project drivabeater

[HectorM52]

Got a link to that Speedway rear disc kit? I'm curious!

[dusterbd13]

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/BOLT-O...FORD,5336.html

and theres also a post of mine in the disc brake section on this board. uses 80's eldorado calipers and rotors

[lower90xcab]

awesome project...

[HectorM52]

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/BOLT-ON-REAR-DISC-BRAKE-KIT-9-FORD,5336.html

and theres also a post of mine in the disc brake section on this board. uses 80's eldorado calipers and rotors

Wait, you said "cheaper" - than what?

Blazer rears = $200
Speedway = More than that by a lot.

Plus, now that you're driving a 5-speed you're going to want a parking brake. Which that doesn't seem to have. While it does take some ingenuity, the Blazer discs CAN have an e-brake. And I think you'd be able to get it working.

[dusterbd13]

speedway said that they'd sell me just the brackets for about 20 bucks. then, i'll go to pull-a-part, get some eldo rear calipers with integral parking brakes for 10 ea, and rebuild kits for 5 ea. new rotors (if i can find them at p-a-p are 35ea before my commercial discount.
so worst case that brings my total for new stuff up to 150, pads, rotors, fresh calipers, and all.

thats why i say cheaper, cause im fairly certain that i can find turnable rotors while im down there.

Michael

[HectorM52]

Ahhh, I see. That's definitely cheaper. You will definitely have to post up some pics if you go that route.

[dusterbd13]

first off, let me say that i lied. it was not food poisoning according to my doctor. it was some nasty stomach flu thing thats been going around.

budget: was 1296.29
removed rear pinion shims, as the new tranny (actually being bolted to the motor now!!) made the pinion angle right. so 1241.29.
the ball joints were 17 ea for the uppers, and 22 ea for the lowers.
25 worth of longer wheel studs, 10 in spacers, and another 8.62 in wiring supplies from radio shack for the gauge clusters.
grand total: 1362.91 not bad, but still more than i wouldve cared to put into getting to this point in the build. have to do what you have to do, though.

so, i got the UCA's swapped around. turned out that i had them on the wrong sides, as well as upside down. so i didnt actually need to grind or clearance anything, nor did i need the wheel spacers to fit my IROC wheels. did need them to clear my z28 wheels, though.
still have to realign it, but im MUCH closer to where i wanted to be with no shims now. amazing difference in initial negative camber and positive caster. should require less shims with the tall lower ball joint, or with more drop in the front. shimless specs are:

PS +1.6 degrees camber
DS +3.4 degrees camber

PS +2.6 caster
DS +.1.8 caster

i blame crappy GM tolerances forr these numbers big so far of side to side, as the arms are built exactly the same. or my trucks been hit sometime in the past. dunno. but it should align out nicely, with plenty of exhaust clearance. so ill finish aligning it, and make sure im happy, and then call UB machine and they'll start making and selling them.

i rebuilt the rear suspension while i was at it. the poly bushings with the 1.5 diameter from energy suspension fit the belltech leaves perfectly. they sucked to do, but worked out great. i also added some parts store coil overs i used to run on my duster while i was under there. really stiffened the truck up, and i raised the back about an inch in the process. finally levelled the truck out. its almost too stiff, but well see how it handles the next time i drive it.




next, since i really havent felt like aligning it yet, i worked on finally getting some working gauges in it. they all work (kinda) as well as the warning lights. i need to fix the ground at the sending unit for the fuel gauge to work, and put in the water temp sender for it to work. Ill do the temp sender when i do the radiator and port the intake.




finally, i put some new shoes on the old girl. a friend of mine gave me the Yokohama tires that were on his nissan when he upgraded. really pretty new (best tires ive ever had on this truck. they actually have some tread!!) 205/65/15. mounted them on the Z28 wheels that i was painting black. really gives the truck an evil look. and the mounting and balancing was free, as i have a friend that works at the tire shop. he did it one night after work.




and i also have to give credit where credit is due. i learned how to do my own alignments from david farmer, a friend of mine. i use this tool

bought from sears for 25.00 (tools i dont include in the budget)

thanks for looking, and ill update as i make more progress. the next event is a novice school at knights stadium march 14th, and i WILL be there. maybe even see some of y'all out there.

Michael

[Swiftandswank]

where did you get the spherical end links?

[dusterbd13]

the end links are actually ADDCO pieces that i pulled off a T1 corvette. they have a lot of play, ut they were free.

Michael

[dusterbd13]

finished aligning it today. the damn thing just sticks. i pushed it harder, and felt more comfortable in it doing so, on a twisty backroad between my house and the church. just incredible. even on those crappy 15's im running right now. i will say yokohmas suck. if they werent free, id feel like i paid too much.

michael

[Swiftandswank]

could you ask your friend to do a write up on alignments?

[dusterbd13]

www.davidfarmerstufff.com

thats his website woth a writeup if it still works.

Michael

[dusterbd13]

time for another update.



i realized my pictures in the previous post sucked. so i took better ones.









I got the radio reinstalled. had to trim the glovebox a bit in the back, and reroute the defroster hose, but it went in. currently held in with some self adhesive velcro that my wife had in her craft closet.







i changed alignment settings. 8 degrees positive caster, 1.5 negative camber, 0 toe. drives a bit better now.



also, i spent another 56 bucks. 50 on the seats, 6 on some steel down at AL lowders. with the economy in the tank, price of steel douns there had dropped a lot. at least theres one positive to the economy....









yes, i know thyer barney purple. no, theyre not staying that way.

yes, i know APC seats are ricer seats, and suck. No, i dont care. once i get a little more time, im building a set of lowered, fixed mounts for them out of the Lowders steel, and just swapping them in when im oing to the track or mountains. rocking the Blazer buckets for DD duty.



grand total is 1418.91 as i drove it to the lawnmower shop today.



also, got a noxice school thsi weekend. maybe i wont get rained out this time, and can get some pics of the cop truck on track.



Michael

[796spdbu]

I got a pair of those APC seatsin my 72'chevelle,I dont think they were that bad for the price.I'm 5'10" 175lbs. and they support me fine.Im sure the more expensive seats do a better job of supporting a person,but for the price I couldnt beat them.I just needed some seats when I bought my chevelle out of a barn. I love your truck. I had 91' sonoma with a 4.3 and it handle well with 17's and bell tech springs front and rear. Good luck with your build!

[dusterbd13]

so i have a little update:
budget first:
1 inch drop coils: were 30 bucks. no longer on truck, so were down 30.
2 inch drop blocks: cost 30 bucks. so total remains the same.
went out to the Tarheel Sports Car Club autocross at Maxton airport the beginning of the month. about halfway through the day, i was turning the same times as novices in WRX's, so we were doing great. caught a lot of **** about how high the truck was from the safety steward, though.
on about my 15th run, hotlapping the piss out of it, i noticed coming off the first roundabout that i had no oil pressure whatsoever. 0, zilch, none, not even a damn flicker of the needle moving. i figured that at that point the damage had already been done, and i might as well get my last Banzi run in. had my fastest time of the day, and FTD for the novice school that run. brought it in, still running, and notmaking anynoise. figured it was probably a bad gauge or something, but decifded not to risk it. had to be drug home by my father on a flatbed trailer. turned out that i had a piece of the teflon tape i used to seal the threads on the sending unit plugging the hole in it. DAMMIT!!!!
so no money fix there. while i was underhood, i took care of the boring on the intake for the 4.3 TBI (traded a wiring harness for a dart to my machinist for the gaskets, machining, and throttle body), fixed the leaking distributor O-ring, deleted the EGR, Cruise, and extra wiring, and generally cleaned up. dunno how much weight i got rid of, but its at least 15 lbs worth of crap.
i also decided that i had coaught hell for ride height for the last time. so we went straight into the dirt for ride height. took my stock 2.8 coils, cut one full turn outta them, and threw some 2 inch blocks in the back. according to my measurements form my bbuddies 91, its about a 3/5 drop now, and handles much better than before. the UB machine UCA's accomadated this much spring drop with room to spare.
i know the geometry is suffering right now, but after i find some stupid cheap 2 inch spindles, ill go back to 1 inch springs, tall LBJ's, LS1 brakes, etc and have better geometry again.
i also had to cut the bumpstop brackets fromt and rear to have it dribvable. rides really good, and looks killer.




i have also now started on phase two, now that the chassis, ride, reliability, and safety are where i want tham. thats the part of the program where i make it look halfway decent. friend of mine donated the leftover Bondo, spreaders, spot putty, sandpaper, and primer from where he just got done doing his truck, and another friend of mine who paints cars for a living will be spraying it and goving me the paint. hes taking all the different leftover black cans of basecoat that he has, mixing them all up, and shooting it. it will be black, just not entirely sure what shade. ill have to buy the clear and a case of beer for him.
so this is my first real attempt at bodywork, and i think is coming along pretty good.




Michael

[Code Red]

not bad man I wouldnt mind a first gen s-series for a beater

[796spdbu]

Good work. Im digging it!

[dusterbd13]

thanks for the compliments, guys. i was about to quit posting progress updates over here, as most seem to ignore the trucks.

michael

[f1shman]

i had no oil pressure whatsoever. 0, zilch, none, not even a damn flicker of the needle moving.

It's always the little things isn't it? Glad it was a free fix though. Are there any more events coming up that you can try your updated suspension modifications out at?

[dusterbd13]

yeah. im hoping to get out the middle of the month to an SCCA event before blowing it apart for paint.
thats if work and the wife let me.

its getting to be track season, so my shop is picking back up, and the economy being in the tank always keeps us busy at mental health.
Michael