Used Parts Build

[tinydb84]

Got the top half of my 2x4's welded in. I was having a hell of a time with some porosity in my welds. I almost said **** it, no one will see them. Then I took a moment and regrouped. Jacked the truck up higher, made sure I was in a comfortable position, grinded out the old welds, and did them over. I am very happy I did:


Finished my body drop:

[tinydb84]

Found some cheap steel:







Finished up my notches.

[tinydb84]

Pulled my front clip. Had I known how easy it was I would have done it last year.


Cracked and busted radiator mount

Leveled. Front lines all drawn out. Need to layout the back lines.

[tinydb84]

Braces added

Lines laid out

And chop!

Tacked

Front bit done


Weld shot

Getting kinda irritated with my welding. The first bead always sucks. Even if I lay a practice bead first. So I ground out the welds and read did a few beads. The first ones would have held but didnt look good enough for me. I dont want to hide or grind any of my welds.

[tinydb84]

I really dont know how you all get so much done so quickly. Anyway, spent a bit of time tonight reinforcing the front of my Z:

[tinydb84]

Front is finished. My inverted welds are looking a bit better.

[tinydb84]

Started on the back side:




Had one boogery weld

Everything was square within less that 1/16 of an inch. Pretty happy about it. It was hell lining everything up with one person and only one jack. Still need to plate all the inside.

Made some filler plates

[tinydb84]

Got the outside pretty much done:




Sideshot

[tinydb84]

Some of the **** I heard doesnt come natural to anyone...Anyway Z is done!





Bumper:

Crossmember:

It should come down another 3/4-1 inch though. I need to flip the bolts on the upper bag plates.
I shorted my LCA 7/8'' of an inch hoping I wouldnt have to shorten the uppers...damn I was wrong. Probably shorten those 1/2'' to be safe.

[tinydb84]

Got my 4 link


Ordered directly from Custom Connection. They supply Grant Kustoms. They were running a 20% off link sale and 40% off tab/gusset/etc sale.
Got everything (links/bag mounts/shock mounts/panhard/bushings) for $570 delivered to my door.

[tinydb84]

[IMG]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b248/Tinydb84/Mobile%20Uploads/20140618_232333.jpg
Started putting my steering back together.

then realized I welded a plate blocking when I need to put my steering bolts...

[tinydb84]

Replaced my cab bushings:


You have to reuse and cut down the original sleeves that are inside the bushings (yes I had to do everything twice...

Now my cab is at the right height and my trim is way off (Bed on left):

Oh and btw Camper Special trucks have a bracket that runs from the cab through the bed. You have to remove them to get the cab high enough to replace the bushings:

[tinydb84]

When I was standing up I used the front frame horn to stand up and it had some lateral flex. I welded in a crossmember to help brace it.

[tinydb84]

Tied the underside of the front of the Z together:


So my Z is complete. I got my steer parts but I am going to shorten my control arms first to get it all back together and make sure everything clears.
So I started to finish my SFBD instead:

[tinydb84]

Tacked my final filler plates in:

The wind picked up and I could actually feel air flowing through the frame. Had to do this one section of weld a few times before I blocked the tube ends.

Finished welded up:

[tinydb84]

Shortened my upper control arms:

[tinydb84]

That is about where I am at now. Now all my updates will take forever hahaha.

[y5mgisi]

Its crazy to me with how smart and skilled you seem, that you would ever choose to paint anything in that green color that looks 10 years old the moment its sprayed on to any part. Aside from the green paint, i really like all of it.

[tinydb84]

Haha thanks? I think? I am back and forth with the green. Half the time I love it, the other half I want to paint it all black.

Started mocking up the steering:


I also started working on a bracket for the heim joint. You think this will be strong enough? 1/8 inch steel. I sm going to weld one side to the motor mount and bolt the other side to the top of the frame. I can box the top to the sides too.


Gratuitous laid out shot:

[chevyboy73]

wow thats crazy! i love it!

[tinydb84]

I did some work on my steering tonight:

[tinydb84]

Ended up routing the brake lines over the steering instead of under it:

[FLchevygrl]

Nice job. Where did you get the steering pieces from? I'm adding power steering as well.
I have everything but shaft. They just need cleaning and fresh paint.
Nice skulls.
My truck is a 69 c 20.

Betty

[tinydb84]

I got the steering set up from Travis at AZProperformance. The stuff isn't cheep but solid. I'm converting to 5 lug so I have a lot of stuff to clean and paint.

[bohmankid]

Cool build, man. Thanks for sharing. I'll stick around to see where it goes.