Suspension work done

[68Timber]

I bought Western Chassis 2" drop shackles and Belltech 3" drop spindles and a set of Belltech shocks and went at it at a friends shop. Nothing went as planned.

The upper and lower control arms were removed, media blasted, primed and painted satin black after getting new ball joints and bushings. Rod ends were replaced as well.

First, much thanks to Paul who owns the shop and Dale who went over the top making a custom tank filler tube. Both of them never hesitated to back up and do it right no matter what we came across. There were plenty of obstacles and funnys along the way but I'll stick to what was done.

First off, my truck in Paul's shop:



LCA, ready for paint:



The fuel filler tube really took some work. The bracket on the tub that the tower clamp secures the stock filler tube was chiseled off and relocated to the rear edge on the outside of the fender well. If I didn't describe that well, see pics. Dale used sections of scrap exhaust pipe available to cut it and ended up with five sections tacked together for trial fit. It was spot on so it was welded up, painted a fleck paint, and mounted. It is longer, it's harder to get in place, and some of the paint got rubbed off to primer. But its in there and it does not leak.

Dale, rightfully proud after his effort. You know you have a good bud when he's making it as perfect as if it were going on his car:



On the truck, on the lift, full droop. Despite what it may look like, it will clear hyper-extension or full on-the-bump-stops compression:





The Belltech 3" drop spindles just plain wouldn't work with 15x10 rallys with 4.5" backspacing. I sent them back and bought a pair of Ground Force 3" lowering springs. The factory spindles were media blasted and painted and put back on the truck.

Truck on the ground:






Now the wider track in front is bothering me and I'm trying to decide how to address that. I'll know soon.

Engine next...