Brought "Rusty" home yesterday...

[low'n slow]

I "won" a 70 Jimmy on Evilbay last year. My wife had me hide it in a friend's garage as we were trying to sell the house. We moved around and ended up in Las Cruces. My 14 y.o. son & I drove a rental car 600 miles Thursday night, got a few hours sleep and drove the Jimmy home.

No power steering, no power drum brakes, 35-40 mile an hour crosswinds, I was pretty tired and tense when I got home. It would change lanes without warning! There are probably some steering geometry issues involved.

I want to upgrade to power steering and disc brakes. Would it be worth the extra effort and money to do the cross steer conversion while I'm at it? I don't want to do a "bigger Blazer" like VT's, and probably won't do much of a lift.

I just want a good handling rig that I can take off road.

Oh, it really is rusty. There is a stack of 2X8's laying in the torsion box to keep the floor level.

Thanks,
Doug

[Big J]

Sounds awesome.... Need pics.....

[LUV2XCLR8]

[1tonblaze]

sounds like my money pit but mine has power steeering and fred flintstone style floors

[Yukon Jack]

How much lift do you think you will do and will you be using it offroad?

[Jtrux]

Umm....I refuse to say anything else until I see some pics.

[low'n slow]

Ok, Here are some pictures. Oh, and my memory was faulty. Instead of 2X8's there are 2X4's and plywood.

If I lift it at all, it would be in the 2-3 inch range.

The other question I have is with the ball joints. Is this something I can do at home, or do I need a press? I'm comfortable with most mechanical modifications, but have never messed with a front axle before.

[low'n slow]

Here are some more.

[jaros44sr]

Nice project, looks like mine 3 or 4 yrs ago. Keep us posted on your progress, shame you live so far away, cause I have a hood for you, minus the dent.

Project does look doable, no worse then mine. Good luck

[msgross]

I would just go the route that I am....

Add a newer (mid 70's) Dana 44 front axle (disc's) and a Booster and bracket combo (power discs now) Crossover steering is something that you can do later if you get a front axle with flattop spindles. You have spend a few hundered $$'s to get there. if your not lifting it over 4" I wouldn't worry about it. You can always do it later...

Dana 44 = $100-$150 (try to get matching gears if you can)
Brake Booster with brackets = $50-100 (board members have them)

[low'n slow]

Your build thread looks good.

I didn't really want to go to an 8 lug setup at this time and didn't know if the 1/2 ton had the flat top spindles. It has a posi in the rear now, and probably 3:07's in the center section.

[jaros44sr]

Thanks, I have some more real good pics from " Rusty Parts" project, if you need more ref. pics. It looks like most of yours is there. Are you doing the work yourself? J.

[msgross]

Originally Posted by low'n slow

Your build thread looks good.

I didn't really want to go to an 8 lug setup at this time and didn't know if the 1/2 ton had the flat top spindles. It has a posi in the rear now, and probably 3:07's in the center section.

Dana 44's came in 6 and 8 lug. Almost any mid to late 70's 1/2 ton truck or blazer will donate a new axle for disc brakes for you. As for the the flattop knuckel then you just have to search for the right axle to buy. I will take pics at the shop today and let you see the difference. I would stay with regualr steering for now (I am) and do crossover in the future if you see the need. You have to machine the knuckle and insert three large studs, change over to a 2WD steering box, buy/make a long drag lin to "crossover" the widthe of the truck, and buy a new steering arm for the pass side. It's only really needed with extreme lifts combined with extreme off roading. You can pick up a dropped pitman arm or raised steering arm for minor lifts and they will work fine.

[jaros44sr]

Sorry for hijacking MSGross, I thought he was talking to me. Your build does look good, didn't know you did all that. Wish I was into computers when I started mine.

How close are you to getting done or on the road? J.

[LUV2XCLR8]

I have seen worse, nice start, keep us posted

[msgross]

Here's your front axle options.

Here was my $125 Ebay find, everything but brake calipers and pads. All of these axles are 6 lug



It has flattop pass side knuckles, needed for the crossover steering mod, which i'm not doing



and here is another dana 44 without the flattop knuckle



and of course here is the closed knuckle with drums that you probably have

[low'n slow]

Thanks for the pictures, that helps. My son and I want to try and do the work ourselves. I need to teach him how to turn a wrench, and we both need to improve our welding skills.

Not quite to GQ standards, but that should be the goal.

I'll keep you posted with progress.