Sidekick build once again

[ObeseFieldMouse]

today i started ripping apart whats left of my sidekick.  its been solid axled for a summer, on leaf springs.  rears are yj springs, and the fronts were the springs from the rear of the donor truck.  it had axle wrap problems, and side to side movement with a 6" shackle, so i decided to 3 link it.



today, i took the gas tank and spare tire out.  took the torch out and cut the bed off.  then pulled the front axle and cut some tabs off.  lowered the front to the frame height i wanted it at, and ran out of acetylene lol...

[EXPLODERPILOT]

I am still voting for a radius arm setup.... at that height I dont think the 3rd link will be able to clear the oilpan or frame rail depending on how and where you mount the link.

[mikeb]

Mine sits pretty low and has a 4link with double trianglation in the front. It comes close to the oil pan but doesnt hit. But, mine is set up so it has very little uptravel. The main clearence problem i have is...my hydro steering cylinder comes super close to the radiator support. All this is about to change though, when the 2.0 liter goes in the front end should get a few more inches of uptravel!

[durnzuki]

I like the rear shackles,  never seen them run like that.

[ObeseFieldMouse]

hopefully ill be walking around work, accidentally trip, and fall face down in a huge pile of money so i can 4 link the rear with air shocks .  those shackles worked great like that, just a little more axle wrap than id like, so instead of antiwrap, i vote 4 link lol

[ObeseFieldMouse]

got a little bit accomplished...pulled all the crap off the fenders.  wasnt too bad till you have to pull the brake lines off this stupid little tab attached to the fender.  anyway, thats done, now i just need the time to cut it off without cooking a wiring harness lol

[ObeseFieldMouse]

today i got out the torch and sawzall and had a good ole time!!  unfortunately ill be out of town in training this week so i wont be able to use this wonderful weather to get some things done, but heres what i did get accomplished...

[ObeseFieldMouse]

i decided that the sidekick power steering i put on didnt turn quite as sharp as i would prefer, and the pitman facing rearwards was going to get in the way of the suspension links.  im going to go with a steering box off of an old 74 international scout, which just happens to be reverse cut ive trimmed the frame and bumper a little, but need to trim it a little more so there is room to plate the bottom in.  to mount the new box, i'll be adding some 3/16" plate to both sides of the frame, and putting some slugs through the frame to keep the bolt holes from wollowing out.

[EXPLODERPILOT]

You may have to get creative when you build the shock hoops so that they meet the frame around the steering box. No big deal though. Those lines didnt mate up perfectly did they? I cant tell if its plumbed or not from the pics?

[ObeseFieldMouse]

nah....theyre just chillin there.  i'll have to take them off and take the box to genes auto parts to get some lines made.  i really need a new resivoir.

as far as the shock hoop, im gonna move it forward a few inches and chop some more frame out, so it'll be tight, but not a problem....hopefully.

[EXPLODERPILOT]

either way, looks like your making good progress.

Keep your eyes open for some goodies in teh mail in about 3 weeks.

Ordered you some joints for the links.

[EXPLODERPILOT]

parts in yet?

[ObeseFieldMouse]

nope....and its really cold

[ObeseFieldMouse]

parts will be in this week...next weekend better be dry...............

[EXPLODERPILOT]

if you get it finished you could bring it to the airport to pick me up and we can head straight to tellico for the day.