59 fleetside longbed bagged

[KLINGER]

guess its time to throw mine on here. quick run down its a 1959 fleetside apache longbed that my grandfather's brother bought new and has been passed down to me. camaro front clip, 350/350, p/s, power brakes, van tilt wheel, c notched rear, roll pan and shaved tailgate. i wanted to post on here because i really liked the irs out of a thunderbird grafted in the rear i seen and am going to do the same thing. i am picking up the rearend tommorow and hope to soon install it. my buddie owns an off road fabrication shop so it should be a snap with all his tools. PICS SOOOON TO FOLLOW I SWEAR!

[GRIMSS]

Sounds like a cool project. We really like pics, lots of pics.

[Kim57]

Kim

[Bigblue29]

Sweet! Lets see those pics!

[KLINGER]

so i got the thunderbird rear clip for $100 yesterday.. i decided to go this route because A)its cheaper than buying a four link B) i wont have to raise the floor and put a huge step notch in the frame C) better ride with something different D)oh yea im cheap. I've been having the fab itch for a while now so its time to do something different. stay tuned.....

[KLINGER]

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[Coach529]

Subscribed!!

Love that rear end.....would love to pu one in my AD someday!!

[meter swinger]

LS + Dodge steelies? Looking good.
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[Kim57]

Looks like a nice clean install.
Kim

[Dan in Pasadena]

We've GOTTA have more info about how that IRS goes in!

From the photo it looks like you:
1. Box the frame, with or without C notches I suppose
2. Cut the T Bird crossmembers (fore & aft) to fit between the frame rails, and
3. Add only upper bag "mounts" (or spring mounts, if you're using springs?).

It CAN'T be that easy, can it? I'm missing more steps?

There's some kind of plate parallel and below the driver's side frame rail but I can't see if it's welded on or what and don't see a coresponding piece on the pasenger side, what gives?

Also, what's the track width mounting flange-to-mounting flange vs. the stock setup?

Inquiring minds want to know (not to mention us nosy, pushy bastards!) lol.

[NEWFISHER]

+1 ^^^^^^ what he said. Pm'ed you too

[_Ogre]

looks good. hopefully we won't have to wait 3 yrs for the next update

[KLINGER]

Better pics of the install. It is as easy as it looks. One piece windows are from black diesel's post. The irs rear is from another link i will find it.
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[NEWFISHER]

Thanks for the pics. What is the Wheel mount surface to wheel mount surface of the conversion? Wondering if there is room for adapters to keep my wheels. Any parts list like Ujoint used ( was it a conversion joint) , bag diameter or which brand etc

[KLINGER]

The wheel spacers are one inch and they go 4.25 to 5.5 for the dodge. Bags are standard 2500 lb firestone bags. I havent gone to the driveline shop yet so not sure on the u joint i hope they figure it out lol.
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[Coach529]

Looks like a nice clean install. Looks great!!

What years of Thunderbird work best?

[made2drag]

ttt

[Daze57]

very clean setup you have there

[focusedontheprize]

Very cool setup. Creative.

[KLINGER]

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[KLINGER]

Better change my thread to short bed, I cut my frame up today, got it welded together. Took some pics but I can't figure out how to post pics from my iPhone 5s

[OneOffStroker]

I hate trying to post pics that I take with my phone. I usually end up emailing them to myself and using my computer to post. That's a lot of extra work for something simple, which is why I don't post many pics. haha

Anyway, I like your creative use of the IRS, but I'm VERY concerned about the overall strength of the build. The c-notch that you took out appears to have left only 1.5" or so of frame left. With half of the IRS still behind that skinny part, and especially with your bags behind it, the rear part of the frame will take all of the load, and any aggressive hit or bump could fairly easily fold the rear of your frame up at the notch. It just doesn't look beefy enough to hold 3200+ lbs with kinetic load traveling down the road. For your sake, I hope I'm wrong, but I strongly think it is something you should look at a little closer. Perhaps a large step notch made of 3x4 tubing at the least.

[BIGglaSS]

I'm not an engineer, but the cradle of the IRS acts as a subframe to keep the notched frame from folding.

I have been interested in this conversion as well. It doesn't look like there is enough travel to lay rockers and keep the stock height bed floor. If you move the bag brackets higher, is there more travel to drop it lower? What is the overall diameter of the rear tires, and how much clearance between the rockers and floor?

[KLINGER]

I just sold my boat for 7k last week, plan on using all that into my truck to get it finally running after all these years. I've finished up making it a short bed, my neighbor had a long bed floor out of a 70's Chevy I've cut down to fit. I've picked up a 3rd row seat out of a 2010 suburban which I like because it has integrated shoulder belts. I also picked up a rear led tail lamp and reverse combo light, so I can have reverse lights on the truck. I ordered the Altman easy latch kit, hope to install soon.

[KLINGER]

Pic of the bed floor