Well ive had this itch to make my truck more like a prerunner since i was in highschool. after graduating college in may and getting a job in Houston ive been able to afford the parts i needed.

Heres how she started:

Simple lift spindles with a drop shackle in the rear on 31's

Next came the Dixon Bros bumper and some 3" glass



Then i got the bumper rhino lined and some HFT HID's for it.
Also installed a fabtech 2.5 lift up front and a stock lift block in the rear.



After getting the job and a couple pay checks ive put a down payment on a BTF mid travel kit with uppers lowers and fabricated spindles. Also with heim steering.
Also i purchased some f-31's and kartek drop hangers and some SMP shackles.
Yesterday was the start of the deaver install...hit a huge roadbump on the passenger side with the front leaf spring bolt being stuck in the bushings





Damn rivets...most time consuming part of the install.

Ill be putting more pictures up tonight of me finishing up...i know how you boys like pictures!

Also the stock spare carrier is coming out today...well the back half of it anyway (leaving the front for the emissions canister) then im butting some bracing in the rear to regain the stiffness.

 

Great progress. It will look sweet when you are done.

 

Nice man!

 

Looks good! You should sand blast or take the grinder to your frame while you have everything off. Then maybe por-15 it. Can't wait to see the kit in action though!

 

Looks good so far!

 

Thanks guys! cant wait for the front kit!

Well i finished for today....didnt get to pull the bedsides or cut the back sides by the bumper, but thats ok.

Now to get some 14" shocks and build a simple bolt on bedcage for the rear and shes done(till i want to link it haha)

Heres the pics!







Not so pretty welds, but im learning






Not much height difference maybe gained an inch at most
Didnt have longer bolts for the shackles so i had to reuse the beltech shackles....will change them out either this weekend or next!

 

Man, it's so ironic that you started this thread today, because this is the first time I've been on this site in months! Looking good! Are you still daily driving it? I'm kinda upset that you didn't mention to me on FB that you're getting a mid-travel kit haha.

 

still my DD. and yea i wanted it to wait till i got them to send you and joey a picture.

 

great build so far!

 

That would've been a nice surprise, but I spoiled it haha. Truck is still looking good! Are you still going to do the 8.8? I still have my 3.73 LS 8.8 that I won't be using. The Cummins would kill that thing haha.

 

theres alot of 8.8's available here in Houston but they all have 3.73's. hopefully i can find a 4.10 or maybe even a good 4.56 here.
Im not sure how much it would be to get some new gears put in a used 3.73 but i figured it wouldnt be cheap.

 

Oddly enough, I've never been to Houston. I do want to go to Austin for the F1 races, though. If and when I ever go there, we'll have to go to those junkyards!

 

BTF ftw. Sticking with the fabtech coils? Going 2.0 upgrade as well?

 

yea im going to keep the fabtech coils and yes on the 2.0 upgrade. got some 8" fox's with CD clickers to go in once the kit comes in!

 

cut the sides of my bed cause theres no bumper back there. put some little led bolts on the plate to keep her legal.

Hopefully i can get some 16" shocks and sticks of tube so i can make a little bolt in bedcage.

 

Bought some used 16" 2.5 Kings (Sik!!! I know...) off of DR so i will get a rebuild kit and look into what shim stack i should run with. then im going to get some 24 ft sticks of 1.75x.120 ERW tube to make a bolt on bed cage that will later on have a bumper and dual stand up spares.

And my BTF midtravel kit will hopefully be here before February so then that will go on.

 

---- they're heavy 19lbs each

 

Going to spend some quality time this weekend with a tape measure, calculator, welder, and tubing notcher.....and beers

Hopefully I can start something like this.....down the road and adding the dual stand up spares.
Daily Driver edge build

Also bought some shims for the kings and a seal kit. Going to get seriously dirty this weekend!

 

got any designs drawn out for the bedcage?

 

not yet.

Going to build the lower part first where it bolts to the bed. then from that i will very shittily determine the angle and distance from that where the shock mount will be. i dont plan on getting high travel numbers as this is a DD in Texas. hopefully i can revalve the shocks and stick them on before february

 

couple words for ya.

weld that cage to the frame, dont bolt it to the bed of the truck.

Make sure the shocks are on the proper angle, or they are useless.

Figure out where the bump on the truck will be so that the axle hits bump before the shocks end up at the top of their travel.

Use double sheer mounts for those shocks. Single sheer or single side mounts will rip over time. have the shock end slide between two plates with a bolt through.

and good luck! im still too attached to my truck to do a bedcage, i want to run cantilever's

 

It's going to be bolt on for now, untill I get a new daily driver. If I weld the cage to the cab that will make me think I can jump it...then the next weakest thing will break.

Its always about the angle of the dangle. The first thing im going to check is the axles highest point on travel and leave some shaft showing then strap her before the driveshaft hits the cross member.

Double shear mounts for sure...little tabs from ruffstuff. Little more expenseive (like $3) and I don't have to set it up to make sure the holes are concentric.

I was leaning towards cantilever but then I was reading about the shaft speed of the shocks with the motion ratio and gave it up. Too much work to get them valved right on my own. Plus I don't want to think about fluid dynamics that much.

 

Lol. im a fan of if your doing it do it right the first time, but i get what your saying.

 

Oh it would be totally different if this werent my DD.

It's cheaper in the long run if you do it right the first time, I agree 100% with you on that.

 

New setup looks good. Can't wait to see the cage.