I'm close to wrapping up the major stuff, but there's still a few things to do. I'll try recap in chronological order. I have a bunch of pictures, so I'll post a few to show what's going on...
List of parts I used:
Marlin high steer kit
Custom length tie rod (44") and drag link (36 1/2")
Marlin steering stabilizer
DIY backing plate eliminator
Custom brake line (axle to caliper)
Marlin brake line F & R (frame to axle)
Ruffstuff FJ60 spring hangers
Ruffstuff U-Bolts 5/8" dia (front)
4+ U-bolt plates (modified from 4+ flit kit)
4+ perches
Spectrac U-Bolts 5/8" dia (rear)
Ford F-250 Shock towers
While spring under, the add-a-leaves lifted the truck at least 1 1/2 to 2". I used 2" shackles to level our the rear. My rear springs were pretty sacked.
Shock mounts (more on this later)
Front drive shaft (possible temporary spacer)
Buy shocks (thinking Doetsh tech, any suggestions?)
Anti-wrap bar (Ruffstuff brackets in the garage - thinking JT Custom's design)
I started on the front. Plan is to create a minimal lift shackle reversal.
It takes a while to cut off all the spring hangers and shock mounts. And, to clean off the axle of everything except steering stops. Basically, I used a 4 1/2" makita with a grinding wheel, cut off wheel, and a flapper wheel to finish. When cutting brackets off the frame, grind down the heads of the rivets, then 3/8" drill till it pops. A large hammer will do the rest.
I used only the main spring for mock up. I strapped it to a 2x4 so it would be as flat as possible. That way I knew where my shackles angles would be at full compression. I wanted to be as close to the frame as possible w/o touching.
The shackle tube was cut out of the stock shackle hanger...
Ruffstuff hangers are great. I needed to open up the spacing a bit, as they were tight on the bushings. I used a stock bushing bolt out of an old pair of shackles.
Had to clearance the perch for the diff housing
I pulled the fuel lines out of the way to get the shackle tubes in
looks awsome. I have an OME 2.5" and was thinking of doing a SOA. Are you thinking of or have aready lenthend you drive shafts? if so how long are they.
looks awsome. I have an OME 2.5" and was thinking of doing a SOA. Are you thinking of or have aready lenthend you drive shafts? if so how long are they.
Rear shaft works fine as is. But the front is way too short. It will need to be lengthened about 2-3" and a long spline kit added. The trans crossmember will also need to be notched.
I'm still trying to figure out what to do about the front d-shaft. I have all the parts to do a 350tbi/700r4/203 doubler/splitcase set up. So, both driveshafts will change. I don't really want to build the front one twice. A cool dude in our local club offered to turn up a spacer, I may try this as a temporary fix.
Nice clean work Kavik! My hats off to you for doing it this heat.
Some questions
Estimated cost of SOA?
Pinion angle set up - DC shafts?
How far did you push the front axle forward?
Did you push the rear axle back?
Do you plan to run sway bars?
