Well, this will sort of be a combination of a build thread & a recap of the 'larger' projects & work already installed.
I’ve received a few requests to recap some of the larger items done to my truck of the past couple years.
So here goes….
The ‘major’ transformation started in like May of 2012. I already had a bodylift installed, but was getting bored….
I jumped on a brand new RCD lift kit on Ebay. I have been toying with the idea of starting to go even bigger - mainly because I have been running out of ideas of what else to do with the truck. Then I woke up, and noticed this - I figured why the hell not!
It was the start of a very expensive couple weeks!
By the end of that same day, I ordered the Superlift driveshaft, front & rear 4.88 Yukon gears and a front Torsen LSD.
Then a few days later - I ordered the 6" Skyjacker Softride leaf springs to install instead of the standard rear RCD setup.
I also grabbed new 11.28" StopTech Cryo-Treated Slotted Brake Rotors & EBC Greenstuff 7000 Series SUV Supreme Heavy-Duty brake pads in order to install the RCD setup on my '03.
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Then, due to the backspacing on my current wheels at the time (4.5") I was going to need new wheels and tires when everything finally got installed. So because of that, I'm went ‘all out’ and grabbed five of the 15x9 Trail Ready HD Beadlocks (real ones - not 'simulation style') with 4" of backspacing.
Link: (
http://www.trailready.com/wheels_HD.html).
I had them powder coated satin black, and got the locking ring with a black anodized finish (I selected the ‘Rock Ring’style). I'm figured that they would look pretty damn good with some brand new 35x12.5 Goodyear MT/R's wrapped around them!
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Then, some items started to show up:
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Then, the next weekend I purchased a very shiny 15# CO2 air system from Power Tank to refill my tires & related goodies.
http://powertank.com/products/sfID1/13/productID/155
I then started to get some smaller items powdercoated:
I got the new center caps as well as the RCD support arms powdercoated satin black instead of the standard chrome.
Powdercoated RCD support bars (I'm not a fan of the standard 'shiny' ones - so I had them coated):
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Tire time was next: I pulled the trigger on five brand new 35"x12.5"x15" Goodyear MT/R's
I had the center pair of lugs siped (hard to see in the pictures) to help with packed snow & rain performance...but I stayed away from the side lugs to avoid potential ‘chunking’ when off-road.
Time to introduce the beadlocks to the tires: I had to trim a little along on the outer bead of the tire to allow it to sit properly on the outer beadlock lip. After almost an hour of using a rubber mallet & pry-bars to try to get it to fit over the lip - I came back inside and researched a few things, and people talked about having to remove part of the thick bead to get the MTR's to fit...so that's when the Dremel came out to hopefully speed things up.
Then, after looking at it all, I needed a 'bolt flange spacer' ring to make sure I still have the required 'metal to metal' contact since the bead on the MT/R's are so thick (≈ 3/4").
I ordered some custom machined one piece anti-cone ring's for them. I designed them on my computer - then contacted a machine shop to actually produce them. They will be powdercoated black and made out of 6061-T6 aluminum to replace the multi-piece plastic setup that Trailready offers.
The anti-cone ring fills some of the space between the beadlock sealing surface & the bead of the tire to prevent uneven stress & bending of the surface ring due to the height difference. You basically need them when using tires that have an overly thick bead. It should seal much better since it's a single solid piece. Going custom on this is pricey as all hell - but I figured I’m already into it a ton anyway, so what’s some more! LOL
After using some adult words – I got them fully mounted:
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Then in August of 2012 it became THE install weekend:
Start of the day...all loaded up (35's on beadlocks, rear springs, and the new RCD in the bed - brakes and everything else in the seat):
Reinforced & powdercoated differential bracket installed as well as the Superlift driveshaft in:
Bye-bye bump stop:
By the end of the weekend, the entire lift kit was installed...the rear disc conversion would have to wait for another weekend...but the majority of the 'visual' upgrades are all installed:
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Picture during its first alignment 'post lift':
Then I cleaned it up and took a few rare pictures:
I think I measured it before it was 100% done but I was around 45" for the front and like 46.5" on the back (give or take). I could easily adjust my coilovers to get the front higher (but I was being lazy) - Plus I'm sitting around 79"-80 to the top of the cab - which barely clears my garage door as it is!