Frankenstein Build: Stock -> 37's on IFS -> SAS

^^^^ yea no need to get fancy with the leafs outback.

 

Too late... they were $20. Got them cut and bent at my buddies work.

 

Welds look perfect man. Just saw your thread. Def gonna follow now.

 

Once mine settled they are good at the 7.5. My shackle angle is right at 45 degrees when the rear is at ride height. Which matches the 25” frame height in front. I have never measured the rear actually.

 

I guess I'll have to get the axle in and see how they sit at 6.75" back. Hopefully it's close to that sweet 45 degree angle.

 

it depends on what ride height you want. At the 25” that my front is at the back is about even and the shackle is at 45 degrees roughly. If you are at a 26-27” ride height, 6.75 will give you more angle and you will get the same. Idk what you are doing w your frame. I didn’t see anything about that on here unless I missed a page.

 

I haven't started the front yet but I'll be cutting out the frame and building a new one, like what you did. I'll probably start getting in to that in the next couple weeks or so. The goal is to keep it as low as I can.

 

If you are gonna go all in then there are def some things I would change w the standard notch setup like I did.

For one, you don’t really need to 45 back down if you cut all the front out which you will have to do. Winch can be put in low. Keep a few feet out the front and cross brace w temp metal so you can decide later how you want to finish front.

I also wish I cut the frame back farther cause the shaft is so close to the old frame and I have to grind the fuck out of it to clear. I would put a 22ish degree miter to kick the frame in and back towards front if that makes sense.

With the high frame you can also add material to do the steering gear instead of totally modifying it like @malburg114 did or myself. Maybe @malburg114 can add his insight as well on frame stuff. He has had his done for a while and knows what works and what doesn’t way more than me.

I assume you are gonna do a powerboost. Get that in before you do the hoops. You can fab them to fit around it.

If there is any stupid info or parts you need message me anytime and I’ll give you any info I have.

Also, I did my frame to max out on the 3.4. It is within 1/2” of the pan on the LS. So, if you do your frame at about a full 3” above stock the LS will mount perfect in the future and have the same uptravel.

Didn’t mean to make that so long. Lol.

 

Lol I saw you and @malburg114 's posts on the steering box setups, what a nightmare. I'll be following whatever you and @malburg114 say works best (using a Toyota box). I see a lot of people just throw stuff together and it always cracks or drives awful.

Yes powerboost is a must for me as it will be driving to all my wheeling/camping locations.

If I ever do a v8 swap I'll probably throw a 2 or 3UZ in there.

Thanks for the info! I'm sure I'll have way more questions as I start getting in to the front end...

 

he uses a tj box. I couldn’t fit w the LS cause it’s on the inside of the frame

 

If I cut the frame again or did another sas, I’d probably cut it below the body/before it bends up. I cut mine at the bend at the firewall and it made it super hard to plate and gusset with the body on. I know your set on a Toyota box but consider a jk box if you decide you need a new one.

the passenger side frame will need notched up to clear the steering under articulation. I’d do a notch similar to @Yota X with cutting a section and 45 mitering the new section in vs mine where I just cut and plated. That’s probably my weak point in the frame up front.

and like yota x said, leave the frame rails long with a temp crossmember so you have extra fo build a bumper and winch mount. How I did mine and was glad I did. I didn’t go hydro boost but I’m happy with my gm master and Toyota booster. Never felt like I needed more.


Figure out what you want for a frame height and your uptravel goal and be prepared to cut. I wanted no less than 6 inches of uptravel and a 24 I’m frame height. Ended up at 6.5 and 23 Inch frame height and am happy. Moving the axle forward helped with clearing and gaining more uptravel.

 

Some more goodies are on the way! 4.7 T-Case gears and the TG SAS steering kit. I decided to give these Sumo gears a try.




I also have a 20' stick of .1875 wall 2"x3" rectangular tubing coming my way for the frame. Decided to go with a thicker size for strength.

The plan was to crank away on the rear end this weekend but my grandpa's back decided to dislocate a disc causing his spine to seize up along with some very intense pain. Instead of working on the truck I spent the week at the hospital :/ Good news is after a nice week of morphine and antibiotics he's feeling a little better and is home. Hoping to get him to a good chiropractor this week to get that disc slammed back in there!

Hoping to get back to Frankenturd next weekend!

 

Got my knuckles back from powder coat! They came out great!


Also started taking my front end apart. I decided I'm just going to make my own bumper instead of fitting the AllPro bumper I have. On Monday I'm gonna start cutting the frame out and building a new one, should be a good time!

 

Something seems to be missing...

 

Built myself a new frame! I made it all out of .188 wall 2x3 rectangular tubing. I went a little thicker to avoid the need to plate the entire thing.



Building it wasn't too difficult, just a lot of cutting and test fitting and more cutting until it all worked. I left a lot of extra sticking out of the front for me to build a bumper/winch plate on. I also listened to @malburg114 and @Yota X 's advice and didn't dive back down to go around the core support. I didn't want to mess with it when doing my steering so I just cut out a huge chunk from under my headlights to make room for everything. Tubing the front end last year made this possible. The headlights wont sag because those tubes land right behind them. I'm planning on tying the the frame in to the front radiator support. That should make everything pretty solid.


Before and after cutting:



I made the frame 29" inside to inside which fits around my radiator just about perfectly. I'm planning on getting an aluminum 2.4 radiator which should be a bit shorter then the 3.4 one:


After we got it all set how we liked we welded it all up. I still need to do some work where the new frame meets the old but that shouldn't be too bad. I thought the frame was going to dive in towards the engine but turns out it dives out. That's why I have such a massive gap on this side. The other side was WAY cleaner:



I'm also getting some plates and engine mounts laser cut. I'll be platting both sides of the tubes as well as the top and bottom where the old frame meets the new one. Should be pretty solid at that point:


Over all pretty stoked with how it came out! I tried to make it level to the center section of my frame and surprisingly I was only off by 1 degree! I'm sure when I start adding weight it will settle and be just about perfect.




I also sold my LCA's and AllPro bumper. While I was waiting for the bumper buyer to arrive I took some time to organize a small section of my grandpas shed. I now have a pretty good metal working/welding area. I'll continue to clean as I work and hopefully I'll end up with a killer work space by the end of all this!

 

Looks awesome man! Love the powder coat on the knuckles! Welds look really nice!

 

Looks good. FWIW you may be able to save some $$ and potential headaches and just get an OEM/Denso plastic radiator. I have been running the smallest one they make and have been nice and cool down here in the hot as balls south with the 3.4 and the AC on high crawling.

 

Good to know! Do you know if you're running the 2.4 rad? My buddy has an aluminum 2.4 rad from Cold Case radiators and he really likes it.

 

Since we are talking radiators. Think a 22x16x2.25 aluminum with a good fan will cool my setup at 95 degrees in traffic? Having a conceptual dilemma with this right now and have never owned a car with an american v8.

 

Also, @ForestRunnerFrank99 you did a really good job cutting the core. Looks factory. Well done!