1949 Chevy 3600......making it a daily driver!!

Nice clean truck!!

 

http://www.airbagit.com/4-Link-Suspension-Bars-p/link-mini-hd.htm

http://thorbros.com/4-link-kits/thorbecke-brothers/heavy-duty-universal-triangulated-4-link-kit

 

Thanks for the links Russ. I will look into it.

 

Welcome jo !

Glad you're hear and just at the right time too , these suspension upgrades are interesting , I'm learning as you alls go along .

Thank you for understanding the need for list courtesy , the fine folks here are all very knowledgeable and helpful , just ask .

 

Spent a couple hours in the garage tonight getting the rear suspension squared away.

Decided to add some tubing to the outside of the frame and use the stock S-10 mounts. I could not find any external spring mounts locally and am not willing to wait. $10 in tubing and some 45 degree cuts and we are business.

I bolted the tubing to the frame using 1/2" bolts and will also weld it completely once done. I am also going to box the end of the tubing.Overkill probably......







I have tomorrow off of work.....so I am hoping to get this stuff finished and get the rear end prepped for install.

Got the word today that my Hurst Whitewalls shipped, and my Cragars will be here on Thursday!!

 

Mike

You not only shoot good photos, but you lay down good weld beads.

The MANS GOT TALENT!!!!! Keep it up.

 

Thanks......

 

Sneak peak of today's effort......




....now back to work!!

 

The work is looking really good and seems to be progressing on a good time line.
Was wondering if you are going to box that notch or add stiffener plates on the top side of it, by chance?

 

I am going to box the inside, but have no plans on adding anything to the top.

There is 2" from the notch to the top of the frame at it's smallest point. I feel pretty confident it will work just fine.

 

Kool was just wondering, good to hear you are going to box in the inside.

BTW. great looking work thanks for sharing it with us.

Charles

 

Huge day and a half for Henry. Pretty pumped on what got done and how it all turned out.

Started out the day hauling some scrap metal in and picking up some 4" wide x 3/16" flat strap to make notches.



Working with some pretty primitive tools at home. 4-1/2" grinder and a skinny wheel used to score the flat strap and then bent to 45 degrees in the vice.



I made the notch 4" wide. Probably did not need to be that wide.......but this is my first one so I claim ignorance.

Bent.



Welded.



Next I lowered the truck into close to ride height and figured out where to place the notch. I had the center of the rear diff marked on the frame, so I centered it on that.

Frame is 4" tall, so I made sure with the notch it was never narrower than 2". I marked it and cut it with a skinny wheel.





I had thought about a pipe notch, which I am told is stronger. I strayed away from it because I did not have the ability to cut the frame in a circular pattern beside a big hole saw which did not sound fun.

Notch done.





After the notch was done the leaf springs were bolted up and the rear end was fastened into place. After I got everything buttoned up I quickly attached the temporary Blazer rims and dropped it onto the ground to check out ride height. Looks great. The temp rear wheels are about 1-1/2" shorter than what I will be running. I also need to come up with a permanent solution for the rear spring mounts. That will all come into play for final ride height.

Right now it is sitting with about the perfect amount of rake, in my opinion anyway. About 2-1/2" from front of running board to back of running board.



Problem #1. The driveshaft is about 1" too long. I will have to shorten it. I spoke with a couple local guys and sounds pretty easy.

Problem #2. The stock S-10 springs are very soft. I do not have any shocks mounted, but I can stand on the center of the frame and bounce and almost bottom the frame on the rear end. I weight about 175lbs. Not sure exactly what to do. Overload "helper" springs crossed my mind. Looks like they can be had for about $70.00, or just bite the bullet and install some helper bags which would come in handy for leveling the truck if I haul a load anyway.

Any advice??

The long awaited money shot. I had to roll it outside to get a decent shot of the stance. Still not a great photo....

 

Impossible

To overkill the suspension ~ I've seen way too many wrecks from 1/2 e$$ed suspension mods .

I'm keen to see how this works out .

 

So far so good.

Shortened drive shaft, set pinion and did some more final welding on the spring mounts tonight.

 

Wonder what kind of springs are under S-10 4 wheel drive? Some were I read that the 4 wheel drive is a better choice being wider than the pickup.
If any of this is not correct I will delete it.

 

Stiffer springs might be available with the same center to center dimension. I am not really sure.

At this point I am going to try and run what I have. With the addition of shocks and a anti sway bar, it might work great. Only one way to find out.

 

Good choice, I too had Hurst do my white walls. My old portawalls (shown below) lasted a couple of years but its time for them to go.

 

Desperate times call for desperate measures. New tires and rims sitting here......and know body can mount and balance them until Monday. Ha.......I have done close to a thousand moto tires.....how hard can it be??



Easy....about 5 min per tire.



Nice clearance at full lock.

 

The truck is coming together well. By the way how much time and sweat did it take to get the whitewalls on?