Out here in the west, pretty much all vehicles living in this area are rust free, you would simply not believe it. But not that many B-trucks were sold in Arizona, so few in the parts yards. Note that a bed for a Cab Plus is different dimensions/wheel spacing than either regular cab or the rarer single cab long bed.

 

I meant to reply to this thread when I first saw it back in November.......88LBO, you have done a great job resurrecting your free truck!!

I know what you have been through, as I have done nearly every rebuild you could do to these trucks. I like the stock, functional look on my trucks, other than maybe some tire & wheel upgrades......two of my friends used to swap a 1986 B2000 truck back and forth with each other back in the late eighties and early nineties, and it was basically the same color as yours......white with the maroon lower color.......although it did have more decal striping on it that was black. Still very similar to your truck......and it was the truck that got me interested in these B-trucks. I now have about 5 of them......3 that I drive regularly, and a couple that I need to finish working on them to get them road ready.

 

All I can say is, awesome job! Love the dedication to the project. I just picked up an 88 that I'm planning to put some work in to, and I'm having difficulty finding suspension bushings. Did you find a kit with everything in it, or did you piece that together yourself?

 

For most of the hard suspension parts, I bought one of those kits off EBay, and then a few one-off parts like an idler arm from Mevotech (bolt holes too small, by the way, and need drilled out one size), MOOG, etc.. The first pitman arm I got didn’t fit right out of the kit, but I found a non kit version that worked great. For bushings, I cobbled together stuff from EBay and AutoZone.

If you have a specific part you are seeking, post here and I will let you know where I found it (if I replaced it). And if I don’t know, pretty sure the fellows above me in this thread know if anyone does!

on another note, I think the suspension parts kits from China are nothing special, but at some point you have to make budget choices or you end up building a truck you can’t afford. So my thinking was do what I can afford, see if it works, and replace the individual parts that fail at a later date. Not saying it’s the best strategy, but it was mine so I didn’t break the bank.

 

this is awesome. Im making a parts list for B2200 suspension overhaul in May. Thanks for the heads up about the mevotech Idler arm, it was in my cart haha.
Do you remember which Pitman arm did not fit, so I know to avoid it?

 

I bought the steering kit at the link below - everything was fine except the Pitman Arm.The collar that goes around the grooved steering shaft was just a hair too small. I couldn’t get it properly seated with a 1/2” Aircat 1150 hammering away for 30 seconds! To be clear, pitman arms are rarely fully seated (note the location of yours for reference before pulling it - photos are useful). However this was nowhere near properly seated. I changed it out for one made by Delphi from PartsGeek (17640-05700168) - fit great.

Drilling out the Mevotech idler arm holes one size bigger was no big deal (if you don’t see another good one for sale).


https://www.ebay.com/itm/27483843700...mis&media=COPY

 

I'm mostly looking for bushings and things, specifically for the rear leafs. Most of the hard stuff I've needed I found on rock auto. Do you have a link to the kit you got off ebay? I'd be curious to take a look.

So far I've only done shocks, sway bar links and bushings on the front end, but it's made a lot of difference in the way it steers and rides. I did notice when I was in there that the ball joint boots are ripped, so I'll need to ad that to the list.

 

Hey Mickey - the link is in the thread just above your last post. If you search for “suspension kit” at EBay and then specify the vehicle, it will generate a bunch of options that all appear about the same. Study closely to make sure they have everything you need. They run $60-$80, which is way cheaper that buying each part separately- but time will tell how they hold up!

I also bought a pair of front upper control arm shafts made by MOOG because they weren’t included in any kits - at this link:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/13335453445...mis&media=COPY

I haven’t installed the control arm shafts yet, but they were expensive at $55 each and the quality appears very nice.

 

Leaf spring bushings

Front of leaf spring Moog K9948 (O’Reilly, Rock) or Mazda 387428330

Rear of leaf spring Mazda UB4028333
Upper rear shackle Mazda UB3928333

 

Did you ever install the upper control arm shaft kit?

I just replaced most front end bushings, but forgot to buy the upper control arm shaft kit. kicking myself for not double checking my order.

I'm wondering if the upper control arm shaft kit can be replaced without having to separate the upper ball joint.