hey, I need some help. I've searched and seached and can't really find a thread that fits my situation. I have a 81 pickup that has est. 4" springs and 3" body lift (im pretty sure its toyota rears in the front, and chevy 63"s in the rear, but theyre both rusted and SUPER stiff) on some no name dry rotted 37s. single transfercase, oem everything else.

Im looking to do,,,

-remove body lift,
-aussie lockers front and rear,
-5.29 gears (dunno what kind)
-5" springs (dunno what kind)
-35s or 37s probably km2s
-Shocks (dunno what kind)
-drop brackets? or don't do that?
-dual trans case? or leave my single alone? and why?
-New Trac Bar?

I basicly want a good Trail Rig/crawler that is drivable but wont be used as a dd. I want my setup to have good flex without bouncing down the road. So im kinda looking for things to watch out for, brands not to buy and TO buy, Im not looking to loose an arm and leg but don't plan on going super cheap on these things either. I understand you get what you pay for. Sorry if these are NOOBE questions or just stupid ones, just wanted to get a little feedback. I am in Fort Worth TX so if anyone is local id love to talk more. THANKS GUYS AND GALS!

 

Nobody's got any input?

 

I am running basically the set up you have outlined.
-I would go with 4" springs instead of 5", my COG is too high...in off camber situations it gets hairy. I am running T-G...I like them...they don't have a great reputation on some forums, personally I have no issue with them.
-aussies f/r-I love'em for the money....however I would love to have a selectable up front
-5.29's love'em-put some pep back into my old truck
-track bar-hardly anybody uses them
-shocks--get the standard bilstiens that T-G and everyone sells...work fine for me
-definitely get rid of the body lift.
-tire choice--dead on

-dual cases=$1000 investment, my crawl ratio is 221:1 in double low...depends on what wheeling you do...do I use my 4.7's much--no, dual 2.28's is good.

 

What information makes your think you have RUFs and chevies? Because I don't see the front axle as being any farther forward than stock, and I don't see a spring hanger, where it would have to be to have chev 63s installed in the rear. what I DO see is some shackle angles that are WAY too vertical, which would indicate to me that you have cheap lift/re arched stock length springs on that truck. Definitely take the body lift out. But for now, just wheel it and replace what doesn't work with stuff that you think will.


I've seen WAY too many guys try and wait until their truck is fully built to wheel it and then end up pissed off because something doesn't work the way they expected it to, or they never get to wheel it because they get frustrated by the build time and get bored and sell the thing. It's what I tried to do with my first truck but it got stolen instead of sold. The truck I have now I wheeled it how it was right after I got it, and havee just pieced things together as I saw fit.

FWIW, it started off as a longbed 81 with welded 5.29s in the rear, 5.71s in the front, some goofy home brew springs in the rear, a jacked up motor, 3" paint shake front lift springs, and a marlin crawler tube bumper.

Now, I've cut the hoop off the bumper(head lights glared off it), installed some H4 conversion lights (Night blindness= can't see for beans with yellow sealed beams), knocked 12" off the bed and comp cut it (got tired of dragging ass), installed 63" chevies (got rid of my axle wrap and gained me another 10-12" flex), pounded the pinch weld in the front wells flat to keep my tires safe, dropped in a motor out of an 85 with a weber, cam and header, and the next thing I've got lined up for it is a rebuilt, trussed front axle with crossover, a new PS pump, RUF and a scratch built front hanger to get the wheel base a little longer, have better, stronger steering and some ridiculous flex.

 

Okay, I really appreciate the great info. And sorry I miss spoke on what I thought my truck had, I told u to be nice to the noobe. But thanks.

 

It's easy to misspeak when you don't know what information you need to determine what you've got.