3/4 ton back half build

[jonzcustomshop]

Originally Posted by chopped65

Forgot, thank you Porterbuilt. What an excellent product Nate makes, could not believe how perfect of a fit it was and the measurements were spot on. As soon as the rear end is complete I cant wait to get a dropmember and tubular control arms.

are you staying with the 8 lug 3/4 ton front?

[chopped65]

Yes, I am keeping everything 8 lug. About 5 years ago I put 2.5" drop spindles and converted it to disk brakes. I already have the wheels and tires.

[chopped65]

frame is complete, all tack welded together. Lots of measuring and leveling before I got it just right. Will finish welding everything this weekend and get the axle ready. what pinion angle is best with these trucks that lay frame

[61_FL_Apache]

Nice notch work!

[chopped65]

Finally, got the axle completed. Had to changed out the gears in order to get 29 spline pinion yoke to change out. The old yoke was a 1310 and I would have broke that the first day. Had to change out to a 1350 and needed 29 spline pinion. So now I will have 35 spline axles (well when I get the money to order from moser, but my side gears are now 35 spline from the original 16 spline), 4.10 gears, dana locker, 29 spline pinion and a 1350 pinion yoke. I'm so excited. and of course it's 9 inches narrower than it was before too.

also pictures of the brakes from blackbirdscustomtrucks. The came in in the last week but just opened the box tonight. I bolted the bracket up and it fits great. Right now I am waiting on finding wheel bearings, seals and new studs. For some reason this axle is very difficult to find parts from. I put the axle where it will go. I'm so glad that Nate with Porterbuilt is built my set up the way he did because there is no room to run more than one bracket. I will have brackets welded to the axle for the 4 link and a shock bar will attach to that bracket so that I dont have to weld on shock tabs.

[sams60gmc]

Nice build, Interesting plan to keep it 8 lug. But I like it. Don't see many

[chopped65]

Finally got some work done!

Took forever to get all the bearings and seals to complete the axle. Drove all over Las Vegas to every parts store there is and the only place I could find them at was an industrial bearing supply company. for 4 bearings and 2 seals it was $180.00 so I said F*** that, searched online and found them on www.rockauto.com and got them for just under $100.00. Rock auto is very good, I did not know what in the hell my axle came out of but when I put the Timken bearing number into their system, it told me exactly what truck it came out of so that I could find everything I needed. I put the axle together and put the brakes on. Also prior to doing that was trying to find wheel studs. The wheel studs that were on the axle were 1/2" and I wanted everything to be 9/16". I went to a brake supply company and went through all of their Dorman wheel studs measuring everything and finally came to find a part number. problem then again was that nobody had them in stock and had to order them. it took almost 2 weeks just to get all the small parts in to get the damn axle put together. the brakes bolted up great from blackbirdscustomtrucks.com

then I bolted up the rear tires, stood back, and finally got to say WOW! I've had these wheels and tires sitting on a shelf for the last 4 years and finally they're on.

[chopped65]

Got the 4 link welded up. Still waiting on the bag brackets from Porterbuilt to finalize the suspension. Not sure if I should build the panhard bar before I finish the airbags or after. I'm thinking after, that way I know how much room I have because as you can see in the pictures I dont have much.

I never thought how time consuming it would be to complete this project. It's not that I did not know what I was getting into, just thought it would be easier. It is very time consuming in order to get everything measured just right so everything is perfectly square and even. Again the 4 link was built by Porterbuilt and Nate did a great job again.

So, I am still waiting on my notch bridge with the shock bar and upper bag plates built in, my driveshaft hoop, the lower shock bar, lower bag mounts and bump stops from Porterbuilt. Can't wait to see more great work from Nate, then I'll move on to the front end once I'm done in the back.

[fryer1979]

Very interesting build so far. It'll be fun to watch it all come together. Love those fat rear meats!

[chopped65]

This entire build is around those tires. I saw them on a yellow mid 50's Chevy truck about 6-7 years ago at a goodguys show. Fell in love with the tires and am now building the truck around them

[fryer1979]

What size are the tires? Can't seem to fin in here where you have said.

[chopped65]

Originally Posted by fryer1979

What size are the tires? Can't seem to fin in here where you have said.

the rears are 31x18.0R20
the fronts are 26x10.0R18

I'm not sure if I like the size of the front yet. They look kind of small right now but the truck is still high in the front due to the large 3/4 ton springs. When the front end gets redone I'll see if I'm happy with the front size. Mickey Thompson makes them in 28x10R18 so I can always go up if I feel like it later.

[chopped65]

Oh and I had to redo the axle mount for the 4 link. The mount was supposed to be at 90 degrees so that both the upper and lower bars are the same length. I was glad I only had it tacked so it didn't take much to fix. Thanks Nate for letting me know. A soon as the rest of my parts get in, I'll finally be done

[fryer1979]

Those rear tires are straight sic man.

[66-PMD-GMC]

Where did you get the wheels?
Everyone I talk to says no wide wheels (15" width) for 8 lug..

[chopped65]

Originally Posted by 66-PMD-GMC

Where did you get the wheels?
Everyone I talk to says no wide wheels (15" width) for 8 lug..

Thats because they don't exist. The wheels are Helo Maxx 8 wheels that I took to Eric Vaughn Machine in Azusa, CA who widened them from 10" to 15". He can widen any aluminum wheel up to 5". He does a great job. I'm about $3500 into wheels and tires after the machining. I bought the wheels on Ebay and the tires off of one of the online tire sites.

[66-PMD-GMC]

Too bad....
I'm not about to spend that much on wheels. I think I will figure something else out.
My 63 will be getting the Mickey 21.5 wide version, I am just glad I didn't order anything.
I will find wheels first I guess and go from there.

[chopped65]

Originally Posted by 66-PMD-GMC

Too bad....
I'm not about to spend that much on wheels. I think I will figure something else out.
My 63 will be getting the Mickey 21.5 wide version, I am just glad I didn't order anything.
I will find wheels first I guess and go from there.

Ya, I had my tires picked out then it took a while to find wheels and a guy to do it. There are only a few people in the country that widen wheels. You will need a really huge wheel to fit the 21.5. Good luck.

[Mike Bradbury]

Rebuilding axles sounds easier than it actually is, I had the same trouble with my swap but I was taking out an 8 lug and putting in a Lincoln 9".

Look fun so far, four years is a long time to gather parts and not have any fun driving it.

One observation coming from a welder, it is common for the welding process to distort the axle tubes and straightening is advised after welding to get everything in line again. I know it is a lot of work to take the axle apart again but it might be worth it in the long run. I used the word advised rather than imperative because it might all fit up but it also might wear out quicker.
Mike

[chopped65]

I was gathering parts but still driving it. I didnt start taking the truck apart until October.

I will be taking the axle back apart for powder coating so I will most likely get it checked out prior to assembly. Thanks

[creep]

The truck is looking good. Just checking though, how are you going to brace up the frame where the back half meets the stock frame? Not much room for gussets with the 4 link mounts there and the vertical load will need to be addressed as well.

Very cool build so far.

[chopped65]

Ya I thought about gusseting the rear fuel box as well which I have plenty of room to do there the same way I did it for the cross member.
I thought about bracing the back half either building a bottom or top gusset or I can always gusset it on the outside of the frame. Still trying to figure that one out

[LostMy65]

Any updates?

[chopped65]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

Any updates?

Honestly, I finished it up and continued taking pictures, but I had near zero responses and comments/feedback so I gave up on posting. If you'd like, give me some time and I'll get it up here. I was laid off in march so ran out of money to completely finish then moved cross country to Alabama so haven't touched it much since I got it rolling and the bed done with a raised bed floor.
I'll be back

[66-PMD-GMC]

Originally Posted by chopped65

Honestly, I finished it up and continued taking pictures, but I had near zero responses and comments/feedback so I gave up on posting. If you'd like, give me some time and I'll get it up here. I was laid off in march so ran out of money to completely finish then moved cross country to Alabama so haven't touched it much since I got it rolling and the bed done with a raised bed floor.
I'll be back

Dang Dude!
I have been popping in looking for photos and thought you were just on hold to heal from paying for those wheels.
No seriously.... Post the pics dude...
Alabama?? Isn't that where you have to be reaaaaaal careful river rafting???
JUST kidding..
Post the pics