bagging a dakota

ill right iam geting ready to bag a buddies dokata i hav ebeen looking around on line and havent been finding nothing do they make a 4 link kit for it are do i have to make my own i see alot of people just useing a unaversal notch and making there own link bars so on is there a easyer way out like baging a s-10 you can just buy a 3 link for it from suicide doors

i know art made a 4 link for it... check them out

there is no easy way. that's why it's taking me so long to even start the project on mine. i don't know what year you got, which will help provide some info for you, but i got the 97 style. you have to z the frame in the front, and the frame rails drive down right where you need to make your notch so you have to play with your notch a lot. unless you relocate your fuel tank / fuel cell, you have to use a parallel 4 and it is best to make your own if you can. to sum it up though, there is no easy way for dakotas.

oh, there is an easy notch from sd.com that i was forgetting. it's a bolt in c...nothing major, but that's as easy as it's getting.

make sure to use a plumb bob for your axle center then just find references points on each side of the frame I.E. stock hole in the frame from the factory mounts ect... then just make sure before u weld ur notch that both sides are center and the same areas. my motto that i stold from some unknown is "MEASURE A MILLION TIMEs CUT ONCE." U cant stretch metal, if u cut it to short. As far as link goes either 4 link it, or triangulate try to stay away from rear mounted link setups. AND no matter what rely on ur tape measure.... if u want just bars for the a parralel setup if got a set. Hit me up if interested. they where on my 01 standard cab dakota. u would have to get brackets from SD. Hit me up.

good luck on finding things for dakotas, i have a 94 and i only found a few things for mine, i got tired of looking and took it to a shop to complete, ur looking at alot of fab time, just giving you a heads up. also if ur going with any wheels bigger than 20's the notches from sd.com probably wont work, i bought them, figured that out the scrapped them, good luck

has more info on baggin Dakotas

Bag'n a dakota is easier said then done... But when it comes down to it... its just a normal bag job with parts that aren't really available so you end up making your own. You have to rebuild the crossmember at the end of the trans, z the frame... along with narrowing the rearend... and lots of other fun stuff that goes along with it...

and when you z your frame, make sure your steering still works... you may need to add a knuckle or rebuild the shaft

you dont have to z the frame, you do if you want it to lay out. the notches are the same as any other truck, a Parallel 4 link works good, i have one from kp.

I got a 99 single cab that is bagged n bodydropped, fixin to put it up for sale...anyone interested?