looks great! now just a little bit of bondo and those dents should just disappear! no, seriously, it looks awesome. you going to put a back seat in it again?

so here's a question...how come more people don't go with the birfield eliminator set up like what sky-manufacturing sells? seems like a good alternative to birfields...the only drawback i can see is not being able to as easily swap a stock birf back on in the case of a breakage. what are your thoughts?

 

Because they arent any stonger than a stock dana 44 and a yota axle is pretty much comperable. They really arent a very popular upgrade so to say.

BTW did you brake a 30 spline or 27?

I must say your truck looks bas ass Nice build

 

yeah I want to know more about the dana 44s and such do they have any punks on the passenger side? nice build looks great...

 

Thanks! I'm past dents, I'm wearing holes through the body (not joking).

The back seat is gone, in the dumpster. It was one of the stock bucket seats. It worked great, but there were a couple problems. First, no one ever sat in it, so it was mainly storage. The other problem was head clearance with the rear cage section. The seat sat taller and you would be very close to hitting your head. It really was not safe to any one taller than 5' 4" or so.

As for the birfield eliminator kit, I have seen more than a couple Dana 44 shafts and u-joints break on the trail. I have only heard of a few of the 30 spline Longfields breaking. I know of one guy runing a Tundra V8 and 44" Swampers, I think he has only broke one. They just work

 

I broke a pair of the old ringed birfields, 27 spline, welded ring and maybe heated. Thanks!

 

Thats why Im gonna with 30spline longs If you get there Hub gears they make youll be set for life gaurenteed. Also you can get there

I want that and the fifth high steer trunion bolt kit they make. So strong

Check out there site for the longs they have some sick stuff. Its expensive but worth it. Note the Dana 60 upgrades too can you say beef
http://www.longfieldsuperaxles.com/

Sorry to hijack so please continue its a sick build

 

I've been tring to decide what to do with the sliders for a while now. They have worked very well but I feel that they might be too wide. There have been several times when I got hung up on them in really tight spots. They have really helped to prevent body damage and were nice to pivot off of rocks, etc

Since the body is past saving, I decided to chop them off and see if it helps at all. I can always make a new outer bar if I change my mind again. Only have the passenger side done.

Each side added an extra 5" to the width of the truck, a total of 10"

Before





After

 

I agree 100%, that's what the new front axle is going to get.

 

Here's another picture of the front end, it just doesn't look right

 

nothing looks out of place to me.

 

I think you forgot the

 

Nice dove-tail! The hammered quarter-panel look is in for 2008! I've got aways to go until mine look that hammered though!

Let me know if you need anything front axle wise. There are two complete solid front axles (minus the aisin hubs that I pulled ) in the pull-n-save here in town. I'm thinking of picking up one of the axles as a spare for a straight housing, extra wheel hubs, knuckles, etc... I think the going rate for the front axles is $95.

 

You better not follow me, the sound of sheet metal being destroyed seems to follow me around (unless that whats what your looking for! ) There's nothing like narrowing your truck one inch at a time.

I have an extra housing and four extra knuckles that I got after the truck broke, thanks for the offer.

If you wheel as hard as I do, you might want to pick up one of those for yourself (just in case).

 

BV Carnage made me deaf to the sound of sheetmetal vs rock I heard it so much in V-notch I will probably pick up a spare front axle since I just bought some 40" Iroks to keep up with you this summer Indy and BV will be fun on 40's!!

What else do you have planned before the wheeling season starts?

 

Yeah, the first time I ran Carnage my truck didn't have a dent; by the time I got to the exit the rocker panels and bed sides were a little tore up Every time I run that trail I seem to add another dent to the collection, it's always a good time though.

I really want to run the 39.5 Iroks, but I don't have a truck and trailer. This truck gets driven to the trails and while I have thought about running them, I don't see it being very practical in my position. But while I type this it sure sounds like fun.

My goals for the build were mainly to reduce body width and lower the truck as much as possible with out creating any added issues, while fixing the all damage. The time consuming part is in the details.

Here is a basic run down of what needs to be done.

-Complete rear tube work
-Build new floor
-Mount Cooler, Ammo boxes, CO2, etc
-Raise upper, rear shock mounts
-Install new front suspension, axle housing, Birfields and all related parts
-Cut down drivers side rock slider
-Tub firewall for tire clearance
-Build removable sections to seal the cab from rain and snow
-New tires
-Hydro assist steering
-Door bars and other misc tube work

And tons of little details that I have been wanting to change for a while.

 

While we are talking about 40" Irok's, here is a picture of my friend's first gen. I saved it as the background on my computer, whenever I look at it, I feel like I'm out on the trail.

 

Cool picture!! Definally makes you feel like you're on the trail!

 

Yea, it's fun to look at. It gives you a pretty good idea how the whole trail is, look at the angle on the trees!

I ordered the Longfield super axles, birfields, hubgears and the fifth stud kit. All I need is Marlin's inner axle seals and I can start putting all together .

 

You'll love the 30 spline Longfields. Just knowing the weakest link isn't the birfields and having to carry spares is great!! I need to order up the hub gears soon as well as some ARP knuckle studs and APR hub studs.

How's the snow been in Summit County? From the looks of it, you've been getting hammered this year

 

Nice So beefy. I just need to make a trip down to Olympia and pick up a set myself. Maybe this summer