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Basic Body Dropping


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Old 10-07-2002, 11:48 PM   #1
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Arrow Basic Body Dropping

Ok since body dropping is a hot topic lately, and Mini Truckin' magezine did an article on the subject earlier this year, I'm taking the liberty to post it here.

So here is the article in it's entirety. It was published in the December 01, January 02, and February 02 issues, pages 38-41, 16-18, and 16-18 respectively. While it was a decent article, it did have a few downfalls that will be discussed in the following posts.

Click the thumbs for biggers images..

Old 10-07-2002, 11:51 PM   #2
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Arrow

Old 10-07-2002, 11:59 PM   #3
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The area in question is when they section the rear cab wall, and overlap the 4" of metal and use about 5 tubes of seam sealer and sheet metal screws to hold everything together. The proper way is to overlap the two sections about 1/4" and weld the seam shut, then apply seam sealer over it to keep everything water tight.


Also in this article they body dropped the bed 2" more than they needed to, then added 2" spacers underneath the mounting points. This is done to minimize cutting through the bed floor for frame and suspesion components.


If you have anything to add to this article, please do.

If you have any questions pertaining to the subject, please ask.

Any posts other will be deleted so please, keep it clean. Thanks.
Old 10-08-2002, 12:51 AM   #4
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This may be a dumb question, but how is the firewall done? That is the only part holding me back from doing my truck.

Are you supposed to cut across the firewall too or did they just slit the floor up to the firewall? I think this is one of the hardest and maybe most important obstacles.
Old 10-08-2002, 11:55 AM   #5
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ogh.. id never do that myself.. id go half way through and be all like.. UHHHHHHHH what now?
Old 10-08-2002, 09:20 PM   #6
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yes, you have to section out the firewall as well, the same amount as the bodydrop. 3" Drop = 3" section...

We bodydropped my friends 1st gen. Lots of work.

Plan on tubbing your firewall too for your tires.
Old 10-08-2002, 09:39 PM   #7
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I have 17s, never had to tub my firewall??? BUT LMAO now i have 18s and were tubbing it! Dont tub it unless you have to,or plan on getting bigger wheels. The b/d itself is not really that tough, just all the exact measuring, welding is tough because there is so much of it, other than that its a walk in the park!!

Josh Schatz

"XTREMEMACHINES", Even our cell phones are primered
Old 10-08-2002, 09:47 PM   #8
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how much did you drop it? We did 3.5"
Old 10-09-2002, 08:41 AM   #9
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i'm in the process of Body Dropping mine, bed is done, pinch molding is shaved, just chopped the frame off last night. only bad part is i can only work on it a couple hours a night(at someone elses garage)
Old 10-09-2002, 11:40 AM   #10
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How much of a b/d

We did a 4.5" on my new gen s10. We overlapped the back of the cab .5" we have done it about that on all the body drops, 2 toyotas and 2 s10s, everything has held up fine!
Old 10-09-2002, 11:43 AM   #11
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hey s15, got any pics of you body dropping you 1st gen bed? We are going to be dropping my friends shortly...any heads up?
Old 10-10-2002, 10:12 AM   #12
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sorry, no pics yet, i was gonna do a tech thing w/ pics, but i didnt have a camera, so....

headsup., hmmm, well i took the bulkhead piece off the bed completely, i cut the bed high near the rail, and then cut down when i got to the back right at the bend, then strait back on the bed floor. it wasnt easy by any means, but it wasnt really that bad. i wouldnt recommend doing this unless you have patience...
Old 10-10-2002, 10:43 AM   #13
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Re: How much of a b/d

Quote:
Originally posted by drag_it
We did a 4.5" on my new gen s10. We overlapped the back of the cab .5" we have done it about that on all the body drops, 2 toyotas and 2 s10s, everything has held up fine!
how do you bd it 4.5inches and overlap it 5" that doesn't make sense!
Attached Images
File Type: jpg cart.jpg (150.8 KB, 4869 views)
Old 10-10-2002, 10:49 AM   #14
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Re: How much of a b/d

Quote:
Originally posted by drag_it
.5"
point five means half an inch
Old 10-10-2002, 10:55 AM   #15
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Ahh...my bad...I thought it said 5"(I just really wanted to post my pic!)
Old 10-10-2002, 11:18 AM   #16
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yeah sorry 1/2" over lap my bad. That shopping cart is cool, ill take some pics of mine its b/d to about 1/16" off the ground and it rolls fine! also getting air shocks on it( shocks that hold up a hatch on a car)
Old 10-10-2002, 11:22 AM   #17
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nice cart man, always wanted one...
isnt it a felony to theive a shopping cart?
Old 10-10-2002, 11:23 AM   #18
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Beats me, not my cart...lol...
Old 10-10-2002, 07:44 PM   #19
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I bought mine s15, from a surplus store for 7bux..
Old 10-11-2002, 08:02 PM   #20
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this is a nice ?

heres a nice question... what happens to the interior panels.. dosent the body go down and the floor go up? if so the panels are going to have to be shortened. and the extra cab seats can not be reinstalled?
Old 10-11-2002, 08:07 PM   #21
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you are indeed correct. thats why you see a lot of b/d trucks with out door panels and such..
Old 10-11-2002, 08:13 PM   #22
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hummm i am wondering if there is a place that tells you how to do this?
Old 10-11-2002, 08:14 PM   #23
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id say its pretty easy, if you did a 3" body drop for instance, I'd assume you'd have to hack off 3" off the bottom of that panel.
Old 10-11-2002, 08:18 PM   #24
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is there any other little mods that are going to have to be done that noone talks about?
Old 10-11-2002, 08:21 PM   #25
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the steering shaft going to the box has to be shortened, on the 1st gen we did, we just collapsed it by hitting it on the ground, these are meant to collapse in the case of an accident.

Might need to do some gas pedal mods...

Hood clearance....

Might have some issues with the radiator hoses...remember the core is now 3" (For example) Lower...splice them up with some metal pipe of sorts to make it work if need be...

Trimming the front fenders for tire clearance...
Old 10-11-2002, 08:22 PM   #26
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i'm sure you can modify the interior panels to fit, (this is just my 2 cents, dont hurt me) just cut 3" (or how ever many) from the middle and "weld"** the panel back together and cover it in tweed or clothe/vynal/etc




**when i say weld the plastic, i mean use like a heat gun or a torchy thing, not an actual welder
Old 10-12-2002, 11:44 AM   #27
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ID anyone has seen the new minitruckin, i think they have the best damn idea ever. When they tubbed the firewall on that s10 they used parts of a wheel barrell. I am for sure doing this, i was going to use trailer fenders at first, but then i seen this. My bed is completely done now pics will be up soon. Peace
Old 10-20-2002, 11:37 PM   #28
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i want a b/d.. some day i can only dream
Old 10-21-2002, 05:49 PM   #29
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i just was wondering... someone said that alot of body dropped trucks have thier door panels removed. dont you slide the cab down and cut the floor along the sill seam. this wouldnt change the height of the doors would it?
Old 10-21-2002, 08:24 PM   #30
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no, but when the door is closed, the panel normally would take up space in an empty void..now that void is 3" of metal..depending on the panel it may or may not clear.
Old 10-21-2002, 08:54 PM   #31
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you could cut it in a little more than an inch to clear the doors couldnt you? as long as you dont cut on the wrong side of the body mount right?
Old 10-22-2002, 08:23 AM   #32
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sure...you can taper ( _/ )the filler panel too... cut the inside more.
Old 10-23-2002, 11:37 AM   #33
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I HAVE A STOCK FLOOR BODY DROP ON MY 1996 SONOMA,2.2L,LOST THE A/C.STOCK CARPET FITS RIGHT BACK IN ,BED IS STOCK FLOOR BODY DROPPED,WHEN YOU WALK UP TO IT AND LOOK INTO THE BED IT LOOKS LIKE THE BED HAS NEVER BEEN TOUCHED,OPEN THE DOORS STOCK FLOOR, NO 4-6 INCH HUMP JUST STOCK FLOOR.THE WAY TO GO IF YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR HEADROOM.
Old 10-25-2002, 10:15 AM   #34
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Whats_the_advantages_of_a_bd_over_springs_etc?
Old 10-26-2002, 05:12 PM   #35
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have you read this post?
Old 10-27-2002, 11:48 AM   #36
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Body drop is not in comparison w/ springs dogg. That is lowering the suspension. We are talking about lowering the body over the frame, Cutting the cab floor out and letting the frame come up into the floor andwelding patches in. SPrings are just lowering the suspension.