The_Magicians_Eye

If you're building it to wheel. And when I say wheel I mean lots of extreme inclines and declines then you should stay away from anything that runs with a carb. Unless you plan on running a propane kit. If you're building it for mild wheeling. More mud than rocks then a carb will be fine and in that case I can fully understand the urge to want an engine that is cheap, reliable, and has an aftermarket parts list that seem endless.

cool deal. Thanks man. Hopefully I'll be getting new MIG welder and a combo plasma cutter TIG welder soon. When I do I'll be cutting the rear quarter to angle it up toward the bumper I built.

Awesome! Now time for an alignment. Looks like you're a little pigeon toed.

That's what I want to see. I'm worried about cutting mine that much because I don't know what's behind it.

Wish you where in NY. I'd take the whole truck. :-(

I want to see a pic of the inside of the fender please.

Just keep in mind the more you angle them the less they will dampen the bumps. The shock won't compress as much as they would if they where mounted straight up and down. It would almost be like changing the valving in the shocks to a much softer setup.

I have no idea how the R50 bumpers are mounted. If you could show me pics I could tell you how I'd do it. On my WD21 I threw out the bumper and the mounting brackets. I used the stock bumper bolt holes in the frame but I designed it so the square tubing slid into the frame rail rather than using some plate to build a stronger than stock mounting bracket. I figured the way I did it should be more than strong enough to tow with. One thing you need to keep into account before building a receiver into the bumper is that it will now be WAY higher than stock. You'll need a pretty long drop down ball mount to tow normal height trailers. My ball mount has a 10 inch drop but I've only got about a 2 inch suspension lift (no body lift). Personally I this this setup for me works out great because I plan on building an off road trailer at some point what will have a ton of ground clearance. But for those planning on towing normal height trailers you need to keep this in mind. You may need to still run stock type receiver hitch. If this is the case you won't be able to mount your bumper the way I did. The square tube won't allow you to bolt the hitch on. Basically you'll need to come up with a different way of mounting your bumper that won't get in the way of the factory style hitch mounts. Or build a receiver that will bolt to your bumper?

Never mind my last questions. I see now that it is full hydro and there is no need for a sway bar because it's not street legal anymore.

How does it handle on the road? Any plans for a front sway bar?

Awesome pics. I still want to see the build pics though. Is this Hydro Assist or full Hydro?

Just because you have yours this way doesn't mean it's correct. The shocks are designed to mount like they do stock for a reason. They are designed to pivot on the mount not bind on the mount.

If the top mounts are the same they need to be changed too.

ummm not trying to pick apart your work but I see a big problem. Your rear lower shock mounts are wrong. That mount needs to be like the factory mount. The way it is right now won't allow the mount to pivot when the suspension flexes. It's going to bind and quite possibly bend those nice shocks you got on there.

I want to see these picture but when you click on them they don't work.

most of the pics aren't working at the link ether.

damn those moldings are expensive. If I replace all of them I'll have spent more on them than I did to buy the truck lol.

thank you

Ok I need to replace all my door windows seals, scrapers (not sure what they are call), and whatever else I need to keep my windows from rattling around and letting wind whistle through the cracks. Where do I find them? Is there a website or is this strictly just something I have to hope the dealers can find?

Yellow top Optima in my ride. I bought it about a year and a half ago. I went with the yellow top for all the reasons westslope listed. I also went that rout because what killed my last battery was a complete drain of it's power due to me not having my flood lights wired properly. I wanted to make sure if something like that happened again it would still work. As most of you know Deep-cycle batteries are the only ones designed to handle that abuse. As far as Optima being crap now days... They still carry their 36 months free replacement warranty so I have no worries at all in that department. Plus mine works just fine even cold starting in -18 weather.

I replaced them with DOT LED turn signals. I was using those LED strips that the local parts store sells. If you look in the photo section you can see where I had them mounted and what I replaced them with.

I myself wasn't ready for those safety inspections. We don't have them in AZ. It's up the to cops to ticket you if you're driving something unsafe or illegal. I had to replace both head lights and a corner light. Oh and they didn't like my LED turn signals so I had to go buy DOT approved turn signals. I also had to adjust my parking brake too before I could pass.

I don't know what PA looks for but NY looks for: Windshield. Brakes (including your e-brake). All lights have to work and be DOT approved (No cracks or chips in any lenses). The visually check for the cat, o2 sensor, pvc valve, they visually check your intake boot and your vacuum lines. They check your belts and hoses. They check for any suspension, steering issues, and drive line issues. Check your fuel and brake lines for any old brittle hoses. They check to make sure your wipers are good and work. They check your horn and seat belts. They check your tires and lug nuts. Any issues with any of these things and you fail. Sure you might find every shop is different on what they my be picky about. None the less if they pass you and they shouldn't they will loose their license to do safety inspections and have to pay a 10 or 20 thousand dollar fine. Again this is NY in a non smog testing city. PA will have different laws but given that they still have rust issues in that state I'd assume they check the suspension and steering really well.

A cat won't start any fires if you're ride is running properly. The only way it will start a fire is if that thing is glowing red hot from running rich. If it's doing that it's going to be junk in no time anyway. I'm on my 2nd year with mine and have had no issues at all. I've had these on an old Malibu I owned that was running rich and sure enough they lasted about 2 days before the insides started to come apart. However once I got it running properly even with the cats damaged inside I still passed smog and they never glowed like that again. I'd be willing to bet 99% of people that claim they cause fires have never seen this happen. I'd love to see one that isn't glowing red hot cause a fire anymore than your cross over pipe would. Oh and by the way if you plan on moving to PA you better make sure they don't have Safety inspection like they do here in NY. If they do you'll won't be driving your truck in it's current condition without spending a pretty penny to pass inspection.