Project: Custom 71 4x4 hotrod

[silver7]

It is my understanding you can keep your old carrier with the 4.56 gear change but you must specifiy which carrier you have when ordering your ring and pinion. I hope this is the case because this is what I did. I am also going with 4.56 gears and my new Richmond gears are in route from Summit now.

[70 beast]

are you going to install them?

[msgross]

certain carriers could only hold certain gears I think... series 3 and 4? just make sure you set them up correctly...

http://www.ringpinion.com/ProductDet...px?ProdID=3312

[silver7]

Yes I am going to install them - Dana 44 and 12 bolt. It will be my first time though.

Correct msgross. I read from the factory 3 series carriers were for factory ratios lower than 3.08 - 3.73 and 4 series were for above 3.73 ratio. But you can order any gear ratio for any carrier but you have to know what OEM carrier you have so you can order the right size ring and pinion.

[msgross]

yep, I forget that they make them like that...

[silver7]

Finally got my eight 3/8" thick traction bar tabs 1/2" drilled holes filled in and ground/sanded smooth. Managed to cover my entire garage in black steel dust, put a couple of slag holes in my foot (yes - I was wearing leather shoes) and catch my bench top on fire in the process.

Also received my custom sized 3 x 6 x 3/8" steel plates I ordered from www.onlinemetals.com. Two day turn around - decent price - awesome!

Planned to get the 7/16" inch grade 8 bolt holes drilled this week but realized my traction bar frame mounts would come close to the transmission cross member which is mounted by large round head rivets. So I decided I needed to mount my rear end first to be sure of the frame mount location. To do this I had to buy a couple of cinder blocks from Lowes because my jack stand were maxed out on height. Unfortunately, I discovered I was missing one U-bolt mount bracket (official LMC name is a U-bolt spacer) so this is on hold until my new set arrives from LMC.

To keep it rolling I shifted to the front end. The first challenge was when I discovered the front spring bushings come with two different size eye bolt sleeves. I had no idea. As luck would have it I installed identical sleeves on the same spring instead of 1 and 1 as it was intended so the bolt diameter would fit through the smaller front spring rear shackle hole. Luckily I used plenty of lube and the bushings popped back out. The second challenge was when I realized the front spring eye bushing would not fit inside my already mounted spring shackle. 30 mins later problem was solved after grinding the bushings 1/8" thinner and bolt sleeves and 1/8" shorter.

Third challenge was when I shifted to the rear eye of the front spring. Following the old adage "Measure twice and cut once" I double checked my measurement, compared against photos of other K10s then drilled out the front upper shackle hanger hole with a 1 1/2" hole saw.

In the event you aren't aware, my truck is a converted C10 4x4. When I got it taken apart to the bare frame there were numerous irregular holes 'butchered' in my frame with a torch so I filled these in and started from scratch.

Everything was great until I went to mount the front upper shackle hanger in the hole and realized it was supposed to be flush with the bottom part of the frame so it can be bolted to the frame. Oops!

Oh well. . .nothing my Lincoln MIG 180 and a sanding wheel can't fix.

[msgross]

oh the trial and errors that we all encounter!



BTW, Tractor Supply is your best source for grade8 bolts, except they don't carry 7/16th in bulk. I replaced almost every rivet with their bulk bolts and saved a ton!

[silver7]

Thanks for the advice Mike. I'll keep TS in mind since grade 8 bolts $ add up quick.

[msgross]

it sure does, they also have grade 5 and 2... I just bought a bag of grade2 hardware for my basement shelving, cost $1.75 for 40 bolts, washers and nuts! They were 1/4" and didn't weigh much...

[Crumley]

Silver7:

I just run across your build. The work is looking awsome. You got alot of work ahead.

Nothing like repairing someone else's butcher job.

Keep at it, you will end up with a truck that most folks only wish they could have.

What better way to spend your free time then learning how to do something enjoyable like restoring a truck. Also it beats the heck out of watching the mindless wonder (T.V.).

I will be following the build..

[silver7]

Thanks for the feedback Crumley. I'm learning alot and loving every minute of it. And yes, I almost never watch TV anymore - except for my Colts.

On another note, does anyone have one of these these can sell and get to me soon? Unfortunately, I am missing one and need it to mount my rear springs so I fabricate my traction bars. LMC trucks is charging way too much.

[msgross]

is that for the U-bolts? mine is different...

PM 6t727t2 since he has a lot of 4x4 parts, or teeitup

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/member.php?u=14978

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/member.php?u=3597

[silver7]

I thought that might come up. When taking my truck apart I was surprised to learn the U-bolt attaches differently for my rear than for my front. The round part of the U-bolt is on top of my rear leaf but the round part is under my axle in the front. I thought maybe the guy before me did it ass backwards but I saw that LMC's catalog and my factory 1971 chassis manual had it the same way. I'll try 6t727t2 or teeitup as recommended. Thanks.

[BLAZERMAN]

If it were me I would get a set of 73 up spring plates and go u bolts up...but if your wanting to leave it as is here is a u bolt spacer that you can still get over your GM parts counter and much beefier than the original thin version.

[silver7]

Good idea. I'll look into that - thanks!

[Dudewith4x4]

Looking good!

Subscribed.

[my67chevytruck]

great progress..

[silver7]

Last night and tonight I was able to finish drilling holes in my frame for the front upper shackle hangers, and mount the front leaf springs. Everything lines up perfect. But I did discover the 5 1/2" grade 8 spring bolts are too long. 5" should be a better fit.

Lucktruck sold me some U-bolt spacers so I am back in business. They were waiting on me when I got home and took me about an hour to get my 12 bolt mounted to the rear leaf springs. Now I can mark my 12 bolt housing where I want to mount my traction bar tabs. Nick is going to help me drill the holes tomorrow so this should come together fast.

It seems when something goes right, something always goes wrong. Unfortunately, tonight I realized the location I planned to mount the rear dual shock will be in the way of where I planned to mount my external aluminum gas tank. This has to get resolved before the frame gets painted.

[Conroe trucker]

When I repsonded to your PM I had not read your Project Build, my error.

The spare tire brace on your frame is not on mine, so that is how I was able to run such a large tank, I went all the way up to the next crossmember.
Take the time and make sure you do not put the filler neck into a brace under the bed, but close enough to the back of the bed that you can reach it with the tailgate down.
If you have the time, also try to make the filler cap line up on one of the raised parts of the bed.
This makes it look a little better.
We beat the raised portion flat, to match the end of the bed, and mounted a flush stainless steel marine fill cap.
It looks completely stock.

If you were going to that cross member for shock mounting you could always move it up closer to the axle.

With the traction bar set-up you are building you might not really need dual shocks.
Your design will limit the arc of travel for the axle to the point I don't think another set of shocks would be required.
The traction bar has taken the twist out of the axle a dual shock was trying to control.
You have no twist now, only up and down motion.

Just my thoughts.

Also you might weld the nuts to the inside of the frame to attach the tank to.
If you notice in my picture, only a very small child's hand can reach the nuts on mine to tighten the tank and attach the rear bumper brackets.
I got her on steroids to bulk her arm up, but I doubt she will really be able to get 45 ft lbs on it.........
I may still drop the tank and weld them in.

Also as a note I made every single mistake you have made. God the memories..........

[silver7]

Great post Conroe trucker. Yes, those mistakes are painful at the time but we learn so much from them. . .

What you said makes a lot of sense. Since I have the traction bars the rear shocks probably won't do anything for me. I may decide to just return them. . .

What size tank did you get from Boyd? Luckily my 8yr old son can help me with the tank but I might weld the nuts to the frame if needed. Thanks!

[Patsfan34]

Nice work man!

[Conroe trucker]

I think mine worked out to about 35 gallons.
Weld the nuts.
Clamp the tank where you want it, drill the holes, then weld the nuts with a bolt through them to get it right.
I used the rubber bed pads to isolate it.

I am also an anti poly bushing guy.
I only use them where rubber is not available.
They get too hard, and do not really dampen vibrations very well.

Since a 4x4 is not an offroad race car, these comfort of rubber on the road offesets the disavantages.

I had ploy on the 4x4 before, and mostly rubber now.
The difference is amazing in how much quieter and less vibration there is.

Keep up the good work!

[silver7]

Did you remove the spare tire support yourself?

[Conroe trucker]

Nope.
Did not even know it was gone until I climbed under the other one.....

[silver7]

Guess what - more issues. The closest size poly bushings I could find was 0.88" and the ID of my heim joint is 0.75". Needless to say grinding did not work and drilling the holes larger is not an option so I moved on to option #2. . .

3/4" OD, 1/2" ID high misalignment spacers. They arrived today from 'Barnes 4wd' and let me tell you - they work like a champ. After redrilling the holes to 1/2" I was able to put my joints together with my mount tabs and tack weld the rear mounts in place. Although they gave me more trouble than originally expected it was worth it. These traction bars will not only prevent axle wrap but they will also articulate well with my suspension. Here they are.