GMC jimmy build . D 44 & Ford 8.8

[Grandman]

This build is going to be based with two goals . Inexspensive and durable . Now when i say inexspensive i dont mean cheap but rather using old school solid components that have stood the test of time . There is nothing high tech .

Base vehicle is a 1994 GMC Jimmy 4 door 4x4 . Hows that for cheap :D
4.3L vortech V 6 with 4L60E trans .

Here is what we are starting with

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/Beforefront.jpg

First thing i am doing is a new set of fenders and door skins . Fenders for these are cheap , $160.00 for 2 new fenders and the door skins were $28.00 per side .

installing new fenders , heater core and window lift motor before the lift and axels are put in .

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/Frontclipoff.jpg

Next i built a set of custom , simple strong bumpers . 2x5 x 1/8 tubing . Front has a winch plate and 2 D rings , rear has 1 center D ring . I put an additional 1/4 inch plate behind the bumper where the D rings bolt in . 1/8 tubing is not strong enough to make a solid D ring pull point with out bracing behind it .

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/Rearbumperpainted.jpg

This is a shot with the IFS cut out , no brain work needed , just a few tools and torches .

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/GMCfronttoreout-1.jpg

Placing the dana 44 , now this is not a cheap part but it is a component you must rely on heavly so its worth spending some money . This is narrowed to EB specs and has Alloy shafts CMT joints and old school Det locker .

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/44under1stattempt.jpg

It will be installed on leaf springs , less components then a 3 or 4 link coil set up . No track bar to wear out and just plain simple components .

I will add to this post as the job continues .

This project will only take about 30 days from start to finish how ever i am retired so that helps :D

[Mongo]

Damn kids, looks good marv.

[Rover]

I think solid axle swaps should be in this section.

Btw it looks awsome marv, great work.

[Grandman]

Now practice and put it where it goes .

See i knew id be first at something around here :fryingpan:

[miffy]

:rofl::rofl:

[Nate4d]

Get Off The Computer And Get To Work Old Man!!!

[Grandman]

Get Off The Computer And Get To Work Old Man!!!

Thanks JERK . I did as you suggest and had a tuff day . After spending all day the springs are connected in the front . I had a hell of a hassel getting thing to sit where they needed to be . Move forward and your looking at stearing issues . push it back your going to hit the oil pan .

In the end i did use the s 10 pickup rear leafs . They are 26 " from center to eye . That will provide more flex and a better ride then the YJ springs which are 22 center to eye .

Hopefully tomorow it will set on its own springs and possible get the stearing hooked up . Seems i all ready have cross over stearing on this dana 44 that helps .

[Grandman]

Leaf springs in the Jimmy is turning into more of a task then i would have thought . I have done 4 link coil set ups in s 10 pickups before and thought the leaf set up would be much easier . I was wrong .

I should have them finished up today and will post photos when the wife returns home with the digital camera Sunday :pissed:

[BIGBEN]

can't wait to see the pics.

[Grandman]

The front 44 is in place . To get enough clearence for the oil pan and stearing i ended up with a 10" lift from its orginal height . Stock s 10 rear pickup springs and SOA . I used the stock shackles as well from the s 10 .

While i consider 36" tires to be pretty good sized they do not look like it under a 10" lift . I could easly fit 38" but i have no such plan at this time .

[Mongo]

Marv has the big 10".

[Shaker]

can't wait to see the pics.

I'll try.

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/7359/dcam0018jy2.th.jpg (http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dcam0018jy2.jpg)
http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/1381/dcam0015yo6.th.jpg (http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dcam0015yo6.jpg)

[BIGBEN]

wow, :eek:

that thing is going to be badass

[Grandman]

Damn shaker is taken spy photos on me ,,,, with a really crappy camera :rofl:

[Grandman]

wow, :eek:

that thing is going to be badass

I humble dissagree .

Test drive on the front end today , just out in the yard to twist it up a bit . Found i have an issue with the stearing arm hitting a spring . 1" riser is ordered to correct that . Ill pull the rear end out tomorow and start on the 8.8 install .

[Nate4d]

:poke::poke::poke::poke::poke::poke: done yet?

[Grandman]

Heres an update post on the build .

I rebuilt the orginal GMC spring pack with 2 additional leafs from a YJ pack i had . This photo is the new pack fully compressed . I like it , just a nice arch with out being excessive .

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/Rearspringsbuiltcompressed.jpg

Next we put the 8.8 under the springs with no spring perch and sat it down to get a measurement on height . I wanted the rear about 1/2 inch higher then the front . Seems i need to build the spring perchs they will serve as a way to correct ride heigth now that im close .


Perch's complete we again placed the 8.8 under the GMC , perch's were not welded on at this point .

This was to test ride height so little attention was paid to centering the axel or pinion angle . Tape measure said every thing was good on height and it looked good . Now to center the axel and set pinion angle .

This was funny , we paid no attentiont to centering , none the less it was near perfect . Shaker had reached under and pushed the pinion up close to where it should be . Nice eye shaker , angle finder showed it being correct also to with in 1 degree . :hehe:

Heres a shot setting on its new spring pack , perches welded in . I will box the perch in next and build new drive shafts .

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/Rearlifted.jpg

Standing tall . Lift 9 " , total with Q78 swampers and lift it is 12" taller then it was stock .

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/Grandpaicantgetin.jpg

[miffy]

I need a ladder. OH BEN........ HELP!!:thumbsup::hehe:

[Grandman]

Some measurments for you .

Front bumper , floor to the bottom of the bumper is 30 " , a bit over legal but it was not meant to be a street machine .

rear bumper , floor to bottom of the bumper 31 "

Frame rail 23 " from the floor .

new wheel base is 110 " this is 3 " over stock and was 1.5 " stretch on each end .

[Nate4d]

i love it.

[BIGBEN]

I need a ladder. OH BEN........ HELP!!:thumbsup::hehe:

like i told ya, anytime. :thumbsup:

[Mongo]

Looks great. I wish I could be there to see real old school work being done on leaf packs.

[Blackjackbender]

badass. that is quick work old man.

[drummond]

Nice work. Very impressive how fast this has come together

[Grandman]

Looks great. I wish I could be there to see real old school work being done on leaf packs.

Rebuilding a leaf pack is terrible simple . Inspect each spring for any cracks . replace the nylon sliders that keep the springs from grinding together and making a ton of noise .

Previous experience was helpful known about what lenght leaf would add for lift .

In the end it is a matter of trial and error getting the height you want .

[Rover]

looks great marv :thumbsup:

[Mongo]

Rebuilding a leaf pack is terrible simple . Inspect each spring for any cracks . replace the nylon sliders that keep the springs from grinding together and making a ton of noise .

Previous experience was helpful known about what lenght leaf would add for lift .

In the end it is a matter of trial and error getting the height you want .

This is how I did The first yj lift and many others. I'm just glad someone still does it. It's so easy to just buy a lift and bolt it on. Seems to be a lost art.

[Blackjackbender]

This is how I did The first yj lift and many others. I'm just glad someone still does it. It's so easy to just buy a lift and bolt it on. Seems to be a lost art.

Ive done it before. Just did because I was going the oppisote direction. down.



btw badass rig. nice to see something thats not fullsize and not a jeep.

[Nate4d]

post some flexy pics. action shots.

[Grandman]

post some flexy pics. action shots.

once i get to the point of field testing i will .

It will have a belley tuck so i need to build a new cross member , shocks and brakes yet . May get to drive shafts going today , may not .

[MuddyPaws 3.0]

Holy crap that thing is coming together fast. Great work.

[Grandman]

Ya but same as you i am stalled . Be Monday before i can get the correct drive shaft tubing .

Dump truck kept me busy today .

T case is laying on the floor . Decided im changing that now instead of later . NP 233 elctric shift in it so i may as well swap that out before building shafts .

I had a 231 C laying around but i dont see it now . I got a couple NP 207 c so ill put one of them in . There about the same as the 231 but runs a larger chain .

Stearing riser came in so i can deal with that now but not today .

[Mongo]

I had a 231 C laying around but i dont see it now

Goobie put it in the Barbie Jeep.

[Grandman]

Goobie put it in the Barbie Jeep.

You dont like the 231 ?

I have ran them in every rig , never broke one . I do rebuild them and put the HD chain in before i install them though .

[Mongo]

No damn it. I run a 231 with no complaints. I said Goobie stole it. You teach her to much.:poke:

[Grandman]

No damn it. I run a 231 with no complaints. I said Goobie stole it. You teach her to much.:poke:

Ah , got ya :thumbsup:

[Grandman]

Transfer case selection and why .

This 94 GMC came factory with a NP 233 c T case . Theres a few reasons im not keeping it . I dont like the electric shift mostly .

Well i altered this post because i will end up running the NP 233 until i can find a NP 231 of the correct vintage . The 4L60E is not easily fooled . I was unable to duplicate the Pulse rate from the speedo to satisfy the trans requirments .

[Mongo]

I approve, you may continue with the build.


You were looking for my "expert" advise right?:hehe:

[Grandman]

Im sure in the not so distant future ill get some real " expert " advice on this thread :hehe:

[MuddyPaws 3.0]

I ended up with a wider chain in my 231 also....and I don't know what the chain came out of. I think it was out of a 231c but not sure. I swapped the chain and the gears into the 231 J. I am pretty sure the gears and chain came out of a 231 that was in a S-Blazer that was the original donor for parts for the th350 to np231 adaptation when I built the YJ.

I sold the th350 and np231 combo but took out the SYE and the larger chain and gears and put them into my current project...the np231 J in the XJ and took out the smaller stuff from the XJ and put it into the tcase I sold.

[Grandman]

I put the wider chain in my ZJ as well . 231 , 231HD had a wider chain in it .

[Nate4d]

any progress yet?

[miffy]

any progress yet?

no I made him go to work to make money not play toy..:hehe:

[Grandman]

I snuck out tonight and got a little more done , Built and installed the rear drive shaft . I may go out later and put the sawzall to work . Time to trim out fender wells next .

Heres a photo of the rear shaft i built . There is a seperate thread in advanced fab if you want to build one .

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/finished.jpg

[Grandman]

My build has ran into a snag . When i changed the T case from the NP233 to a NP 207 i was not aware that the transmisson which is a 4L60E needs the pulse signal from the speedo to shift the transmission .

I am working on a solution and will post the solution when i have it working .

I have a couple cheap options to try .

[e6v6i6l.]

Pretty quick build up, I'm hoping to do a similar build on an 84 s10 soon. I won't run into the tranny problem though, planning on using a sm465/205 :dirty:

[Grandman]

It has came long quickly but there is still a lot of tweaking to do and minor things to take care of .

Today ill be making shock brackets and putting shocks on it .

This t case issue has cost me some time , something i should have researched further prior to my t case swap .

[Grandman]

T case issue is resolved . I even had time to get the shock mounts for the rear built and welded on .

I put them on the top of the housing to keep them out of the way .


http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/1075/rearshocksdoneub1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Tomorrow im going to build a new cross member that suits me .

[Mongo]

By December 1st?

[Grandman]

By December 1st?

If i was a betting man id bet against it but iv seen stranger things happen


Depends on how many of my home fabbed parts work or dont work when i start putting it to the test . Thats when the little course here comes in darn handy .

[Grandman]

This build thread as i go rather then doing a shorter version when it is done has truned into a blog of my life :hehe:

Sunday was spent building front bump stops , Cross member and front drive shaft .

All in all a good day .

Cross member , simple and easy . Now i have lots of clearence for the front drive shaft and a good plat form for the flat belley skids plates that will go on later .

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/Crossmember1.jpg

If you want to do a project and question your welding , well im not a welder by trade either . This is my welding and i'v never broke one of my welds yet :flip:

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/Weldcrossmember.jpg

[e6v6i6l.]

I'm glad I have my dad around to do the welding when I start my build lol

[Grandman]

Put it on the course for some testing today , no problems found in the suspension . Twist pretty well for leaf sprung ride .

I have some things to finish up but so far so good .

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/TwistRside.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/TwistLside.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/grandman_02/Grandmanwithrig.jpg

[Beefy]

Looks good Marv! 2 :thumbsup:

[drummond]

Looks nice marv.

I might have missed it, but did you end up getting the 231 swapped in? I know that you were having problems with the trans and the electronic shift

[Grandman]

Looks nice marv.

I might have missed it, but did you end up getting the 231 swapped in? I know that you were having problems with the trans and the electronic shift

Not yet , i tried to run the NP 207 , to much hassel due the the speed pulse issue .

Put the NP 233 back in for now . I can either put a NP 231 C in with a pulse speedo or i just found out i can change the shift rod on the 233 and put a manual shifter on it .

The whole point was to get away from the E shift .

[FlamesFearMe]

Man you are a good looking man.

Oh yeah, the ride is nice as well.

[Grandman]

Man you are a good looking man.

Oh yeah, the ride is nice as well.

Stop teasing you sexy thing you . :marv:

By the way , did your hair grow back yet ?

[MuddyPaws 3.0]

Very cool. Must be nice being retired.

:hehe:

[FlamesFearMe]

Stop teasing you sexy thing you . :marv:

By the way , did your hair grow back yet ?

I had to shave it as short as I could with clippers (I didn't want to Bic it) and there was still a pink tinge to it. :lol:

It is 3/4 of an inch long now, and I am thinking that I will just let it grow to see what I can raise money for next year at the gig. :woot:

[ddeadserious]

Very nice looking, Marv. Nice job.

[h8pvmnt]

Looks good, you almost make me want to work on mine



almost

[Duffman]

As with the Grand, very nice job. Simple, well-thought-out, straightforward, and should be durable. :thumbsup:

[Grandman]

This build is pretty much wrapped up . Ill do a post on body work and paint when i get to that . I like to do these write ups becuase im an average jack of all trades master of none type of guy . My methods are sometimes different , solutions are some times from thinking out side the box . Its my hope there are ideas here that will help others with a project

The body work and paint will be the same way , im not a body repairman or paint man , this is stuff iv learned to do from the skills i have . A body man would thing WTF but the average person with out a spray both and no wire welder may get use from the thread .


Problems i had along the way .

Front was the problem child . I have built a few 4 link set ups and frankly there much easier to dial in steering and so on then the leaf spring set up .

Bump steer , still not perfect but its accepitable

Travel , leaf springs will travel much more then i thought causing issues with front drive shaft . See extended drive shaft build for the cure .

Wheel wells , just figuring on cutting , they have no room .

Bright side of things .

The S series is very easy to tuck every thing in the frame rails . The only thing below the rails is the cross member i made , If i was worried about it i could put it higher with out to much effort and install a flat belly pan for it . Im not much for rocks so i wont bother .

My starting weight on this rig was 4,140 Ill post the end weight when i get it over to the scales again .

Up date , finished weight is 4,560 and i still have about 80 lb of rock rails to go on .

[Tonka]

body work....

I guess we can't name it patches then

[bobfox]

I can't wait to see that thing wheel this weekend. :thumbsup:

[yogi]

LOOKS PERTY COOL MARV FOR A CHEBY:poke:

[Grandman]

Thought id up date this seems the build ran into an issue and i have recently resolved it .

Doing the original build i had used the rear springs from an S 10 pickup . They are the same lenght and width as the rear of the GMC Jimmy . This seemed logical as i could have 1 spare leaf pack to fit any corner .

The error came in spring rate . The front of the Jimmy as been to soft , it didnt take a lot to bottom the front end out on the bump stops .

Recently i did some checking and found the rear GMC Jimmy springs while the same demensions are thicker giving them a higher spring rate . The new set up is lower then the beefed up S 10 truck springs and provide better load rate lessining the problem of bottoming out the front axle .

If any one reads this post for info this may safe them some time .

[KennyOffroad]

Nice Build on the Jimmy. :thumb:

[Shaggy]

what did you use in the rear for springs?

[Beefy]

If I remember right he used stock ones just built larger spring perches and cut the body

[Shaggy]

fair enough mp said that he thought that it was stock in the back and jimmy in the front that what he thought i was just wondering cause im gonna do this after i get out of collage bu im kiicking around ideas and seeing what everyone eles used

[Roadhouse]

rear are stock but spring over.