new bagged 79 swb project

[ak's-r-us]

Got this in a trade deal couple weeks ago, decided to drive it for a few days and figure out what i wanted to change.

the short list of change......almost EVERYTHING.



my "plan" is to have a very clean driver, few subtle custom touches to clean things up... nothing too exotic besides stance and wheels on the outside. right now the 350 is staying, a 700r4 is goin behind that... eventually an ls motor will find its way in place.

the interior is where the big changes will take place... but more on that one later....

first things first.... needed to get it down to a more respectable altitude... also wanted to center up the front wheel and hopefully gain clearance to keep the stock ac box with the new 22's

frameZ.. 3" up, 1.75" forward




back on the ground to see what else needs done... frame rails are now 5/8" off the ground... BUT i havent touched the rear yet bag mounts yet... the diff still has 3" till it hits the existing notch layed out



and with the stock rollers... i have 1/4" to the blower motor


and here is a lil teaser for the interior plan.... not the typical impala swap

[rusty76]

cool build man. Will you be keeping the stock clip up front? Looks nice.

[ak's-r-us]

im keeping the 79 clip... everything will be going back to chrome vs the rattlecan black. im thinkin its gonna get a back bumper too. i think the only things gettin shaved will be the emblems, stake pockets, and gate handle. the gas filler door will access for air and battery.

[mooseknuckles]

nice truck....I'm likin' the dash...

[rusty76]

Cool man. I was hoping you would be keeping it.

[ak's-r-us]

the ups truck showed up... now i can figure out the next step since im not guessing on where the tires are gonna be.

im happy with the front wheel relocation...


and the rear too

[ak's-r-us]

one of the major things i didnt like were these cupped lower arms... they pinched the bag AND rubbed the bags prettymuch all the time. they will give up the cross shafts and the bj area cuz im just bein lazy vs machining them



maybe i will have this pile of stuff tacked together by the end of the day... still need to disect the old arms and clean stuff up...



they work out to be a 2" drop and correct all the bag angles at ride height... made out of 1 5/8 .120 dom, the bushing sleaves were just some stuff laying around that was close enough for a finish machine pass... they will be plated on the bottom with P/O .200 plate

[ak's-r-us]

finally got a lil time today... got a decent start on my lower arms...





besides the cross shaft... this little section is all i used from the old arms

[Dieselwrencher]

What's up dude? I see you're still alive and doing bad azz work as usual!

[ak's-r-us]

still around... pretty much only working on my own stuff if i can help it these days.

[Dieselwrencher]

Have any cabs left?

[ak's-r-us]

i could prob scrounge up somethin.... i am toyin with idea of doin a TT dmax in this.... you prob got somethin just layin around since its not your brand

[Dieselwrencher]

Sorry man, no dmax stuff layin around here. 72duraburb does though.

[ak's-r-us]

im just toying with idea.... i can do a whole lotta ls motor for the money to do a dmax

[Dieselwrencher]

Yes you sure can.
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[ak's-r-us]

no kid or gf tonight, so i managed to almost wrap up my lowers... hopefully i can get them test fit and get started on my new uppers my next "shop day"

a little heat n beat fitting

lower plates on

couple more parts to fit and these are done


notice the rolled tube brace... you can see what i have in mind for the uppers.

i really plan to keep the uppers pretty simple, i kinda got carried away on the lowers

[ak's-r-us]

after some shock mounting bungs and future way to mount a sway bar.... lower arms are 99% finished... need to mount them and mark for the bag mounting... then give em to my neighbor the powder coater once i get the uppers made.




think I figured out the color choice.... lets just say its probably gonna be an aquired taste for most

[cochino12]

great looking work!!!!

[mooseknuckles]

pretty sweet arms....

[ak's-r-us]

finally got some more time to work on my upper arms. made these 3/4 longer than stock since the truck had 1" of alignment shims on top of the spacers... wasnt much thread stickin out the lock nuts.

where the truck sat before was binding on the upper bj, so I came up with the mounting angle by just mocking everything up with my dropped arms, bag compressed all the way and went back just before the upper bj binds.

keep in mind i still have stock spindles on the truck, and I wanted to make sure it lays frame now...so should i decide to go bigger rollers, drop spindles are all that will be needed to keep it laying frame.

pix... more later tonight if i get around to mocking everything up


all the fabbed up parts layed out..


setting up a quicky jig


the difference in bj angle compared to stock... they are also 3/4" longer


tacked together... ready to take out bushings and weld solid

[ak's-r-us]

visited the nieghbor this morning, came up with a met graphite color for my arms...



assembled and ready for install..


arm angles frame flat on ground..


frame just touching ground... this is point where bags are compressed all the way, so i will be able to throw some shims in to fine tune the ride height.


next major step will be a body drop... not tradional, not exactly stock floor either... just have to check back

[ak's-r-us]

Originally Posted by ak's-r-us

next major step will be a body drop... not tradional, not exactly stock floor either... just have to check back

sooooo after gettin the tires aligned pretty close at cruise altitude, hangin a fender... there is no way i can go another 2"+/- with a BD... AND be able to turn the tires without doin some major fender rolling (hindsight says i should have narrowed the arms a tad)

soooo im just gonna stock floor it, lay the pinch welds and be able to turn... problem solved.... i see lots of overhead welding plans for next weekend

btw... these arms at RH managed -.25* camber, and +6* caster with no shims at all....almost like i planned it.

[bbbc10]

badass!!!!! I want some of them arms!!!!! lol!

[Thomo5150]

Great build, waiting to see the dash.....

Tim
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[Gordonr1973]

Looks really good