99 kota r/t

Edited: 1/16/2010 10:02:37 PM by 98dakota20

 to chopped, you have to narrow dakotas rearend to tuck most 20 in rims, witc h are 6x4.5, so there are not many to choose from. i only know of maybe 2 companys that make arms for dakota, compared to 5 that make s10 arms. you have to z dakots for them to lay flat, s10s you dont. so i dont see how you can say dakotas are easier. 

Just personal opinion, but to run big wheels on most trucks with a body drop you need to narrow the axle. Actually when i narrowed the axle on the dakota all we had to do was buy one axle shaft. Dakota pumpkins are offset, so we took the shorter axle shaft and used it on the other side of the rear end and all we had to do was buy one shaft. And yes a z is necassary on the trucks but a z isnt much more work if your doing a stock floor chassis at the same time. But when it comes to arms you dont need them to lay on 20s. I adjusted the angle on the upper Ball joint. Like I said before its just my opinion about it being easier, and yes people make way more parts for other trucks. When I started my friends dodge I thought the same thing about having very little aftermarket support, I thought it was gonna be a pain inthe Azz, but to my surprise it was very straightforward. And yes Dakota bolt patterns are Funky.

Well find the build thread in the dodge forum, I am building my buddies dodge, slowly. Choppedn22d actually did the chop top on it, but I z'd it along with a stock floor. He has the 4 cyl, but the cab is set for a body drop easier than any other truck iv'e done. It doesn't need much to lay pinch, and even less to lay to the door.  The biggest bitch is the hood. The stock hinges are well in the way and I am dreading having to figure them out

some guy on customdakotas.com said he figured out the hood, i asked him to post pics but he has not yet. http://www.customdakotas.com/forums/styling-forum/9449-chopped-top-progress-2.htmli was watching your build, but you quit posting on it.

Ya, the owner just had a kid and I lost my job, so we are waiting for those to settle down and start back on it. I still need to get the latest pics from him and post up

sorry to hear man, you find new work?

Naw, still looking. It's real difficult to find a job in my field right now. More than most here in so cal

yea im goin to do 2 1/2" BD on it that will put it at the pinch i should get away from realy messin with the hood brake booster and AC. its on 20's now layin frame all around without the Zin the frame so that seems to be good. i know i will half to narrow the rear end so im figuring 6 inches total but i  think my axel shafts are the same length on both sides because the RT rear end is alot bigger than the normal dakota rear ends. any pictures will help.

I pretty sure the axles are still offset from eachother. 3 in on either side is more than enough unless you want to run a real large lip on the wheel. The hood is the most problem. I think the booster and a/c are more out of the way than other trucks

i was thinking on the the hood if half to mess with it just to move the hinge up and cut into the hood were it bolts at and move it up. but thats just a thought