It has been a while, here is a little update on the rig.
I got a good deal on having the engine rebuilt and getting some machine work done on it. While it was off getting work done I had them do the "everyday driver" head studs, install the 3200 gov spring and add slightly larger injectors. I got the engine back, reinstalled it. I soon got to thinking about upgrading to a more common tire, this lead me to the 395/85r20... I had about 4.5" of lift with the axle moved forward slightly, and seeing that I ddn't want a huge lift (relatively speaking), I decided to shoot for 7" or so. A order was placed with ORD for some custom springs and in the interest of keeping it low and maintaining my inner wheel wells up travel will be limited with bump stops. The next order of business was stopping the big-****** tires, I have been looking at a big brake kit for the GM D60 for a while and this gave me a excuse to get it. It is the Torq Axle caliper bracket kit, it allows me to run 2009 and newer Ram 3500 front brakes. The rotor dia is a little over 14" and it has large dual piston calipers. This kit coupled with the Chevy AAM 10.5 axle I have ready to go in should stop the heavy pig!
I got the tires mounted up and had to use some wheel spacer to clear everything, once I get better clearance on the fenders and inner fender I want to get away from the spacers.
I had clearance the bottom of the bumper to even be able to turn lock to lock, even then I am going to have to clearance the core support, inner fender and the firewall... I plan to move the front axle back about 1" because I can remove more material easier from the firewall. I plan to still clearance the core support some how and also limiting the up-travel. Here are some pics of the clearances as it sits now..
So I was able to clearance the core support and inner fenders and was also able to get my grid heater hooked up, and I pulled the steering column to have it rebuilt and mocked up a swaybar to see if it will work with my crossover steering. I trimmed a section of core support and fold it up to create an angle that created about 3 more inches of clearance. Then I trimmed the inner fender and worked it around so I could bolt it back under the core support. Photos maybe easier to understand...
Here are some shots of the swaybar test fit up. It's a 2011 F250 swaybar and Jeep XJ swaybar links.
So I have logged a few hundred miles on this setup, the sway-bar made a pretty noticeable difference. Between the longer, softer, taller front springs and the bigger tires I am glad to have the sway-bar back on. I had to remove some sheet metal from the back of the front wheel opening, now I can turn lock to lock without getting into the metal. I still need to setup some front bump stops to limit up-travel, install my rear shackle flip, install the rear axle with 4.56 gears, and install the bigger front brakes. I will be taking a short trip in the truck coming up so I decided to install a small tool box and then use up some gift cards I received for Christmas to buy some hand tools. I'm pretty happy with how it worked out. Here are a few pics for now.
Revised fender trimming.
Tool box bolted in and ready.
Nothing fancy hand tools
I have a few extra sets of fenders and I plan to section them together to make a better looking set of fenders, but for the time being these will work. That brings it back up to date, for now... (Sorry for the long post..)