well, here's what the new stuff looks like, apparently i forgot to take pics of how she looks from the side, the stance is so much better. still a little sag, but considering the limitations of my budget, i'll ride her like she is for now. i'll get pics of the stance tomorrow, if the rain hold off long enough for me to get out there without soaking my camera. still haven't got the spare out, i have the jack body, but not the rod. i just need to get a highlift... but, i just got the parts to do the front end, it's supposed to be nice starting monday, so i'll see how far i can get. i've got another set of bilsteins for the front, ball joints - top and bottom, idler arm, wheel bearings and control arm bushings. wish me luck!

 

ok, so the front axle housings, are they supposed to have play, or should i not be able to move them freely with my hands??

 

change that, it's not the housing that move, it's the half-shafts.... but i've addressed that in another thread. so i started in on the front end today, got as far as pulling the lower ball joint.... any suggestions on how to get it out of the steering knuckle once it's unbolted? i snapped the tip of a screwdriver off in the gap today, and my prybar is too wide to fit in there....at any rate, here's some pics of the progress....

getting ready...

before....

new bushings???





just needs repacking...

no good, bearings all chipped

 

this was the time to do the bj spacers > the spare you can use a pair of pliers to turn the shaft

 

Looks like a fun project, the hardest part is getting the repairs outta the way! After that you can have some fun! Good luck with it! If you have any questions about repairing it feel free to ask me although i may not know the answer lol

 

yea 82, i haven't really looked into the spacers, i'm not really sure what they are. i'm guessing it adds height to the front, from what i've read, but then i'd have to do the rear, too. thanks for the head up on the spare, too, i still haven't gotten that thing out. with my super limited (unemployed full-time student) budget, i'm pluggin away at repairs first and thinking about the mods i want to do down the road. i don't have too much more in serious repairs, the suspension was really the biggest issue. my next project is the body, and prob some bumpers and a winch. i still want to throw and inch or two of body lift in her, but i definitely need to regear and while i'm in there i want to do a detroit locker.... i have ideas, just not enough time or money, lol. but if i have questions swimmer, i'll definitely ask thanks!!

 

update: so i got the front end mostly done - the lower passenger ball joint had me frustrated for days!!! the separator wasn't wide enough so I ended up borrowing a pickaxe head from my neighbor to get it out, lol. I'll post pics of that later. now all's that's left is the idler arm and stabilizer bar bushings, and I can bring her for emissions and an alignment, and get her re-registered. YAY!!! CAMPING THIS WEEKEND!!!! (I hope) Wish me luck!!

 

good luck to you.

 

Looking great so far!

The spare does get in the way....I have a 32" spare crammed in there and it snugs up against my exhaust - no fun.

It's been mentioned here I think, but just use the factory jack rod that's on the driver side interior panel in the very back (where your plastic, ratty panels have the "cubby holes" to store stuff). Insert it into the slot in the middle of the chrome rear bumper (flat tab side toward the front of the truck) and jimmy it until it engages as you twist. It will start lowering the chain that holds the spare on.

The ZUK mod was easy enough - see my DIY link in my sig. I may still need shackles on mine, since I had to crank the T bars down ALL THE WAY to level out the front and it HURTS to go over any bump....ugh.

Can you weld?...if so, look into the 63" Chevy swap

Good luck!

 

Don't know how I missed this thread, it's nice to see someone local doing a build-up! I'm interested to see how emissions go, I'm getting my rig on the road in a week or two and I must admit that I'm nervous about emissions.

 

dont know if it helps i jammed factory 4runner coils over the bumpstop in the rear and the rbbber bumper stop on the rear axle to hel the sag, necer rode better no noise and it didnt hinder flex at ALL. just gave me a better stance and a smoother ride, you do have to unbolt shocks and shackels to drop it far enough to get the coils in though, kind of hack but it worked great and gave me a better spring than lift blocks or longer shackles since the factory leaver were pretty tired

 

Nice project
I had to use bolt cutters on my 4Ruster to get the spare off, its going on a tire carrier anyhow.

Also, for cheap you could get longer shackles to help the stance a bit more.

Emissions? Can't you register it historic? I don't know what your laws are, but here in MD its 20yrs.

good luck
RB

 

Thanks all!

92 - can't wait to see your sons project near completion!

Phil - unfortunately, i'm missing the original jack rod, i only have the body. i really need to invest in a highlift soon, anyways, now that she's solid and legal (YAY!) but a jack won't do me any good without the spare.... and i don't weld, but my uncle does, what is this '63 chevy mod of which you speak?

zelephant - yea jeez, really, sheesh man.... lol nah, it's good. once you get yours up and runnin we should hit barkhampstead or something. let me know if you need any tools/help/parts... i may be able to help out. and if she runs ok, i wouldn't worry about emissions too much. i ran mine today for the second time since un-parking her and the girl that does it said the same thing as last time "i can't believe how clean your truck runs, i have cars brand new off the lot that don't blow this clean" HC was 73 of max 160, CO % was .19 of max 5.4, and NOx was 381 of max 13417. she still smells a little rich but gets 17-20 mpg.

blake - thanks for the idea. i just put new leaves and shocks in the rear and it helped the stance considerably. i still have to post some pics... budget limitations prevent me from taking on the rear coil spring project for now, but i've got it in mind.

RBX - i didn't know i could get longer shackles. the idea if messin with the leaves again tho... (groan) lol and i'm pretty sure in ct it has to be over 25 before emissions is no longer required, but they've been raising that for a few years. i used to be 20, so idk if they plan to keep raising it or not but it always blows clean and it only $20 every 2 yrs, so, not too bad.

 

You should be able to go an 1.5" longer in the shackle to get a little lift. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.

 

sweet. i'd rather do that than the zuk mod, for now, at least. i'm not into the idea of cutting parts off my truck, lol. but she sits a lot better now with the suspension all rebuilt. i have to get some pics up, prob tomorrow, after work. speaking of which, 6am comes early....

 

Thanks for the offer, and good to know about emissions. I'm just paranoid because my family used to own a Plymouth Voyager that ran great but would fail smog all the time, and that van wasn't nearly as old as my 'runner.

 

lol, yea, but it's a plymouth. your 'runner should be fine, just run it low on gas beforehand and drop a few gallons of high test in her. when i took mine out of 4 years of storage a couple years ago she had 4 yr old gas in the tank. i added a couple gallons of fresh (87) and she blew as clean then as she did yesterday. when you bringing her in?

 

Yeah, it was a Plymouth, but the engine was made by Mitsubishi, back when Chrysler/Dodge and Mitsubishi had that working relationship (not sure if they still do). Whatever. I've heard the high-test idea before, definitely something I'll try!
BTW, you mentioned in your first post that you found a spare rig in the junkyard. Just curious which junkyard it was, all the ones I know of never have 1st gen parts.

 

zelephant - sorry about the delay in reply, i was in nh for half the week, and i just haven't been on since i got back. the spare rig i got from boyd's right here in norwich, they almost always have a 1st gen kicking around, i think they even have an '85 in there right now - makes me wish i had the time and money to do the sfa swap, lol. the number over there is (860) 887-3153. northeast up in willi occasionally has one or two kicking about also, (860) 450-0200. let me know if you need any parts from boyds, pete gives me a discount cus i usually go pull them myself...

 

so, anyways...

the nh trip was a success, largely. no problems, other than the battery issue i've been dealing with since the first stereo amp i put in her drained the battery completely. i still have yet to take her to autozone and have the battery tested... unfortunately, all the pics i took are on film, and i haven't gotten it developed yet. i'll post pics soon, it's drizzly today so i can't go out with my digi....