Love this!!! Dude u have simplified this so well. This is exactly how i explain ppl to do this swap and they just over complicate things by cutting the chassis in half and rewelding
Awesome job. It looks great. But you really should put a crossmember between the shackles to properly support the rear of the frame. The bumper will help but not enough.
i have done this years ago and ran into the same issue with the leafsprings binding, if you measure the width of where the leafsprings used to be its actually around an inch or 2 narrower, so when you move the mounting points ahead 14 inches you're widening the leaf hanger points on the front causing the rear of the leafs to move inward ... adding a lot of pressure
You have a little more details on how you did the shock brackets? You use the factory ones? And how did you measure to figure where to relocate them? Thanks
@@Bearded_blatz stock brackets, can’t remember how we decided where to mount them. Not a critical part of the conversion as long as the shocks can travel without bottoming out.
@@Bearded_blatz stock brackets, can’t remember how we decided where to mount them. Not a critical part of the conversion as long as the shocks can travel without bottoming out.
Did you find a solution to the rough ride? If I remember correctly, the rear bed portion of the frame is not perfectly parallel. Now, I'm guessing, if that is true and the front/rear spring perches are bolted/welded to the frame in their new positions, that could cause a "misalignment" of the leaf spring. That could cause the binding you mentioned. With the lowering kit, did this resolve your suspension issue? Thanks for the video, very informative.
I've done that once but I split the frame in half under the cab like oe short bed pane in the butt i removed the cab to do it i have o k1500 to go by you will half to cut the cab mount of cut it like a sb and move it forward remove the cross member behind the cab drill new bed holes and cut the back off the frame or get a shot bed frame and split it us the back half but the only reason for that is if you have a k and you can find a c short bed frame cheap
@@djtheg6819 completely incorrect. We did this in a day. Frame swapping or cutting and welding would have been at least 3-4 days plus a lift. If I wanted to shorten a truck again I would absolutely use this method.
@@pacificdrumma the fact that the axle doesn't locate correctly even with using a drop a drop hanger tells me the suspension is not set up correctly. The front shackle is now installed drastically lower than the original position, yet the rear shackle is at stock height. There is a reason why the factory didn't set it up that way and I bet it's because the geometry for the springs compression rate is not correct.
@@djtheg6819 the axle is located correctly in terms of the wheel being centered in the wheel well. I need to take the drop hangers out and put stock ones back in to correct the pinion angle. The truck rides and drives mint.
How much lift did you get after moving the leaf springs looking at ordering 4” drop shackles to get it back to stock then maybe a flip kit to get it to more of a lowered truck look
So the I would say about 2-2.5” lift from moving the axle. The truck sat a smidge taller than before, which means the 2” drop hangers were basically a wash. I’m probably going to wind up with stock hangers, and a 1” drop shackle after doing the flip kit. The flip accounts for 6”, but 2/6 is too big of a difference in the drop height. So I think with the stock hangers, a 1” drop shackle, and the flip kit, it’ll be about a 2/5 which is more what I want. O
@pacificdrumma do you think the spring hanger can be drilled and mounted or welded 1.5"- 2" higher to compensate for the slight height change? I'm about to do one of these and I already have 4/6 on order
Bell tech makes the 2" drop shackles in canada alberta they are roughly 160$ for the kit dont know states price for anyone wanting the specific drop shackle parts number its #6502 on Bell tech and if going this route u will need to drill new box mounts for rear of box front ones line up and for the love of god use a peice of steel tubing or pipe and weld it between the frame rails to brace the rear frame so it wont twist or warp
Already had drop shackles on this when it was a long bed. The binding turned out to be a bad shock, the frame is fine the way it is. I’ll pull the bed to paint the frame at some point and will add a crossmember then.
Never really got an accurate measurement on this. The rear suspension binding turned out to be a shock that wasn’t allowing the suspension to cycle. I didn’t find that until I was doing the axle flip and c notch. It’s possible that had I found the shock earlier, the rear would have relaxed and lowered a bit more.
If I was gonna do it again, I’d just do stock hangers and shackles, but a 6” flip kit. Right now I have drop hangers but a 1” lift shackle and the pinion angle kind of sucks.
I did the quickest short bed ever , No cutting No Welding No wasted time No wasted money Small Block 4 bolt main 350 , 11 inch clutch and 5 speed , 10 bolt limited slip rear end ! Actually didn't cost anything except for the title / tags and I was driving it !
You can use a rear sway bar out of a suburban with modified end links. Did that on my old 454 SS. Good video though, just picked up a LB that I'll be playing with soon. 🤙
I inherited my grandfather's 93 Silverado longbed with 118k miles I always imagined starting with a short bed extended cab frame. And taking 18 inches out under the cab(where the front of the frame slides inside the rear) Yes it means a cab swap to the shorter frame, and I will just buy a short stepside box. (Or hopefully it's on the extended cab frame I buy) Just my thoughts, honestly I'm probably just going to lower it and leave it alone because it drives soooo good.
I'm a long bed guy but I'm glad you made this video for anyone wanting to do this swap 👍 you're always very informative
Thanks, my green truck will always be a long bed. But I think this truck is best suited as a reg cab short bed.
@Hugh Jeffries yeah I agree little diesel muscle truck style 👍
Would like to see it with the flip kit
@pacificdrumma I agree, if you have the time to update us on your current stance, it would be 'preciated 🤙🏾 thanks dude 😅
Love this!!! Dude u have simplified this so well. This is exactly how i explain ppl to do this swap and they just over complicate things by cutting the chassis in half and rewelding
Great Job! About to do my 97 Silverado….Thanks for Simplifying it without cutting and re-welding!
Hugh she looks awesome brother! Still one of my favorite body styles from GM. I see the vision at the end and it looks great!
Thanks Roon!
Awesome job. It looks great. But you really should put a crossmember between the shackles to properly support the rear of the frame. The bumper will help but not enough.
i have done this years ago and ran into the same issue with the leafsprings binding, if you measure the width of where the leafsprings used to be its actually around an inch or 2 narrower, so when you move the mounting points ahead 14 inches you're widening the leaf hanger points on the front causing the rear of the leafs to move inward ... adding a lot of pressure
Springs were fine. It was a shock that was bound up
Howd you fix that?@@pacificdrumma
@@projectbrightgrey8429 put new shocks in it
You have a little more details on how you did the shock brackets? You use the factory ones? And how did you measure to figure where to relocate them? Thanks
@@Bearded_blatz stock brackets, can’t remember how we decided where to mount them. Not a critical part of the conversion as long as the shocks can travel without bottoming out.
@@Bearded_blatz stock brackets, can’t remember how we decided where to mount them. Not a critical part of the conversion as long as the shocks can travel without bottoming out.
What you did about the shocks specially the front one let me know I’m cutting mine right now
Did you find a solution to the rough ride? If I remember correctly, the rear bed portion of the frame is not perfectly parallel. Now, I'm guessing, if that is true and the front/rear spring perches are bolted/welded to the frame in their new positions, that could cause a "misalignment" of the leaf spring. That could cause the binding you mentioned. With the lowering kit, did this resolve your suspension issue? Thanks for the video, very informative.
Had a shock that was bound up. Rides like a Cadillac now
@@pacificdrumma Good to know, that was an easy fix! Thanks!
Did you get all the bugs worked out on this swap from the frame twisting in the rear where you cut out the crossmembers
@@legozombiemocmaker8026 yeah only issue was a bound up shock
Would you assume the same theory would apply to the OBS c2500?
Yes
I've done that once but I split the frame in half under the cab like oe short bed pane in the butt i removed the cab to do it i have o k1500 to go by you will half to cut the cab mount of cut it like a sb and move it forward remove the cross member behind the cab drill new bed holes and cut the back off the frame or get a shot bed frame and split it us the back half but the only reason for that is if you have a k and you can find a c short bed frame cheap
This is a lot simpler than what I thought it was going to have to do
@@markonhistory514 the fuel tank is the hardest part, the rest of it is pretty easy.
@@pacificdrumma what did you end up doing for the frame dipping inward did you put in a support? Maybe do an update video on it if you can
@@markonhistory514 check the comments. The same isn’t the issue. It was a bound up shock.
Would have been easier to get a donor short bed frame and cab swap. Could also get the back half of a dobor short bed frame and weld the back half on.
@@djtheg6819 completely incorrect. We did this in a day. Frame swapping or cutting and welding would have been at least 3-4 days plus a lift. If I wanted to shorten a truck again I would absolutely use this method.
@@pacificdrumma the fact that the axle doesn't locate correctly even with using a drop a drop hanger tells me the suspension is not set up correctly. The front shackle is now installed drastically lower than the original position, yet the rear shackle is at stock height. There is a reason why the factory didn't set it up that way and I bet it's because the geometry for the springs compression rate is not correct.
@@djtheg6819 the axle is located correctly in terms of the wheel being centered in the wheel well. I need to take the drop hangers out and put stock ones back in to correct the pinion angle. The truck rides and drives mint.
I just welded in a singlecab short bed frame in. Harder on a 4x4 because of the brace bar for the torsion bars. But in my opinion it was easier.
How much lift did you get after moving the leaf springs looking at ordering 4” drop shackles to get it back to stock then maybe a flip kit to get it to more of a lowered truck look
So the I would say about 2-2.5” lift from moving the axle. The truck sat a smidge taller than before, which means the 2” drop hangers were basically a wash. I’m probably going to wind up with stock hangers, and a 1” drop shackle after doing the flip kit. The flip accounts for 6”, but 2/6 is too big of a difference in the drop height. So I think with the stock hangers, a 1” drop shackle, and the flip kit, it’ll be about a 2/5 which is more what I want. O
@pacificdrumma do you think the spring hanger can be drilled and mounted or welded 1.5"- 2" higher to compensate for the slight height change? I'm about to do one of these and I already have 4/6 on order
Will it be any different with a 4x4? I plan on buying a longbed and doing this since shortbed are rare where I live
Dunno, probably not. I think the only differences are in the front of the frame
Bell tech makes the 2" drop shackles in canada alberta they are roughly 160$ for the kit dont know states price for anyone wanting the specific drop shackle parts number its #6502 on Bell tech and if going this route u will need to drill new box mounts for rear of box front ones line up and for the love of god use a peice of steel tubing or pipe and weld it between the frame rails to brace the rear frame so it wont twist or warp
Already had drop shackles on this when it was a long bed. The binding turned out to be a bad shock, the frame is fine the way it is. I’ll pull the bed to paint the frame at some point and will add a crossmember then.
When are you going to do another update on the truck, id like to see it with the flip kit
I can do an update walk around soon
@pacificdrumma that would be dope brother, I'm starting mine rn.
It looks like moving the axle forward increased the rear by 2 inches using the lowering hanger? Maybe my math is off?
Never really got an accurate measurement on this. The rear suspension binding turned out to be a shock that wasn’t allowing the suspension to cycle. I didn’t find that until I was doing the axle flip and c notch. It’s possible that had I found the shock earlier, the rear would have relaxed and lowered a bit more.
Hugh wer did you find the 2” drop hangers?
Where did you get just the front drop hanger I can only find them in kits
Look up 88-98 2” drop hangers. They’re like $105-125 including hardware.
Do u have the full length vid of how u did the conversion step by step?
No, just this. I’m working on an update with a walk around though
Donde compraste las bases de enfrete de los muelles o donde puedo comprarlas 4:42
eBay 88-98 2” drop hangers
Muchas gracias camarada
@@oscarmartinez8926 denada amigo. Soy muy gringo hahaha
Looking at doing this to my 93. So I would need 2’’ front 6” rear with 1” rear lift shackles ?
If I was gonna do it again, I’d just do stock hangers and shackles, but a 6” flip kit. Right now I have drop hangers but a 1” lift shackle and the pinion angle kind of sucks.
Awesome man!! Thank you
Where can I find this bracket?
Part number 15611433
@@pacificdrumma it's fuel tank strap
I did the quickest short bed ever ,
No cutting
No Welding
No wasted time
No wasted money
Small Block 4 bolt main 350 , 11 inch clutch and 5 speed , 10 bolt limited slip rear end !
Actually didn't cost anything except for the title / tags and I was driving it !
I know this is a year old now but what did you do for mounting the fuel tank
@@lorengreen131 I did not use the short bed mount. I think I re used the long bed stuff and hammered the tank to fit
@@pacificdrumma did you ever make any updates after doing the axle flip?
@@lorengreen131 no but I’ve been meaning to
@@pacificdrumma did you put a c notch? I'm actually working on doing the conversion this weekend.
@@lorengreen131 I did yeah
Great job. I’m doing the opposite. I’m going from short bed to long bed. Wish me luck
Let's trade
Cool I'm looking for a short box to do mine
What did you use to install the fuel tank ?
Modified stock 8’ bed hanger and a mallet
Where you get the front brackets
Anywhere. They’re just 2” drop hangers. eBay, Amazon, summit, etc
Shorten the driveshaft by how much?
I think I took 14” out, the slip yoke gave me some margin for error
Did you have a short bed drive shaft or did you cut that as well?
Originally cut the long bed shaft down. Eventually deleted carrier bearing and had a one piece shaft made
Where did you buy that kit?
@@edgarisraelcruzmartin8969 what kit? Everything was separate
@@pacificdrumma to convert it into a short bed
!! I want to do the same thing you did!!
I have seen several videos but I liked the work you did!!
@@edgarisraelcruzmartin8969 I didn’t use a kit to make it short bed. I got an axle flip kit and some shocks that’s it.
You can use a rear sway bar out of a suburban with modified end links. Did that on my old 454 SS. Good video though, just picked up a LB that I'll be playing with soon. 🤙
what for exactly
@@jandtnation6343 less body roll in the corners
What you do for the shocks
We’re can i get my drive shaft done ?
See if there are any shops in your area that do drivelines
I inherited my grandfather's 93 Silverado longbed with 118k miles
I always imagined starting with a short bed extended cab frame.
And taking 18 inches out under the cab(where the front of the frame slides inside the rear)
Yes it means a cab swap to the shorter frame, and I will just buy a short stepside box. (Or hopefully it's on the extended cab frame I buy)
Just my thoughts, honestly I'm probably just going to lower it and leave it alone because it drives soooo good.
Maybe a dumb question but is it the same I cut 14 inches off a single peace drive shaft because I see you have the 2 peace
Yeah, probably
@@pacificdrummaalso can I just use factory shackle hangers or do I need to get the dropped ones
Where you get the bolts from as well for the hangers/ shocks and size. sorry for all the questions I’m just doing the project on the truck already 😎😎
@@montesalex9545 hangers I think we just used grade 8 SAE stuff from tractor supply. Shocks were just stock bolts I think
@@montesalex9545 depends on how low you want it
Did most short bed bolt holes line up
Front ones did. And that gave me a reference for the rest of them
is there a way i can get you on the phone for more questions
What do you want to know?
@@pacificdrumma what was the measurement for the rear spring hangers ? i couldnt really hear you , and what was the measurements on your drive shaft ?
@@Tdillard29 everything got moved forward 14”, and I took 14” out of the driveshaft. Now it has a custom 1 piece shaft.
i heard you mentioned about the rough ride did you straightened that out ?
@@Tdillard29 yeah shock was bound up and not traveling. New shocks and she rides mint
Don't get me wrong the way you done it go to
Don't like short bed. Looks way better with long bed.
Cool, thanks!
How you do the drive shaft??
Had one built. But initially I just cut it down in my chop box and welded it back together.