Straight axle swap!

[BirdDog]

I have heard many people talk about it and wondering if any of ya'll ever done it or can give an idea of what it involves and the price! I am running IFS and later down the road I am thinking for doing this. I am getting a 10 inch suspension installed now and I heard that it is going to just give me a stock flex.

I am looking for the flex like bigreen and the other trucks on here. Now I am not wanting to do it now just get some ideas of what I may need! And there maybe others on the site that could be interested too. Thanks

[bigreen]

hey man, appreciate the flex complement, its all in how soft ur springs are and how ur shackles are setup...im making new front shackles when i go home so get a little more out of them. doin the work for the swap really isnt all that tough, its just soo stressful trying to set it up...u find what you need for one thing, then that doesnt work with something else...seems to always go that way. its stil worth it just to have the satisfaction of torching out the IFS. after that its all about getting the measurements EXACT.
mine with EVERYTHING (4x4 included) was a grand total of like $6700...i thought that was pretty decent, i managed to sell a bunch of my old stuff which helped, and i bought alot of stuff used...actually like 90% of it.
if u really need technical help when it come down to it, id be more than willing to help, i am im the process of opening an offroad shop in wilmington...

but if u really want someone that knows whats up, brent (apbt923958(whatever the numbers are) reawlly knows what the deal is, he helped me out with all the technical stuff to help take the burden off me and get me goin.

good luck
jesse

[BirdDog]

Thanks alot for you help and I willsee what he says about this post when he comes on agian!! I just dumped about 7,000 in the 10 inch / 3 inch body and going to ride on it for a little bit and then see what info I can gather and go from there.

Thanks agian and sweet RIG Bigreen.... #rockon5nk#

[apbt3178]

We've straight axled just about every make of vehicle that originally came with factory IFS. GM, Ford, Mazda, and we've done a lot of custom Dodge suspension work lately. These are the most recent trucks we've done(within the past 1-2years).

My '97 Tahoe.



Kevin's '97 S10 Blazer


Sherri's '93 Ford F150


Helped design and source parts for Jesse's(bigreen) '97 F150 conversion.

Built the D44 front/rear axles, SFA converted, and installed 38" PJ's on Anthony's '92 Mazda


Leaf spring converted this '99 Dodge and we're getting ready to swap 2.5ton Rockwells under it.


Built these axles(D60hp and 14bolt FF) for a a guy in NM and sold him a SFA conversion kit for his '98 Ext. cab K1500.



... and we're currently setting up/installing custom coilover/long arm suspension and Dana 60 high pinion under Bruce's(dieselmadness) '03 Dodge.



The truck Bruce's '03 is next to is sitting on 17" of suspension lift and 44" Boggers. The '03 is at 13" suspension/3" body and 37's in the picture. It's going up another 4-5" in suspension and will be on 46" Claws when it's done!

[apbt3178]

Almost forgot my '91 S10. It will be added to the list above shortly after Bruce's '03 is finished and we install a D60 high pinion/14boltFF under it. I already have the axles and parts to build them, but I lack the time to do it!

Do you want to use leaf springs, coil springs, or coilovers? What do you expect from the truck when it's finished? Are you a capable fabricator? What size tires do you want to run?
You need to have a final goal in mind before you do anything, or you'll end up spending WAY more than you need to. Judging from the post above, it sounds like you've already figured that out. I hate to say it, but that $7k you dumped down the IFS toilet would have gone a long way toward installing a pair of 3/4 - 1ton axles under your truck.

[panthers65]

d**n man those truck as sick. Have yall done and swaps into the heirtage f-150's (97-03).

[bigreen]

hey brent does he need 46's??? these things are too much for me...im looking more towards wither 39s again or 44s with my 14" mountain crushers and MAYBE some strong wheel spacers

[bigreen]

panther... i talked with him alot while we were setting mine up over the phone...so i dont think hes actually done one, but as much as we talked, hes quite familiar with the measurements...and what u gotta deal with. lol

[bigreen]

whos blue chevy is that brent???

[apbt3178]

Haven't actually done the conversion on a '97-up F150, but we're authorized dealers for the Fabritech conversion kit Jesse's SFA swap is based on. I gave him the measurements and sold him the 10" front springs(were on my Tahoe, before I swapped in 12" springs), then he fabbed up and installed everything himself.

Jesse, we actually need 2 sets of 46's. One for each of the Dodge's pictured above. Depending on the condition, we could probably swap you straight up for the 44" Boggers on the '99, or use them on the '03(but I'm really hoping I can still get my hands on a brand new set a local guy has for the '03). Get up with me this week anytime after 9:30pm. If the tires are in good shape, I know either Bruce, or Jared will pick them up. The '03 has a BOMBED CTD and 5.13's and the '99 has a stock CTD, but will have 6.72's... Neither truck will have a problem turning those 46's!

We built the axles for the guy who owns the blue Chevy and sold him a Fabritech SFA kit. He's doing the install, because he lives in New Mexico. We cut/turned the front axle 15degrees, installed a 3/4ton brake swap to run 15" wheels, everything is new/completely rebuilt, and 4.88's with a Detroit were installed. The rear is pretty much the same. A completely rebuilt 14bolt FF with a disc brake conversion, 4.88's, and a Detroit.

[bigreen]

they have decent tread...i was told 75-80% when i bought em...they do have some cuts and stuff at the very outer parts of the tread from when i bought em...but they dont bother me a bit...id love a set of those 44's...so id be up for something like that just to save time from selling and searching.

this is about the only halfway decent pic i have of them...ill call u later man

[BirdDog]

WOW all I got to say is this forum is making me jealous.... Sweet RIGS..... This is were the big boyz post... lol

[apbt3178]

haha, Kevin's Blazer started out on 38" SSR's

Other than stock, that's as small as it's been. However, it was A LOT bigger for about 6months when he had it on 22" of suspension lift with a 2" body lift and 46's.


After the 46's, it was on 44" Boggers for a few months and now we've lowered the suspension 4 - 5" and it's running 39.5x18" Boggers.

See if you can get some pictures of just the tires and the cuts Jesse. Give me a call anytime after 9:30pm.

[BirdDog]

After looking at all these pics, what would be the cost to do a complete axle swap on my Dodge...

[apbt3178]

"Do you want to use leaf springs, coil springs, or coilovers? What do you expect from the truck when it's finished? Are you a capable fabricator(if you're considering doing the swap yourself)? What size tires do you want to run?
You need to have a final goal in mind before you do anything, or you'll end up spending WAY more than you need to."

As I said above(granted it was hidden by a lot of big trucks, haha) I could throw numbers around all day, but they won't be accurate unless I have an idea of what you're looking to end up with as the "finished product".

[bigreen]

u give me $50,000 ill do it up nice

[BirdDog]

Sorry about that, them trucks are freakin AWESOME to look at... I understand were you are coming from on that.. I will do some thinking on that and post it... Thanks