how about some 3/4 and 1 ton trucks

[abebummy26]

I'm planning on buying a 3/4 ton this summer so any pics would be great for inspiration you might say.

[Srubydo1986]

well heres a 1/2 ton but its still insperation and a clean truck ill get one of my buddies its a one ton. Well its not the truck dont have any good pics yet but its still insperation.

[Roper]

Another option for you is to just convert a half ton to one ton. Around here one tons and even 3/4 tons are hard to get.
Thats what I did with my 4 wheel drive. Just make sure you go with a Dana 60 up front.

[abebummy26]

Yeah I would definitely like Dana 60 F&R actually but that might be a little hard to find I can tear down a 44 almost blind folded. I know all the tools and sizes I need to tear down a 44 and a 60 is pretty similar plus they are just bad @**. I already have my eye on a truck locally Its a little rough but hey I need to learn body work so its a good project the guy hasn't had it to long and I bet if I offered him a $100 bucks over what he paid for it he would sell it plus I kind of know him through my dad.

I got hooked on huge 73-87s 4x4s about 4 weeks ago riding in 1986 or so 1 ton 4x4 big block with 10" and 3" and 40" super swampers. I have to have one. I was kind of thinking about doing a 67 short step 2wd first but I cant wait for that long to get a truck to big of bucks to build one of those trucks plus I cant stop thinking about a huge truck. I am starting a job in a few weeks and am gonna fix a beast of a van I got and save the rest I should be able to buy a truck in mid July. I dont have the time to buy a 1/2 and make it a 3/4 or 1 ton. I want to be able to drive it by labor day. I'm thinking about putting a 4" skyjacker with new leaf springs all the way around. I'm thinking I can build the truck for less than 3 grand as long as I get the truck at a reasonable price. Also how big of tires could I fit with just a 4 inch suspension lift?

[watahyahknow]

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/ lots of info on teraindriving and 14 bolt rearaxles dana 60 fronts and all sorts of other stuff

[abebummy26]

The truck I have been looking at is definitely a 3/4 or a 1 ton (cant tell badges are gone off fenders.) Its 77 or 78 haven't dug deep enough into my lmc catalog yet. Its pretty solid no cancer that I can see other than fender on d/s and maybe p/s. The rockers looked ok. I think. Bed was solid and no rust over wheel wells. It needs a new tailgate. It has a huge dent top dead center.Its what I like to call $*!+ brown but my dad told me it was dark brown metallic he has no sense of humor (He special ordered a 79 Scottsdale this color with a 305 but sold it in '82) Still a really solid truck to this day No rust at all but any ways back to the truck I wanna buy. All in all seems pretty cherry compared to some of the trucks Ive seen in this body style with cancer eating through everything. Im not telling you where it is (ha). It seems like an awesome foundation for a streetable 4x4. The grill is screwed up and I like the 79 grill better anyways can I bolt up that grill easily or do I have to buy everything new for the grill? Thanks for the info on Pirate 4x4 watahyahknow it seems to have a lot of good info.

[Roper]

Originally Posted by abebummy26

Yeah I would definitely like Dana 60 F&R actually but that might be a little hard to find I can tear down a 44 almost blind folded. I know all the tools and sizes I need to tear down a 44 and a 60 is pretty similar plus they are just bad @**.

?

I have a 4" Superlift under mine. Thats the HD front and no blocks in the rear. Anyway I am running measured 33" tires and thats maximum for 4" lift. You will have troubles if you go bigger like some companies claim you can do.
About the dana 60. The GM dana 60 was tough or me to find. It took me a few years to find one. New ones are extremely expensive. So are army surplus dana 60s. One possible option is a dana 60 off late 70s era Dodge one tons. A friend of mine has one and it looks identicle to a chev.
Anyway the corporate10 bolts and dana 44s wont stand much if your wheeling off road. I wouldnt build a truck with either axle if I could help it.

[N2TRUX]

Not mine, but here ya go...

[KMK454]

Wow!

On one hand, that is so cool!

But on the other hand, it's so ridiculous!

But I'd still drive it!

[chumstone]

if you want a rust free rig come out west. I've seen lots of them here and the prices are in your range. My experience with rust is bad. Big blocks eat gas like there is no tommorrow, so people are dumping them for practically nothing. It's sure dissapointing to see such large investments go down the drain, but $400 a month for gas is just killing me for driving 800 miles a month.

[TexasJeff]

Here is a picture of my 1980 3/4 GMC



I hope this helps

[Pyrotechnic]

Nice Truck! Those newer HD wheels look sweet.

[Dean]

My 87 K30 which is almost complete.

[abebummy26]

Roper I thought the springs on the dodges were 1/2 smaller or bigger I cant remember which but i'm pretty sure everything else is the exact same 95% sure any ways

[DBLSPRT68]

Here's my 3/4t 2wd. It's a hodge podge of parts. 1982 chassis with 85 rear end, 90 suburban front clip, 82 front bumper(now removed), 8 lug 16.5 slot wheels with 10.5x 16.5 BFG's, it's got a C60 tach cluster in it with a clock installed by me. Also a Suburban reel out trouble light in the engine bay. The engine is an 85 350 with a th400 trans. David

[Damien]

Ok. If you are looking at a 1 ton it will alreay have a dana 60 and 14 bolt. I would go with a 4" front spring and a shackle reversal in the rear. With a little fender trimming you could fit 39" IROKs. A guy I work with put 35x12.5 on his '90 jimmy with stock springs. Just a little fender work in the front. I should get pics.

[abebummy26]

I found another truck thats a possibility early 80s GMC with 4x4 3/4 ton guy is always selling cars so I'm sure he would part with it for a fair price he's got a 68 impala ss droptop in his barn. He has already fixed bedsides (primer black) the rest of the truck is light blue. and its got a new gate but its not nearly as Heavy duty as the other truck seeing this truck really makes me think the other one is a 1 ton 4x4 because of the ride height difference but it might just be a 3/4hd with a lift i dunno. I like this gmc because its got the newer fender I like the new fenders better, but I'd wanna do a swap on the grill for a '79. but the other one I think already has a lift and big tires If I buy the brown one it would have the older grille and all I would have to do is swap the center for a '79, but I dont like the gas cap being exposed so I would have to do new bedsides so I'm completely and utterly confused and have no idea what to do any help would greatly appreciated. thank you for listening to my ranting.

[bigtruck81]

judging by your "I got hooked on huge 73-87s 4x4s about 4 weeks ago riding in 1986 or so 1 ton 4x4 big block with 10" and 3" and 40" super swampers." i'd guess that you're young, and this is your first 4x4. if so, wheel it in stock form, and find out where its weaknesses are first, and spend your money wisely to improve those weaknesses.

with that being said, if i were starting from scratch...

find an 81+ K20 with the corprate 10 bolt front and a SF rear.

put stock 52" rear springs in the front with DIY4X's B-52 setup, and a shackle flip in the rear with 56" spring in the back. add a set of 4.10 or 4.56 gears (depending on amount of highway driving) with a locker only in the rear to keep the front alive. you'll have to convert to crossover steering in the front (steering box brace is also a must with crossover) to run the 52s. Ford shock towers are a good cheap alternative (under $20 each) for front shock mounting. add a set of 35-36" tires, and have a blast with it.

that would make a good all around truck for not alot of coin.

4" of lift should clear most 35 x 12.5 tires on an 8" wheel with ease. start messing with wider wheels and wider tires, and you're either going to have to trim, or lift more.

[BudTX]

<-------Here is my son in front of our '83 K20.

[Roper]

If the truck is a one ton with a dana 60 up front then it will have either 4.10 or 4.56 gears.
4.10s are perfect for 33" tires and 3 spd auto. If your running bigger tires or overdrive tranny go with 4.56.
Also corporate 10 bolts will not stand any kind of off road use unless your truck is a pavement puff. Go with dana 60!
Also 4" lift will only clear 33" <measured actual tire height> under spring compression<off road driving>. This im sure of.
Also go with heavy duty springs<not blocks> for lift or axle wrap will not only lose traction but it will pull your front driveshaft a part because your tail housing on the front diff will torgue downward.
Also 80s 3/4 ton 14 bolt semi float 9.5" ring gear rear ends mostly came in 3.55 or 375 ratios. Most 80s 3/4 tons with 14 bolt FF came with 3.73s. This is to high for off road driving and big tires, so thats another reason to go one ton because you wont have to swap R&P.
With 4" of lift I just added Dana 60 block to the top of my housing to get the angle right and my truck handles great.
Just add longer shocks to stock mounts in the front. In the back I had to weld <make new mounts on the 14 bolt for the shocks. But then again my truck started off as a 1/2 ton.
You will also need dual exhaust to clear the front driveshaft and I believe with more than 4" of lift you need to get extended driveshafts.

[abebummy26]

cool roper thanks for all the help I was thinking of going full spring lift anyways I don't trust blocks plus they are ugly and it makes you look cheap. good to know all that info axles and such and gear ratios. thanks again.

[Roper]

I think some of the confusion about what size tires will fit has to do with that you cant go by whats stamped on the tire. Example I measured the actual tire height of a Jimmy that had 35 by 12.5 by 15" tires. Those tires were only actually 31" tall when measured. Now thats an extreme case but generally tire height varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. I bet most 35" /15"tires only measure 33" when on the vehicle.
Metric 16" tires seem to actually measure out to what they are sapposed to be accoding to the sidewall when you convert it to inches.
About suspension lifts. Keep in mind those old chevys came stock with the rear end higher than the front. GM made the front wheelwells deeper to give the illusion that the truck was level even when it wasnt.
When I put my Superlift suspension on my truck it made my truck level but because of the wheel wells it had the illusion of being higher in the front. To cure this I added 1 1/2" lift blocks under the new rear springs. Actually I havnt installed the blocks yet because I have to get new u bolts made up for it. But when you do the suspension you might as well plan on a 4" lift in front and a 5.5" to 6" rear to give your truck the right stance.

[abebummy26]

So if I am reading you right 3/4 tons don't have full floaters? or am I just reading what you are saying wrong?

[Roper]

Some 73 to 87s 3/4 tons came with Full Float 10.5" rear ends and some didnt.
The gear ratio also varies to from year to year. But I know that most 80s light duty 3/4 ton semi floats that I have seen came with 3.55. The full float 3/4 tons from the same time period came a lot of times with 3.73s. It seems like a lot of FF 3/4 tons from the 70s came with 4.10s. Bear in mind that im just basing this on my own personal experience. There are always exceptions and I dont have GM statistics to back any of this on.
However the 4 by 4 one tons only came with 4.10 or 4.56 ratios and that im 100% sure of.

[abebummy26]

Any body know how much lift I can have with out needing new drive shafts?