1971 4X4 $WB $tep$ide Frame Off Re$to Mod

[dbash]

Today my son and I started this project. It is the first of this magnitude for both of us and I am cautiously optomistic about how we will perform.

This is a rolling factory 4X4 frame that we purchased from a member of this site. In fact it was while searching for this frame that I was told about this site and I have since found it to be a gold mine of information for these rigs and I appreciate the time and effort all of you have put in here to give guys like us a fighting chance at a project this large and cool.

We stripped the frame all the way down today and will take it in to be sand blasted next week.


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[dbash]

Stripped Frame ready to blast



1969 truck I have had for five years will donate a bunch of parts to this build;
Stepside Bed
700R4 W/ Overdrive 1yr old
Transfer Case rebuilt 1 yr ago
Front Disc Break Axle rebuilt 1 yr ago
Rear Axle rebuilt 1yr ago
Drive Lines
Misc other parts yet to be determined


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[dbash]

This 1971 1 Ton Flatbed 2WD will donate the following parts;

Cab
Doors
Front Clip (there is one quarter size rust spot on passenger quarter panel so I may use one from the 1969 truck)




We will start to tear down these two trucks next week.

New Parts already ordered are;
LS1 5.3 400 horse from Turnkey (Ouch!)
Deaver 4" lift leaf springs front and rear
Disc break conversion kit for rear axle
Under Bed aluminum Fuel Cell

This should keep us busy for the immediate future. Be patient with us I will try to keep the pictures and posts current as we are able to complete things.
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[67-72trucks]

Awesome project!

[dbash]

Started stripping out the inside of the 71 cab today. Our "rust free" cab has revealed the first sign of cancer..... I know better then to complain after what I have seen on here but I was sad to see it just the same.


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[Gene]

Originally Posted by dbash

Started stripping out the inside of the 71 cab today. Our "rust free" cab has revealed the first sign of cancer..... I know better then to complain after what I have seen on here but I was sad to see it just the same.

http://i.imgur.com/6XkPT.jpg
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http://i.imgur.com/arVOf.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/gvup0.jpg

Thats a pretty common area to get cancer, mine had it on both sides. Cant wait to see more progress

[dbash]

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

We have made some progress, The cab is completely seperated from the frame now but we have to go pick up my "hoist" today in order to remove it. I will let you see the hoist in the pics of us removing it and the motor and trans.

Sold the original 400 HP motor and Transmission to a local guy off of CL that is why we tore down this truck first.









these 1ton frames sure are a lot thicker then the 1/2 ton Frames are I would love to find one of these in a SWB to build up as a 4X4.

I would have a lot of the smaller parts from this truck listed in the for sale section but I am not allowed to post at this time for some reason. I have registered and I have let the site know.

Were going to tear down the 69 stepside 4X4 the rest of this week. I will post more pics as we get more done.

My favorite part of this project so far? Spending time with my 18 year old son.
2nd favorite? No Metric nuts and bolts!!!
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[dbash]

We brought the "hoist" home and removed the cab today.....




The big brown truck dropped off a box while we were pulling the cab.... I know it bolts to the bottom of the frame I just had to put it in there..... really need to sandblast that frame now



The Motor and Trans ready to be picked up by the new owner.....



Removed the windshield and rear slider from the cab....



Snapped another pic of the 69 its the next one to be torn down!!!



The old Cab and Chassis looks a bit sad.....



Not a bad afternoon.
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[dbash]

So my son took my old 69 up to our property without my permission a few months ago and got it all muddy, the starter failed and that is the only reason I found out since I had to go rescue it. So I did not feel bad watching him bath in red dirt dust while removing the rear fenders. ;-)

pics are out of order... this one is of the one ton dually finally stripped down to bare bones and headed to the parts for sale.... Looking for some information on this eaton rear end if anyone has any knowladge I would appreciate it. Keep getting asked if it is a locker....



We finished stripping parts I need for the body of the truck were building so we loaded them all up and took them to the sandblaster this morning with the frame.

Will post more pics when we make some more progress.





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[dbash]

We got the Frame back from Sand Blast last night. There were no surprise rust spots on the frame at all.

Parts should all start arriving in the next couple days. I will post pics as we put this thing back together.

I plan to weld the spring hanger brackets to avoid the 40 year old rivits loosening up in the future and causing me problems. I am currious to know if any of you have any experience with this and what your recomendations are?

Full weld all the way around? Does this result in any cracking of the frame due to it becoming brittle?
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[onebadbowtie]

Originally Posted by dbash

We got the Frame back from Sand Blast last night. There were no surprise rust spots on the frame at all.

Parts should all start arriving in the next couple days. I will post pics as we put this thing back together.

I plan to weld the spring hanger brackets to avoid the 40 year old rivits loosening up in the future and causing me problems. I am currious to know if any of you have any experience with this and what your recomendations are?

Full weld all the way around? Does this result in any cracking of the frame due to it becoming brittle?
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most guys just drill out the rivets and bolt it all back together with grade 8 hardware so that future repairs would be easier than cutting out the welds if something did happen. and they are just as strong as the rivets.

[dbash]

Originally Posted by onebadbowtie

most guys just drill out the rivets and bolt it all back together with grade 8 hardware so that future repairs would be easier than cutting out the welds if something did happen. and they are just as strong as the rivets.

I guess thats why I need to just ask all the questions that come to mind on here so I dont go and do something stupid that is so simple when put on the table this way.

Thanks Man
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[onebadbowtie]

no problem bud.....just don't have to much fun cutting out the rivets

[Chevymaniac]

Originally Posted by onebadbowtie

most guys just drill out the rivets and bolt it all back together with grade 8 hardware so that future repairs would be easier than cutting out the welds if something did happen. and they are just as strong as the rivets.

That's what i'am doing for my 4wd conversion, grade 8 bolts, nuts, and washers.
It isn't hard removing the rivets. I would just take a grinder with a cutting disk and put a cut into the middle of the rivet head. Making sure the cut goes down until it's flush with face of frame. I would take my cold chisel and 2 or 3 lb. hammer and chisel the rivets off. I spent maybe 4 or 5 hours removing rivets.

[dbash]

Deaver Springs finally here! We began our mock up this weekend starting with the Deaver Springs installed with ORD greasable hardware and shackle hangers.

First we had to cut off the old perches and weld on new ones because the rear axle came off of a two wheel drive frame that was converted and the perches were 3 inches too wide for this factory 4X4 frame.




These Deaver springs look a lot better on this frame then they did laying in my pool room for a couple days! Everything bolted up nicely with some encouragement from a BFH.












So as a result of being a member of this site I discovered Deaver Springs and I am very thankful to those of you that have previously shared your knowladge for us newbies. I can tell they are progressive and soft just by compressing the frame and watching them react as weight is added during the mock up.
I should tell all of you that this frame has previously been media blasted just to make it more friendly to work with and must ask you to excuse the dirt and grime because once were done with this trial run to make sure everything fits were going to take everything apart again and then go to media blast and powder coat with all of the parts. I do not have the experience to do it any other way without being sure I am not missing something.
Yes that is a new LS327 from Turnkey..... I am adding pics of that next.
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[dbash]

LS327 upgraded to 400 Horse Power purchased from Turnkey with a 700R4 transmission married to an NP205. Transmission was purchased a year and a half ago and the TC was rebuilt then as well both were run in this truck behind the old crate 350.

I must say not only does Turnkey build a great motor they know how to ship their product with style. So easy to uncrate and their shipping stand is going to come in handy when we pull the motor back off for the frame to go to powder coat. My engine stand is busy holding up my old 350 that my buddy bought..... going to have to charge him storage soon :-)


I want to tell you that we installed the motor mount adapters that Turnkey provided and the motor settled right down into the motor mount crossmember...... but it didn't!! no fault of Turnkeys, the LS327 is a couple inches wider then the old 350 down where the oil pan meets the block...... some redneck engineering was necessary to let the shiny new motor fit into that old crossmember. I wanted to keep the center of gravity and the transfer case output as low and close to stock as possible so I chose to take on the taske of cutting and reinforcing the crossmember rather then use different motor mounts and lift the motor up an inch or more.
I will have to repair the crossmember once we pull the motor back off. I plan to fill the voids solid with metal and then channel the cross member from the underside in the area where I removed the strength by cutting out the factory channel. Should not be too hard to do. Will include pics when I get to it.


Here is a pic of the notch I had to make on the passenger side of the motor mount, it has a twin on the driver side.


Here is a close up of the same notch if you look you will see the area I removed. It is substantial but it let the LS327 settle in to the factory position nicely and I will strengthen it from the underside before powder coating.


Kicked around drilling and bolting all of the crossmembers and was advised to do so here on this thread as well. Call me an idiot or lazy or whatever but we are welding them. I don't plan to make any changes to this truck anytime soon and I am not crazy about those loose rivits I have found and welding is quicker, stronger and more reliable in my humble opinion.


Just a poser pic of the new motor finally bolted into the frame..... never gets old ;-)
http://i.imgur.com/Ah3X3.jpg
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[dbash]

We also installed a rebuilt steering box and a couple cool parts they sell to strengthen/stiffen the area where it mounts to the frame to eliminate flex and to upgrage to cross over steering. Unfortunatly we caught up to the shipments of parts and will be waiting on the brown truck again before we can finish the crossover steering and install the Reid heavy duty Knuckles on both sides of the front axle. Hoping to have them for next weekend.....

Pic of the rebuilt one ton two wheel drive steering box. This is necessary for the crossover steering because the stock 4X4 box will not work since it is set up to steer the drivers side rather then the passenger side. We also welded on the "frame crack repair" from ORD not that this frame was cracked but while we are here and prior to powder coat I am going to do everything I can to avoid future repairs. We had to apply a lot of heat and work this plate over with a hammer pretty good to get it to lay flat around all of the dimples and against the frame but it came out alright. Still have some welds to do to the bottom but we will finish them after we can flip the frame over again since we have so many others to do from the underside as well.


This Brace is a monster! It will definitly add a lot of rigidity to the steering box and frame. We are going to add a few stitch welds to the front cross member as well.


This little guy is not as impressive as its counterpart in the above picture but it will certianly help.

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[mcmlxix]

Originally Posted by dbash

We also installed a rebuilt steering box and a couple cool parts they sell to strengthen/stiffen the area where it mounts to the frame to eliminate flex and to upgrage to cross over steering. Unfortunatly we caught up to the shipments of parts and will be waiting on the brown truck again before we can finish the crossover steering and install the Reid heavy duty Knuckles on both sides of the front axle. Hoping to have them for next weekend.....

Pic of the rebuilt one ton two wheel drive steering box. This is necessary for the crossover steering because the stock 4X4 box will not work since it is set up to steer the drivers side rather then the passenger side. We also welded on the "frame crack repair" from ORD not that this frame was cracked but while we are here and prior to powder coat I am going to do everything I can to avoid future repairs. We had to apply a lot of heat and work this plate over with a hammer pretty good to get it to lay flat around all of the dimples and against the frame but it came out alright. Still have some welds to do to the bottom but we will finish them after we can flip the frame over again since we have so many others to do from the underside as well.


This Brace is a monster! It will definitly add a lot of rigidity to the steering box and frame. We are going to add a few stitch welds to the front cross member as well.


This little guy is not as impressive as its counterpart in the above picture but it will certianly help.

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If you add [img] before and [/img] after the link to the picture, the image will show in the post...

[dbash]

Originally Posted by mcmlxix

If you add [img] before and [/img] after the link to the picture, the image will show in the post...

Thanks Rich! I was wondering...... fixed the previous pics and will do this from now on.
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[Mr-Jack]

looking good...what crossover steering did you go with? i'm looking for a complete kit for my 67 1/2 ton 4x4 and what all was included in the kit or did you piece it together

[dbash]

Originally Posted by Mr-Jack

looking good...what crossover steering did you go with? i'm looking for a complete kit for my 67 1/2 ton 4x4 and what all was included in the kit or did you piece it together

Thanks Jack,

I am using Off Road Design's Dana 44 Cross Over Steering Kit.

They are online at offroaddesign.com I recommend calling them they were very helpfull.

This Kit includes; Pitman arm, Steering arm, Stud kit, (Nuts, cones and studs), Draglink, Draglink ends.

In addtiion to this kit I purchased the following from ORD:

1 1/4" Tie Rod and Tie Rod ends.

A remanufactured 2WD 1ton steering box but you can get a used one and purchase a rebuild kit cheaper if you want. The stock 4x4 steering box will not work for the crossover steering setup.

Passenger and driver side Reid heavy duty knuckles. These are overkill for the type of off road use my rig will see but I dont know how hard my stock ones were beat over the past 40 years so I wanted to eliminate the question. I have these knuckles in my rock crawler steering 42"x 15" wide swampers through the rubicon and they are bullet proof! The cool thing is you can use your stock passenger side knuckle you just have to send it in to ORD and they will machine it to accept the crossover kit for a small fee.

Stage eight locknuts for the axles. These replace the 4 notch locknut that needs to be torqued pretty hard to prevent the hub from coming loose and they are bullet proof as well.

I hope this helps you with yours. Once the brown truck brings all of these parts to us I will be sure to post good pics of the entire cross over steering setup.
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[Hardesty454]

What happened to this build!? This was cool!

[dbash]

I have not been on the site for awhile. Its time to update this build. My Son graduated H.S. and got a great job and I have been busy at work so we both ran out of time to continue this build. I procrastinated for too long thinking we would be able to get back into it and finish it ourselves. Once I came to terms we loaded everything on my trailer and hauled it to one of the best Hot Rod Shops here in Sac. It was a hit to my ego but now that its almost complete I am completely past that. This is going to be a fast completion to an old build thread because this truck has been entered into the Autorama here in Sac this February 14th. The Motor will be fired up for the first time tomorrow and it goes into the interior shop Saturday.

[dbash]

The pictures will speak for themselves after this short refresher of the key mods and a few words with each pic. Frame holes were welded, full sandblast, satin black powder coat, any part, nut, bolt, washer or clamp that was not powder coated or polished stainless has been cad plated..... I hate chrome..... but is is much less expensive then chrome since you only pay by the pound for the plating process, I simply like the look better then chrome. It keeps the truck from looking like it was just driven through a vat of black paint. You can see the ViAir and the Air tank on the back passenger side of the frame, there will be an accessory air coupler under the step on the passenger side of the bed. Front Dana 44 has an Air Locker. Rear is a limited slip 12 bolt, both have chromoly Axles. LS1 by Turnkey, 700R4, Atlas twin stick transfer case. Custom Drive lines, double cardan joint at back of Tranny and at rear Diff. Vintage Air. Disc brakes all around. Heavy Duty Steering box. Heavy Duty Aluminum Radiator with dual electric fans.

[dbash]

Close up of previous