1988 R30 Crew Soon to be Dropped

[Ghostwhite]

Finally working on this again, little by little.



Imported some help from the midwest.



More room would be nice.





Finishing off the SFBD frame mods to get everything flat then on to the rear axle placement and starting on the rear suspension. It was nice and mild last week at 80 degrees and of course it cranked back up to 100 degrees this week.

[Ghostwhite]

Frame finally laid as intended.



Cab lined up on body mounts but it lays pinch before the frame lays. I will know how low I can really go when the front suspension is complete.







Wheels on.









Rear is hanging out, sitting too high. It will sit around about 4 inches above the where the stock frame is.



Notch that needs to be remade.



Wheels are blown apart so I can scrub the rust off the adapters and paint them.

[COS399]

Looking good.

[NewType72]

Nother CCD with semis gotta love these big hipped beauties

[Dieselwrencher]

It is looking very nice!

[Ghostwhite]

More mock-up.





Going to end up taking at least an inch out of the frame side brackets so they sit in further and give me some clearance at the wheel.







Will be measuring for notches and figuring out bag placement soon, dunno whether I want to put the bags under the notch or inboard them. I wouldn't mind doing a cantilever but keeping it simple is kind of attractive.

[Ghostwhite]

I'm at an absolute standstill waiting on a vendor for some parts mix ups and it sucks. Looking to get this thing a roller very soon.

[Jacob Collins]

This thing has to be running by now, right?

[travlinman]

Hahaha it's probably still sitting in the garage the same way it looked in the last photo. These take forever to build.

[Ghostwhite]

I am STILL waiting on dropmember parts that were incorrect and a PB notch I special ordered that was also the wrong item sent out. Its been 3 months waiting on the front end parts and much longer on the notch.

It took awhile for the original order and even longer for the corrections. I want to get this thing a roller before I move on to the engine placement and body surgery.

[Jacob Collins]

I have a 11 year old son and I have been trying to decide what to get him for a first vehicle. I like the idea of a truck like this. Seems relatively safe and should keep him out of trouble but is still a really cool ride. The only major drawback I can see is the massive amount of work required to finish a project like this.

I would like to make an offer on this truck if you think there is any possibility of it being done by the time he gets his license.

[travlinman]

Hahaha ⬆ this guy's crazy

[Ghostwhite]

Originally Posted by Jacob Collins

I have a 11 year old son and I have been trying to decide what to get him for a first vehicle. I like the idea of a truck like this. Seems relatively safe and should keep him out of trouble but is still a really cool ride. The only major drawback I can see is the massive amount of work required to finish a project like this.

I would like to make an offer on this truck if you think there is any possibility of it being done by the time he gets his license.

Firstly a vehicle like this will be a terrible first car, too much can fail and leave the average person stranded for a while. Parking is probably going to be worse than stock with the clearance issue, it was comical to park before I lowered it. Having to constantly be mindful of the belly clearance and break-over angle to keep from getting high centered on steep driveways is a big thing too.

Hopefully I will be done long before then but you never know. Unfortunately hope to never sell this big boat as the amount of money involved in building vs. how much they sell for is such a huge loss that it would be financially crazy to sell once done. In the end everything has a price so we shall see.

Originally Posted by travlinman

Hahaha ⬆ this guy's crazy

He knows lol

[Jacob Collins]

Duly noted. Although I could still see it being a decent first rig even with the potential downsides. I like the idea of being able of teaching him how things work through first hand experience instead of just getting him something more reliable. Very few young people actually know how to work on their own vehicles these days it seems.

Well either way I was just ribbing you, I`m sure this thing will be running long before then. Any more parts you are waiting on or is it just the drop member stuff? Sucks that you have been waiting two months on one company.

Hope you are able to get it all finished up and in time for summer at least. Every month you have to wait will just make it that much sweeter when she finally gets back on the road. Remember to update us with more progress. Eventually this truck will turn out amazing!

[Ghostwhite]

I'll keep it updated, I have most of the large parts to carry this build to the end. I will need lots of odds and ends along with some misc hardware for sure but the bulk stuff is here.

[Ghostwhite]

Well all the cool kids seem to have sweet accessories to go with their trucks so being bored and browsing all sorts of stuff led to acquiring this. It looks rough in the pics because of the moisture and lighting but its in pretty good shape.

[travlinman]

Cool kids? Might be hanging with the wrong crowd ����

[Ghostwhite]

I'm not even positive I'll use the damn thing. But we will see how it fits when I get to that point.

I don't have a problem, I swear.

[COS399]

Nice score. Should look good on your CC.

[TrailerTrash]

Originally Posted by COS399

Nice score. Should look good on your CC.

i agree im stoked to see that thing on i hope you decide to actually use it

[Ghostwhite]

Moving sucks, haven't decided if moving the truck in pieces was easier or harder.





Hopefully get settled in Minnesota within the next month or so but I'm still at a near dead stop until Porterbuilt can finish straightening up a few mixed up pieces on his end.

[travlinman]

Wow that's a hella of a expensive move. Vegas to minnesota? 1 semi trailer just for ur cars lol. Why can't nate get his order right? It's been 6 months? To busy shipping out other peoples stuff first?

[Ghostwhite]

The move hasn't been too bad only because I used family trucks and did most of the driving. I drove the Semi, friend drove the F550 and my wife followed in my Jeep.

I notified Nate back near the end of September that I may have the wrong upper bag plates. He agreed immediately that they had sent out the wrong plates and would be making me the correct set as well as needing some measurements for the notches that were already found out to be the wrong item early on and to be custom made. I inquired about adding some upper arms at the that time as well.

He eventually collected some measurements for the bag plates but I haven't heard much else besides 'they' will be shipping out. Haven't been able to determine if that means the plate, the notches which I need to measure for or a combination of all three parts.

Being in the middle of a move has given me some additional time away from the truck but at some point I will just have to make my own bag plates, notches and order some arms from somewhere else. Just a bummer to spend that much and have some issues left unresolved.

[Dieselwrencher]

That is a great way to move! Do you drive the semi daily? I dig that 6.7 too! What kind of mileage did it do with that load and trailer? It sounds like you will have a weather change to get used to next winter. Sorry to hear of your issues with PB. That can definitely knock the wind out of the sails on a project.

[Ghostwhite]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

That is a great way to move! Do you drive the semi daily? I dig that 6.7 too! What kind of mileage did it do with that load and trailer? It sounds like you will have a weather change to get used to next winter. Sorry to hear of your issues with PB. That can definitely knock the wind out of the sails on a project.

Sorry I missed this post! Everything was crazy with the move. I don't drive for work but helping on the farm and the family bee business made the class A license a no brainer. I will be a lot closer to the farm having grown up in ND.

I have been trying to call at least once a week on the PB stuff, they don't usually answer, which is normal but I have gotten a couple call backs at least just not lately. I kept getting estimates of a week or two weeks or 'end of next week' but so far I am in the same pickle I have been in since they first admitted there was a problem back in September.

I could make the parts (bag plates and the rear notches) myself but its pretty hard to stomach paying a good chunk of change on stuff and not give the opportunity to make it right. Mistakes happen but a resolution would make all that better. It is not looking good.