WEll, I finally got my new springs from skyjacker and got those put back in, The wife and I have been sanding and prepping the underside of the box for a few days and finally was able to paint it last night...It sucks putting all that work and it will never be seen really. But at least she has some good paint on her to protect from all that Michigan salt!! I have to paint the wheel wells but, I'll do those when I finish the front part of the frame and axle with black.. So now I have a lot of crap work to do... Sand/paint the underside of the cab and then finish the frame.. hook up all the new front brake lines and install new steering stuff.. Crossover wouldn't work, the way I wanted it to, so I am scratching it for now.. So here is a few pics to keep ya'll updated not that anybody cares!! But I am bored so here ya go.

 

Looks nice... Where'd the shackle reverse hardware come from?

 

[QUOTE=Caver Dave;2144657]Looks nice... Where'd the shackle reverse hardware come from?[/

IF your talking about the front drop shackles, I made those... They are 2" drop hangers, I left the rear swing shackles alone, I just made new ones but kept them the stock length.. And in the back I made those two to eliminate the factory blocks and give me plus 2 over stock... I'm not a big fan of blocks!! The guy who had the truck before me, had 10" of blocks.. Crazy!!

 

looks nice. i wonder what kind of durability those skyjacker springs have? I was looking into getting them all the way around. let us know how it rides once you get it all back together.

 

Dang, thats purdy! More pics please!

 

Be sure to check your kingpin angle with those drop brackets!! You could end up with an ill steering rig. It will wander all over the road and the steering will be way easy to operate (dangerous part is the wander, line chasing) the parts look great but, I would build a set of drop shackles to compliment the drop brackets.

 

Well, With the drop hangers in the front, I didn't have to run a shim under the leafs.. So It is kinda a wash.. So If I make a 2" rear drop swing shackle then my driveshaft angle becomes an issue. Therefore I would probably need a 4-5 degree shim.. Also, with the 47rh trans in, the driveshaft is pretty close to the cross memeber, so I really don't want to lift it anymore... But I will definately keep an eye on it when I get it on the road...Thanks for the concerns...

Here is a link to a few of my previous threads with some good pics of what I been up too!!

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=205268
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=208883

 

A lot of guys will cut the C's and rotate them on the axle so you still have proper camber with your "nice to u-joints" pinion angle.

 

Silly question, but what did you wash the frame with? It looks as though you kicked most of the junk off the shock-mounts/bump stops and cut through a lot of the prep work, better than your average pressure washing.

If only it were straight mechanics work instead of fighting rust all the time, it wouldn't be so bad living where it snows & is cold.

Thanks,

Alec

 

I actually used some super potent degreaser called "beaver solution". And a 3500 psi pressure washer.. It did cut through most of the heavy stuff, but I am in the process of scaling everything off and wire wheeling it now.. Hopefully have the bottom of the cab and rest of the frame, front axle, and all the little misc things painted by the weekend or first of next week!!

 

Looks great, i will drop mine off soon, lol

 

Man..I wish I could get paid to redo old Dodges... I absolutely love it... I am not the best mechanic in the world...But I am very **** about everything I do.. My buddies come over and think I'm nuts.. Sometimes I think I'm crazy...But at least I know it is done right!!

 

I agree - There is a high level of personal satisfaction with turning the wrench yourself.

 

I'm the same way. Maybe we could open a Dodge truck resto/customizing franchise. I'll do the east coast. I wish I could make a career out of it but there's no money in it and I'd just end up buying all the customer's rigs.

 

Amen to that...I have the same problem..it is almost funny you said that..