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I got a free shop day since the wife is cleaning the floors in the house. I finished cutting the link bars to length, and pressed in the threaded end bushings. I decided to mock up the brackets and rod ends together. I will use these to position the inside frame brackets to the chassis, using the radii cut in the axle brackets, and mating them to the Dakota rear axle housing. Once the frame brackets are checked and welded to the frame rails, I can start to pull the Dakota rear end and leaf springs. This will only happen after the frame welding is finished, though. I went with a larger link bar than the ones provided in the suspension kit I bought. With the horsepower being put through this truck, I spent the money for a bit more peace of mind.
One thing that made it convenient to upgrade the size of the link bars was I had to extend their length to accommodate the change in width of the Dakota chassis. With the original length of this kit's link bars, the frame brackets would land right over this width change. This would make keeping the link bars parallel to the frame rails a lot more complicated. After speaking with the kit manufacturer, he said the length increase of length on the new link bars wouldn't adversely affect the suspension performance. This allows me to position them farther forward and weld them on a flat plane without modifying the brackets. I increased the size of the link bars from 1" od x .188" wall to 1.375" od x .25 wall tubing, not only increasing their cross section strength but also compensating for the extra length as well. Beefier is better! The other improvement with this change on the link bars is they have better adjustability. The original ones with this kit only had adjustability at one end, and both ends were using urethane bushings. With the new hiem joints, the alignment will take less time since one end of the link bar won't need to be removed to make an adjustment. They also would only be able to be adjusted in 90 degree increments. The new ones can have much smaller increments of adjustment without removing either end, greatly speeding up the amount of labor needed to do the alignment. And no squeaky
urethane to constantly maintain! Anyone that has had any urethane bushings in their suspension knows what I am talking about! So why did I buy this 4 link suspension in the first place? Well, it was a universal kit since no one makes one for this application, and it came at a really good price. I am just making improvements while adapting it to my needs.
The problem I have with heim joints, they tend to wear pretty quick.... and being under the truck, exposed to everything kicked up the wheels.... not gonna help. It'll be interesting to see how they last for you.
As for urethane. I always used the black, graphite-impregnated stuff.... No squeakies.
This truck will be a Sunday cruiser/show event vehicle. Low use, garage kept. I will put up with the cleaning/greasing routine to deal with that. Definitely not a daily driver. I have come from 20 years of off roading with a baja bug, and the use of urethane has me seeking other alternatives. I could not keep the squeak out of the baja's suspension. It drove me crazy.
The neighbor who made the shop sign for me forwarded a FB Messenger ad for a Studebaker tail gate. The seller was located in Hawthorne, NV - about 2-1/2 hours south of me. The original tail gate this truck is beyond repair. The one he was selling looked really straight. He was asking $275. I noticed from the picture the passenger side chain bracket appeared bent. He told me he would cut the price due to the damage. My wife and I decided to take the drive since it was a beautiful day out. The gate is in a lot better shape, and easily repairable. I asked him how he came to have just a tail gate? (Open the honey hole!) He leads us to a quonset hut on his property. We passed two Studebaker vehicle walking to it, and he had three more inside. One was an all original '50 2R5 truck. He asked me if I was looking for more parts, and we dig through some boxes. I found the two piece nose emblem on the hood, and the passenger side emblem that I needed. A great find, a new source for possibly more parts, and a great day driving the country with all the fall colors. I ended up giving him $300 for the gate and emblems.
Definitely. They will come out looking like new. The only ones I could find online were in a lot worse shape, with pitting in the chrome. They were asking $75 for the nose emblem. This was an awesome find, and made a new friend that could supply a lot more parts if I need them. Overall a great day!
Here are some comparison pics, and the progress from today. I got the bed floor out today. I will be raising the floor a few inches, and put wheel tubs in. A wood floor will be going in.
