straight axle conversion

[stan79chevy]

im getting a 92 gmc yukon in the fall for free. what i want to do it take the drivetrain out of my 79 and put in there. im putting in a carburated sbc, th350, np205, dana 44 front, 14 bolt ff. im cheap and have time to find stuff. what i need to know is what i need to put all that in there and run 35-37's. what will i have to buy what can i find used. any problems i may run into. ill take pictures and make one of them faq's if everything goes good.

thanks
stan

[1967k30]

The hardest part it building brackest or paying $1300 for them .You will need 73-87 front springs.Figure that the brackets will give 2"-4" of lift so go from there.I don't think it's that hard.I will probably be doing it on my 01'
2500HD,Duramax sometime. I haven't decided when yet though. As far as swapping thr drivetrain that will just take time.

[stan79chevy]

i have more time than money. ive seen some of the kits and they go for $1500-$2500 and by looking at them it dosent look that hard to make it all. ill have to buy a set of 4" 73-87 springs for the front and set of 6" 88-98 leafs for the back. what about motor mounts? and a tranny crossmember?

stan

[b454rat]

I wouldn't change the motor. TBI is a good setup. Get a 241 case out of a 90-91 Blazer, driver drop, and electric VSS, and put your axles in it. With that case, you will still have TBI, a speedo and have it run right with no lights coming on. The brackets are simple to make. You have all the stuff you need off the donor truck. Other than the crossover steering, which is something that you have to do on these, really no other way, or safe way around it. Depending on what year the donor is, it might have the pass side flat top knuckle. If not, they are easy to get, check evilbay, see them there alot. Get a dropped pitman arm for a Ford 1/2 ton pickup or Bronco, 78-79 ONLY, 3/4 is different. SUP-1104 is the #. They are about $60 new. I used a stock GM 3-peice tierod shortened to length, draglinks have the same thread as the tierods do. Couple fittings for the brakelines, driveshaft for the rear, shocks, and some bigger tires!! I have 38s on my truck now, and need to trim a little off the fenders, but 36s fit fine. 35s look little small.

[stan79chevy]

the tbi that is in it has 350,000 miles. the carburated engine in my current truck was built up last summer..transmission total rebuilt..6mos ago...205 about 6 months old...front and rear axles also rebuilt 6 mos ago. will 4' 73-87 lift springs get me to where i need to be? did you have to switch steering boxes for the x over? im writing that part number down for the pitman arm. i have a 77 d44 but its not flat top. will i need to get a drivers and passanger side or will just the passenger side work.?

thanks for the info

stan

[stan79chevy]

im getting rid of all the stock guages. put in a custom guage pod with mechanical speedo. probably keep the yukon gas tank. was thinking of doing a shackle flip on the rear with the hangers off my 79 but not sure of spring width just yet. i have a while to collect parts still its easier to buy a few things here and there than plop down hundreds at once.

stan

[b454rat]

It would be easier to go carb, but my burban is carbed, and my 468 is carbed, and getting tired of pumping them to start, feathering the gas till they warm up, so rich it makes your eyes water, etc. But if you got the parts, go for it. You don't have to do anything to the steering box, it's indexed every 90 degrees, which is what yo need. I have 4" lift front springs, and that gives me about 7". The rear is stock springs, with a homemade shackle flip (the front hanger off the rear spring) with longer shackles, and the front hanger is off OBS 4wds. If you look at the hanger off the newer truck, then off the OBS, you will see a big difference. One thing to watch, your hanger on the Yukon is short to begin with, so maybe getting a hanger off a truck of the same year as yours will give you a little lift. The hangers off the OBS will have to be cut down, they will be out too far from the frame. IIRC it's like an inch or something. Not a big deal if you have a welder and a torch. You could get one knuckle, but there are some differences in them, so it would be safe if you got both of them. Or look it over and make sure that it's the mirror image of the other.

[stan79chevy]

im thinking it will be easier to put the yukon body on my frame. build body mounts...probably have to cut a section out of the frame. but overall it seems like it would be easier that way. or am i missing something?

stan

[b454rat]

I neve done it, but I think it would be alot harder to do it that way. The rear will have to have new spring pads, might have to change the crossmember around, but I don't think that will be a big deal. The motor will bolt in, might have to change clamshells, just to be on the safe side. The front will be the hardest, but if you have any fab'n and welding skills, you could probly have the front in in one day. Pirate is down, but there is a guy there that did what you want to do. He took all the parts off a 79 3/4. He used the stock spring hangers off the front to mount the springs on the front, and for the rear, he used the front hangers off the rear springs, cut the top off and bolted it to the frame. One thing that you will have to spend money on is either a flattop knuckle, and/or a crossover steering arm.

For the crossover arm:
http://www.partsmikeparts.com/44CorrectedArm.htm
This is what a flattop looks like, milled and drilled. You can find these on ebay, not too expensive. J/Ys will have them too.
http://www.partsmikeparts.com/new_right_side_knuck.htm

The draglink can be used off an 80s 4wds, usually 1/2s, but seen them on some 3/4s. It's a 3-peice tierod shortened to whatever length, and then use stock draglinks, the threads are the same, just the D/Ls have more of an angle to them. Another thing is a dropped pitman arm, I used one off a 78-79 1/2 ton Ford, it's not a perfet fit, but it works. Then you need to get brakelines, easy, shorten the rear shaft, easy, magic shifter lever, (t-case, yours in on the driver side of floor, 79 is on pass side) and exhaust. It might sound like a lot, but I think it would easier than swapping body's. Would also have to shorten the frame.