D350
+1y
July 29, 2008
Here's a "How To" post on body dropping a D50.
I've had a LOT of people already tell me they've never seen a body drop performed like this.  Truth is... I've never done one before.  I just stared at the truck for hours trying to envision the easiest way to get the job done, and this is what I came up with.  In hind sight, I couldn't imagine doing it any other way.
I'm bad at math.  My goal was to lay rocker even with the frame rails.  My method made this easy without a single calculation being made.  
I should also point out that because I wanted to lay true rocker, I folded the pinch back out of sight.  Easy process with a heavy hammer.
The very first thing I did (with the cab off the frame) was cut the floor  along the door sill seems and cut the cab's rear wall just above the floor.
  I didn't want my steering wheel or pedals to be moved by the drop so I cut all the way up the fire wall so that the steering column mount and the brake master cylinder would remain in the same place.
    With the floor and the firewall detached, I mounted it to the frame.  For appearance purposes, I sloped the seat mounting supports at the ends.
    Once the floor was secured, I welded on 8th inch plate vertically  to the sides of the floor that connected flush with the concrete.  It's this strip that's going to connect the body to the floor.  I welded it securely along the entire length and gusseted the the underside to insure it would remain vertical.
    Next, I measured how high the rear of the floor was from the ground.  I took that measurement and drew a line across the back wall of the cab at that height.  Then I cut out that piece.  That was the first indicator of how much I was body dropping.  (I cut a 4.5" strip from the rear cab wall... it was a 4.5 inch body drop.)
After getting that measurement, I cut 4.5 inches from the top of the firewall as well.
      Lastly,  I dropped the body back over the frame.  Abracadabra!  Body Drop!  I welded the entire perimeter where the floor and firewall met the cab and I also added and extra 8th inch plate angled at the door sills for looks and added strength.