I'm bought a 87 PU, got a killer deal nontheless but some things need attention that got done kinda hacky style such as the driveshaft tunnel and shock mounts but thats beside what Im here for. It has bags al the way around and Im wanting to get it to lay frame. Its C-Notched to lay 20s in the rear so I'm not worried about the rear so much as the front, I know I'll have to fab up a raised tranny crossmember and do the draglink mod to clear oil pan but other than those things Ive listed what will be required to get it to lay out full frame? Im not going with 20s just yet but probably 18" OEM Hyundai Santa Fe take offs, I know tire size will be a big factor but they will only be 22"ish, might even stick with 15" astro supremes for the time being..
and the truck done, front slammed, rear up theres alot I want to change, my buddy done the links and notch and bridge and everything but the guy the truck was built for done the wiring and shock mounting and air lines, Im going to redo the hacky finished stuff such as shock mounts, those compressor mounts, airlines, rewire all the airride, fix the tunnel etc, havent really looked too closely at the front but I am most likely going to save up and buy the cando arms, belltech spindles, and cando tranny crossmember in a few weeks and go from there. Needless to say Im sure most of you know from looking at the bag location that the rear gets some dirty hooker lift
even with cando arms and belltech spindles? I thought the Z was just to take binding out of the balljoints allowing it to get full travel
you'll need the z to lay full frame. the engine x-member hangs below the frame by about 1.25". you won't need to mod the center link unless you lower the motor after the z.
On that note Burnzya, I've been thinking of lowering the engine after the "z". What can be done with the center linkage? Thought about z-ing it too... Know of any good write ups?
What are you going to use to mount the shocks?? I bought my truck bagged and it has no shocks.. .I'm looking for a kit or maybe I could have something fabricated??
Im just getting shock tabs through speedway motors for my shock mounts, just bolt one on each side of the shock, tighten the nut, get them parallel with each other, tack them in place, remover shock, full parimeter weld and done done. Anyone have a link they can point me to on how to do a frame z? Im brand new to the minitruck world and have searched and havent found anything worth use yet on the subject..
do the upper 4link bars hit the upper bag mount?, they look like they do when you air it up..nice start you got though
good eye! I havent cycled it yet so didnt really notice it and didnt think to even actually look but now that you bring it too my attention I looked at the build pix and Im going to have to notch that bag mount out, the lowers hit it when slammed, and the uppers hit it when lifted.. pretty close to the same spot though so I should be able to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. The guy that built this truck was 17 at the time of the build so Im sure there are a few errors but most of the things that are wrong he didnt do, the actual owner of the truck did so he could get it done. I guess I'll have to check into how much travel I get in the rear before links hit the bag mounts, I need a good 5 or 6", this is my new DD so I can fab more indepth with my prerunner. Oh well, I paid 1,000 for the truck way it sits, I dont mind making a few changes as long as I dont end up completely redoing the truck to get it road worthy. Heres a pic with it lifted and the uppers hitting heres a pic dropped with lowers hitting bag mount, axle hitting notch
Looks like a pretty good start. Atleast the fab work out back seems like its layed out well. You will need to Z the front. Basically, on the frame rails before and after the suspension, you make vertical cuts and raise that entire section with the motor/arms/steering. It will also remove a little camber through your whole travel. Btw, I love his welding position. Looks real pro.
