Knomadd '71 SWB C-10

[77ChevySharkBite]

Definitely a good call on that man!! That was a safety issue waiting to happen. I like all the new goodies its pretty!

[knomadd]

Well, I did get a chance to work on the truck this weekend. First of all, no pics right now, wasn't thinking about pics this time... oops!

I finally got everything installed on the passenger side, but noticed the drop shocks, combined with the shock relocators, were limiting the drop of the wheel when in the air. It looked bad a$$ for a ride height, but not so much for maximum lift. If I hit a bump, the shock would run out of stroke WAY too soon.

I added some air to the bag to see if that made a difference and it did... It BENT the shock relocator!!! I know a short shock isn't a good thing, and trying to stretch it wasn't a good idea either, but bending the relocator?!?! Out it came. Back to the factory stud mount for now, with the drop shock. Put about 90 lbs of air in the bags and it sat about an inch lower than where it was before the swap.

On to the drivers side...
Got the LCA and upper ball joint out. New upper ball joint in and ran out of daylight and weekend... This side shouldn't take as long since I know what I'm not doing based on the failures of the other side.

I'll try to get pics of the current status later.... empty wheel well is all...

[77ChevySharkBite]

Sounds like you did work this weekend!!

Got to love our weather when it's cold it's cold, when its hot, it's definitely hot. Glad to see some progress bro, can't wait to see the pictures!!

[knomadd]

Ok, as promised... pic of current status...

[knomadd]

...And some good news. The big brown truck dropped off a box of goodies that Santa just wasn't going to be able to give me this year...

Inner & outer tie rods, pitman arm, idler arm, and billet tie rod adjusters.

[builtbyKane]

Good looking progress. I'll be checking in often.

[knomadd]

Originally Posted by builtbyKane

Good looking progress. I'll be checking in often.

Awesome, thanks for joining!

Small update... I drilled the holes for the upper bag plate on the drivers side when I got home tonight. It got dark before I finished, but thankfully the drop light was enough for that little project.

[knomadd]

Finally got the air bags installed Well, the front anyway...

The first two pics are aired out (tires sitting on inner fender) The last is at about 90 PSI, which is likely where I'll have ride height with these 29" tall tires. That way, I won't rub when I hit a bump, or turn into a driveway. I still want the inner fenders and I don't feel like replacing mine, so I'll live with the stance as is until (if) I decide to go all out.

I still need to install the steering components and get it aligned, but it's coming along

[GAc10boy]

Looking good!

[77ChevySharkBite]

Sweet bro!!! Looks good man!!!

[mcbassin]

Awesome progress

[lolife99]

Looks great.
I like how the wheel is centered in the wheel opening.
Do your front wheels have enough backspace to clear the fender lip if you air it out farther?
Looks like they are close to the edge of the fender.

[knomadd]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Awesome progress

Thanks Mike! It's awesome to finally see my hard work pay off.

Originally Posted by lolife99

Looks great.
I like how the wheel is centered in the wheel opening.
Do your front wheels have enough backspace to clear the fender lip if you air it out farther?
Looks like they are close to the edge of the fender.

Thanks Keith! I like how the wheels look centered now too. The PB 1" forward LCA's did a good job by themselves. I may go with their 1" forward uppers later, but for now these are awesome! I think Nate said the lowers by themselves push the wheels forward about 1/2" to 3/4".

As for the wheels, I'm not sure if they have enough backspace or not. The PO put them on. They're 22x9.5 U2 55S-A wheels with +13mm offset which is about 5.75" backspacing. The 2nd pic is looking up a bit at the fender, so you can see the tire is actually sitting on the inner fender, just inside the bolts. Likely not inset enough to air it out more than that. Does that answer your question?

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by knomadd

Thanks Keith! I like how the wheels look centered now too. The PB 1" forward LCA's did a good job by themselves. I may go with their 1" forward uppers later, but for now these are awesome! I think Nate said the lowers by themselves push the wheels forward about 1/2" to 3/4".

As for the wheels, I'm not sure if they have enough backspace or not. The PO put them on. They're 22x9.5 U2 55S-A wheels with +13mm offset which is about 5.75" backspacing. The 2nd pic is looking up a bit at the fender, so you can see the tire is actually sitting on the inner fender, just inside the bolts. Likely not inset enough to air it out more than that. Does that answer your question?

Yeah,... it's probably not going to camber in enough to clear to go lower.
Plus that's a 29" tall tire.
The tires on my blazer are only 27" tall,... so I can get another 1" of drop before I set on the inner fenders.
Personally I like a 5.75" BS on a 8.5" wheel.
Thats just me.

[knomadd]

Finished the install of the front end stuff this weekend. Just dropped it off for an alignment.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by knomadd

Finished the install of the front end stuff this weekend. Just dropped it off for an alignment.

Congrats on finishing the suspension. No pics?

[knomadd]

I have pics of the old stuff...

[screaminchevypickup]

Looks great Duane!!

[knomadd]

Here's a close up showing the condition the inner tie rods where in... all the steering parts for that matter.

[knomadd]

Thanks Kyle.

As for the pics of the new stuff, and truck after alignment... I'll have to take pics when it warms up a bit. I have to wash it... She's filthy!

[HSRACER]

Just found this build and am joining in. I live in Katy and have quit a bit of car stuff in my garage. I/E car lift, press, engine hoist, parts washer, etc if you ever need a hand you are welcome to come over.

[knomadd]

Sweet, thanks for the offer! I might just take you up on that. It's always nice to have an extra hand when needed... so if you need an extra set of hands, let me know and I'll be glad to help out.

I hope I don't bore you too much since this build will be very slow. I plan on driving it a lot while slowly adding or replacing along the way. Thanks for following along.

[knomadd]

So I washed the truck today. Bought some leather cleaner/conditioner for the tonneau cover and cleaned it up. It turned out pretty clean, but there is still some dirt trapped in the creases. I'll have to get a bucket of soapy water and a brush next time.
I tried to install the Addco sway bar that PB has specifically made for them. Come to find out that my bumper brackets are in the way of mounting the sway bar mounts directly to the frame. I'll have to get the perches in order to mount the sway bar. Oh well... just means I'll have to wait a little longer to get it installed.

Oh yeah, pics... went to a small town called Wallis to take some pics. Driven by this place several times and have always thought this would be an awesome backdrop. Enough blab, on to the pics...

[knomadd]

more

[screaminchevypickup]

Looks great!