i appreciate that. i have been trying. next step i believe is going to be to redo the snorkel, and save for a lift. maybe tires at some point. trying to decide whether to save for beadlock wheels or get a set of steelies and a set of weld ons. If anyone has opinions on the matter feel free to express them. id appreciate some information. ive been reading mixed feelings on the weld ons. "theyre impossible to balance," "mine ride fine, zero vibrations," "carry another set of wheels around," "i drove mine to 100 mph and it still held together,".. etc. now i think there's exaggeration on both sides, and i think it largely has to do with how clean the welds are. As far as a lift, im thinking allpro, but i dont want to sit a ft higher than i already do.. theyre 3 in lifts look like 7 inch lifts from the pics i see. i imagine it has a lot to do with shackles. im iffy about trail gear because i dont want to ship stuff back and have to wait even longer if they send me a defective or wrong spring, which apparently is not too uncommon. alcan springs are NICE but wayyyy out of my price range.. like i said. opinions welcome. Ill have pics of the motor shortly.

 

I'm still subscribed! The tiny pictures of the new engine look terrific. That's probably the builder I would get a new engine from when I need one. Did you have it delivered to a garage or to your house? How many miles have to put on the engine now?

 

do the pics not get big when you click on em? it does for me. and i had it delivered to a shipping dock and got a buddy who lived nearby to pick it up in his f150. miles on the motor are close to 50. haha. more pics are coming!

 

if you get the allpro leaf springs you have to re locate your spring hangers or something like, so you would have to do some welding , same thing with trail gear . the ome leaf springs are bolt on.. but you would get much better articulation if you went with allpro leaf springs because they are longer, but I think but not sure if you would be forced to go cross over steering if you go the allpro route

 

i could have SWORN any lift required moving the hangers? which isnt a problem, but bolt in would be alot more convenient. do you know of a good vender for OME springs?

 

if you want to keep you stock steering and keep your spring hangers in stock location , ome , rancho, and a couple others I cant think of for some reason will be bolt on no welding or relocating things . people that have ome say they ride really nice , but I dont know I still have my stock 28 year old leaf springs on with only 1 1/2 inches from frame to bump stop in the front , so when I go over a bump it bottoms out and is a harsh ride. but if you can weld and all that and you want to wheel real difficult areas you might consider going the allpro route you will get much more articulation front and rear .

 

yeah, a friend of a friend is trying to start his own "offroad," business and id have him do it since he just installed the allpro setup on his 83 pickup. hes welds for a living. ive done the research. i keep coming to allpro as my best option because they sell everything as a kit. trail gear does too... but i think you get what you pay for.

 

a couple pics

 

Ehr meh gerd! Lerk at url that flerx!

 

^^^ I think that's flexin' almost as much as my IFS does, lol! J/K there is the potential for good flex there, just need the right springs.

If you want to save a few bucks and are planning to relocate your spring hangers anyways you could throw some chevy springs in the rear. It'll give you a few inches lift and they ride and flex pretty good.

The new motor looks sweet! Sounds like a freakin' work horse too being able to go up a hill in 5th with 4.10's pushing 32's. Might have to look in to those guys if my motor ever dies.

 

Lol. Yeah potential is def there. But I've thought of Chevy springs. I hear the departure angle sucks when you use em though.