Crossmember Drop

[Izzy]

Originally posted by shimp
? does anyone sell I a good four link setup for these trucks? My 2 link is heavy duty, but has caused me grief with pinion angles and stiffness when turning. (one of the back wheels will come off the ground if you corner really hard).

Get the Air Ride Tech weld on parallel 4 link. Had it on my 83 and it was badass with the F9000's mounted over the axle.

[Izzy]

Originally posted by shimp
Let's just say I repositioned the body on the frame. These old chevys don't need a full body drop or a crossmember mod to lay down. However you will have to do some transmission hump mods and some shimming on the back of the bed, and one cut in the frame.

I’m guessing you either cut the factory body mounts bushings or you dropped the body mounts down, or both, then sectioned the tranny hump for clearance?

[shimp]

This is for the guy who asked was it computer dropped. LOL!. I had just enough time today to get it out on the road right before dark to take a few more pics:

If you have a modem these will load very slow, if you are DSL or cable you will be fine.

In one of the pics I did a closeup with a cig lighter stuck under the truck to show how low it is. Most of the time I can't even get that much room but this road is pretty lumpy and I probably sat it down on a lump. I was trying to not get run over. Even though it was a backroad, it's long and straight and people come flying down it at 90mph.

[Izzy]

Badazz truck.


For some of you guys that are having issues with the steering shaft hitting the UCA you may wanna use the method that was used here. Looks as though they raised the whole steering pump but I’m sure they had to do other mods for this to work other than the notching of the frame. They did say it had a raised crossmember, which I can see from the pics.





To me it doesn’t look very low for a crossmember drop but I’ve never seen a full pic of a 73-87 with one.

[SCOTI]

Originally posted by shimp
? does anyone sell I a good four link setup for these trucks? My 2 link is heavy duty, but has caused me grief with pinion angles and stiffness when turning. (one of the back wheels will come off the ground if you corner really hard).

Sure.... let's just say we know who has the best 4-link & why it's the best, but we're not gonna' just give that info away .

[Izzy]

Originally posted by SCOTI


Sure.... let's just say we know who has the best 4-link & why it's the best, but we're not gonna' just give that info away .

[shimp]

HAHA! I understand. But fiveeight got it mostly right. Go look at your truck and think about what he said, and you could figure it out. There's only one thing he left out. What about the front bumper and radiator support?

That truck at Killer Rides looks like it would lay lower, but he's still got the factory gas tank under it (why?) so he can't go any lower. The gas tank is laying on the pavement. I have a RCI fuel cell in mine, had the exhaust custom bent and installed on the truck before I got the body back on the frame so as to make sure I won't scrape my exhuast, and I shortened the center bearing mount on the driveshaft (which is probably causing my vibration) to keep the center U-joint from dragging. I am going to switch to a 1 piece shaft very soon, but also rebuild the rear suspension completely. The way it's built now I can't change my pinion angle. Probably go with a 4-link, but I want the bags mounted in a leveraged position for more lift.

And I see now why you have to move the steering up and notch the frame for it because the a-frames would hit the centerlink if you raise the X-member enough to make that happen. Not sure what I am going to do on mine yet, but I don't need a massive crossmember lift to make it lay all the way down so I probably won't move my steering up or switch to a rack and pinion.

I'll be sure to post pics, but it will be a while.

[Izzy]

Originally posted by shimp
HAHA! I understand. But fiveeight got it mostly right. Go look at your truck and think about what he said, and you could figure it out. There's only one thing he left out. What about the front bumper and radiator support?

That truck at Killer Rides looks like it would lay lower, but he's still got the factory gas tank under it (why?) so he can't go any lower. The gas tank is laying on the pavement. I have a RCI fuel cell in mine, had the exhaust custom bent and installed on the truck before I got the body back on the frame so as to make sure I won't scrape my exhuast, and I shortened the center bearing mount on the driveshaft (which is probably causing my vibration) to keep the center U-joint from dragging. I am going to switch to a 1 piece shaft very soon, but also rebuild the rear suspension completely. The way it's built now I can't change my pinion angle. Probably go with a 4-link, but I want the bags mounted in a leveraged position for more lift.

And I see now why you have to move the steering up and notch the frame for it because the a-frames would hit the centerlink if you raise the X-member enough to make that happen. Not sure what I am going to do on mine yet, but I don't need a massive crossmember lift to make it lay all the way down so I probably won't move my steering up or switch to a rack and pinion.

I'll be sure to post pics, but it will be a while.

I'd cut the frame horns and drop them down like a traditional bd.

Also just get a heim joint, some d shaft and some flaming river steering u joints and you can relocate the steering if need be. It's easy.

[shimp]

Frame horns are dropped! Right behind the radiator 1 3/4".

I've seen a few with the little u-joints in the steering shaft to clear the upper a-frame.

I would avoid a bodydrop if at all possible because it's a ***** and/or expensive and it raises your floor up and all that. Too much BS, but if you had like a S-10 or a 88-98 fullsize there's no way around it. bagged lowrider trucks just aren't cool if they don't lay body if you ask me.

Gotta love these old trucks that don't have 12" of frame hanging down under the body like all those newer trucks.

BTW: At the 09/29/03 New Braunfels, TX show at the ski ranch, there was a Yellow 77 C10 layin body on 22's without body dropping, just modified X-member. Anyone else see it? Anyone seen a C10 Lay on 24's? Just curious

[Izzy]

Originally posted by shimp
Frame horns are dropped! Right behind the radiator 1 3/4".

I've seen a few with the little u-joints in the steering shaft to clear the upper a-frame.

I would avoid a bodydrop if at all possible because it's a ***** and/or expensive and it raises your floor up and all that. Too much BS, but if you had like a S-10 or a 88-98 fullsize there's no way around it. bagged lowrider trucks just aren't cool if they don't lay body if you ask me.

Gotta love these old trucks that don't have 12" of frame hanging down under the body like all those newer trucks.

BTW: At the 09/29/03 New Braunfels, TX show at the ski ranch, there was a Yellow 77 C10 layin body on 22's without body dropping, just modified X-member. Anyone else see it? Anyone seen a C10 Lay on 24's? Just curious

Sweet, I may have to talk to you more about this in the very near future.

Yeah with the wifes 98 when she gets retired and BD'd I know I'ma probably do a stock floor with new rails and mod the body mounts just because I hate the look of a 6" raised floor hump that you see on a lot of bds.

I saw that truck from buddies pics/net and I assumed it had a bd or something similiar to what you did.

[lolife99]

Sorry, Shimp. I mis- read your post. I thought it said,..."no OTHER mods". Love your truck. Just wish we could see more suspension pic!?!

[shimp]

fiveeight: best way to get me is email chris@texastruck.org

lolife99: I don't have that many good pics of the suspension, but I dug up some old pics just for you. 2 of the front and 2 of the back, 1 up and 1 down of each. Nothing spectacular, the back is standard 2 link cantilevered and front is standard plate in front a-frame and cut spring pocket with a plate on top of the spring. The a-frames are bent from a manhole lid (ouch).

[Izzy]

Originally posted by shimp
fiveeight: best way to get me is email chris@texastruck.org

lolife99: I don't have that many good pics of the suspension, but I dug up some old pics just for you. 2 of the front and 2 of the back, 1 up and 1 down of each. Nothing spectacular, the back is standard 2 link cantilevered and front is standard plate in front a-frame and cut spring pocket with a plate on top of the spring. The a-frames are bent from a manhole lid (ouch).

Badazz. :rocking:

That sucker is super low, I'm definetely gonna have to do similiar mods as yours. How much did you have to raise the tranny hump and did you raise the whole bed floor?

[shimp]

Actually I'm not done with all of it yet. The tranny is a TH400 and the cab is sitting on top of it. When I do the complete rebuild of the suspension this winter I am going to fix that tranny hump, and build some nice spacers for the back of the bed.

I did'nt mess with the bed floor (like in a bodydrop) just mounted the front as normal and back 4 bolts I used way longer bolts on and shimmed the bed up away from the frame with big washers (temporary don't laugh).

I just had to see how it was all going to work, so this winter I can get after it and clean it up. I want to be ready for the Greenville show, and then Texas Heatwave .

[Izzy]

Originally posted by shimp
Actually I'm not done with all of it yet. The tranny is a TH400 and the cab is sitting on top of it. When I do the complete rebuild of the suspension this winter I am going to fix that tranny hump, and build some nice spacers for the back of the bed.

I did'nt mess with the bed floor (like in a bodydrop) just mounted the front as normal and back 4 bolts I used way longer bolts on and shimmed the bed up away from the frame with big washers (temporary don't laugh).

I just had to see how it was all going to work, so this winter I can get after it and clean it up. I want to be ready for the Greenville show, and then Texas Heatwave .

Okay so how did you drop the cab/frame horns down yet not have to drop anything down(raise the floor) on the bed? I would think that would leave the bed sitting higher unless I'm missing a step somewhere.

[shimp]

The rear cab mounts are stock. The front of the bed is mounted just like stock, the cab is tilted downward in front, the bed is lifted up in the back to make it match the rest of the truck.

The front fenders bolt to the cab, so the cab and fenders will always line up, but the radiator support sits on the frame, so the frame has to be cut and dropped down to match the new (lower) mounting position on the fenders. Just think of it as tilting the entire body on top of the frame. Repositioning it. Remember these trucks have no problem laying the pinch of the bed on the ground with a 7" notch. So raising the back of the bed doesn't change that. Lowering the front of the cab will bring the rest of the body down over the frame.

The front cab mounts have been removed. I haven't made new front bushins yet, I am going to make some new front cab mount bushings that are way shorter than the factory ones. Right now the front of the cab is sitting directly on top of the frame. I haven't had any problems with this.

I will shim the new mounts to lift the cab just about 1/8" from the framerail. And then if need be I will cut the trans hump out and raise it like in a body drop, but once I raise the cab back up 1/8" I may not have too. Lot easier to just do the tranny hump than the entire truck body.

It will raise the entire thing about 1/8" from where it is now to get the cab off the framerail. So I am going to do a slight mod to the front crossmember so it will lay an additional 1/2"-1". That will bring the pinch all the way down to the pavement, no body drop necessary. Only problem in doing this is low clearance between the cab and the tranny. But shouldn't be a problem even if I have to pull the trans, because once the tranny X-member is out, the trans will come out just fine.

Not very complicated, but you may have to see it for yourself to understand. If you would crawl under your truck with a tape measure you will see how much drop you can get by doing this. Which I suspect is right at 1 3/4", which is the amount I dropped my front frame just behind the radiator.

My front bumper comes within 1/2" to 1" of the pavement when I lay the truck out, but if I raise the back and lower the front, I can drag the bumper. This works great, but it won't be quite as low as mine unless you drag your A-frames like I have to within 1/16" of their life on the bottom. Or notch the bottom of the X-member and move the A-frames up 1" like the phantom dually guys X-member. I don't think this will interfere with the steering, if it does I will figure out a way to fix that. Luckily I have lots of friends that are in or have been in various fabrication lines of work. They are good at making things work that appear at first like there is no way it will work. Most of their work has been on lifted trucks, but like all trucks, lowriders are simply made of metal, and if you look at it as just a piece of metal, anything can be accomplished, you just have to find the simplest solution that will safely work.

And I'm not one who likes to buy pre-fab kits, but sometimes it's more cost effective. In this case from what I have seen that people have spent $$$ trying to get their trucks lower by jacking with the crossmember, it's not cost effective to buy the parts and make it work.

Way cheaper to do it yourself. And by repositiong the body on the frame will gain you a little drop that will save you from having to go extreme with the X-member mods, like switching to a rack and pinion and tubular (yuck) A-arms. I like the factory ones, and if I mess them up they are easy to come by at the junk yard.

[Izzy]

Originally posted by shimp
The rear cab mounts are stock. The front of the bed is mounted just like stock, the cab is tilted downward in front, the bed is lifted up in the back to make it match the rest of the truck.

The front fenders bolt to the cab, so the cab and fenders will always line up, but the radiator support sits on the frame, so the frame has to be cut and dropped down to match the new (lower) mounting position on the fenders. Just think of it as tilting the entire body on top of the frame. Repositioning it. Remember these trucks have no problem laying the pinch of the bed on the ground with a 7" notch. So raising the back of the bed doesn't change that. Lowering the front of the cab will bring the rest of the body down over the frame.

The front cab mounts have been removed. I haven't made new front bushins yet, I am going to make some new front cab mount bushings that are way shorter than the factory ones. Right now the front of the cab is sitting directly on top of the frame. I haven't had any problems with this.

I will shim the new mounts to lift the cab just about 1/8" from the framerail. And then if need be I will cut the trans hump out and raise it like in a body drop, but once I raise the cab back up 1/8" I may not have too. Lot easier to just do the tranny hump than the entire truck body.

It will raise the entire thing about 1/8" from where it is now to get the cab off the framerail. So I am going to do a slight mod to the front crossmember so it will lay an additional 1/2"-1". That will bring the pinch all the way down to the pavement, no body drop necessary. Only problem in doing this is low clearance between the cab and the tranny. But shouldn't be a problem even if I have to pull the trans, because once the tranny X-member is out, the trans will come out just fine.

Not very complicated, but you may have to see it for yourself to understand. If you would crawl under your truck with a tape measure you will see how much drop you can get by doing this. Which I suspect is right at 1 3/4", which is the amount I dropped my front frame just behind the radiator.

My front bumper comes within 1/2" to 1" of the pavement when I lay the truck out, but if I raise the back and lower the front, I can drag the bumper. This works great, but it won't be quite as low as mine unless you drag your A-frames like I have to within 1/16" of their life on the bottom. Or notch the bottom of the X-member and move the A-frames up 1" like the phantom dually guys X-member. I don't think this will interfere with the steering, if it does I will figure out a way to fix that. Luckily I have lots of friends that are in or have been in various fabrication lines of work. They are good at making things work that appear at first like there is no way it will work. Most of their work has been on lifted trucks, but like all trucks, lowriders are simply made of metal, and if you look at it as just a piece of metal, anything can be accomplished, you just have to find the simplest solution that will safely work.

And I'm not one who likes to buy pre-fab kits, but sometimes it's more cost effective. In this case from what I have seen that people have spent $$$ trying to get their trucks lower by jacking with the crossmember, it's not cost effective to buy the parts and make it work.

Way cheaper to do it yourself. And by repositiong the body on the frame will gain you a little drop that will save you from having to go extreme with the X-member mods, like switching to a rack and pinion and tubular (yuck) A-arms. I like the factory ones, and if I mess them up they are easy to come by at the junk yard.

I understand it now I just need an explanation.

I’m probably gonan drop all the cab mounts and make new ones on mine and then raise the bed floor to match, be easier for me. But I’m liking the way you got yours to work.

[shimp]

That might work, would put it even lower than mine currently is. I'd be interested in reading about any complications you have.

The "bodydrop" of the bed will be just like bodydropping any bed. You will still have to raise the tranny hump unles you find a shorter (height-wise) transmission which I don't think there much difference in the popular ones heights. They are all about the same.

[Izzy]

Originally posted by shimp
That might work, would put it even lower than mine currently is. I'd be interested in reading about any complications you have.

The "bodydrop" of the bed will be just like bodydropping any bed. You will still have to raise the tranny hump unles you find a shorter (height-wise) transmission which I don't think there much difference in the popular ones heights. They are all about the same.

Nah I’ll have no problem with the bed or tranny hump. I’m gonna take my time and I’ll probably end up making the new body mounts from square tube and get some p-s-t bushings and cut them down so I wont have to worry about some squeeky poly bushings.

[phantom dually]

Hey shimp is it my eyes or is the notch in the back of your truck overkill?? It looks as if the trucks is laid out and there is still plenty of room 5-6" between the axle and top of the notch??

[shimp]

It's not overkill if I want it to lay on taller tires/wheels. It's only 7" of notch, but it is made of 3/8" plate. It's way taller so I can go back and cut it up to 9" or whatever. Who knows, one day this truck might be laid out on 26's in the back. I'll be ready, just have to cut my notch a little higher. It's just perfect with the mods I've done and the 29.5" tire that is on the back now.

Everyone who looks at it says the same thing. They just smile and shake their head, and when I ask "what?" they just say "that big nasty notch!"

[bagged74]

anybody have new pics, progress?

[phantom dually]

I WISH I COULD SAY I HAVE BUT!!!

[phantom dually]

PROGRESS PICS ANYONE??

[fastbagged68]

I will have some soon!