1984 Chevy Crewcab 4x4 Conversion build

[bikes&bowties]

I got the truck in August 2010 and this first post stuff all happened between then and June 2011 when I threw it together to drive when my car got stolen from the highschool parking lot.

It started like this, low and long


First thing I did was take off the bed which was straight compared what most have but I had a nearly perfect one to put on. I removed all the unneeded brackets and paint the frame from the cab back.

This is after the front axle came but it shows it just as well...


So next came the 4x4 conversion. The first time tearing out the front end was way harder than the last 2 I've done lol.


I needed a crossmember so I made one out of te farms ample supply of angle iron. Not great but my first fabrication challenge that had to line up perfect lol. Cost=free


After that came the disk brakes in the rear. They are great!


I then traded my dirtbike for some 37 inch BFG KM2's and $400 cash. The cash was in my car the next morning to take to the bank. But my car was stolen along with the cash (wheel money).

You can see the tires teasing me:/ and I trimmed the fenders. Driver side was smooshed and I liked the look.


So after doing lots of little **** I got it together and ordered some soft 8 wheels.


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[bikes&bowties]

I then built a front bumper for it out of a piece of 2x6 I had. It wasn't near big enough for the truck...

I found a bumper laying out behind my great grandmas shop. It weighs about 150 pounds and I like it. So I built mounts for it and it's worked well.


That's pretty much it till this last week. I started tearing it down to get some big steps of the build done. I'm going to be painting it gloss white. Through a stock front bumper on and a phantom grill. I'm working on picking up an 87 burban with no title for cheap to build a crewcab super short flatbed out of. So I will put the front clip off the burban onto my truck because it's perfect (in the picture of it and according to the owner). I'm not sure what I should do with my engine bay while I have access. It's supposed to be a quick cheap finish....

I started with the tailgate (smallest straightest piece)


And then onto the bed which was last night


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[bikes&bowties]

Today I worked on the cab. Mostly the Driver side rear door. Huge dent in it. It won't be perfect (hence quick) but it will be good enough for now.



I also sanded a lot of surface area, fixed some tiny dings and pulled the front clip off. Tomorrow I will sand down the roof and make some calls to the scrap yard ($) and see what a mixed load of truck parts are worth lol

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[Dieselwrencher]

Cool build and sweet truck! That sucks to hear about your car getting stolen and losing out on that cash!

[yousesteers]

Looks llike you got a good start

[joe231]

Nice work! Looks killer!

What front springs did you use?
Did you transfer the stock front spring hangers, shackles, and rear frame mount?
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[bikes&bowties]

They are 6 inch superlift springs. What do you mean by transfer?
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[joe231]

Did you take the stock leaf spring hangers, ect. Off of a 4x4 frame and put them on this frame? Or did you buy aftermarket stuff?
I can't tell from the pics.
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[bikes&bowties]

On this one (my first one ever) i used stock front spring hangers out of a 70's k10. On the other ones I have done and helped with I built the spring hangers. The rear is just stock hangers with flipped shackles.

[bikes&bowties]

I dont have the money to buy parts haha.

[joe231]

Lol
I know how that is

I wasn't clear, I was asking about the rear shackle hanger on the front springs. Did it come from the same donor as the front hanger?
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[bikes&bowties]

Yup. But I'm probably going to change the shackle design
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[chevysmithz71]

I see you have a body lift. Did you need it to fit the transfer case? is it a 2 or 3inch? could you have gotten away with using a 1inch?

[bikes&bowties]

Originally Posted by chevysmithz71

I see you have a body lift. Did you need it to fit the transfer case? is it a 2 or 3inch? could you have gotten away with using a 1inch?

It's a 2 inch. I think you could get away with a 1 inch. But it would be close and I just wanted to be safe than sorry. When I get my bumpers set up right it will be very hard to tell. I could have got a high hump but it was easier at the time
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[Mattman2010]

Just saw that you finally put up a build thread man, its looking good. Cant wait to see it painted.

[bikes&bowties]

Mocked up some bucket seats I've had in the shop for a year. Just gonna run some black seat covers. I was going to get a suburban today but plans went to ****. I'll be using the front clip and maybe some interior prices from it if I can still get it on Sunday.
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[bikes&bowties]

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[bikes&bowties]

Now I got the seats mounted. Today is going slow because I kinda wanna get that burban before I go any further on this thing. So I'm just going at a slow pace.

Matco 88's FTW!



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[grayharville]

Cool build, ill be watching this one!
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[bikes&bowties]

So I left the shop with an empty trailer and 340 miles I pulled back in with a rust and dent free cab. No such thing as to many crewcabs!

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[bikes&bowties]

Double post damn

[Mattman2010]

Is the new cab getting put on this truck?

[bikes&bowties]

That's still up in the air. I will have that decided by tonight! Its amazing how perfect it looks to be tho. Not a dent anywhere.
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[bikes&bowties]

I just spent $100 on more supplies, which sucks for a broke 17 year old. It should be in primer tonight though if all goes well.
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[bikes&bowties]

Yeah it was a bad night for me in the shop. Primer laid down horribly I will need to do lots of sanding and re-primer.
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