My 83' Crew Cab Dually project

[tinydb84]

I hate grinding too but man that looks good.

[64chevtruck]

Nice smooth work thank you for posting the info, I have the front end apart on mine right now and am looking for info on this.

[DblTrbl]

Alright fellas...I can use a little help with the steering. Tinydb84, I know that you did yours a while back. I also remember Scott or Scotty or something from another thread that has a shop that sells the parts...

Here's what I have. Where is the best place to buy and what exactly do I need? I know it's a couple of u joints and a heim or Johnny joint...

[64chevtruck]

Howdy, When you Zd the frame, you had to lower the core support in front also yes>? Did you have to remove an inch up there since you stretched it an inch>?

[DblTrbl]

Originally Posted by 64chevtruck

Howdy, When you Zd the frame, you had to lower the core support in front also yes>? Did you have to remove an inch up there since you stretched it an inch>?

Yes. I haven't gotten that far yet, but I will have to drop the horns down 4" and back 1" to account for the changes behind the engine...otherwise the body panels won't line up. The front is simple in comparison.

[tinydb84]

Mine is different from yours. The steering changed in the late 70's.

You should need a 3/4'' DD shaft, one 3/4'' heim joint, two 3/4"DD x 3/4"DD u-joints, and one 30 spline x 3/4" DD u-joint.

Double check everything though. There were three(?) different steering columns and two steering boxes.

I ordered all my stuff from Travis at AZ Pro Performance. He gave me a discount too if I remember correctly. Just call him and he will know exactly what you need. Just tell him you are Z'ing a truck.

[DblTrbl]

In spite of a fairly busy weekend, I was able to squeeze in some time this afternoon on the truck.

I built both the trans and carrier bearing crossmembers. The trans was pretty simple; straight bar of 2x3x.25 with a couple of pieces of flat stock on each end, so I can drill them and boot it in place.

The carrier bearing crossmember was a little more complicated to work out and I'm still not sure if it's going to leave me enough clearance for exhaust pipes on either side, but I can work that out once it's in. By flipping the bearing over, I only had to raise the mounting surface 1/2 to match the 4" that I Z'd the front end. Unfortunately, that puts the driveshaft an inch into the floor...so I'll be tunneling all the way back instead of just the trans hump it seems.



So, I finally dropped the whole thing down off the stands and put the four link back in place and started setting it up with the gussets and lower bag brackets. The axle is sitting about 1/4" below the notch with the truck on the ground, so it should be perfect when I mount some lower profile tires...currently 235/85's.

Anyway...it's on pinch.

[ruffrida2005]

You probably said it before, but what are you doing for the upper bag bracket? Looks like you'll have to cut into the floor a bunch to make the bags fit.

[DblTrbl]

Originally Posted by ruffrida2005

You probably said it before, but what are you doing for the upper bag bracket? Looks like you'll have to cut into the floor a bunch to make the bags fit.

The bed is going to be raised a ton. I'm already into the bed with the front four link mounts and the driveline. The bridge is about 10" above the floor. With the bodydrop, there's not much choice...if I'd gone bag-over-axle, my bridge would have been almost even with the top bed rail. I plan to cut the floor out when I drop the bed back on and go from there.

[Ghostwhite]

Looking amazing!

Progress is coming right along, I need to get some plate to button up my Z and get started out back.

[DblTrbl]

Got my new steering linkage installed. Built a simple bracket to hold the heim joint...

[ruffrida2005]

Looks good

[DblTrbl]

This body work is tough business...think I've got it figured out.

[bbbc10]

Looking good whats the part # on the u joint u used from tge column to the dd shaft

[DblTrbl]

Originally Posted by bbbc10

Looking good whats the part # on the u joint u used from tge column to the dd shaft

It's a 1"DD -> 3/4"DD. I don't have a part #. I ended up buying it from "bro-speed on eBay. The Unisteer stuff was a little more than I wanted to spend and I honestly don't see the reason other than going with a brand name. The parts I got are also a high quality and I have no doubt that they'll do exactly what I need without problems...

[DblTrbl]

I really wish I had more time. It seems like as soon as I get moving at pretty good pace, I run out of time...

Nonetheless, I got the rear upper mounts built and burned in today. I'll be tackling some kind of a crossmember to tie them together next weekend.

Ooh look...pics!

[tinydb84]

Looks good. I thought the mounts were going to have to be taller. I like it.

[54earl]

Looking good.

[slammed427]

That looks good. How's the bag look at ride height?

[DblTrbl]

It seems like the little things take up a lot of time and progress just crawls sometimes. I spent quite a bit of time just welding things off that I'd tacked in for mock up once I got everything moving the way I wanted it to. The panhard bar proved to be a major pain in the ass to get positioned with the least movement and still clear everything. It's tight, but it works...

Built a bracket for the panhard - yep, it's a little rusty; I didn't have any clean 1/4" material and 3/16" just didn't seem strong enough:



Installed:





Removed a small part of the original frame where it kicks up just ahead of the step for clearance on the bags at full air up.



Aired up as requested...this is a little above ride height:





And hooked up to shop air @80lbs:

http://s82.photobucket.com/user/sbeb...81D09.mp4.html

[tinydb84]

Looks really good man.

[DblTrbl]

I'm at the point that I need to set the engine and trans back in so I can figure out how much floor to trim. Of course, I can't set the greasy old motor back in a new frame, so I steam washed it, gave it a fresh coat of paint and started bolting on the shiny bits...







Tip: electrical "rockets" make great spark plug hole plugs...





Everyone's dropping LS's in and I'm here making my sbc shiny...

[54earl]

Did your truck originally come with a small block?

[DblTrbl]

Originally Posted by 54earl

Did your truck originally come with a small block?

Yes it did. I've considered going bigger but this is a solid motor and it pulls me around just fine for now. Fuel mileage isn't too bad either.

[54earl]

I just bought an 82 crew cab dually (200). No engine or trains, but I have a small block 350 and a turbo 400 as well as a 700r4. I have been trying to figure out a good bag selection and if the 350 would work out.