Gringoloco's trailing arm conversion

[gringoloco]

Started the conversion of my Blazer tonite. It is already a 2wd converted from 4wd with the front crossmember bolted in and the rear axle flipped over the leaves. I am in the process of converting the rear to trailing arms. The only real hurdle is finding a place to mount your springs/bags since the 4wd Blazer frame does not 'flare' out in the rear to accomodate the upper mount. I have a plan for it and will address this problem when I get to that point.

Tonite I got the trailing arm crossmember mounted in the frame. It has been modified to allow the exhaust to pass through and powder-coated satin black. Following bigbluthng's lead, I used two existing holes in the frame to line it up and had to drill out the rest. While I was in there, I decided to clean-up and paint a little with Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator.


1st pic- Shows Passenger side location of existing holes in frame. Rear most hole will be used to locate crossmember to drill the rest of the holes.

2nd pic- Shows driver side existing holes in frame. This side was a little tougher because of the E-brake cable bracket riveted in here. You can see where the air chisel made a few nicks in the frame during removal.

3rd pic- Shows side view of the crossmember installed with grade 8 hardware.

4th pic- Rear view, driveshaft back in.

5th pic- front view, shows where existing holes were used for the upper bolts.

More to come- stay tuned! -Chris

[72CSTC5]

Looks good, someone has been "cleaning" underneath there huh? before you took pics. Nice job.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by 72CSTC5

Looks good, someone has been "cleaning" underneath there huh? before you took pics. Nice job.

Yeah, for your viewing pleasure- and my peace of mind. A little Easy-Off goes a long way...

[1LoC10]

looks good.. but damn clean some of the gunk, rust, and grim off your frame please.. thats nasty

[LUV2XCLR8]

Did you install it right side up, or right side down, some say you
can get a lil lower with it flipped, but that may only be w/ ECE's
version of that part, looks good so far, keep the pic's a coming.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by LUV2XCLR8

Did you install it right side up, or right side down, some say you
can get a lil lower with it flipped, but that may only be w/ ECE's
version of that part, looks good so far, keep the pic's a coming.

Reason for that is to mount the trailing arm pivots a little higher, therefore correcting pinion angle slightly. I will not need to do this as I will set my angle and weld on new trailing arm perches. When going extremely low this also causes the arms to hit the frame sooner, therefore limiting drop. So, no, I put it in the stock position.

-Chris

[kylejamers]

looks good

[ortegamotor]

hey Chris i am at the same point with my 70cst i have all of the suspension off and i am getting ready to put the front cross member into place. do you have any advice on that and and or measurements? and where did you come up with the location for the rear end cross member? thanks for your advice. Tony

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by ortegamotor

hey Chris i am at the same point with my 70cst i have all of the suspension off and i am getting ready to put the front cross member into place. do you have any advice on that and and or measurements? and where did you come up with the location for the rear end cross member? thanks for your advice. Tony

Tony- I bought this one already converted, so no ideas on how to get it in the exact place in the front. Best thing I can think is to get all your measurements from a 2wd truck and transfer them to your frame. Mark your holes and then jack the crossmember into place to double check and then drill the holes out.

The main thing you want to be concerned with is the relationship of the crossmember to the steering gear. If this is off it will give you fits.

For the rear, I let boardmember bigbluthg do all the hard work(thinking). He has already completed this in the rear and I am just copying all his measurements. Using the existing holes as shown above will center you exactly in the rear wheelwells. Click on the link to bigbluthg's picture page in the first post for more photos. He might also be able to help with the front measurements.

Not much on updates right now, been spending a LOT of time cutting rivets and prepping parts for the powder coater. More to come soon.

-Chris

Edit: Also found this info originally posted by Livrat concerning front crossmember measurements-

Originally Posted by Livrat

Sorry to say but none of the holes line up. The way I usually do it is, Cut off the donor truck frame rails just behind the shock mounts.. then take each frame rail and cut them where they bend so you have three flat pieces, A top, A side, and a bottom.. then use those for templates, You will find some common holes that will line up.. bolt each piece on top of the Blazer frame rails and use "transfer Punches" to center punch all of the needed crossmember holes and start drilling, start with a small bit and work your way up to the desired diameter.. I hope that was not to confusing,

You could also just make templates out of cardboard or the like, instead of cutting up pieces of framerail, and transfer the holes that way. Good luck, and NICE lookin' Blazer btw.

[gringoloco]

Well, I think I finally have all the parts together and back from the powder coater. Got sidetracked today workin' on my buddy's 'vette- Tomorrow is my Blazer's turn.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Well, I think I finally have all the parts together and back from the powder coater.

[ortegamotor]

hey Chris, it's looking good man. i was wondering if i could get a part # on the upper airbag bracket from ART.I also noticed that you are useing lowering blocks and c-notch brackets. are the bracket an ART part as well? i have the next two weeks off so now is the time to get to my truck ,i will also post some pictures on this thread . hey Chris thats for the great pictures and info.talk to you soon. Tony

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by ortegamotor

hey Chris, it's looking good man. i was wondering if i could get a part # on the upper airbag bracket from ART.I also noticed that you are useing lowering blocks and c-notch brackets. are the bracket an ART part as well? i have the next two weeks off so now is the time to get to my truck ,i will also post some pictures on this thread . hey Chris thats for the great pictures and info.talk to you soon. Tony

The bracket is ART A002E (pictured). The C-notches are a bolt-in piece from *****************, but after mocking this up, I don't think they will work. There is simply not enough room for them and the upper bag mount. I will have to re-think this part... The blocks are CPP 2" drop. They should allow me to run the same amount of drop with a little more pressure in the bags for a smoother ride.

Good luck on yours and keep us posted. -Chris

[gringoloco]

Progress!

Last night we got the rear pulled apart for mock-up. Sorry it's not as clean and painted back there as the rest of it, that will come after I make sure everything fits. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. The bracket is an ART piece. The bags are SlamSpecialties. I am trying to make this as bolt-on as possible, using factory style parts. This could be done with all stock parts except for the upper mounting bracket. I would even go so far as to say you could bolt in coil springs if you were so inclined.

Today I will finish cutting off the leaf and shock mounts from the axle tubes and slide it under the truck. I will also plumb some air and set up the panhard bar using a factory style frame mount (hopefully). Also included a pic of the other thing that's been stealing time away from the bag project: We finally finished re-covering the seats in my buddy's Corvette.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

-Chris

[smbrouss70]

Looking good gringo, I think I may have to find an excuse to go up your way and take a look at your project.

[gringoloco]

Got the axle under the truck today and the bags bolted up and plumbed with schrader valves temporarily. Still need to mount the shocks and panhard bar. Put some air in the bags just to see how she will look. A few pics of the progress:

[gringoloco]

Spent some time chasing leaks and head-scratching the panhard bar. Got a few more pics today. Sorry for the crappy night shots...

Pic 1- Aired up, but not at full lift. You can see the trailing arms peeking out in the back
Pic 2- Aired out, frame sitting on axle. This will be ride height once I get the c-notch in
Pic 3- Underside with air in the bags

[bigbluthng]

looks great. you have any issues witht he bags binding or anything? can't wait to drop my engine in and get moving already.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by bigbluthng

looks great. you have any issues witht he bags binding or anything? can't wait to drop my engine in and get moving already.

Nope. No problems. Smooth as butter. Thanks again for all your help with this. I would be still figuring out what to do if not for your progress. Good luck with yours and keep us updated.

-Chris

[Col Clank]

where did you order the schraeder valves from?

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by Col Clank

where did you order the schraeder valves from?

They are an Air line service kit for Firestone Ride-Rite / Sport-Rite. Comes with air line, push-lock fittings and valves. I didn't use the tees.

[Col Clank]

thanks

[ClifBlazer]

could you help me out . trieing to locate uper bag mount not been able to find it thank you

[lolife99]

Try www.*****************

[drunkbus]

What are your plans for those old leaf springs? I found a single broken spring in one of my spring packs and have been looking with no luck. Let me know if you would sell just one of the leafs.