Bout to start bagging my dakota...need help

Ok, so i decided against just static dropping my dodge. I'm gonna go ahead and lay it out. So now I run into questions. What are common complications with 97 dakotas? I already know to Z the frame, run a parralel 4 in the back, and that stuff. My main questions are what tire size can i use in the front without interferring with the brake booster? or what kind of brake booster are you using? my control arm ball joints are fucked, so i'm gonna go ahead and replace those, so what kind of control arms and spindles are you using? i'm not planning on using any rims bigger than like a 18x8, and probaly keeping stocks for now. it's a daily driven basic project. so i don't need huge wheels and a custom frame. in general, what specific things am i gonna be looking at when i start this? i have to limit down time as much as possible since it's daily driven.

235/40/18 will clear barly

Your wheels will not come close to your breakbooster for one. They don't make drop spindles for 97 and up dakota's. Stock arms with full size chevy bag cups, cut down to lay will work fine on your truck to lay out, aslong as the offset on the rims isn't too far out.

And this is just my opinion here, but it being a daily driver, and being on 18's, i would avoid the head ache, and not do the frame Z. The amount of effort involved for what your looking for doesn't seem worth it.

My first rims were 18's on 235/40/18" rubber and i didn't need to touch my inner fender wells, other than yanking out the first layer of plastic. Make sure you raise & or move your gas tank also, they hang down just enough to catch so be safe about it.

Your only real concern here, is making sure your wheels have the right offset, to tuck in the rear, measure 5 million times to be sure. Good luck

You might have to get your axle narrowed. Guy in my club had to to tuck 20s, and they had a pretty high offset.

I just finished re bagging mine to lay on the 20's and its no where close to my brake booster. When I had it layed on the 18's I used the stock uppers and a set of djm 3" lowers with a bag plate welded on it with a 2600 bag up front. All I had to do was yank the inner plastic piece. The rear was a basic 4 link while raising the gas tank. I can't remember for the life of me what the offset on my rims are (just called zach at boze and told him I wanted rims for a kota and he shipped em) but I widened the rear fender a little instead of shortning the rear axle.

well i think i wanna z it just so it'll lay flat instead of on the front crossmember(atleast i'm told that's where it lays by a few people). even though its gonna be a daily, my goal is to still lay flat. moving the gas tank sounds like a good idea...how hard is it just to raise? i guess just build a crossmember? i'm gonna raise my bedfloor to keep from having wheel tubs or too much open in the back. i'm not gonna do a lot of dragging, so i don't need clearance for that, but i have been known to drive as low as i can. out of curiosity what causes some people to move their brake boosters? i was reading through profiles and found like 3 that changed boosters, and almost everyone narrowed a rear end. but if i can get away with flaring the bed sides, i'm gonna do that. but you're saying you only had to remove the plastic inner fender...no tubbing's required? even with the z'd frame? sorry for asking so many questions, this is my first time building something, and everyone's scaring me by saying i picked the worst first project.

My truck wasn't frame z'd, just bagged. The reason i said you'd be better off not z ing the front end is because just sitting bagged the front end is only 3/4" lower than the stock crossmembers. If you want to go through the work to remove and replace every crossmember under your truck and z the frame just to lay flat frame, you might as well stock floor the thing, cause your not talking about much more work after all that.

My point was 3/4" difference really isn't that much, and it gives you something to drag, and replate, we call em training wheels, something for you to drag that won't hurt anything major. The front inner fender wells do not need to be touched on 18's with non-donut like tires. And personally before you decided to flare the bed, take a good look at a bed flared out and look at one with the axel shortened, shortening the axel really isn't that much compared the body work involved in flaring the bed, and it looks alot better, imo.

The only reason i've heard of dakota guys replacing thier boosters is when they are z'd and body dropped, and the headers on the drivers side get really close to them, from what i've been told on the v8's. Your not body dropped so i wouldn't worry about all that yet.

Edited: 7/2/2007 1:36:03 PM by draggingtb

ok, i got a crappy 4 banger so i probaly won't even come close. but yeah, z'd frame for just 3/4" of inch doesn't make much sense. i'm gonna rebuild my tranny crossmember anyway because it hangs down way more than i'd like, looks pretty simple to build a new one. what else has to be rebuilt though when it comes to z-ing? i'm not new to the scene, just dodges. so if it's not too much, and doesn't kill my budget, i might go ahead and stock floor it if it's that much work. how much work is involved in narrowing the axle though, compared to flaring the bedsides? i would rather a shortened axle, but trying to limit the amount of work i put into it being a daily. i'm even gonna be on stocks with a 215/60r15 (25.2 inches diam, compared to 25.6 for a 235/40r18 ) for a few weeks until i get the 18s. i got a ranger i can go all out on that my buddy's paying for. I'm used to s-series and torsion trucks. narrowing axles and frame z-ing is all new to me.

my kota rubs the front inner fenders when i had 225/40/18s. i had 215/35s and didn't rub at all. and i've drug my front crossmember to where its flat and level with the frame. i am using djm 2" lowers with a plate welded for lower bag mounting and a cup made that bolts in using the upper shock mounting hole. with my rims in the back, being they are 18x7s i only trimmed the lip of the fender and they tucked.

Sup greg Wehn i was helping with jimmy Webb we got up under mine I know the Z was gonna be like 2 1/2" the rear end will need to be narrowed and terry's right on all the other shit u can prolly use a 2500lbs bag instead of a 2600lbs bag since you wont need a terrible amount of lift and with an 18 im not sure if it was already mentioned ...im a little buzzed right now but laying an 18 u wont need any dropped sus. parts plus i do know as mentioned about they do not make drop spindles or arms for these trucks but hell rakilla layed his 22's on stock shit just some cutting envolved with that.