Lowered '94 shop truck

[Shayne82609]

noob to this site, so thought I'd share my shop truck build.

Goals for the build:
#1 - proper stance!!!!
#2 - must be daily driver usable
#3 - still need to be able to use it as a truck (aka haul a load of wood, pull a trailer, etc..)

I picked up this '94 1500 2wd std cab/short box cheap. Obviously it was in need of help for the price I got it. Front fender was smashed in, something big and heavy skipped off the hood and smashed the windshield, bed was rusted out, handled like something was FALLING OFF the front end. But the 5.2 runs, the cab and frame were solid, and it has a 5 spd (gotta love a stick!). This thing is as base model as base model gets though. I think the only real options are the 5.2 and A/C!



Stripped all the rusty, crusty, crumpled stuff off, added some tires that all matched, and ended up with this.





Once again into the garage! Figured out the steering gear output shaft was twisted. So replaced the steering gear with a reman, added a new pitman and idler arms. Threw on a pair of Belltech drop springs that I had from a previous truck.



Replaced both upper ball joints. Picked up a straight hood and a flawless bed for cheap (Craigslist find). Bolted the hood on to keep the snow out for now. Actually fits pretty good too. Loving the stance on the front so far



Back into the garage for some rear work now. Will keep this thread posted as I go. Have a pair of Belltech drop shackles and will be relocating the front leaf pockets for a leveling drop on the rear.

 

[Shayne82609]

well, drop shackles are bolted on so I can mock up the front leaf pockets. However! the next nasty little surprise from the $1k truck. Guess I'll be needing some different leaf packs. I'm fairly certain they aren't supposed to have that flat spot in the center!!!!!

 

[WhiteExpress]

Nothing like a dead leaf... Still looks like a great project truck.

 

[Shayne82609]

Thanks, WhiteExpress

Found some leafs, and they were attached to an axle. Was supposed to be a 3.55 LSD rear axle, but sadly, the carrier has OBVIOUSLY been changed at some point (or maybe the whole axle, hood tag on the donor said LSD rear, bummer)

Ah well, 3.55's will be an improvement over the stock 3.23 rear that was groaning at 20mph when I drove the truck home. Will be a bit more amusing to drive, and it even has all of the lug studs intact!

Axle


Leafs

 

[WhiteExpress]

Too bad you couldn't have found my old rear diff. 4.56s and a Posi. Booya!

 

[Shayne82609]

I thought about something that deep, but mpg would go out the window along with my drivers license

 

[WhiteExpress]

I thought about something that deep, but mpg would go out the window along with my drivers license

You'd think that, but unless you're running a 28" tall tire.. It's more just 'appropriate' for the truck. Hell 4.56s and 34" tires felt like a total dog to me.
(though not as bad as my current 3.55 / 33s that Ram graced me with)

 

[Shayne82609]

update for the day (03/30/13)

Stripped the rear frame rails. Drilled and chiseled the rivets out of the front leaf hangers. A #5 combination drill (pilot bit) works great, chase it with a 3/8" regular bit, and a air hammer with a chisel bit. Took about 30 minutes to strip both brackets off.





Took a measurement from the floor to center of previous leaf eye center. About 21 1/2". This isn't relative to anything, just a reference.



I fabbed up some plates to let me raise the bracket and/or flip it. They are 1/4" x 8" wd x 14" lg. I used the bracket to mark out the holes. I tried assembling it with the top bracket holes in the same location, just flipped the bracket 180*. This ends up with about a 30 1/2" measurement. That's a total of 9" at the front of the leaf, and about 5" at the axle. With the Drop shackles, this put it all way too low for this project. Might be useful if someone else is trying to slam one of these on the cheap though.



I flipped the bracket back over and drilled out the holes so the bracket's bottom holes are now mounted in the top holes of the frame. This gives me a reference measurement of 28 1/4", which gives me 6 3/4" total at the bracket, and about 3 1/2" at the axle. Add in the 3" longer shackles, and I end up right at 5" total drop.



Reassembled with the new 3.55 rear axle, and 4x4 springs, and this is how it sits now. A little rake in the rear still, but it also doesn't have the weight of the bed, bumper, receiver hitch, tailgate, etc. on it yet. So I'm hoping it will settle it down just a little more once it's all back together.





I'll eventually add a cross brace between the 2 plates, to help stabilize them.

Also note ALL of the hardware is grade 8 bolting, with hardened "stover" nuts. I don't recommend using Nylocks on suspension systems. Get one nut too close to an exhaust pipe and have it work loose, will lead to bad things happening. Stover nuts use the same binding principle, but do it with a mechanically crimped head. They're designed to hold boilers and stoves together under heating and cooling thermal expansion, so suspension systems are a breeze for them. They're not coming off unless you take them off.

 

[USMC1188]

Looks like a solid project you got goin! Good luck and keep us updated!

 

[Shayne82609]

been kinda busy, but finally had enough time to get it sanded down. Going to shoot some black epoxy primer on it to start with. Will have to put some sort of top coat on it, the epoxy won't hold up to the sun for long.

 

[Big Boi]

Lookin Good!

 

[Bad Habit]

Nice little project.

on tapatalk from my GS3....

 

[Shayne82609]

update for the day:

FYI: I'm not by any means a paint or body man! Practice makes better right?

sanded, wiped down, taped off, and prepped for primer. Coating it with an automotive epoxy primer/sealer. Will leave it like this until I get the bed primed and bolted on. Then will shoot a proper color coat on it and a flat clear. Or at least that's the plan!







Think I'm going to have to invest in a better HVLP gun, and spend some more time learning how to use it. Kinda stripy, but hey, it's just a primer coat applied by a rookie.

 

[Bad Habit]

Second coat and sanding a little will help your base coat be smooth. Practice is the only way.

on tapatalk from my GS3....

 

[Shayne82609]

all unwrapped and drove it home. Looks better in the sunlight than the paint bay. Definitely going to have to do some sanding on it before applying a finish, but after it cured out, not nearly as bad as I originally thought.

Very amusing to drive this thing with no bed on it. Rear end kicks out just by tapping the throttle, even at 50mph.

 

[Shayne82609]

well after a number of snowstorms and a 2 week vacation, I'm finally getting back to this project. Bolted the new bed on, fits really good, only problem I ran into is the tailgate has 94-95 specific trunnions, and the bed has 96 up pins, and apparently thats the one part of the tailgate that LMC doesn't offer. figures! Anybody got a junk tailgate I can buy some hardware from?

 

[the codes]

project is looking good

 

[WhiteExpress]

Looks pretty good to me. Make sure you at least gusset those hangar mounts before you go to much further. I can see that getting ugly quickly.

Also, unless you need it, remove that 2nd leaf in the pack and you'll get it sitting fairly level (or the over-load, but it does say 'shop truck')

 

[Shayne82609]

yuppers, bed is only going on now for mockup and transporting it to the shop so I can sand and prime it properly. When I pull it back off, I'll be adding a piece of 3" angle between those plates that will also bolt to cross member over the fuel tank. Kinda boxes it all in that way.

I've been trying to get the right stance without touching the leaf packs, if possible, that way I keep most of my load carrying capacity intact. I still need to shorten the bump stops, and have been thinking about adding some air bags "just in case". It will probably see a load of gravel or three this summer.

 

[Shayne82609]

well bed has been (finally) sanded, primed, and shot, still need to block it and put a final coat of paint on it (only because I SUCK at painting)