Let's Build A 1 Ton Crew Cab 4x4

[NastyBuzzard]

I mean yeah it's possible. Then could try and use the drum in hat park brake that they use. I just really like the beefy ass H3 calipers. Either way a mounting bracket of some sort would need to be developed.

[NastyBuzzard]

This copper/nickel line is amazing! Bends easy by hand and doesn't kink, also super easy to double flare.



Apparently, we welded shock mount at way too much of an angle. That's what I get for rushing and eyeballing it.




I'm wondering how tricky running the filler neck is going to be. Also seems like not enough clearance between bottom of bed and top of tank.

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by jott_06

On my suburban I kept the front 2wd crossmember in tact and built mounts for the sway bar off of it. I will try to get some pictures because I dont think I took any during the build.

Did you ever take any picture for me?

[NastyBuzzard]

Got my wheels and some super cheap roll around tires. I was looking for 35s but I got these 34s for a total price of $45! Couldn't beat that.







It will require spacers. I can see how it would work on a D44 axle but these hefty ass tie rods won't allow it on the 60. I mean the wheels are completely seated but do hit he tie rod.



I am not sure what I will do as far as spacers go, I want the smallest one I can get basically up front but need to have enough thread available as well on wheel stud (I could buy some longer studs and install those and use like 1/4" or so wheel spacer). The back looks like it could use 1-1/4" spacers or so. I am loving the wheels though. One neat thing is, dodge uses same lug nuts/wheel stud size, 9/16-18 so I was able to use the dodge lug nuts, therefore I can keep the dodge center caps as well. I have to cut a 4.5" hole in the front ones and the rear I will shave off the ram emblem and put a gmc/buzzard/4x4 or something on them instead.

[NastyBuzzard]

So the smallest thickness of a spacer I can find is like 1". I don't want wheels to stick out way past the fender. So opinions on 1/4"-1/2" spacer with longer wheel studs? What wheel studs?

I will be using around 1.5" spacer in the rear, well depending on the thickness of the front.

[NewType72]

Should easily be able to find 1/4-1/2" spacers on eBay I feel that should be no problem even for 8 lug stuff have you checked a local Auto parts store for a generic one?

[NastyBuzzard]

Main issue with just using one of the generic spacers that are 1/4"-1/2" is that they are basically just a glorified washer/standoff. Which is fine if you have long enough wheel studs to accommodate. Which I don't. That is why I was looking for the spacer type that has the studs as well. Swapping out for longer wheel studs isn't difficult really, the hard part is finding the right wheel stud with the right knurl and all that jazz. As you can see in the picture, my studs are definitely too short as is.



My first attempt at modifying the "hub cap" didn't go as well as planned. I needed to drill it using a drill press instead of a hand drill. It walked on me and I tried to clean it up with dremel but hole ended up being about 5" in diameter vs just the 4.5" I planned for. I will try again with drill press and see then just buy a replacement for this one.



Got my gear box rebuilt though. Just needs paint.







So I am an idiot... I did something I hate, I got the wrong damn part. I purchased a drop pitman arm from DIY4x and no where it said that it was specifically for xover steering or to be used with 2wd gear box.. I didn't even think about it when I saw it that I needed the other style that has the bolt... UGH. Maybe someone will need one of these and I can recoup some cash..



I also cut out the fuel door stuff I need.



I set the bed on blocks so I could have more space with running fuel lines.



I may have to clearance the bed support a tad here b/c I can't get the tank all the way up.



I started messing with motor mounts some more. I didn't like how I had them.

Initial plan was to pull them off and cut where the white line was and weld back on some flat plate then drill back out.



However, then I started thinking.. For a true 4x4 conversion kit, most people wouldn't have these. So I slapped the original 2wd mounts back on and I am going to design a xmember to utilize them.

I just need to figure out which way they go on..

This way..



Or this way..



I also started messing with swapping mounting plates on the hydroboost. At first it was going well. I got the plates swapped over, no problem. A lot easier than I thought. Then I noticed the actual rod that presses in when you hit the brake was about 1.5" or so shorter on the 96 style hydroboost than the 79 style.

So I popped the rod out the 79 setup relatively easy, but when I went to knock out the rod on the 96 setup well... I ended up knocking it out with whatever it was attached to and pretty much ruined the unit.

So I disassembled them both to see if I could bastardize the two and they are just too different. So damn. I need to find me another hydroboost unit.

What options do I have on hydroboost? A new one for 87 is around $140 and that's without the reservoir. I hate the stock cast reservoir that is on the 80s style hydroboost that it why I was trying to go newer. Any body know what other people have done in this case?

Also, box of parts..



Funny thing happened to my Trans Am last Friday. I drove it to work and when I stopped by Harbor Freight, it got really loud. I checked under neath and the damn motor for my exhaust cutout had fallen the hell off.. What the hell?



Overall, it wasn't a very productive weekend but I did get brake lines finished at least, now to just find the hoses I need. I may just have to skimp out a tad and buy the regular rubber hoses instead of the pimp steel braided ones.

So far I know I can use the ones from like a 2WD 96 Silverado, what about the rear? I know it needs to be around 18" long in the back and around 24" up front.

[daddyjeep]

I don't think the hub cap looks that bad. After all, you aren't building a show truck.

I had to notch the cross member under my bed to clear the tank as well. It is a pain in the ass with the bed on the truck. Next time I have the bed off I will clean it up a little and plate the inside of the channel to get a little strength back.

[NastyBuzzard]

Yeah definitely not a show truck. Just a driver. However, it doesn't look bad in the picture but up close it looks like a beaver chewed it out. I am going to work on doing it better.

Yeah I can see that's what I am going to have to do. I definitely can see how that would have been a major pain, oh my. I have to take mine back off anyways but still, I would have had to make it a point to rather than do it on the truck.

[NastyBuzzard]

Apparently the motor mounts go like the 2nd picture. If I wasn't so blind I would have seen from the start the first picture shows the mounts tilting the engine down and lifting the trans up.

[NastyBuzzard]

I got the correct pitman arm today. The one on the left... I wasn't aware the one on the right was for 2wd gearbox & xover steering only . Now I know though.

[daddyjeep]

That new pitman arm is a beast.

[NastyBuzzard]

I may have found a better solution for hub caps up front. These are from a ford, they popped on perfectly, just had about 1/8" gap from bottoming out but still fit on nice and snug.





Doesn't look too terrible matched with the dodge center caps.



Now the problem is actually finding a set of the ford center caps for a decent price. I borrowed this one from a friend.

[NastyBuzzard]

This will kill your motivation right here. I wasn't out at the shop 5 minutes before I almost grabbed this bastard. Right on my Kmember at the front door of the shop.



Started messing with making the 2wd motor mounts worked. The plan is to develop a xmember for 4x4 conversions using 2wd mounts. I am out of cutting disks now, it took 4 of the cheapo harbor freight brand cutting disks.











Otherwise it was a busy weekend so didn't get much else. I will hopefully get something modeled up soon.

[y5mgisi]

If I remember right there is a cool little adapter that allows you to bolt new style 14bolt disc brakes onto your old style axle. I think it was cheap. I'll try to find it.

[y5mgisi]

I lied. Not cheap.

Rightgear.com

[NastyBuzzard]

That is so funny. My friend just tore down his 14bolt FF over the weekend and we were discussing swapping newer style brakes on it with the rotor in hat parking brake. He's a fellow engineer so we were discussing making our own conversion kit. Neat to see it has already been done though!!

I am on the rightgear site and cannot find that? I googled it and found an old listing on ebay, I can't find where they sell them right now. Old price of $270 ish is high but may be worth it. I will look into it further, that is the perfect solution for me for the rear!

[DieselRat]

Your making me wish my truck was a shortbed! it looks great! I like what your doing with the engine crossmember, I was told when I was about to do my 4x4 conversion it was 'too hard' and easier to swap the cab and yada yada. While I agree that keeping the stock running gear and trying to convert as you are doing is a lot more complicated than buying a new mount kit/crossmember for the cummins like I did, its not THAT hard or impossible. I'm sure you will get it all worked out. Worst case is get some Tube stock and build a X member that drops where you need it and has bolt holes where you need to bolt up the stock engine stand brackets. On mine I actually used the 4x4 ones but I cut them to go inside the frame as opposed to lipping up over the top like you initially had. I felt they would be stronger inside the frame, but don't think it mattered much as long as they were secure.

[NastyBuzzard]

I am glad you like it! I was hoping someone would!

Yeah I get the whole why ya doing it, why not do this or that blah blah all the time. Well for starters, it is really damn hard to find a 4x4 crew cab near me and if I do they want way too damn much $ for it. Normally you can get a 2wd crew for 1/3 or even less of the price, that's the only way I ended up with a crew cab and I love it!

Well I am all about making my own parts, showing others how to make them or maybe one day even having them available to purchase. I am really working on an entire 2wd to 4wd conversion kit that is at least 50% or more just a bolt on experience. Even if no one buys it or has interest, it will exist!

I originally made the 4x4 engine stuff fit into the frame and it was a pain in the ass, lots of drilling and measuring and so on. I see you were able to use the cummins mount stuff but you are using a cummins, I am doing it for SBC/BBC/LS/6.5 or 6.2 swaps. This way you just keep stock mounts instead of trying to hunt down some and I will make a purchasable bolt on crossmember that will be more than enough for what is necessary.

Stay tuned I love all the feedback!

[DieselRat]

Its the same thing up here in PA for 4x4's, not to mention up there they are expensive AND rusty! About a week after I bought mine there was a nice 454 crew cab 4x4 that went for sale about a mile from my house, but they wanted 10K for it! I paid less than half of that for mine and body and frame was it was in the same or nicer condition.

keep on keepin on.

[daddyjeep]

I have talked to so many people through the course of my off the wall builds and have heard so many times that "it can't be done". Most of this comes from mechanics that just can't seem to comprehend doing something to a vehicle that differs in any way to how it rolled off the assembly line. I am a designer by trade and have also worked as an engineer for many years so these projects give me a chance to exercise my creativity and figure out things that "can't be done".

After seeing some of the parts that you have built I am sure you will have no problem building a bracket to mount the disk brakes in the rear. I was looking at the disk brake conversion on the 9" in my Jeep and it is just a 1/4" plate with some holes. I might go a bit heavier on the 14 bolt, but it should be pretty straight forward.

[NastyBuzzard]

Exactly!!!

I appreciate your confidence! I already have a design in mind for the 14 bolt.. I did back off from wanting to fit the 4 piston H3 calipers in the rear but that is mostly do to brake proportioning, if I integrated ABS it wouldn't be a problem but I think I will go with just 2 piston calipers in the rear. Still planning on having the 4 piston calipers up front. I just need some more time to tinker. Been slammed at work lately. Which isn't bad, it gives me more time to do some modeling but still, I enjoy working on my truck.

[Flatpat]

Haven't been on much lately so it was nice to catch up on your progress. It is looking good, keep it up.

[NastyBuzzard]

2wd to 4wd and using existing bolt holes and 2wd mounts, also has removable center section to still be able to drop oil pan.



Here is first model concept.

[jott_06]

I can see that crossmember being usefull to alot of guys doing this swap. If it works out, you should build a few of them and throw them on ebay or something