1972 Chevy 4wd Longhorn Project: Never Ending Changes

[watahyahknow]

maibe you can talk to porterbuild for that , those dropmembers fit a lot of engines

[madmopar]

sounds like a money maker! You certainly seem to have the experience. Maybe I'll find a 12v somewhere and drop that in my GMC, using one of your custom pieces.

[Dieselwrencher]

Well I purchased some new to me mirrors for the truck last week and they came in the other day. I went out and put them on so they won't get lost.





The more I look at this truck, the more I think it needs atleast 33's.

[abebummy26]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Well I purchased some new to me mirrors for the truck last week and they came in the other day. I went out and put them on so they won't get lost.

The more I look at this truck, the more I think it needs atleast 33's.

I've always dug that style of mirror seem to be the most useful mirror that there is out there. Plus they look decent.

And yeah it would appear to need just a little more tire under there

[Dieselwrencher]

My only fear is, I don't want to get this truck too high because then I won't be able to tow my goose neck trailer.

[dammitmitchell]

take a leaf off ehhehe

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by dammitmitchell

take a leaf off ehhehe

I could and I might after I reposition the engine.

[mosesburb]

Morrors look good. That is the same style that I have. Very functional, but not obnoxious/in-the-way/blind spots.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

I could and I might after I reposition the engine.

Huh?? Sup wit dat??

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by mosesburb

Morrors look good. That is the same style that I have. Very functional, but not obnoxious/in-the-way/blind spots.



Huh?? Sup wit dat??

I might leave it where it is depending on how much clearance I gain after I redo,modify, my engine cross member. If I can't get enough clearance I will have to raise the engine up a little bit. We'll have to see.

[watahyahknow]

you could use airbags instead of leafsprings in the rear for the gooseneck , it would allso help resist the rear squatting once the trailer is loaded and you can lift the rear as high as you like it when you dont pull the trailer , on the dually scene they use them a lot and pulling two car trailers mostly slam RE 4's
you dont realy need tanks and stuff just a pump and some valves when you only raise and lower them when standing still

[Dieselwrencher]

OK, today Mathew and I were loading scrap, and I decided the old hood on the Longhorn was going bye bye. So when we came back we installed my new hood. It fits pretty well. I am still going to have to fine tune it, but it is pretty good considering the rest of the truck.







It looks like I will be removing the engine from this truck now too. My brother needs to get his truck off the ground, out of the weeds, and from a million pieces to a few. So I'm giving his engine back so he has no, "But you have my engine!", excuses. I will put in a 96 12v once I redo my engine cross member. The more I look at it, the more it irritates me.

[watahyahknow]

youre brother could put the truck together untill it NEEDS the engine put in , that at least gives you one running vehicle most of the time

[Dieselwrencher]

Well, my Longhorn isn't running anyway. I have no fuel lines hooked up, no trans cooler lines, no shifter linkage, no drive shafts, and etc. This truck isn't close to drivable. It does have working brakes on the front axle only. Plus, I sold the rear axle and it will be coming out this weekend. I'm waiting on a buddy of mine to get me a Dana 80 he owes me, and I will put that in this truck. And another thing I forgot was, I purchased a single disc billet torque converter for this so I'm going to have to remove the trans anyway to install that. Then, I'm going to rebuild this trans because this is one of those, "Yeah it worked great before we pulled it from my truck!" types of deals. I can't justify installing a new TC not knowing the condition of the transmission.

[mosesburb]

Sorry to hear about your "negative" progress. That is enough to take the wind out of your sails right there. Hopefully your next motor will be forthcoming soon. Do you have a shop to work in once the "white ground cover" starts falling??

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by mosesburb

Sorry to hear about your "negative" progress. That is enough to take the wind out of your sails right there. Hopefully your next motor will be forthcoming soon. Do you have a shop to work in once the "white ground cover" starts falling??

It's negative progress, but it's ok with me. I want this truck to be super nice soon. I have a different cab that needs some finishing work, new body bushings, and a new fuel system to install in it. I will remove the cab and paint the frame while the engine is out and possibly paint the truck while it is apart. Or atleast edge it and then primer the whole thing to get it going before Christmas this year.

Yes I have a shop to work in, but it is full of fords with cummins in them at the moment. I started a thread about one of them a few days ago in the general discussion area.

[1968vetL-71]

gonna be a great truck when done. very cool. did you use the 2wd spring hangers off a gmc for the rear? some people say if you do that you have to use 4" of block or spring lift to sit to the stock height?? Interested in what you did for a buddy!! again, great job!!

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by 1968vetL-71

gonna be a great truck when done. very cool. did you use the 2wd spring hangers off a gmc for the rear? some people say if you do that you have to use 4" of block or spring lift to sit to the stock height?? Interested in what you did for a buddy!! again, great job!!

I used the rear spring hangers from a 72 K5.(Blazer) Now there is no lift block at all and the tires are 285/75R16. It sits higher than I figured it would without a block in it.

[propanemudtruck]

Why not build the mounts out of 2by or 3by tubing on the axle? Just notch and drill the pilot hole then weld em on! You could play with tube measurements to get rid of blocks completely and have a bit more lift than the stock mounts...

[watahyahknow]

it wouldnt hurt to put in a new filter and atf oil and check for debrees in the pan

[Dieselwrencher]

I'm just going to rebuild it and not take any chances.

[Dieselwrencher]

Well, this past weekend I got a dana 80 3:54 geared posi-lok rear axle for the Longhorn. Dang these things are huge! Now I have to find all the brakes for it. All I have is backing plates. Or maybe I'll just do a disc brake conversion on it. It's hard to tell. I'm leaning towards drums to retain an ebrake and keep it affordable. I'll get pics tomorrow.

[watahyahknow]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Well, this past weekend I got a dana 80 3:54 geared posi-lok rear axle for the Longhorn. Dang these things are huge! Now I have to find all the brakes for it. All I have is backing plates. Or maybe I'll just do a disc brake conversion on it. It's hard to tell. I'm leaning towards drums to retain an ebrake and keep it affordable. I'll get pics tomorrow.

heres some info on that it might be cheaper than getting the original brakeparts....http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billav...b_disc_brakes/ it certainly lighter .
from wat i heared chevy 3 quarter ton 4 wheeldrive front disks fit (that is if the dana 80 youre talking about is simulair to a 14 bolt )
the chevy brakecalipers will fit too if you dont mind missing the emergencybrake
if you want the emergencybrake there some sort of cadilac rearbrakecalipers that have them http://info.rockauto.com/Cardone/Detail.html?184138.jpg
the only thing you need next to that are slightly longer lugs (prolly the front ones from a 1 ton 4x4) and to fabricate is the plate to bolt the calipers to the flange of the backingplate or buy them http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/...d1546fccecd552

[Dieselwrencher]

Thanks for the info. The 14 bolt stuff won't fit this rear axle because the axle tubes are too big. I found some disc brake parts on ebay for a D80, so I just have to see if I can make those work. Here are some pictures of the D80, and of my billet single disc torque converter.

[Dieselwrencher]

Today I removed my old Dana 60 and was going to install the Dana 80. The only problem with that is, my U-bolt retaining plates for the D80 haven't shown up yet. So that means the poor truck will be resting on jack stands until I recieve them and get the time to place the rear end back under the truck. As for the D60, it's going on a road trip to Albert Lea on saturday.

[Dieselwrencher]

I forgot, here is the original SPID for this truck.