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Sterlingfire

Sterlingfire

ignant
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
687
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2,525
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the soon to be USSA
So i guess I'll start my build thread finally....
There was a bunch of progress at the start, then it stalled. I should be able to get it back going now. Just bought a pair of 2.5x14 remote res kings for the front, and a pair of 2.5x16 remote res kings for the rear. Should swing the axles pretty well. Next month i will buy 4 king hydraulic bumps. The month after I'm going to try to get tires. Looking at for D's. Really wanted sticky treps, but they are stupid money right now. Might go with mickey T Baja xs instead... I'll give you a teaser for now.
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I have about 80 pictures of the build so far on my laptop, so in the next few days or so I'll get all of that posted and get it caught up to date.
 
Awesome that this is here. I have plans to put a 60 and 40's under the wife's 99 2wd beater. Im looking forward to learning from you on this build!
 
Thanks guys. I appreciate it!
It didn't die, just been moving at a snail's pace. I've made some decent progress, just needed some big purchases to move forward. Need a few more things, like at least one tire to build off still.
 
Love it man. Happy do see you made it to the dark side. Truck is going to be sweet!
 
The concept truck...an old pic and some microsoft paint makes for a great idea of what I was looking for in this build.

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Sat in my yard like this for a few years. It was broken, I bought a new work truck, and I never fixed it because I didn't need it. The best part was the fact that I didn't need the broken bits to build what I'm building out of it.

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The rest of the pics are from the first night in the shop...was a cold december day!


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The first night we pretty much stripped the truck down. Took the box off, removed all the IFS junk, and pulled the trans. Won't be needing that since it is a 2wd 6L90E that is useless to me...i would sell it pretty cheap to anyone wanting to take it off mu hands.
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Used my buddy's plasma to cut the rest of the ifs junk off, then spent the next few nights grinding it all clean.
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You'll also notice that here I still have a couple IFS cross members and the steering box...All of that will go away in due time

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Purchased some WFO frame plates. Fitment and finish is nice. Here I am doing test fitting to be sure they actually fit the bends of the frame right.

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Pulled the mech fan out for an e fan setup from another silvy. Gains me some room if I need to pull the engine forward for axle palcement...doesn't look like that needs to happen though. At the very least it gives me room for a forward facing hong kong howler setup!
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Mocked up a 37 to see where the axle might land...hard to tell without an actual 40 to put in there,

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Of course had to mock the axle in there just to see what kind of fitment issues I might see. Low and behold, there were none! Lol, if only.....

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Started to cut the radius arm brackets and unnecessary weight off the 06 super duty front I purchased. I used a porta band, sawzall, and grider with a large cut off wheel to get all the bracketry off. I still need gears and a locker. Thinking of an ARB, and 5.13, maybe even 5.38. I already have new unit bearings ready to be finish drilled for 8x6.5 lug pattern, they're piloted, just need to drill for studs(also using the stock sd studs, they are 14 mm like GM). Likely going to go with stock super duty brakes.
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She looks good all stripped down!

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Got the tubes welded and truss from Barnes 4x4. Used nickel wire for my tubes. The lower link brackets are from Artec, specifically for these axles with very little driver side tube.
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A few misc. pieces and brackets.

The 5th of my DIY beadlocks. Eventually I'll go with Stazworks 17x9.5 doubles, but for now my old ones will do. The rest are my link brackets for the frame.
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The beginning of my link cross member frame attachment. This took a while to build, and get right. It also holds the trans mount, so it is working double duty.
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Used the plate I drilled to pilot the holes in the frame...didn't want any of those to be off at all.

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Welded nuts to the back of the plate attaching to the cross member. will make it far easier for removal. Used bolts to mate the plates for fitment, and to keep the nuts from warping.

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Used 3/4x.188 wall dom to make tubes to go through the outside of the frame to meet up to the back of the plate I welded onto the inside of the frame to connect the cross member to.

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I'm hoping this method will be strong enough. I've seen some of the other shit people do on their mud trucks, and I don't need a cobbled up pos crawling through the trails or flying through the dunes....
 
Here you can see the cross member. Very beefy, it is 2x4x3/16 tube, doubled to make an 8" wide platform for the links to land on and under.
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The cross member mounted. it's a smidge tight. I had to knock it in there with a hammer, but not too bad. The plates on the frame and the cross member are all 5/16. I had it on hand for a few years, and decided this to be the best way to utilize it.

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You can see the tubes I put through the frame here. I was pretty proud of myself for getting everything lined up the first try.

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Ford NP205 mated to [insert name of shitty business here] underdrive unit. JB Fab custom triple stick setup as well. 205 is completely rebuilt. Still need to get the guts for the underdrive, but I have several options since I have a couple NP241 sitting here not being used.
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This is where I cut the frame...8' box is too long, so isn't a 6' box, or even a 5.5' box...so I went with 4'-9" box length. That still might go shorter as well. The frame back there is too wide for my shocks, and too tall for the bump travel I'm aiming for, so it will get reworked into something more suitable.
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Do you intend to box the rest of the frame? Might be worth putting some more plate forward and aft of the crossmember. The factory ended their box with a notch in the plate to transition from a 'rigid' section to a more flexible section just forward of your cross member. I'd want to tie those together and make a similar shape aft of your x-member or box in the whole way.
 
These pictures show the congestion under the front that would interfere with links and other suspension components. The removal process really made a huge difference! Unfortunately, I don't have a before pic from the driver side. Also removed the AC pump...really on the fence whether or not I should buy the vintage air brackets and reinstall, or go without AC.
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At this point, I have the 4 link mocked up, but can't do much more until I can get my hands on 40" tire to build off. I have a line on one for free, but it's over 3 hours from my place, and not really expecting to get that way very soon...
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I plan on plating the frame. The whole point of building this truck and not fixing the other one is to have a solid platform to work off. The old truck is a 00 Silverado 1500, 3 linked with coilovers. It's built almost the same way in the front, minus the cross member. Frame plates are in the same spot, and have not failed. The frame is cracking in the rear from all the extra suspension though. The front seems pretty strong, even when loaded to roof with green oak firewood. Either way, I'm not taking any chances with this truck. If the body is shot, i want to be able to pick a body off another frame and drop it on this one... I'm hoping to never build another truck like this, just want to improve it and change sheet metal when needed.
 
pennsylvaniaboy said:
Not a fan of the NWF Eco box?
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When i ordered that thing about three or four years ago the eco box was on back order for 4-6 months. They also never returned any of the four or five emails i sent to get actual information from them, so i figured they were making enough money that they didn't care to have mine...i got everything for what i have, and they're usually pretty problem free once up and running, so obviously not changing directions now. Honestly if i were to do it again i would just go with a black box and be done.
 
That guy almost got me too. I still have half a case sitting in my garage that USPS returned to me after I had sent it back to that idiot for whatever reason. the box looks like it sat on that guys front porch for 3 months. you can have it for spare parts if you want it. I ended up getting an eco box from NWF
 
wvracer821 said:
That guy almost got me too. I still have half a case sitting in my garage that USPS returned to me after I had sent it back to that idiot for whatever reason. the box looks like it sat on that guys front porch for 3 months. you can have it for spare parts if you want it. I ended up getting an eco box from NWF
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He didn't get me. It just took a month of me pestering him about sending my parts. It took 3 shipments, but i got it all.

I would've rather the eco box, and looking back now time wasn't a big deal. It was originally going in my other truck for a t case upgrade and winter run which didn't happen... hindsight is always 20/20

And yeah, I'll take what you have. Pm inbound.
 
I'm like 90% sure the 2wd and 4wd 6l80/90e are almost identical. And you just need to plug a hole or something stupid easy?

Guess you're past that point though.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I'm like 90% sure the 2wd and 4wd 6l80/90e are almost identical. And you just need to plug a hole or something stupid easy?

Guess you're past that point though.
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You're like 100% wrong... the 2wd version of the 6l90e has a 34 spine spline output... the 4wd version has a 29 spline output... the 6l80e in 4wd has a 32 spline output. I did a lot of research on my own before i ever cut this thing apart. Without using a divorced t case, the 2wd version is useless. I couldn't find a single t case input that was 34 spline. The 4wd version would be useful if you could get a dodge Cummins t case input for the under drive. I don't have one of those. The 6l90e is also about 4 or 5 inches longer than the 6l80e, so longer drive train, and even shorter driveline.
The 6l80e i have is fully rebuilt looking to party. I only have about 500 into it total. I really wanted to use the 6l90e from the truck, but it's out of the question since i want a doubler, and I'm not going to go through the pain to divorce that setup and make my driveline even worse in the rear, if that's even feasible.
 
Sterlingfire said:
You're like 100% wrong... the 2wd version of the 6l90e has a 34 spine spline output... the 4wd version has a 29 spline output... the 6l80e in 4wd has a 32 spline output. I did a lot of research on my own before i ever cut this thing apart. Without using a divorced t case, the 2wd version is useless. I couldn't find a single t case input that was 34 spline. The 4wd version would be useful if you could get a dodge Cummins t case input for the under drive. I don't have one of those. The 6l90e is also about 4 or 5 inches longer than the 6l80e, so longer drive train, and even shorter driveline.
The 6l80e i have is fully rebuilt looking to party. I only have about 500 into it total. I really wanted to use the 6l90e from the truck, but it's out of the question since i want a doubler, and I'm not going to go through the pain to divorce that setup and make my driveline even worse in the rear, if that's even feasible.
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You're right, I lumped they 80 and 90 together assuming theyd would be the same. The 6l80e is the one that's super easy to switch over 2wd to 4wd.

Everything online says that they're only ~1" different in length though.

I'll quit hijacking, back to pics. :flipoff2:
 
YotaAtieToo said:
You're right, I lumped they 80 and 90 together assuming theyd would be the same. The 6l80e is the one that's super easy to switch over 2wd to 4wd.

Everything online says that they're only ~1" different in length though.

I'll quit hijacking, back to pics. :flipoff2:
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Lol no worries. The tech gained from conversation is priceless, and that is the point:laughing:
arse_sidewards said:
What's the major/minor diameter and pressure angle. I'm prestty sure Ford 5R110 and later Superduty stuff uses 34.
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Well that would make sense since i didn't even look into Ford np cases. Only dodge and Chevy... for some reason i thought after they quit using the 205 Ford went all borg. I was wrong...
Grendel said:
www.ebay.com

Ford NP271, NP273 Transfer Case Input Shaft 34 Splines, 44631 700537033716 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Ford NP271, NP273 Transfer Case Input Shaft 34 Splines, 44631 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

Yep. 261/271 can be had for the back of it.
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That's great info. Could've saved me a bunch of effort finding the trans i have. Plus the 90 is a bit more robust than the 80.
 
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