Ultimate Taco: Part Dos

Before we started on the front suspension we assembled the axles. Dynatrac built the Dana 44 axle to fit the truck, but also so that off-the-shelf axles would fit in a pinch. Our long-side axle is from a '74-'79 Jeep Wagoneer and the short-side is a '73-'78 GM 1/2-ton truck, both with 30-spline ends. The stub shafts are 19-spline deals like GM used in '77-'87 1/2-tons for strength purposes. We are running chromoly shafts from Superior Axle and Gear, 300M U-joints from CTM Racing, and some Warn premium hubs. This should hold up to our abuse with a lightweight vehicle.

The front suspension will also be a link design, but rather than four links with a Panhard, the space requirements dictated only three links. To make this work we have two lower links with only one upper link on the driver side to control fore and aft movement and axlewrap. Then we will use a Panhard to control lateral movement. Again, we locate the axle square under the frame and attach the lower links.

An important part of the front geometry is having the Panhard bar running parallel to the steering drag link. The optimum design would have the Panhard and drag link the same length and parallel while running as horizontally level as possible at ride height. But of course, redesigning a suspension around a vehicle's frame means making concessions. Our Panhard bar will also be made of 1 1/2-inch 7076 aluminum bar stock.

With the front suspension mocked up, we flexed the axle to be sure everything would clear, and then measured for front driveshafts. We sent our old driveshafts to Tom Woods Custom Driveshafts to be modified. Notice the upper link mounts.

For steering we decided on a Scout II steering box. We first mocked everything up, and then sent the box to BenchWorks in Phoenix to have it rebuilt. The marks on the box show the full throw from left to right. Howe Performance Steering will use these marks when we later send the box to them for a hydraulic-assist setup.

It soon became apparent that the inner fenderwells would need to be removed to clear the tires and front 14-inch Bilstein 9100 Rockcrawler shocks. This also required moving all the stuff that mounts on the fenders. We decided at this point to remove all the ABS parts and go with a standard braking system. That's all the space we have this month, folks. Check in next time when we finish up the suspension, and head for some more tricks.