Nice to see another one of these builds.

As for the gears - I've got 35's and an NV4500 & am looking at 3.73's of even 3.55's. A buddy (Fordworth on here) has the same truck (75 Highboy) with a 1st gen 12v motor, a zf5, 37's and 3.73's and loves it. He said 4.10's were too short of a gear for even his 37's and the 3.73's are perfect all around for towing and still being able to hit 70 on the freeway without the rpm going crazy. This is why I was looking at 3.55's. BUT, from what I've seen they don't make 3.55's for a 14 bolt so now I'm looking at a 10.5 sterling and re-drilling the hubs to get the 8x6.5 lug pattern back.

 

why not use a 10.25? no work required

 

disks with a parking brake already included. Machining the hub & new bolts costs less than putting disks on the 10.25. Especially if I factor in the driveline brake I'd have to make if I went that way. And yes, I could put disks on a 10.25 for $200 or less.

Yes I already have a line lock just in case, and no, I'm not falling for the "go El Dorado" calipers BS

 

ahh thats a good idea, didnt realize you could re drill the hubs. the drums on my 97 crew would lock up really easy so im just going to keep the drums on my HB. i will probably just keep the old cable parking brake on the drums.

 

I hadn't thought about it either until I had a buddy do it. Of course he did it with an axle I lead him to (for a smoking deal of course!), and of course it now turns out to be exactly what I am hunting for and can't find for a reasonable price


The drum brakes are fine for many. I hate the things though & so why not go disk if I'm changing other stuff anyways. Plus I dump some unsprung weight & get a parking brake that easily ties into the existing cables easily. Well worth it to me all the way around!

 

Thanks for the input on the 3:73's. I definately don't want short gearing around here. I'm right on the edge of the burbs. So I hit freeway/highway, city, and country roads all the time. Towing in comifornia is limited to 55 legal, really 60-65 in reality so towing in 4th around here is entirely possible.

As far as the parking brake. My 14 bolt is getting a disc conversion before it goes under my truck. Along with 1410 U joints for the pinion and my np205. I am going to go with the driveline brake from high angle driveline. Expensive but I've never liked those damn cables going all the way to the axle.

I am considering a line lock as well but I'm not sure if I want to go that route. My truck sometimes gets parked for a week or more. I don't want to come home to a failed line lock and a truck rolled into something. Maybe my thinking is flawed on this one as I have never used a line lock.

 

yeah my line lock is a secondary deal. Was just re-plumbing the whole truck so figured I'd add one while doing that.

I was thinking of a driveline brake as well, but for the cost of the kits I could get a 10.5 sterling out of a super-dookie. I could make my own driveline brake for less, but I'd still be paying for that and then the disk conversion, etc. so the 10.5 started looking better & better.

 

Not much of an update. Really just waiting on parts. Should have my skyjacker springs ordered next week.

Had a few hours to kill tonight. I decided to turn down the bolt heads on the cummins valve covers. Cylinder 1 and 6 had the studs to mount the D**ge sheet metal cover. The going rate seems to be about $25.00 for the 6 bolts on eBay with shipping. Couldn't spend that to get two bolts without the studs. Before...



After turning the two studs off. I couldn't leave just the two turned flush so I ended up doing all 6. Taking the ridge off of the head then 12 thousands more to flush them up.

After....




I'll probably end up cad plating them or some other coating later. Any suggestions?

 

Powder coat ....^^^

 

He's talking the bolts - not the covers...

Cad if you can find someone who still does it here in Commiefornia. If not clear or yellow (gold) zinc works.

 

Hey ChaseTruck754 who do you use for cad plating. I found Burbank plating takes mail in jobs. If not cad I'll have a bunch of parts done in electro less nickle or zinc.

 

You can also powder coat the bolts but cading sounds cool

 

The problem with powder coat is it makes the bolts fit the socket too tight and it will mar.

I'd prefer plating because it's harder and a little Teflon tape on the head when you tighten them will show no marks.

 

What about a black oxide coating ? That always looks good - IMO lol

 

Active Plating in Santa Ana. They used to do cad but have now gone to zinc. instead. EPA BS I'm sure...

Electroless nickel looks/sounds cool too. Never personally had any done though as I've heard it takes "maintenance" - meaning you have to keep the stuff clean or it corrodes.



Powdercoating a bolt would make the thread engagement SUCK as well. Plus what he said below...



It can work. Not as durable though from what I've seen.