So, i'm tired of hunting for a thread on how to Z these old trucks, with the little bit of Info i have found, I'm going to dive into mine, and hopefully give everyone else a place to come later, since the one thread that's always referenced on twisted minis, is down. Now in my case i'm doing something alittle unconventional, the frame rails holding the motor and control arms, will be lifted the standard 1 1/2 inches, but im also going to shift everything foreword an inch. And here's why, My 84 is an automatic curently, and it is looking, like the space to the cab floor is pretty limited, and to anyone who has seen my trucks build thread, you'll know its already been painted, with most of the interior done, so i'd prefer to leave everything underneath left a lone if i can, only because i can't use all the cutting tools as easily as it should be. Also, with the wheel picked up as far as i was able to get it, it does look offset in the fenderwell, IMG_20140602_012623_214 by CrazyCody93, on Flickr So, after we determined what we wanted to do with the section that's being moved, we pulled the wheel off, pulled the strut rods out, and started marking. The front of the frame is on jackstands, and for the section against the cab, i cut some pieces of angle iron, set them on the floor, and welded the angle iron to the frame so that when the section in the middle is cut out, it won't try to fold the inner fenders from the weight of the cab. I should add, i'm leaving the motor in for this job, mainly because i don't have anywhere to put it, secondly, I'm kinda on a timeframe IMG_20140603_152724_230 by CrazyCody93, on Flickr IMG_20140603_152737_601 by CrazyCody93, on Flickr Since the Z was going right over where the chassis stamp is on the passenger side, we went ahead and removed it so we can add it back on once the Z is done IMG_20140603_220125_621 by CrazyCody93, on Flickr So far this is what i have completed, Hopefully this coming weekend i can get the hurdle done with and have the frame atleast welded back to itself
So we went ahead and cut all the frames except the outside faces(easiest and quickest to get to) with jacks supporting motor and tranny, as well as a couple f bottle jacks under the control arm mounts, to make sure it wouldn't just fall over once nothing was holding it into place. We had the jack under the motor cross member so we had the ability to slide it foreword while it was being lifted. Once we get the height we wanted we went ahead and made sure the frame rails were centered to the truck, that the front and back were both lifted the correct height as well as side to side. All in all, it took 5 bottle jacks, a tranny jack, and the standard jack under the motor to get it to sit in the exact place we needed it to weld it to itself enough so it would stay where it was. IMG_20140607_034759_892 by CrazyCody93, on Flickr IMG_20140607_034809_487 by CrazyCody93, on Flickr Once we were sure where we liked it, we went ahead, tacked all 4 corners, then welded what we could without adding gussets right away. IMG_20140607_035017_547 by CrazyCody93, on Flickr Let it sit over night, and then got headed on building the gussets IMG_20140608_024122_996 by CrazyCody93, on Flickr When we moved the motor, i should add, i left the radiator hoses on, the AC hoses on, and the tranny cooler hoses on, the fan and fan shroud on, as well as the steering linkage that goes up to the steering column. Not a single piece of it help up our Z, and the only thing i think i'll need to do is trim the fan shroud just a touch where the AC pump runs into it, as well as shorten the radiator hoses, I think i can do the whole inch, but any will help, they're just starting to kink where they bend. Also, the intake clears the hood as well as the oil cap. The intake tube that runs infront of the motor though, did not. So it was removed, and the hood closes [erfectly fine, with about 1/2 inch of vertical clearance. Were going to finish up gusseting tomorrow, As well as beginning fish plates, with plug welds to help spread the load away from the welds made on the frame rail
The nice part was more then just wheelbase, it gave me more transmission clearance as well, enough that it havent touched the firewall or tranny hump at all and it all sits in place. Obviously with this your into building the new trans crossmember for the truck, so you just wait to build the crossmember until after the Z and you can build it to the proper height, as well as front to back placement. Hopefully this writeup has enough information for anyone who doesn't know for sure what to do, if theres any questions ask away
