89 SFA buildup for rocks

[tfpets]

So what are you thinking? Dakota or f-150...we are thinking about dakota springs for my brothers because there is a nice set at the junkyard but nothing is set in stone yet...mine are an xj pack with a dakota main leaf (with the eyes cut off) second down...we are thinking maybe dakota main and second leaf and the rest xj on his...or maybe just a dakota pack?? Can I get your opinion?!

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tim99Zr2

normally they face foward?

yeah, thats the primary difference between the astro and the s10 box. on the s10 box, the pitman arm faces rearward, and the astro faces forward. but my steering is reversed and i need to mount the pitman arm on backwards, so an astro box with the pitman arm facing rearward is what i will be doing. if i wanted to move the front axle 18" or more forward i could just use the stock box with the arm flipped, but that would put the axle about under the front bumper.

[Tim99Zr2]

Quote: Originally Posted by Donahue

yeah, thats the primary difference between the astro and the s10 box. on the s10 box, the pitman arm faces rearward, and the astro faces forward. but my steering is reversed and i need to mount the pitman arm on backwards, so an astro box with the pitman arm facing rearward is what i will be doing. if i wanted to move the front axle 18" or more forward i could just use the stock box with the arm flipped, but that would put the axle about under the front bumper.

haha ok, i was going to say you couldnt use the astro box and flip the arm cause that's make your steering wheel go the wrong way!

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by tfpets

So what are you thinking? Dakota or f-150...we are thinking about dakota springs for my brothers because there is a nice set at the junkyard but nothing is set in stone yet...mine are an xj pack with a dakota main leaf (with the eyes cut off) second down...we are thinking maybe dakota main and second leaf and the rest xj on his...or maybe just a dakota pack?? Can I get your opinion?!

im not sure. initially i wanted the dakota springs for the offset, but now having them in my hand they are only 1" more forward than the ford springs. the ford springs are also 3" wide, which i like because they resist bending more and can offer the same spring rate with a thinner leaf. there may be a slight issue with the bolt on the dakota leaf too, i couldnt get the 9/16" bolt i have go through it, but i didnt try that hard or even look to see if there was just crap in the hole. i went with dakota springs over durango springs because i heard they were a bit stiffer. never in my mind did i think they would be stiffer than the f150 springs. i didnt want to have issues with the durango springs, but i know i will not have issues with the ford springs, so i really dont know. my crossmember is designed to accommodate 3" and 2.5" wide springs so that isnt an issue.

[Donahue]

i picked up my front locker today. i bought it from my dad as "new in box". i didnt realize it was rusty, but oh well, its still new never installed.

[s_man692000]

Quote: Originally Posted by Donahue

it will definitely have power off road, because i have doubled up t-cases. i will be at 135:1 crawl ratio, which if you guess my 2.8 puts out 150 lbs of torque, puts me at just over 20k lbs of torque to the ground. thats more than just about any non doubled truck with a v8. the benefit to keeping the 2.8 is that it is already in the chassis. it also runs great, and has a known history. i also know that i probably cant break my t5 trans with it, nor anything else except for probably my front axle in double low. i guess the thing to remember is that i primarily rock crawl, where HP is not king but gears are. i wont be mud bogging it, maybe once in a blue moon.

Good points,my buddy is building a 4cyl jeep cj5 ,because his v8 cj7 breaks something every time he wheels and it doesnt matter how good or how expensive the parts are just way too much torque.

[local12hand]

More pics or

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by local12hand

More pics or

i will probably be working on it this weekend. i might get my rear suspension mocked up.

[local12hand]

[gusdaman]

Yeah Don,
lets see some update pics.

[local12hand]

[Donahue]

i never touched it that weekend. we've been getting more tools so ive been messing around with those. we've added a tube bender and a big metal band saw to the list.

[Baggey22]

Okay, I'll settle for pix of the new tools

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by Baggey22

Okay, I'll settle for pix of the new tools

ok




and one more for everyone, this is what the crossmember looks like with a stock bumper. this gives you some idea of how much it lowers, etc.

[local12hand]

okay that will do for a little while

[Baggey22]

You're off the hook. . . . for now

[Tim99Zr2]

i cant say anything.. at least he has progress pics.. i might later on today

[MTchevyS10]

Get a tube bender die set with a lot of variety or just one or two sizes you know you'll need?

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by MTchevyS10

Get a tube bender die set with a lot of variety or just one or two sizes you know you'll need?

we've got 1.5" right now, but we will probably get a few more. i dont think i want to spend a whole lot of money on dies so i will probably just get a few and make the projects fit what i have. the next one will probably be 1.75" or 2".

[MTchevyS10]

Quote: Originally Posted by Donahue

we've got 1.5" right now, but we will probably get a few more. i dont think i want to spend a whole lot of money on dies so i will probably just get a few and make the projects fit what i have. the next one will probably be 1.75" or 2".

Yeah, just a few of those of common sizes you'd use would probably be good enough I'd say.

[pvfjr]

Sure is a sweet bumper you got there. Can't believe you never broke those lights though.

[Donahue]

ok, ive started working on my rear 4 link today. ive got my rear truss built and should have most of the axle stuff tacked up for mock up tonight.

[Donahue]

ive just tacked the brackets to the axle because the pinion angle is not set in stone yet. speaking of, you can get some idea of how much im going to have the pinion tipped up.

[pvfjr]

Looks like you got some gappage to fill there eh?

Oh, saw your dad today. Looks like he's gonna buy that parts truck from me. I'm throwing in the NV3500, rear end, motor, etc. Pretty much complete. So hound him for parts. Oh, and I'm keeping the 35's and the winch. Might need them for when I SAS the pathy......

[dillon_b12]

Good looking build up. It would of been nice if you notched those axle brackets so they fit all sexy like.

[Donahue]

i may still do that, i will probably pull that off once before it gets fully welded, i have more work that has to be done with it, and with the axle housing itself.

[91'4wdsonoma]

any updates?

[DieselS10]

Quote: Originally Posted by 91'4wdsonoma

any updates?

X2

[Eroq]

Quote: Originally Posted by Donahue

hah, you should try a d60 front fully loaded...

Dana 60 is light compared to the Dana 70 in my truck!
only took 3 people to rassle in it and lined up!


Its lookin good man, looks like it'll turn out ALOT better than my hokey suspension! just takes time

[Donahue]

well, we parted out a free truck tonight. i ended up with a nv3500/241 from a 88 or so 3/4t pickup. that should come in handy if i ever swap over to a 350 when the 2.8 liters of fury give up the ghost.

[Donahue]

ive been working on my rear end, getting it shaved for clearance. i cut 3 of the bolt holes for the cover off, and there is still a lot to grind off to get it down to where i want it.

[Donahue]

ok, great weather and i need to get it done quick.

progress:









i have the over all look of the kit, and have some idea of how much lift i will get with my springs. i'll have 27" of clearance under the frame rail with 38.5" tires, at least until the full weight of the body is on it. im hoping it will settle a little closer to 24"-25" at the frame rail, i dont want it that tall.

[deMad10]

That is slick! Very nice work. You make it look so easy.

[Donahue]

some more

[gusdaman]

Looks like somebody needs to mow the grass.

Just kiddin- looking good donahue- do you do the welding?
How much clearance are you gaining with the shaved rear end?
GUS

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by gusdaman

Looks like somebody needs to mow the grass.

Just kiddin- looking good donahue- do you do the welding?
How much clearance are you gaining with the shaved rear end?
GUS

yeah, i do most of the welding. but my brother has done some of the welding on some of our stuff. he's a good welder, they just arent as pretty as some of mine. (not trying to toot my own horn or anything).

i probably got about 3" more clearance on the rear end, but i wont know exactly how much until there are tires on it and i can take some better measurements. and for those that think 3" isnt that much, thats like 6" in tire diameter.

[Baggey22]

Can you make me a set of those shackle hangers? They would make my life amazing!

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by Baggey22

Can you make me a set of those shackle hangers? They would make my life amazing!

sure, that is my sfa kit im working on, so all you would have to do buy my kit

but really, the part with the 4 holes in it will probably be in a universal style weld on kit, it just wont have other bracing specifically designed to fit that part of an s10 frame.

[Baggey22]

That's what I like about it(the 4 holes). I just need those shackle hangars, like a.s.a.p, can I just buy those off you to fit my s10?

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by Baggey22

That's what I like about it(the 4 holes). I just need those shackle hangars, like a.s.a.p, can I just buy those off you to fit my s10?

PM answered

[Donahue]

well, i got my first good welder tan of the year, its been awhile and its nice to be back

i'm getting sick of this thing not being done yet, so i've started kicking ass with it. today i got the crossmember for my 4 link done, and my everything fully welded on my rear axle housing (other than the plate). tomorrow i should have the 4 link crossmember welded in, and the 4 link mocked up and ready for springs. i might have this thing full suspended by the end of the weekend.

for some reason, i am having problems getting the pics to upload, but they are coming.

[Donahue]

the pics:

[DieselS10]

Those sure are some pretty brackets! Most of my brackets look like ASS (no pun intended).

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by DieselS10

Those sure are some pretty brackets! Most of my brackets look like ASS (no pun intended).

thanks

[Tim99Zr2]

yea man, looks great!! good work

[Donahue]

ok, time for updates

i got the rear 4 link finished up today, other than shocks. i ran into a snag when i was making the upper links, my threaded bushings that were meant to be adjustable ended up being a pain once welded in. needless to say, i stripped one of them and had to just weld it in solid. so now if i need to make changes to the suspension design, i have to make all new links or at least modify the ones i have. once i got that all squared away, i went to make a calculated guess as to how much my springs were going to compress when the body is on them. i found out they were not going to give me enough lift without changing something. i ended up dropping the frame brackets down 2.5" off the bottom of the frame with some rec tube to fill the void. it wasnt perfect, but i need to get this thing done. i also threw in some pics of how my coils are retained, they are fixed at the bottom, but can drop an extra 5" or so on the top before the bolt bottoms out. my frame coil mounts are also adjustable just in case my guess on the ride height is off a little.

tomorrow, i will be finishing up the doubler, and putting the guts back in the front case.

btw, anyone need an output shaft with the fixed yoke? i can supply the shaft, yoke and corresponding driveline piece.

anyways, the pics

[19914x4blazer]

that looks sweet as he!!

[Donahue]

thanks

[DieselS10]

That's awesome. Those square tubing links look great, kinda makes me want to redo mine! You sure won't have to worry about any side to side play in the rear with the double triangulated links.

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by DieselS10

That's awesome. Those square tubing links look great, kinda makes me want to redo mine! You sure won't have to worry about any side to side play in the rear with the double triangulated links.

nope