Bowtie Brody's Namesake 96 454

[BNielsen]

My wife thinks they’re ugly as sin, unfortunately for her I kinda dig toppers. I’ve wanted to find one for my ‘72 for years since grandpa had one on it. My dad used to tell me stories about grandpa throwing a mattress back there for dad and his sisters when they’d travel with it

You need an "Alaskan" style tin topper for the 72; that's the only topper that would look good on that truck.
I still stand by the idea that a topper is an excellent truck accessory as long as you have a place to store it.

Sounds like you found yourself a good woman.

She hasn't gotten tired of me yet, so far so good.

 

[termite]

Toppers that matches and aren't a ridiculous height look ok. They've got their uses but need to be easily removed and stored for when you want to use the truck for truck stuff. Had one on a dakota, on and off with it and made sure it went with the truck when it left here.

 

[BNielsen]

Toppers that matches and aren't a ridiculous height look ok. They've got their uses but need to be easily removed and stored for when you want to use the truck for truck stuff. Had one on a dakota, on and off with it and made sure it went with the truck when it left here.

Hardest thing is trying to remove them by yourself, I've been roughing out a kind of brace to bolt on the end of my cherry picker that'll support the topper in the center and allow me to take it off and lift it up high enough to stick it wherever I can in or on a building.
I know once I finally build an actual garage at my house I'd like to mount some hooks or some such in the ceiling so I can hoist it up and store it above; or hell even some kind of rack I can back up to and slide it off the truck.
Shuffled trucks around tonight after the rain. I wish the crew came with cab lights, but that's why I scored the visor (an insanely lucky find at LKQ) so I wouldn't have to drill 15 holes in the cab.

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[termite]

Considerably more difficult on flat ground solo. I've got a dug out area I would back the truck into and slide it off onto the ground and climb out from under it.

If you've got a spot, sink a few posts with a "saddle" on top higher than your bed rails (5 or so inches). Then cut a few boards of sufficient capacity to span post to post across the bed that you can lift the topper onto and drive out from under.

 

[BNielsen]

Dug around in the building and found the Energy Suspension bushing kit my brother bought for his K2500 a few years back, I forgot I wound up with it. Unfortunately the box was destroyed so everything got transferred into the box of steering goodies I have.
I decided to go with these for my front end rebuild since it's a 300+ dollar bushing kit that's free! I remember a few members mentioning the bushings having some noise to them after installation; anyone got any other experiences with that?
Another problem, I forgot that the inner sleeves for the upper control arm bushings are supposed to be used from the factory ones. @Schurkey didn't you machine a set of sleeves for your K2500 or some such? Got any input for my upcoming suspension rebuild endeavor?

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I'm going to omit the poly cab bushings in favor of factory rubber and GMT900 cab mounts.
Still waiting to pull the trigger on tie-rods. I'd like Kryptonite TRE in the event I can't find the correct NBS knuckles that fit the same taper as the GMT400 tie-rods. May wind up with Mevotech TTX and Cunningham adjusters.

 

[Dravec]

Dug around in the building and found the Energy Suspension bushing kit my brother bought for his K2500 a few years back, I forgot I wound up with it. Unfortunately the box was destroyed so everything got transferred into the box of steering goodies I have.
I decided to go with these for my front end rebuild since it's a 300+ dollar bushing kit that's free! I remember a few members mentioning the bushings having some noise to them after installation; anyone got any other experiences with that?
Another problem, I forgot that the inner sleeves for the upper control arm bushings are supposed to be used from the factory ones. @Schurkey didn't you machine a set of sleeves for your K2500 or some such? Got any input for my upcoming suspension rebuild endeavor?

You must be registered for see images attach

I'm going to omit the poly cab bushings in favor of factory rubber and GMT900 cab mounts.
Still waiting to pull the trigger on tie-rods. I'd like Kryptonite TRE in the event I can't find the correct NBS knuckles that fit the same taper as the GMT400 tie-rods. May wind up with Mevotech TTX and Cunningham adjusters.

I have a set of the Energy Suspension bushings in my Suburban. I have no noticeable noise compared to the worn out stuff I had. Honestly, I probably have significantly less noise now. I'm very happy with them. I plan to use them on all of my trucks as I get around to them.

 

[BNielsen]

I have a set of the Energy Suspension bushings in my Suburban. I have no noticeable noise compared to the worn out stuff I had. Honestly, I probably have significantly less noise now. I'm very happy with them. I plan to use them on all of my trucks as I get around to them.

Well that's one vote of confidence; my bushings are completely shot and starting to disintegrate so I think the time of replacement is quickly approaching.

 

[Dravec]

Well that's one vote of confidence; my bushings are completely shot and starting to disintegrate so I think the time of replacement is quickly approaching.

Worst part in my opinion was dropping the stupid front diff, and then getting it back in afterwards. I absolutely hated that part.

 

[Orpedcrow]

Good score! My understanding (without the matching experience) is that the black bushings have graphite in them so they don’t squeak? Could be one of those things that someone said that sounded like it made sense. I DO know the red poly bushings squeak if you don’t keep the greased though.

I would try to incorporate grease zerks into the shells while you’ve got everything apart just in case.

 

[Dravec]

Good score! My understanding (without the matching experience) is that the black bushings have graphite in them so they don’t squeak? Could be one of those things that someone said that sounded like it made sense. I DO know the red poly bushings squeak if you don’t keep the greased though.

I would try to incorporate grease zerks into the shells while you’ve got everything apart just in case.

The black ones are called "graphite grey"