Let's Build A 1 Ton Crew Cab 4x4

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

For my swap I plan on just running a block in the rear. Since I'm going to run stock front Springs. Then a 3" block in the rear should make it level with the front.

Yeah that would be nice. Unfortunately, the front springs from the dana 60 donor were completely toast. Only set of springs I had lying around were the 4" lift springs so... On they go.

I am not about to do a 7" block in the rear and I damn sure don't want it to be squatting!

So I went to the machine shop about my heads. One head was done and already had 3 oversize exhaust valves put in previously. They decked it, cleaned it and checked for cracks and put it back together. My other head was toast, they showed me the valves had sooo much play it was ridiculous. Luckily for them, they had a 193 head handy that was in great shape and would only cost me $200! At least for the $200 it will be completely assembled, checked and decked.

So total cost for getting heads done is going to be $250. Not bad but originally I was going to be having them done for a bit shy of $100.

[y5mgisi]

Good enough! And yes, I would not run any taller than a 4" block!

[slotard]

I don't see why you have to swap out hangers, where is the significant difference?

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by slotard

I don't see why you have to swap out hangers, where is the significant difference?

The 2wd hangers are 3" shorter than the 4x4 hangars. So with all stock springs the rear would sit 3" shorter than the front. Since I am using 4" lift springs up front it may sit 7" shorter in the rear than in the front.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice project you have going on here! As far as I know, all the crew cabs had the heavier 1 ton type frame because they only made 2 frames for crew cabs. A 2wd one, and a 4wd one. On my 76 on the rear suspension, I installed 4x4 spring hangers in the front, and did a shackle flip in the back. No block at all and it was cheap. I may have used the 2wd rear hanger too but I'd have to double check on that.

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice project you have going on here! As far as I know, all the crew cabs had the heavier 1 ton type frame because they only made 2 frames for crew cabs. A 2wd one, and a 4wd one. On my 76 on the rear suspension, I installed 4x4 spring hangers in the front, and did a shackle flip in the back. No block at all and it was cheap. I may have used the 2wd rear hanger too but I'd have to double check on that.

I will have to check through your build thread then! More work I can avoid the better!

[NastyBuzzard]

I remembered your build thread as soon as I got to the front page. I have looked through it several times. Unfortunately for me though, you didn't document the 4x4 swap in there. It just went from 2wd to 4x4 to REALLY high.. I have found threads in the past that document the swap pretty well but I cannot seem to find them again or find a crew cab 2wd-4x4 swap that documents it well.

[NastyBuzzard]

Just wanted to show the differences from 2WD frame and 4x4 frame at the spot where the rear hanger for front spring would go.

1988 crew cab 2wd frame



1979 4x4 crew cab

[y5mgisi]

Interesting isn't it?

[NastyBuzzard]

That's for sure. It seems the 2wd is thicker through this area.

[NastyBuzzard]

Here is some more information!

Those who shorten 1500's have it easy! All that nice straight frame to play with.

Here is a comparison.



When I was going to cut I had to go through several times before I decided how I wanted to do it.

I had to keep in mind it was going to be welded back together with a stick welder.

So the only thing I had that would show up was one of my kids white crayons. Don't hate, it worked.















This was an amazing feeling!





It was sad to have to pull the bed back off bc I still had to swap rear hangers, do fuel tanks and so on. It gave me the motivation to go back out from 11PM to 1:30 AM to get the front out.





This was a heavy bastard to drag out from the shop.



The dana 60 wasn't to easy to drag back to the front of the shop either...



Got the rear axel dropped to replace hangers.



I did find out that my 350 TBI has been rebuilt. .030 it looks like.



Wind was crazy, it tried to rip tin off my building.



I got my T56 rebuild kit in and cleaned up the trans. I am taking it to my buddies for us to rebuild it or just overhaul it because it had 170k and worked fine.





If my front mounts for front springs would have arrived liked they were supposed to I would have gotten a lot more accomplished.

So I have a few QUESTIONS

My GM DANA 60 was from a 79 that was "full time 4x4." How do I convert this to locking hubs?

My rear driveshaft needs to be shortened, but what about the front? It was behind the Th400 so it bolted to it, but I am trying to find a NP208 or NP241 (without much luck) so it will be a slide in, what to do?

Also what xmember to mount the nv4500? SM465?

What should I do about the front spring rear hanger shackles, just measure the 78 and put in exact location and hope for the best?

[daddyjeep]

Glad to see I'm not the only one to cut their truck in have in the last few days. Looks good.

For your locking hubs question, I know you can buy a conversion kit to replace everything, but I would think you should be able to get factory components and swap them in. I haven't researched that, but it just seems to make sense. Hopefully someone that knows what they are talking about will chime in.

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

Glad to see I'm not the only one to cut their truck in have in the last few days. Looks good.

For your locking hubs question, I know you can buy a conversion kit to replace everything, but I would think you should be able to get factory components and swap them in. I haven't researched that, but it just seems to make sense. Hopefully someone that knows what they are talking about will chime in.

It was a scary feeling making the cut!! One thing I messed up on is I did too much swapping with my cutting devices. I planned to cut with sawzall all but right at the top and bottom. For that I would use the grinder and cut of wheel.

However, once I got the grinder out I just started using it then switched back to the sawzall when it was convenient. I should have stuck with my original plan.

Well it turned out just fine. We beveled the edges, left about an 1/8" gap and he welded it and then went back on top of his weld.

I made fish plates but unless we welded them outside he said he couldnt fit rod up in there to weld it fully so they will have to be mig welded in. I will do that before I do anything on the road.

What were you cutting?

EDIT:

WHERE DO I FIND the conversion kit at? I saw that I could buy just the lock hubs but is that it?

I also need to find some cheap U bolts for the rearend that will work for 4" blocks. 14bolt full floater.

[y5mgisi]

For the hubs, any set of lockouts is all you need. I believe superwinch makes some for cheap? Otherwise just used original ones. Rear u bolts are probably cheapest through ord again. Maybe eBay if you can find them somehow? Depending on how much it would end up costing, the Dodge 208s had a standard (non slip) rear yoke on them and can usually be found on eBay. 241 slip yoke eliminator kits are made by several companies and I think aren't too expensive but so too sure. Just search "241 slip yoke eliminator" maybe could find a used one. Born where to mount the spring hangers, if you are getting those eBay ones, you can get realllllly close by just bolting up the core support body mount to it. Otherwise yes, just measure from the 4x4 frame's body mount forward to figure it out. If you don't want to mess with making the frame the same shape as the 4x4 in the shackle area I do think you can just mount the shackle hanger too low and then run castor correction shims on the axle to fix it.

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

For the hubs, any set of lockouts is all you need. I believe superwinch makes some for cheap? Otherwise just used original ones. Rear u bolts are probably cheapest through ord again. Maybe eBay if you can find them somehow? Depending on how much it would end up costing, the Dodge 208s had a standard (non slip) rear yoke on them and can usually be found on eBay. 241 slip yoke eliminator kits are made by several companies and I think aren't too expensive but so too sure. Just search "241 slip yoke eliminator" maybe could find a used one. Born where to mount the spring hangers, if you are getting those eBay ones, you can get realllllly close by just bolting up the core support body mount to it. Otherwise yes, just measure from the 4x4 frame's body mount forward to figure it out. If you don't want to mess with making the frame the same shape as the 4x4 in the shackle area I do think you can just mount the shackle hanger too low and then run castor correction shims on the axle to fix it.

What? No links this time? Lol. Just picking.

Yes I bought those eBay ones but for 81-87 bc I'm using 91 core support.

I will try to mount like you said, I don't think I can reshape frame at this time.

So u bolts for the 14 bolt ff are same as like 6 lug axle? Actually ord was not the cheapest on the front u bolts, they charge a really heft shipping charge. No clue why.

So I can just buy any Dana 60 lock hubs from eBay? All I need is that hub assy?

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by NastyBuzzard

It was a scary feeling making the cut!! One thing I messed up on is I did too much swapping with my cutting devices. I planned to cut with sawzall all but right at the top and bottom. For that I would use the grinder and cut of wheel.

However, once I got the grinder out I just started using it then switched back to the sawzall when it was convenient. I should have stuck with my original plan.

Well it turned out just fine. We beveled the edges, left about an 1/8" gap and he welded it and then went back on top of his weld.

I made fish plates but unless we welded them outside he said he couldnt fit rod up in there to weld it fully so they will have to be mig welded in. I will do that before I do anything on the road.

What were you cutting?

EDIT:

WHERE DO I FIND the conversion kit at? I saw that I could buy just the lock hubs but is that it?

I also need to find some cheap U bolts for the rearend that will work for 4" blocks. 14bolt full floater.

I was cutting exactly like yours. I stuck with the sawzall the whole time. It will be fun to weld in the fish plates. There isn't much room between the cross members now.

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

I was cutting exactly like yours. I stuck with the sawzall the whole time. It will be fun to weld in the fish plates. There isn't much room between the cross members now.

Sounds like yours turned out well too. I've seen a lot of horrible pics of beds being cocked up or down or wheels not being in center of wheel wells.. It's intimidating but it worked out. I was so stoked when the bed went on perfect. Just wish I didn't have to take it back off.

[daddyjeep]

Well, I don't have a bed yet so the jury is still out. I feel good about it though. I did a lot of measuring and everything is true and square within 1/16".

[NastyBuzzard]

Sounds like you should be fine then.

Another thing. I was planning to run cross over steering but after more research it seems like the original steering would be better for me. Considering I don't plan to go rock climb or play in the mud with this truck. It will be on the highway 90% of the time pulling a trailer.

I worked some last night on getting the rear hangers off. It isn't the easiest process but it is slowly coming along. I only got maybe an hour out there last night. Hopefully more to come during the week.

[NastyBuzzard]

I think the hardest to find part for this build with be a clutch pedal assembly. It will have to be for hydraulic clutch and hydroboost brakes. I haven't had any luck this far.

[y5mgisi]

Are you on any of the chevy Facebook groups?

[y5mgisi]

Yes any locking hub for your style 60 will work. And no, u bolts for the 14 bolt are not the same as a 6 lug axle unless it's a. 14 bolt semi float 6 lug. Those will use the same u bolts. What info did you need now? I don't quite recall.

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

Are you on any of the chevy Facebook groups?

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

Yes any locking hub for your style 60 will work. And no, u bolts for the 14 bolt are not the same as a 6 lug axle unless it's a. 14 bolt semi float 6 lug. Those will use the same u bolts. What info did you need now? I don't quite recall.

Yes I am on quite a few of them. National Squarebody Association, Square body nation, 73-87 Square body classifieds, 73-87 Chevy/GMC trucks... so on. Why do you ask?

That is good news about the locking hubs, hopefully I can score a set for less than $100. Funds are going to get tight here soon.

I found ORD's U bolts for 14bolt, but all I saw was the flip kit where the u bolts mount upside down and come with their plate. $80+$16 shipping is expensive in my opinion so I am looking for a cheaper solution. Now that I know the U bolts are 5/8" diameter and 3.375 wide that helps.

For now I have to get the new rear hangers on and mount the front hangers and get my front axle mounted. So that's enough work for this week probably.

Then I have to put my 4x4 crossmember in and probably change the other front xmember that the sway bar mounts too as well.

After that I need to mount my fuel tank in rear and do fuel lines. Then I need to swap over to hydroboost and do new brake lines.

Then find a crossmember to support the NV4500.. Then a transfer case for the NV4500. Then hydrooboost brake pedals with hydraulic clutch pedal. Then I have to figure out drive shaft, I need to shorten my rear portion then change front portion to go to whatever tcase I get. I swear I saw someone do a crew cab short bed and use a 1 piece drive shaft.. May have been from a 70s model 4x4 ford??? I cant remember, wish I could find that again. I hate 2 piece shafts.

Then mount trans and get ready to see what it will take to mount the 6.5 TD.

[daddyjeep]

My local Napa will bend whatever U bolts a guy could need. I'm not sure if it is just my store, but have you checked locally for the bolts?

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

My local Napa will bend whatever U bolts a guy could need. I'm not sure if it is just my store, but have you checked locally for the bolts?

No I haven't yet. I got the set for dana 60. I don't think my napa can but I will definitely call and ask for sure.