My '87 SWB Project w/pics!!

[JohnC]

Looks good man.

[Capcity82]

project is looking good.

[twoodson]

JohnC & Capcity82- Thanks for the compliments gentlemen. I'm trying to stay patient.

[twoodson]

I had the alternator case powder coated polished ceramic as well. I just had Alterstart to put it back together. They built about a year or so ago and I never have installed it, that's when the tear down started..lol So here is a pic of it put back together with the polished ceramic powder coated case. It will have the black fan and polished ceramic pulley as well. It's 200 amp. Enjoy!!

[WigglesTheHoly]

have you cut the bed for your fuel tank yet? I'm looking into doing this to my truck and want to see how your are making it work. Great project btw.

[twoodson]

WigglesTheHoly - Yeah I already cut the bed. I will try and get a pic or 2 up this evening after work.

[lvschevytrucks]

WOW what a great job you are doing.... I just found your thread, and i will watch it to the end, of corse the job does't ever really get done, we're always changing something. Good luck on your build

[twoodson]

lvschevytrucks - thanks for the compliments, yeah I am hoping that I can say I am done but we all know how that goes. Slowly but surely getting there

[twoodson]

Guys here are some more pics, maybe boring to some, but here yo go. The first 2 pics were requested by WigglesTheHoly. 1st one is bed without fuel filler and the 2nd one is how it will look with the fuel filler installed.
3rd pic is the steering gear box that was primed/painted gloss black & clear (rattle can-Dupli Color primer, ceramic & clear). The 4th pic shows the bottom of the steering gear box which was just cleaned and scotch brighted. I may paint it with Dupli Color Silver and clear it. The 5th pic is the brake proportioning valve & the steering coupler that goes on the steering gear box. The cover for the steering gear box was powder coated in silver (shown in previus pics above) so it shoul look pretty good. I should have the rest of the frame por-15 finished this weekend. I will keep everyone posted. Have a blessed evening. I will be hardware shopping this weekend for nuts/bolts. Getting close to ordering the Energy Suspension bushings to start installing the suspension. Enjoy!!!

[menace121978]

i just went out to see if my steering gear box was still there.

sweet buddy! looking good.... i like the gas filler too!

[twoodson]

menace121978 - LOL LOL, your truck is looking good bro. Thanks for the compliments boss!!

[twoodson]

Happy Memorial Day to all of our veteran sevicemen and women, and our active servicemen and women. Thank You and God Bless us all!!!

Here is a an update pic everyone of my lates accomplishment. It's not much but I decided to post it anyways. I still have to add some clear to but here is my steering shaft that I rattle canned black and silver. Enjoy!!!

[1986swb]

Originally Posted by twoodson

It's been about 3 months since I posted but I have been working on the truck. I got my new doetsch tech shocks (no pic) in, I finally got all the rear suspension back together minus the shocks which I will bolt on this weekend. All the leaf springs were powder coated black and the silver items were powder coated silver. All new grade 8 and some stainless hardware were used. I will get new brake lines and hopefully be able to order the rear disc brake from blackbirds in a couple. The drive shaft (no pic) is powder coated silver as well. I used all energy suspension bushings in the leaf springs, shackles and on the sway bar. Enjoy. I will post a pic of the drive shaft later tonight. Enjoy!!

Great shots of your rear sway bar set up. I'm doing something similar to my 1986 swb as well. I noticed something in your second photo that caught my eye. Your rear drop shackles are backwards. Meaning, the opening section should be facing toward the front of the truck and not the rear. That's what my instructions noted when I installed mine. I've seen others doing it the same way as well. Not sure if there will be any suspension issues if the springs flex. Others may have an opinion on this whether or not the direction of the shackles makes a difference. I just hate to see you far along then needing to redo the shackles. Here's a couple of my pics for reference.

[twoodson]

Got DANG it!!! Good looking out 1986SWB. I was putting them back on the same way I took them off. I appreciate that. I will have to switch them around this weekend and get that out of the way.

[1986swb]

Can you tell us the part # for the Hellwing rear sway bar kit?

What size is the rear sway bar?

Where did you order the kit from?

If you have any additional pics of the rear sway bar brackets that are attached to the axle housing (and any other angle shots), can you post them?

Thanks.

[twoodson]

1986SWB - I will get the part #'s but I did order it from Summit Racing, I will try and get some different angle shots after work.

[1986swb]

I should have checked Summit Racing's site as I order all of my aftermarket engine parts from them. Awesome prices and great tech services. Looking forward to those pics when you have them. Thanks twoodson.

[twoodson]

Okay guys here are the latest pics of the front half of the frame por15 chassis coated. So the whole frame is finally done. I went and spent about $60 on new grade 8 hardware. I got the cross member and A-frame bolted in. Hopefully I can save some more pennies and get my bushings/front suspension parts and start putting things back together. slowly but surely. I will probably start stripping the firewall, and inside cab pretty soon and get the cab ready for paint; we'll wait and see how the $$$ go.. Enjoy

[dropd80s]

looks awesome. Not sure where you're getting your hardware but some place like fastenal is a whole lot cheaper than a typical "hardware" store like lowes, home depot, ace, ect. I spent a rediculous amount of money on grade 8 bolts/ nuts untill i found this out. They also can actually assist you in finding what you need too.

[1986swb]

Originally Posted by twoodson

Okay guys here are the latest pics of the front half of the frame por15 chassis coated. So the whole frame is finally done. I went and spent about $60 on new grade 8 hardware. I got the cross member and A-frame bolted in. Hopefully I can save some more pennies and get my bushings/front suspension parts and start putting things back together. slowly but surely. I will probably start stripping the firewall, and inside cab pretty soon and get the cab ready for paint; we'll wait and see how the $$$ go.. Enjoy

Great job. Lots of work but worth the effort. Congrats on the outcome.

Quick question: Did you brush or spray on the POR-15 on the chasis and other parts? Just curious. I've done it both ways with varying results on the "glossiness" of the finish. However, most of the parts I coated with POR-15 had a final top coat of a low-gloss heat resistant paint.

[1986swb]

Originally Posted by dropd80s

looks awesome. Not sure where you're getting your hardware but some place like fastenal is a whole lot cheaper than a typical "hardware" store like lowes, home depot, ace, ect. I spent a rediculous amount of money on grade 8 bolts/ nuts untill i found this out. They also can actually assist you in finding what you need too.

I hear you. I've spent a ton of $$$ on my grade 8s. From the big box home improvement stores to NAPA to Ace Hardware. Actually, Ace has saved me more than once when I really needed additional grade 8s, especially when everyone else was closed. Last minute oopsies. You know what I mean.

[1986swb]

twoodson.

If you haven't yet purchased a front sway bar and you have access to a salvage yard, consider upgrading to the larger diameter 1-1/4" OEM front sway bar for your square found on 1988 and earlier 3/4-ton, 2wd Suburbans. I found one with its brackets for $20. I purchased Moog K6476 Urethane bushings ($40 for 4, 2 per box) and 3/8" grade 8 hardware & paint ($20). So for about $80, you can get incredible handling and a more responsive feel with very little body roll compared to the OEM 1-1/16" front sway bar with rubber bushings. I'm sure if I upgraded the 1-1/16" bar with Moog urethane bushings, I would have experienced a noticeable change when compared to the rubber bushings I was using. But the bigger bar is better in this case.

Thanks to TX Firefighters FAQ on sway bars (http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=72338), I checked out the Moog urethane bushings at O'Reilly Auto Parts and found them to be very firm. They were slightly less firm as Polyurethane bushings but much harder than rubber. After installing the urethane bushings (dry without any lube), I tested them hard around the curves and turns and they held up extremely well. So far so good regarding noise -- none so far. I don't think they will squeek like Polys but I'll let you know how things are a month or two from now.

Anyway, here are some pics for your reference and use. The first pic is the smaller OEM 1-1/16" sway bar (pic with the grade 8 hardware).

BTW - I shot the sway bar with POR-15 then with a top coat of low-gloss heat resistant black paint to match the rest of my suspension.

[JohnC]

Looks good man! Keep up the great work.

[menace121978]

Looking good buddy! i remember spending a grip of money on my bolts for the crossmember but i was so excited to finally be bolting things together it really didnt cross my mind little by little man...

[twoodson]

drop80s - thanks for the compliments boss; yeah I just wish Fastenal sold it by per bolt instead of by the qty but I may check into when i need more than 10 and see how much they are.

1986swb - Thanks man, yeah I hope it's worth it; I usually go to AcE or Elliotts here in Dallas, I sponge brushed my por15 (chassis coat) it looks like a low gloss/satin black; actually I have a Helwig front sway bar which I ordered the same time I did the rear. Thanks for those Moog pics/part#'s.

JohnC - Thanks Bro!!

menace121978 - Thanks Boss, you ain't kidding ($$$ hardware), I am just ready to order ally my energy suspension bushings, moog tie rods/ball joints and start putting the front suspention back together.

By the way I did touch up the steering gear box were my masking was a little off so it looks better now. Will post an updated pic later..LOL