60 onto an 80

[Firephil]

I know this has been done before, but i'm wondering how hard is it to do? I'm trying to find an answer to the ride quality of my 60. I love the looks but had the old wood truck ride. Mine is a soa on 35s. Yes my suspension is pretty crappy at the moment and i'm changing it. Just wondering how tough it would be to swap.

Thoughts?

 

[T-bones 60]

It has been done. Hard depends on your mechanical skills. I don't think it is 'easy', but I don't have the skills of some of my fellow Mudders. I know the 80 frame must be shortened and narrowed.

 

[Firephil]

I have pretty strong mechanical skills.

I guess i'm weighing the options of this vs redoing the complete suspension on my 60. Not sure which would be more cost effective and time consuming.

 

[T-bones 60]

IMO it would be easier to install the coils and axles from an 80 on your 60's frame vs. modding an 80 frame.

 

[SNLC]

Not that hard IMHO.

You have to shorten the frame about 5", if you want WB to match the 60 body. An 80 has about a 112" WB and a 60 has about a 107" WB. Or trim fenders a lot and have it look a bit "funky" without stretching WB. W/O stretching you do gain some approach & departure angles. Body mounts will be custom all around. 60 to 80 is not the same at all for body mounts.

Radius arm front end is not going to flex like your SOA does now. You have to do a lot of work to get the radius arm flexing and it still won't go like a SOA with long soft springs. However, the rear will flex nicely and overall it will handle way better on pavement or even the washboard.

A hobby mechanic can do this. But you need space, time, tools and a few brain cells. If you can cut, weld, use a tape measure, level finder and a few other tools you can do this in your garage. There are several builds on the forum of both matching WB to the 60 body and not showing what needs to happen in detail. There are even a few threads around of guys who just put 80-series axles and suspension under the 60 series. I don't like that style myself due to the front end and the width of the frame rails 60 vs 80. To hard to cram it all in there using a 60 frame in the front.

my 2 cents

 

[Firephil]

Not that hard IMHO.

You have to shorten the frame about 5", if you want WB to match the 60 body. An 80 has about a 112" WB and a 60 has about a 107" WB. Or trim fenders a lot and have it look a bit "funky" without stretching WB. W/O stretching you do gain some approach & departure angles. Body mounts will be custom all around. 60 to 80 is not the same at all for body mounts.

Radius arm front end is not going to flex like your SOA does now. You have to do a lot of work to get the radius arm flexing and it still won't go like a SOA with long soft springs. However, the rear will flex nicely and overall it will handle way better on pavement or even the washboard.

A hobby mechanic can do this. But you need space, time, tools and a few brain cells. If you can cut, weld, use a tape measure, level finder and a few other tools you can do this in your garage. There are several builds on the forum of both matching WB to the 60 body and not showing what needs to happen in detail. There are even a few threads around of guys who just put 80-series axles and suspension under the 60 series. I don't like that style myself due to the front end and the width of the frame rails 60 vs 80. To hard to cram it all in there using a 60 frame in the front.

my 2 cents

I have all of that but the few brain cells, I will see if I have some of those in my junk drawer.

what other options are there to make this truck ride smoother and still flex well? I'm not afraid to tackle big ideas or big projects. My pockets aren't endless though.

Has anyone ever tried putting a frame from another breed of truck before? Say a later model Chevy or ford? Just curious as to my options

 

[cult45]

I am a total armchair fabber til I get setup in a few years, though I did a frame off about a decade ago so I'm not a total noob. There's some builds on here that would help with your headspace:

Project X [hardcore section] is a 45 on a 80 frame, Project X2 [hardcore section] is a 62 on a 80 frame - both with 2UZ's.
'Troopy with 12H-T and coil springs' [45 section] is using Landrover Defender radius arms and 60 diffs.
'Travelling cruisers' [expedition builds] is a a HDJ-80 with a 45 cab and custom pantech. Not a build thread but plenty of questions were raised and he answered them.

Check em out, might help. I'm keen to see your build mate, good luck! I'll be watching from afar..

 

[Firephil]

Thanks! I don't make it into the other forums as often as I should

 

[wspastorbryan]

What about coilovers? You're in for a lot of work no matter what you do.

 

[Firephil]

Expensive stuff those coil overs

 

[Fast Eddy]

For a good reason. They solve a bunch of time-consuming problems with a credit card and a tracking number.

 

[Firephil]

For a good reason. They solve a bunch of time-consuming problems with a credit card and a tracking number.

Haha you offering your credit card? Lol

 

[Fast Eddy]

Haha you offering your credit card? Lol

a credit card, not my credit card. You can have it if I can change the billing address to your house.

 

[Firephil]

So the frame has to be cut 5" right? Is this best cut right out of the middle? Isn't the front of the 80 narrower than the 60?

Let's talk real dollars and cents here. A 4- linked rear with coil overs and some combo up front with coil overs vs the cost of an 80 frame swap with lift kit and upgraded suspension. How much of a difference in time and money are the two? If they are close then the links and coil overs would be better.

Thoughts?

 

[ginericLC]

I just added 6" to my rear wheel wells and left the frame alone. It works great.

 

[GW Nugget]

With all that work in mind... have you thought of a coil over set up? The 80 coils are plush, but the arms have alot of limitations.
As far as leafsprings... I put chevy teflon tips on my 40 and it made it very soft & plush. Are you shackle reverse?

 

[handcannon]

As far as leafsprings... I put chevy teflon tips on my 40 and it made it very soft & plush. Are you shackle reverse?

I would be very interested in learning more about the teflon tips. Part numbers, where you got the parts, and how you did this. Maybe in a new thread so it could easily be found in the future through search.

Don

 

[GW Nugget]

I would be very interested in learning more about the teflon tips. Part numbers, where you got the parts, and how you did this. Maybe in a new thread so it could easily be found in the future through search.

Don

OK, so this was 20 years ago before digital... I have one picture.
The teflon spring tips I want to say is from late 80s rear chevy springs... I just went to the dealer & got them. Drilling the holes was alot of #!@#! fun. Tempered steel. OK late 80s Chevy people chime in here to confirm.
Hope this helps...
I used old tired 40 springs that were flat loaded but had a big arch unloaded... it flexed awesome. I also ran the RS9000 5 way adjustable shocks.

Are you shackle reverse? That makes pots holes more plush when reversed.
What is you current set up. We don't have pics of yours.

 

[GW Nugget]

I just found these on Google search.

 

[handcannon]

Thank you for the reply and pics.

I know the spring steel is supposed to be very hard to drill through. Do you have any tips for doing the drilling? How many bits do you remember burning up?

Don