My 83' Crew Cab Dually project

[Ghostwhite]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I'm aware of how it 'should' go. Good luck getting those numbers w/o cutting up the entire floorpan (Z up front + step notched rear).

I hear ya, packaging always ends up making things like this a compromise. The crank center-line on my Cummins is ridiculously tall, my floor-pan will most likely have to be channeled from the huge hole I'll need for the trans all the way to back, even after taking 2" out of the oil pan.

Originally Posted by ruffrida2005

Frame is looking good. I was gonna do 4x2 for my frame, but I'm really starting to think about doing 4x3 instead.

4x3 makes for a nice, easy weld joint along the top of the tube.

[DblTrbl]

Originally Posted by ruffrida2005

Frame is looking good. I was gonna do 4x2 for my frame, but I'm really starting to think about doing 4x3 instead.

Yep, what Ghostwhite said. Plus, our trucks are a long span (11' 1" on mine), and the additional size should help to curb the flex. I'd have actually gone taller if I could have fit it. My stock frame varies in width from 2 1/4" - 3" (a product of poor quality control in the factory it seems), so the 3" wide cleans all of that up.

[ruffrida2005]

I hear ya about the 4x3, I already have 40' of 4x2.

[DblTrbl]

Originally Posted by ruffrida2005

I hear ya about the 4x3, I already have 40' of 4x2.

Can any of you guys point me to some more info on Z'ing the frame? I've seen straight Z's and the inch forward Z's. My wheels appear to be centered in the fender already. The forum search function doesn't like just "Z" as a search and most everything I bring up doesn't touch on what I need to know; is the inch forward really needed?

[Ghostwhite]

Originally Posted by DblTrbl

Can any of you guys point me to some more info on Z'ing the frame? I've seen straight Z's and the inch forward Z's. My wheels appear to be centered in the fender already. The forum search function doesn't like just "Z" as a search and most everything I bring up doesn't touch on what I need to know; is the inch forward really needed?

Like tiny said its all up to you whether you want to or not. Most trucks do not have the front wheels centered in the fenderwell but if yours are I wouldn't worry about it. The clearance for big wheels is also a huge factor, I had thought about Z'n forward on my build and still am not decided. The dropmember I have should have moved it forward enough but the few times I've glanced at it it looked back a bit. I am also going to tub the firewall as much as I need to gain some turning clearance.

The best search utility for me to use google's site specific searches. Enter "site:67-72chevytrucks.com" without quotes before your search terms and it will search only this site. It is not perfect and will not order the results by date but I use it for searching forums every day.

Here is an example ->
site:67-72chevytrucks.com frame z

[DblTrbl]

Thanks guys. I think I've got enough knowledge to do the Z correctly now. 😉

Since I'm still without material, I decided to move into the next logical step and did some tear down today. Front clip is off and engine/trans are out. Now I need to figure out how I'm going to get these cleaned with it being 10* outside...

[DblTrbl]

Finally got the rest of my material. I finished putting the driver's side rail in and tied in the remaining (very little) part of the original frame. Now I'm measuring and getting ready to do the Z. I was able to get the slip on the driveshaft to break free, so I'm moving the Z an inch forward.

[tinydb84]

Try "Z'd" "Z'ing"

I did 1 inch forward. The wheels looked more centered. I wouldn't have cleared the firewall of I didnt.

[ruffrida2005]

Post measurements if you can

[DblTrbl]

Originally Posted by ruffrida2005

Post measurements if you can

Which measurements do you want?

[DblTrbl]

Here's the (updated) Z measurements. Guessing that's what you're looking for?

[DblTrbl]

Finished for today. I got the Z in place and started on the bracing and tying into the front part of the frame. I can't decide at this point if I'm going to put another piece of tube under the one that's in place or if I'll just trim and plate the underside before I do the fishplates. I've been staring at it for too long, so it's time to quit and ponder for a while...

Anyway, here's what I got done today.

[DblTrbl]

Made some filler plates and started finishing off the Z.







Still need to do some cleanup and make a small sliver of a filler for the top of the frame where it goes from 3" to 2". I plan to grind it all down and smooth it when I'm done.

[ruffrida2005]

Yes sir. Those are what I was looking for. Truck is looking good.

[tinydb84]

Nice clean work!!

[DblTrbl]

Thanks guys...

I finished up the filler plates today and smoothed all of the welds. The whole thing was incredibly time consuming...did I mention how much I loathe grinding?









There's some kind of shmutz on the 3/16" plate that I got from Pacific; it was a drop from their plasma table, so something must have gotten on it...whatever it is, it doesn't grind for sh!t. I may have to hit it with the sand blaster before I paint it...

[tinydb84]

I hate grinding too but man that looks good.

[64chevtruck]

Nice smooth work thank you for posting the info, I have the front end apart on mine right now and am looking for info on this.

[DblTrbl]

Alright fellas...I can use a little help with the steering. Tinydb84, I know that you did yours a while back. I also remember Scott or Scotty or something from another thread that has a shop that sells the parts...

Here's what I have. Where is the best place to buy and what exactly do I need? I know it's a couple of u joints and a heim or Johnny joint...

[64chevtruck]

Howdy, When you Zd the frame, you had to lower the core support in front also yes>? Did you have to remove an inch up there since you stretched it an inch>?

[DblTrbl]

Originally Posted by 64chevtruck

Howdy, When you Zd the frame, you had to lower the core support in front also yes>? Did you have to remove an inch up there since you stretched it an inch>?

Yes. I haven't gotten that far yet, but I will have to drop the horns down 4" and back 1" to account for the changes behind the engine...otherwise the body panels won't line up. The front is simple in comparison.

[tinydb84]

Mine is different from yours. The steering changed in the late 70's.

You should need a 3/4'' DD shaft, one 3/4'' heim joint, two 3/4"DD x 3/4"DD u-joints, and one 30 spline x 3/4" DD u-joint.

Double check everything though. There were three(?) different steering columns and two steering boxes.

I ordered all my stuff from Travis at AZ Pro Performance. He gave me a discount too if I remember correctly. Just call him and he will know exactly what you need. Just tell him you are Z'ing a truck.

[DblTrbl]

In spite of a fairly busy weekend, I was able to squeeze in some time this afternoon on the truck.

I built both the trans and carrier bearing crossmembers. The trans was pretty simple; straight bar of 2x3x.25 with a couple of pieces of flat stock on each end, so I can drill them and boot it in place.

The carrier bearing crossmember was a little more complicated to work out and I'm still not sure if it's going to leave me enough clearance for exhaust pipes on either side, but I can work that out once it's in. By flipping the bearing over, I only had to raise the mounting surface 1/2 to match the 4" that I Z'd the front end. Unfortunately, that puts the driveshaft an inch into the floor...so I'll be tunneling all the way back instead of just the trans hump it seems.



So, I finally dropped the whole thing down off the stands and put the four link back in place and started setting it up with the gussets and lower bag brackets. The axle is sitting about 1/4" below the notch with the truck on the ground, so it should be perfect when I mount some lower profile tires...currently 235/85's.

Anyway...it's on pinch.

[ruffrida2005]

You probably said it before, but what are you doing for the upper bag bracket? Looks like you'll have to cut into the floor a bunch to make the bags fit.

[DblTrbl]

Originally Posted by ruffrida2005

You probably said it before, but what are you doing for the upper bag bracket? Looks like you'll have to cut into the floor a bunch to make the bags fit.

The bed is going to be raised a ton. I'm already into the bed with the front four link mounts and the driveline. The bridge is about 10" above the floor. With the bodydrop, there's not much choice...if I'd gone bag-over-axle, my bridge would have been almost even with the top bed rail. I plan to cut the floor out when I drop the bed back on and go from there.