More progress slowly rolling in. I finished stripping the frame, and cleaning up everything good enough for a coat of paint. I used rustoleum semi gloss black. It turned out pretty decent, and now comes the more enjoyable part of re-assembly. My Belltech stuff arrived also, so when I put the front suspension back together with the new 3" drop springs.
***keep in mind my plans at the moment were to only do a 3/4 drop. The truck came with drop shackles, so i had ordered drop hangers to do the rest of the job***
I also tossed in new ball joints, rotors, calipers, and bearings since I was in there. All the steering components have been replaced already with moog equipment so that was a bonus. Its on wheels and sitting back on all fours again. It sits like a 4x4 with no weight in it, lol. To finish up the front end, I will be getting some monroe sensitracs from a dakota. They are supposed to work pretty good with the spring drop i have (13.5" extended length, and 8" compressed ) I also started mocking up my used griffin rad (originally for a 70-81 f-body), and although the 4 core fits a little tight against the rad support, and fills the bottom channel a little snug, it works. I just ended up cutting some mild steel for the upper hold down that I will also use to make mounting tabs for an e-fan. Here are a couple pics of how its starting to look.
I am also hunting down an 88-94 prop valve, and lines, to finish buttoning up the brakes.