]

nice job!

 

[1freaky1]

Here is a pic of the finished fender well and the beginning of the steering setup.

The Factory steering shaft & The new F150 Box W/ Flaming River Joint

 

[1freaky1]

Tonight I got the joint assy. off the shaft, had to use the torch, hammer and punch to do it but it is separated, Tomorrow will cut the sleeve off the shaft and after a bit of filing I will stick the new joint on. Then all that is left to do for the steering is to fab up a mounting plate for the gear box and drill and taper the knuckles for the cross over steering. Pics show what was done tonight.

 

[1freaky1]

Well I was trying to remove the rear shackles & mounts to relocate them and get the truck leveled off but had all kinds of issues with the bolts. After some serious PB Blaster and breaking 3 sockets + 1 wrench I went and bought a new set of impact sockets.
I wasted 6-1/2hours on it yesterday before I finally said screw it and cut the shackle to which when it was said and done I looked at it and went ah cr@p I just screwed up!!! As it worked out I did not screw up other than now I had to fabricate twice the parts but at least it will be twice as strong as the factory stuff!!! I got the plates cut and drilled for the new shackles, I set them up so they are adjustable for height. Working out the details of the shackle mount and think I am going to make it fully adjustable too once I get the spring bolt out and grind off the remnants of the original mount from the frame. I did discover that my newer rear shocks are no where long enough so add those to the list of parts to buy. Does this list ever stop?
I will get pics of it all when I am done fabbing the mounts.

 

[azbronco2]

It never stops I spent 3 1/2 hours air hammering my bolts out of the spring bushing sleeves

 

[DANIELVINCENT]

dam good looking truck man not to many ppl do a 1998 + SAS!!! looks good and like your long arms!!! check out my build thread

 

[1freaky1]

dam good looking truck man not to many ppl do a 1998 + SAS!!! looks good and like your long arms!!! check out my build thread

Thanks, yeah seems like a lot of people doing the older models.


When those bolts rust inside the sleeve they are a Royal PIA! Here is some more updated pics from today's progress. The new shackles are almost 3 times thicker material than the factory ones, Also measured the height of the truck and to the top of the exo-cage is 7'2" and the garage door height is 7'.

1) Splitting the sleeve open to remove the bolt
2) The rusty crud on the bolt
3) Checking the new shackles to where the mount was cut from the frame
4) The new shackles are done just needs a coat of paint

 

[dangerranger83]

Those are some damn sharp looking welds there.

 

[1freaky1]

Since I had surgery two weeks ago a friend came by to lend a hand and fab up the new shackle mounts for me pics included. This has finished the lift which turned out to be 7 inches over where it was before and makes it a around 9-10 over stock. All this has gotten me 22-1/2 inches height at the lowest part of the frame and 20-1/0 at the fuel tank skid plate. Now all that is left is to get all new shocks and do up the steering, driveshafts, mod the Xransfer skid, & convert the electric shift Xransfer case over to manual shift and then take it for a drive.

1&2) Ballistic Joint & Mount don't fit together
3&4) Shackle mounts Fabbed and painted
5&6) Shackles mounted up
7&8) Side shots

 

[Bennybooster]

Darn sexy, I would suggest deflating the tires to get it out of the garage if you have trouble

 

[1freaky1]

Well I got the new mount fabbed up for the power steering gear box, just need to tap a couple holes and get some new bolts and it will be bolted in. It is made out of 1/4" plate so it should hold up well. I am using a mid 80s box which Ford used on all the trucks from 77-mid 90s so they are plentiful and fairly easy swap.