yes its looking great. looking forward to the updates

The bushing kits for the frame end of the the four link bars arrived. I got them from Suicide Doors which is now Quality Air Ride. The outter sleeves are very nicely made, they appear to have been cut on a lathe.

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/linkbushing001.jpg

made a bit of progress on the rear suspension. The angle of seperation between the upper link will be 45 degrees. I can't get more than that unless I make the upper links really short. I need to make some sort of bridge for the upper links on the housing. The lower links are about 23" c-c.

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/tri-link001.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/tri-link002.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/tri-link003.jpg

Here's the four link with most of the bracketry tacked in place. after i took these pics, I pulled it all apart. I've got a whole lot of welding to do now .

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/tri-link011.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/tri-link010.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/tri-link009.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/tri-link008.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/tri-link007.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/tri-link006.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/tri-link005.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/tri-link004.jpg

It looks good, coming togther nice.

Sorry - but I think your angles are far too steep going to the center like that with the top bars.

the wide angle pictures make the angle of the upper link look steeper than it is. Link angles and lengths were determined by my CAD drawings. I also checked anti squat based on estimations of CG and it should be close to 100%, if not more. The lower bars are parallel to the ground and the included angle at the upper rear link is 70 degrees.

I just went through your thread, and I love the build. If you want to match your "Patina" go to a craft store like Michaels, the sell a paint that has a high iron content, and a chemicle that will turn it to rust.

I've already figured out a way to very quickly create rust with a few common household items. it works well with metal filings (almost too well, it created an exothermic reaction:_paranoid ), but i have not tried it on any sheet metal yet. There are a few places on the cab that i need to patch to prevent water leaks and I might try treating those areas after I patch them. There a whole lot of those paints available in all sorts of colors and that would be an option if i'm not happy with my results.

I welded the front half of the frame to the back half and mocked up the bed & cab again. I need to gusset where the frames connect to get rid of the flex that it has now.

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/tri-link012.jpg

This shot shows the angle of the upper links better

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/tri-link013.jpg