Project Re-Gen: 1985 D350 Headed to SEMA '15!!

I'd like to make a correction:
The aforementioned panhard bar is not actually a panhard bar. It's more of a diagonal link bar that Humberto uses on the racecars he builds. It will limit lateral motion of the rear axle to about 1/8" throughout the entire range of travel unlike a traditional panhard which allows for 1/2 to 1 inch of lateral movement through range of travel.

Next on the list will be the steering setup.

Humberto is running the steering rack out of a 3rd gen dodge so mounts and all the linkages and mounting points had to be fabricated.
The cross member had to be opened up and slugs built to mount the rack.

Slugs were also built for the lower control arms.













This was the original idea for the tie rods, This is a stock arm that would be modified to have the correct shape/angle to fit in the location it was needed. this idea would be scrapped as it was causing binding and not functioning correctly.



This little arm was the result of a couple days of hair pulling trying to figure out the correct solution to tie rod angles. This keeps motion linear and without undue stress on the parts.

Moving to the front suspension.

Care was taken in parts selection and fabrication so that the arms would move freely with out binding providing a quality ride and correct geometry through out the entire range of motion.

Jigs were used to find the correct mounting location to attach the arms to the chassis.







Here you can see the lower arm mounts that have been set into the crossmember and the raised upper mount brackets welded to the frame rails.



Close up of the welds:



Full droop to full lift sees only a 1.5 degree change in camber.



After custom bag mounts were fabricated along with custom shock cups the pieces of the puzzle were put together.



(shock mockup)










The front swaybar is from a Duramax.

Throughout the entire range of motion this setup has no binding and no bottoming out, a lot of that is thanks to Jeebus Joints from Michigan Metal Works in the control arms and high misalignment spherical rod ends elsewhere.

The truck is also running a stock spindle.

(note: the long bolts on the tie rod ends of the steering are for mockup purposes only, this was due to a previous design)












I like this view personally:

On to the engine mockup and placement:

The air ride system will be running a engine mounted compressor for very reliable on board air with out the disruptive noise of electric compressors.

Humberto found a way to mount it inline with the powersteering pump and has eliminated the vacuum pump completely.

Now this might present a few questions to you such as how will the brakes and HVAC function?

This truck will be running a new design of air/hydraulic brakes (more on that when it comes in) and aftermarket HVAC which is all electric.





Humberto also raised the engine 1" so that the oil pan will be above the cross member and for steering rack clearance. While this truck is not being built to "lay frame" this addition clearance helps everything fit better.

The transmission tunnel will be rebuilt to accommodate the raised height and the NV4500.

The engine lift was achieved with modified motor mounts.





Here you can see the original mounting holes and the new holes (which have bolts in them)

Here are a few pictures to demonstrate full lock to lock turning with out binding.





And to show clearance while riding low. This truck will have an excellent turning radius at a low ride height because everything was designed and built correctly.



The truck is built to accept a 32" tall tire but will be running a 31.5" tall tire.

Humberto also did a quick mockup of the front end:





And completely stripped out the interior.













Here is the dash removed to be disassembled for updates:









He was very proud to mention that he successfully pulled out all of the glass, including the windshield, without breaking a single piece!

While the body parts are out being media blasted and prepped for paint and Humberto is finishing up a few other side projects you can get excited over this:



There is a friendly little "build off" happening out in Lubbock, Texas between Humberto and Vulcan Specialties and former Gas Monkey Dustin Deleon who is now a part of Rev Limit Customs. Both trucks are square body crew cabs that will be diesel powered and revealed at SEMA 2015!!

Check out the August 2015 issue for Street Trucks for a nice little preview!

Of course, stay tuned here for in depth updates of Project Re-Gen!

Just saw this for this first time, nice project! This is the first crew cab dodge of this body style I've seen bagged.

Thanks! I'm excited to see it finished as like you mentioned they are pretty rare.

Humberto has the frame completely stripped down and is beginning to box and add crossmembers where they are needed.

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Progress, Progress, Progress

To post photos you don't need to upload them to photo bucket or any other site anymore. Just click the Attach button and you can upload multiple at a time.

Will they still function if posted via Photobucket? I noticed most of the pictures are still loading except for the last three of the frame that I posted. I have this same thread on multiple forums so it's easier for me to type it all out once with the IMG tags and then copy paste.