Slow moving '79 1 ton project

[jonvo4591]

If you catch my post, just pass on the rear end. I think I'll just throw a new gearset in my existing rear end. However, I will be giving you a call about the springs you have and anything else you may have.

[Rpratt]

I picked up the box, but passed on the rear end. Nice guy, he had some cool stuff: square body one ton dually 4x4 with a 500 caddy motor, and a new body Chevy 4 door dually with a Perkins turbo diesel from a backhoe.

[jonvo4591]

Wow, that kind of stuff really interests me. Wonder how the newer Chevy with the perkins drove.

[48cj2a]

Back in the 80s when I was really into four-wheeling we had a club member with a Ford F250 HiBoy and a John Deere combine diesel engine and a turbo. Nobody could out pull him.

[jonvo4591]

I couldn't imagine why

[Rpratt]

It must have run pretty good, he had a huge 5th wheel trailer behind it with a bunch of heavy machines and a huge boiler. Almost looked like it should have been loaded on a semi truck.
He had an NV4500 behind the perkins engine, and said he can drive all week on 6 gallons of fuel.

[jonvo4591]

Wow, did he let you take any pics of the setup? Sounds pretty awesome and expensive... haha!

[jonvo4591]

Hey everyone! With spring around the corner here in MI, I've been thinking a lot about working on my truck. This lead my train of thought to "where am I gonna find the parts I need?"

I've come up with a game plan for the truck over this winter:

A healthy drop in altitude (flip kit and spindles and springs ?)
possibly a gear swap, and axle seals.....
replace all fluids
basically work my way from the back of the truck to the front, with some upgrades to the current engine being the last concern.

The question on my mind at the moment, though, is Where's the best/most wallet friendly place to get the stuff like a flip kit for a 1 ton and drop spindles/springs.

I've been searching the past 3 days and I can't really come up with a cut and dried answer, and I know all yall are lowering your duallies all over the place around here.

[jonvo4591]

Anyone have some insight on this?

[Tx Firefighter]

Your best deal on the suspension parts is going to be Summit.

First, they will match any competitor's price.

Second, any order from Summit has a flat 12 dollar shipping charge no matter how big or heavy the parts. You're going to find that a spindle, spring, flip kit order will be very, very heavy. Most places would get you 50-75 bucks just for shipping instead of the 12.

[jonvo4591]

I just checked summit and their shipped price with spindles was the best, but it doesn't look like they offer a rear axle flip kit for a 1 ton truck.

Would a flip kit from a lighter duty truck work? would I just need a C-notch for my 1 ton frame?

I don't plan on doing any heavy hauling with this thing when its done

[Tx Firefighter]

I have a 78 model cab chassis flatbed like yours myself. I'm not sure I'd do a flip kit on one of these trucks. My spring packs are massive. If I flipped the axle atop that spring pack I think the drop would be somewhere near a foot.

I believe I'd do shackles and hangers if anything.

[jonvo4591]

My thoughts for the rear are to either remove leaves from the spring pack to get it to a more managable unit, or swap to some regular 1 ton springs in the rear.

I hear you though, my spring pack is like 16 leaves per side and like 1 foot tall.

[78maliburat]

my drop on a 1 ton

[jonvo4591]

home made flip kit?

[Leedogg]

Holy springpack batman!! Put a flip kit on that and you'll be dragging the springs. LOL How much roon do you have between the tires/bed for the intended drop? Looks like a flip will put them in a very close proximity.

[jonvo4591]

Originally Posted by Leedogg

Holy springpack batman!! Put a flip kit on that and you'll be dragging the springs. LOL How much roon do you have between the tires/bed for the intended drop? Looks like a flip will put them in a very close proximity.

Well, as you may be able to see in this picture, the tires are in VERY close proximity to the bed, so much so that they rub and give off smoke when I hit a railroad track



That's why my plan is to cut/modify the bed accordingly. I'll bet though that doing a flip and taking half the springs out would probably still drop me about a foot in the rear, but I would also gain some sort of a ride in the back instead of like riding on bricks. As of now, the frame and tires pretty much serve as my rear suspension.

[jonvo4591]

Well after much contemplation, I've decided that the old 350 won't spend the rest of its life in its current home. It will get yanked out in favor of a Cad 500 big block. I would like to use my sm465 with this engine, but I've been finding I'll most likely need a BOP bellhousing and bore out the bearing retainer hole to match the huge one on the sm465.

Then I've got to look into what I can use for a flywheel, how I'm going to get a pilot bearing/bushing in the caddy crank, and figure out what clutch I need to use.

As of now I've been on the lookout for a 500. I'd like to find one in a running RWD car and pick up the whole car so I know I have everything I would need to do the swap, then get rid of the car.

First things first though: suspension....