2wd conversion

[james48]

I just purchased a 72 blazer 4x4 and want to convert to a 2wd I already have the front suspension, the rear trailing arms and crossmember, rear axle and coil springs how and where can I get the right measurments for the placement of the rear trailing arm crossmember any help would be greatfull
thanks

[bouncytruck]

http://www.chuckschevytruckpages.com/framespecs.html

[james48]

thanks for the tip.

[LUV2XCLR8]

From West TN

[texas69truck]

Edited by Moderator

[bigbluthng]

the way idid it was to mount the trailing arms to the axle, then center the axle in the wheel opening. i mounted the trailing arm crossmember and measured to make sure everything was sqyare to the frame, then i drilled the holes for the crossmember and mounted it with grade 8 bolts. the biggest challenge was the coil springs, since the 2wd frame flares out over the axle as opposed to the 4wd frame which is pretty much paralell all the way back. if ytou have some fab skills you can make a mount to support the coil springs



if you got anymore questions feel free to email me. i am gonna remove the trailing arms in favor of a 4 link since i decided to go lower.

[N2TRUX]

Is there are reason to convert the rear to trailing arms and coil rather than leaving the leaf spring and flipping them under the axle?

[Chris27]

Trailing arms and coils ride and handle alot better than leafs. The trailing arm suspension in the trucks is the same basic suspension modern nascar stock cars use! It's rumored GM put this suspension in the trucks so it would be legal for nascar use.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by Chris27

Trailing arms and coils ride and handle a lot better than leafs. .....

Ok, I don't really agree with that, but lets not argue about ride and handle characteristics.

Beyond that is there a reason to hassle with a major conversion rather than just flipping the springs and being done with it?

[LUV2XCLR8]

It's easier to flip & bag the springs you got, than to swap it all out, jmho

[james48]

I'm getting back more feedback than I thoughtand I'm truely thankful, even though I decided on using the trailing arms I'm just being different

[james48]

I just located a 68 shortbed frame I know that it's a little longer than a blazer frame but could I just swap out the body or is it more of a headache case I'm also thinking the body mounts being in a different location than the blazer, And how much more would the frame stick out the back?

[smbrouss70]

You would have to shorten the wheelbase by 11" IIRC. Then you have to figure out body mounts and such. I'm getting ready to convert a 4x4 frame over to 2wd, to me it just seems easier to use the original blazer frame.

[krue]

Take a lot of pics and write a FAQ for us.