Great Lakes 4x4. The largest offroad forum in the Midwest banner

1999 chevy soon to be coil sprung SAS

10K views 32 replies 8 participants last post by  1989gmc 
#1 · (Edited)
well i just traded my 1990 GMC sas for this truck. i really needed the gas mileage and reliability of the newer truck and i sure dont mind the extra power either :naughty:. its a 1999 chevy silverado 1500, 5.3, auto, z71. the body is in a little rougher than i had hoped to get in a trade but i dont mind too much. the interior is super clean and has bucket seats, power everything and it all functioned properly so i couldnt pass up the deal.

when i got it it was sitting on a 6" fabtech lift and 285/75/16 tires with stock rims. also the rear was about 2" lower than the front.





well the day after i got it i sold the tires right out from under it and i had to get to detroit area the next day so i borrowed the tires off my 2002 gmc to get me down there. the tires are 35x13.5x18 pro comp xterrains. they fit pretty good with only minor trimming.







than came the shackle flip





yesturday i went to silver lake so the few days before that i had some stuff to do to get it ready to go!

it got a set of 16.5" weld racing rims from mudbilly and a set of 33's that had been taking up space in my barn, a set of fender flares, new passenger side and third door handles and a diamond plate tool box









that brings me to today. i did finally make it home last night but something still isnt right. i have a grinding noise somewhere in the front end. im sure its a cv shaft or maybe a wheel bearing but its too cold out for me to be very motivated at solving the problem.

but here is how it sits today:



future plan include:
- regear to 4.56 with rear locker
- 35-37" tires
- repair rockers and cab corners than repaint
- fix a ton of small thing from the previous owner(s) neglectiong it
- probably end up with a SAS using coils sometime in the spring
 
See less See more
12
#2 · (Edited)
well i got the day off work so ive been finishing up a bunch of little stuff on it. changed the rear gear lube and put on a chrome diff cover. had to repace both front speakers before they drove me crazy, threw on a alunimum gas door, mounted up a prerunner style push bar, but i have to pop it back off and get it painted charcoal gray to since the chrome is peeling in some spots.

also i have narrowed the front end noise down to the drivers side. seems like its a wheel bearing or a CV shaft but i havent figured it out for sure yet
 
#5 ·
right now my truck sits almost perfectly level if anything about an inch high in the back and im running the shackly flip and a 3" block. the shackle flip is pretty easy and theres a few different ways to do it. i used a piece of 3" angle iron that is 3" long and 1/4" thick and than braced it with 1" wide 1/4" thick flat steel about 6" long on each side.

safety warning- *doing a shackel flip this way does take fabrication/cutting/welding and should only be done by a professional*
 
#8 ·
thanks! the push bar should really set it off when i get some nice lights to put on there.

if anything after the shackle flip it rides a little smoother. it changes it to a compression style shackle setup that helps the ride.

when you are doing this make sure you have enough slack in your brake lines and shocks. also when you are done you may have to get shims/wedged blocks to adjust your pinion angle. and your axle will be located about an extra 1/2"-1" forward in the wheel well when you are done. you dont really notice it unless you are looking for it. you can buy a "zerorate" to fix this or just leave it alone and it helps with driveshaft length
 
#10 ·
well if you take out the 5" block and run a shackle flip (~4") and a 2-3" block than you would end up with 6-7" of lift in the back. so you would end up needing a couple more inches of slack just to be safe. honestly it all depends on your truck the best thing you can do is measure your truck and see how it works!
 
#11 ·
well ive been doing a bunch of small stuff on it trying to fix it all up. i put the lights in the push bar and wired them in so they come on when the high beam head lights are on, fixed the broken passenger side fog light and fixed the broken tailgate handle
 
#12 · (Edited)
well it seems like i made a few steps forward and than a bunch backward. the truck got wrecked this morning in an accident with a ditch... it jumped a ditch at about 45 mph. it was foggy on the way to work and i never even saw the stop sign. the good part is i walked away with no injurys but the truck didnt do so well,

list of known damage so far:

- bent frame
- wrecked bumper
- bent fender
- bent hood
- ruined front lift bracket
- broke fog lights
- cracked front diff
- cracked skid plate
- bent push bar
- broke passenger side lower a arm
- broke passenger side upper ball joint
- bent passenger side tie rod









im picking up a new rolling frame tomorrow! so there wishould be alot of progress in the next week
 
#16 ·
Theres a salvage yard right by my house that has a hood and a passenger fender thats good no driver fender because i stole that but im pretty sure its still there if i can remember the dam name of the place ill let ya know. Man you pretty much took out the whole front end it would be easier to SAS it now lol... But good thing the ditch wasn't bigger glad to hear ya walked away from it.
 
#23 ·
Saginaw Auto Recyclers
3245 Hack Road
Saginaw, MI 48601-9244
(989) 755-2277

The truck is grey but im pretty sure the hood and pass. fender were still good. i know the truck got ass packed and like the grill and shit was already gone but the rest was still there a week ago.
 
#26 ·
the red ford is my dads. my jeep is pretty well put away in the barn for the winter and probably isnt my best choise as a DD, my 2002 gmc has a blown tranny case and i just sold my bravada that was my DD, spo im pretty limited on options right now
 
#27 · (Edited)
well heres my 1999 GMC parts truck! it has the frame and all the front end parts i need to get my truck back to driving... than i just need the bumper and body parts to make it look perfect again











the cab/doors/interior/title will be sold if i can get $500 for it if not ill keep it for parts.
 
#28 ·
well the my uncle took a look at the truck a week or so ago and told me that it should actually be really easy to strighten the frame. so its sitting at his shop right now. he worked on it today and got it most of the way done only about an hour left on the frame rack. than the truck will be headed to fenton to have "chop" make me a custom tube front bumper

but now i have a cab and frame for a 1999 gmc that i dont know what to do with... either it will be sold to help fund other projects of its going to turn into a project truck for my girlfriend... only time will tell
 
#29 ·
truck is back at my house. frame is stright. front suspension parts are all put back in. i have a little more small stuff to wrap up than i have to get a front end alighnment done on it. after that it will go to chop to have the new bumper built!
 
#31 ·
not really ive just been driving it. i should have new tires for it right after christmas. ive been trying to be able to get the new bumper made for it but i cant be without a vehical for a week to have it built so im kinda stuck right now. on top of that i just went out and bought a harley so i kinda shifted my focus at the moment
 
#33 · (Edited)
while it has been a while since i updated the thread. the the had issuse for a while and it is finally all worked out. i had another thread on this but the long and short of it is that i ended up replacing a motor in the truck all to figure out i just had a clogged cat. the positive side of this is that the motor is out of a 2003 tahoe and only has 63,000 miles on it.

in the last few weeks i added a 3" body lift, cowl hood, new rear bumper, 35x14.5 thornturds, tinted windows, flowmaster exhaust and undercoated the frame.

now i am in the process of building half doors for it (yes i know its not a jeep...lol) pictures will be posted soon.

im also in the process of getting rust free body parts together so it can get it repainted. (i need a passenger fender, passanger door, box sides, cab corners and rockers) hope to have it all painted before the snow flies.

once the snow flies i will be putting it away for the winter and starting to cut the front suspension out to make way for a coil spring radius arm soild axle swap. i know radius arms are not a perfect setup but they are simple and get the job done.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top