My 83' Crew Cab Dually project

[Ghostwhite]

Looking amazing!

Progress is coming right along, I need to get some plate to button up my Z and get started out back.

[DblTrbl]

Got my new steering linkage installed. Built a simple bracket to hold the heim joint...

[bbbc10]

Looking good whats the part # on the u joint u used from tge column to the dd shaft

[DblTrbl]

Originally Posted by bbbc10

Looking good whats the part # on the u joint u used from tge column to the dd shaft

It's a 1"DD -> 3/4"DD. I don't have a part #. I ended up buying it from "bro-speed on eBay. The Unisteer stuff was a little more than I wanted to spend and I honestly don't see the reason other than going with a brand name. The parts I got are also a high quality and I have no doubt that they'll do exactly what I need without problems...

[DblTrbl]

I really wish I had more time. It seems like as soon as I get moving at pretty good pace, I run out of time...

Nonetheless, I got the rear upper mounts built and burned in today. I'll be tackling some kind of a crossmember to tie them together next weekend.

Ooh look...pics!

[ruffrida2005]

Looks good

[DblTrbl]

This body work is tough business...think I've got it figured out.

[tinydb84]

Looks good. I thought the mounts were going to have to be taller. I like it.

[54earl]

Looking good.

[slammed427]

That looks good. How's the bag look at ride height?

[DblTrbl]

It seems like the little things take up a lot of time and progress just crawls sometimes. I spent quite a bit of time just welding things off that I'd tacked in for mock up once I got everything moving the way I wanted it to. The panhard bar proved to be a major pain in the ass to get positioned with the least movement and still clear everything. It's tight, but it works...

Built a bracket for the panhard - yep, it's a little rusty; I didn't have any clean 1/4" material and 3/16" just didn't seem strong enough:



Installed:





Removed a small part of the original frame where it kicks up just ahead of the step for clearance on the bags at full air up.



Aired up as requested...this is a little above ride height:





And hooked up to shop air @80lbs:

http://s82.photobucket.com/user/sbeb...81D09.mp4.html

[tinydb84]

Looks really good man.

[DblTrbl]

I'm at the point that I need to set the engine and trans back in so I can figure out how much floor to trim. Of course, I can't set the greasy old motor back in a new frame, so I steam washed it, gave it a fresh coat of paint and started bolting on the shiny bits...







Tip: electrical "rockets" make great spark plug hole plugs...





Everyone's dropping LS's in and I'm here making my sbc shiny...

[54earl]

Did your truck originally come with a small block?

[DblTrbl]

Originally Posted by 54earl

Did your truck originally come with a small block?

Yes it did. I've considered going bigger but this is a solid motor and it pulls me around just fine for now. Fuel mileage isn't too bad either.

[54earl]

I just bought an 82 crew cab dually (200). No engine or trains, but I have a small block 350 and a turbo 400 as well as a 700r4. I have been trying to figure out a good bag selection and if the 350 would work out.

[DblTrbl]

Originally Posted by 54earl

I just bought an 82 crew cab dually (200). No engine or trains, but I have a small block 350 and a turbo 400 as well as a 700r4. I have been trying to figure out a good bag selection and if the 350 would work out.

The 350 seemed to push mine along just fine. It sucked at highway speeds, but that was the TH400. I towed my 25' boat around last summer without issue. I haven't heard good things about towing with the 700R4's, but I may drop one in just to get that overdrive.

I'm using Air Lift Dominator 2600's all the way around. It lifts the front just fine and I don't expect that the rear will weigh any more than the engine. Do yourself a favor though and run multiple tanks. 5gal was barely enough to lift the front once.

[54earl]

i have dual air compressors might as well have dual tanks. Thanks for the info on the bags. I am looking forward to seeing yours up and running.

[DblTrbl]

I had a REALLY frustrating day with my pulley and bracket kit. Nearly everything required some form of clearancing, bolt holes are off center, the water pump pulley has been countersunk so far that the bolts seat well below the surface, the alternator fan hits the alternator body when bolted together, the heim joints interfere in both ends so the bolts can't be tightened, the power steering pump bracket gives very limited belt adjustment. I found that I have the wrong shaft on my power steering pump. I really expected that bolting the shiny parts on would be more fun.

A little more progress...

[DblTrbl]

I got the crossmember built and tacked in place. I still need to build some filler pieces and burn the whole thing in...

[aggie91]

That looks good.

[ruffrida2005]

Man that looks good and really heavy.

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by ruffrida2005

Man that looks good and really heavy.

The way he built it makes it look a lot heavier than it is. I love details like this. Nice work.

[tinydb84]

So much work. I would have dimple died a piece of sheet and called it a day. Actually I probably would have been too lazy to do that and just used a sheet.

How thick of material did you use? I am trying to figure out how I want to run the cross members in my truck...

[DblTrbl]

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Each section (3 of them) weighed around 10lbs. It's 3/16" with 1/8" wall tube. Like Tinydb84 said...it was a lot of work. The most time consuming part was smoothing out the welds on each hole...both sides. A carbide bit worked well, but it took time. This area is kind of where I can get artistic with the framework, so it was worth the hours that I had to dedicate to it...

Here's some progress on the fillers that I'm doing.