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83 D150 shortbed 2wd to 4wd build

5K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  james727 
#1 ·
whats up everyone. picked this truck up about 2 months ago after i did some trading. its a 83 d150 shortbed 2wd with a 318 2bbl and a 1973 904 non-lockup trans. the body was just in real poor shape so it had to be stripped of its goods and then scrapped. frame was still in good shape besides the fact the frame was bent in the front. i ended up getting the frame straight and have gotten to the point im at now and thats hunting for parts. plus im on a tight budget since income is low lol.

but anyways heres some pics

first day home





fenders, doors and interior basically stripped. didnt get no pics of the interior but trust me it was just as bad as the outside lol


cab removed


bed removed


rolled the chassis outside and removed the transmission when it was about 75* that day


removed front crossmember


bent front crossmember


another pic of the underside of the crossmember. you can actually see how wavy it is.


pass. side front frame rail bent right underneath the engine crossmember. bend pointing down in front of bolt head


drivers side front frame rail in same location. bend is pointing up right by the bolt head


after about 2 hours of using a porta power and a 4lb sledge the pass. side frame rail was dang near flat


drivers side didnt flatten out like i had hoped. the frame ripped right at the bend. but still fixable.
 
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#2 ·
and here it is as of now



havent got much done the past week since my son got really sick and had to be in the hospital for a few days. soon as he heals back up i will get back to work on the frame. he helps me a little when im outside working especially with the tools lol.

next thing will be to try and find some 4wd bracketry for the front leaf mounting. trying to go for the freebie route and use them as a template to make my own hangers and shackles. havent decided how tall im going with the truck as im still tossed between things.

will update soon.

mike
 
#4 ·
thanks man. Ryan is doing better and the doc said he's getting over the stomach virus. poor little guy threw up 5 times 4 days ago and then wouldnt eat or hardly drink anything. kept running a fever constantly ranging from 101 - 103.5. after 24 hours getting IV treatment and taking some kind of pill for his stomach, hes been doing real good. starting to get his appetite back. he helped out a little today handing me wrenches and sockets lol. all i got done today was cut the rivets off for the rear leaf shackle hangers and did some rust removal on the pass side frame rail. tomorrow i plan on cutting the front rear leaf hanger rivets off and cleaning the frame up some more.



pics soon to come


mike
 
#5 ·
didnt get much done so far but did do something today. made some frame stands to get the frame up where i need it. bottom of the frame rail is 3ft off the ground. might of went to high but oh well. also got the rear end pulled out and put up for sale.

heres the frame stands i made. they look like they wouldnt hold much but its pretty stiff and doesnt wobble so it should work for ahile.


should have the rear front spring hangers and rear leafs pulled off within the next hour or so. then comes all the rust grinding and painting.
 
#6 ·
alright today i got a little work done. got the 2wd engine crossmember cut out. just need to go get some square tubing and some plate and fab up a new one.

2wd engine crossmember removed





crack in the frame when i straightened the front end. will end up plating this area on both sides.



and some rust issues on the frame for front rear leaf spring hanger. i will end up plating the backside and the bottom inner part of the frame rail from where the bed bolts to the frame clear back to the bumper area with some 3/8 or 1/2" plate. rest of the frame will be plated with 1/4" to box it in a little.







as of now im waiting on the junkyard guy to come pick up some left over scrap. might try to do some trading with my 2wd suspension parts and other junk i wont need, for a dana 60 rear axle.
 
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