Nick's Truck Pics- 56k, Grab a Snickers. . .

[93formulalt1]

Here are the pics of my truck, I finally got it cleaned up a bit. 1994 Sonoma 4x4 4.3 V6. Auto trans, ext. cab, short bed, and it came with a 3" body lift. The 4x4 helped me out of some sticky situations over the winter. The body's not in perfect shape, but it's still pretty cool. Fast as hell, I know it's got a shift kit, because it breaks the back wheels loose through 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears . . . Ordered the custom license plate "SLONOMA" That should arrive soon. Hope you like it!








If you have any suggestions, let me know, I'm open to anything! I'm hoping to get some new tires on a set of gray painted 4th gen Firebird wheels, and maybe a 2" suspension lift. The truck was a great deal, I'm happy with it.

[JoeliusZ28]

not gonna lie, it looks like that things seen better days. hard to tell looking at that first pic, but the way that CV boot is angled indicates to me that someone cranked up the torsion bars higher than they should have. it probably rides real stiff in the front.

[kammi10]

Im with joel on this one. it looks like its seen way better days..... how much did u pay for it again?

[ITSSLOW]

Ordered the custom license plate "SLONOMA" That should arrive soon.

Nick that's awesome! My air bagged 1995 'noma was "LONOMA" I was debating "LONOMA" and "SLONOMA" because I had the crappy 2.2 and 5spd. WE ROCK!!!




If you need any parts lemme know and I can check on prices for ya. I work at Vehicle Accessories in Clarkston.

[GETGONE]

Bastard. I was going to get Slonoma for mine when the plate was due in August! Oh well..I'm probably selling it in another month or two anyways.

[meissen]

looks nice, how much did you spend on it, Nick?

[FireBirdGirl02]

Congrats on the the new truck nick!

[93formulalt1]

I paid a little over $1k for it. I know it doesn't look like it's in the best shape, but it's about to get some help. . . I'm going to see what I can do about the suspension before anything else, I noticed that it looks as if the front rides higher than the rear, so I'm going to crank the torsion bar down, and maybe a 2-3 inch suspension lift is on the horizon. The body could use some help, I didn't realize how bad it was until I waxed it today, it's going to need some patch panels welded in and a new paint job, in addition to new doors, mirrors, some metalwork on the hood, and a new interior. More work than I planned, but I can work to improve my skills with the welder and body hammers and such. Tom, I'm interested in a suspension lift, 2"-3" at the minimum, a full grille guard, nerf bar running boards and bed rails, a rear roll pan, a pair of side view mirrors, and anything I can get for the interior in black. . . What can you do for me as far as prices go? I'll also be looking for some 31"-33" tires for 16" rims, I'm going to use some stock Firebird wheels, I think they look good on these trucks. If anybody has any suggestions or wants to help me work on it one weekend, let me know, I'm hoping to get this thing done the right way within the next few months.

[93formulalt1]

Oh yeah, and Joel, I think it does ride stiff up front too. . . If I crank the Torsion bar down, will it ride softer?

[ITSSLOW]

Oh yeah, and Joel, I think it does ride stiff up front too. . . If I crank the Torsion bar down, will it ride softer?

Yup, but the front end will sit lower. People generally crank the tbars to level a trucks stance.

[1BADAIR]

I don't think 4th gen wheels will fit a 4X4. They will fit a 2wd but the offset is differant on a 4x4

[JoeliusZ28]

Oh yeah, and Joel, I think it does ride stiff up front too. . . If I crank the Torsion bar down, will it ride softer?

i have a lot of experience with this as i cranked the bars up my own truck, and then the shop i took it to for an alignment mistakenly cranked it even higher

Judging by that CV boot yours appear to be cranked way to far. but i would need a better picture of your halfshaft angles.

heres a quick diagram that explains it:

Untitled-1.jpg

if you look at the right diagram you can get a better idea of what torsion bar adjusting does. Basically the more you crank it up, the closer the resting point is to where the suspension tops out (opposite of bottoming out, and just as bad). you NEED down travel. if you dont have any you will feel the suspension hit its lower limit when going over drop off bumps. this is bad because typically on factory setups its the shock that catches the force of the spring, which will eventually destroy them. cranking only adjusts your neutral point. It will feel stiffer because the LCA will be at more of an angle and therfore harder to compress. However when you are near the red zone or in it.. your bars are cranked beyond the point that cranking is doing anything for height. it will ride REALLY stiff there and top out on very small stuff. As you can see, the line between a good ride and a bad one is VERY FINE. I lowered mine 3/4" the other day and it made it ride 10x better and 3/4" is almost completely unnoticeable. Ive finally got mine at that magic spot where its stiffer than factory but isnt topping and rides nice. (i think factory is too plush, plus i hate front end "grandpa sag." level trucks look best )

lastly... halfshafts. cranking bars wears out your halfshafts faster just like a lift kit wears out driveshaft u-joints faster. More angle = more movement and more strain on the parts. Looking at yours, i wouldnt be surprised if yours are shot. they probably have a ton of play. They look like the u-joint is contacting the lube boot... which means you have extreme angles. set it down some asap. Especially if its riding higher in the front. that is a DEAD GIVEAWAY they are overcranked.

last but not least

GET IT ALIGNED!!!! This is infinitely important everytime you adjust if you dont want to destroy your tires!!!! I have a lifetime on my truck, so ive taken mine back after adjustments a few times for free now.

[93formulalt1]

i have a lot of experience with this blah blah blah

Sorry joel, trying to keep my post short. . . lol Thanks for the info, it really explains what is going on. I think something is shot, because when I turn going faster than like 10 mph at full turn, the front end clicks pretty badly. I'll crank them down tomorrow, and I'll let you know what I find out. I won't be able to afford new halfshafts or an alignment for a while, so I'm going to hold off on that. I remember that I did crank the torsion bar on the Blazer to lower the front end so the ride height was even front to back. Helped out a lot in the handling department. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for the comments and suggestions!

[93formulalt1]

I don't think 4th gen wheels will fit a 4X4. They will fit a 2wd but the offset is differant on a 4x4

I've seen them on a 4x4. I like the look of them . . . I might put a new rear end under it too, so I may be able to widen the rear suspension some, and a few custom parts out front will widen the front stance, I think I'll be fine. I'll let you all know what I decide. I kind of like the lowered look, so I might just take off the body lift and crank the T-Bar down so it's level, and treat it like a 4WD sports car. . . Probably be just as good in the winter too. . . lol Any suggestions? Should I lift or lower?

[96mikez28]

Fast as hell, I know it's got a shift kit

I don't know about fast.... but the 4.3's are peppy enough to get the S-trucks around town

Should I lift or lower?

If i had a 4x4 i'd lift for sure, my S10's only 2WD though