Here is the first part of Jimmy P's body drop progress on his 1988 Chevy Project truck. All pictures, all information, and all work credited to Jimmy P.

*****Under Construction*****

Here is a quick run-down of whats required to do a stock floor bodydrop. I will break this up into a few different parts:

• Lowering the cab mounts
• Sectioning the frame under the cab and welding in the 2x4 tube
• Modifying the cab floor (over transmission, driveshaft and part of the frame)
• Lowering the core support mounts
• Bodydropping the bed

Keep in mind as you are looking at these pics that alot of them dont represent what the finished product should look like. For example some of the pics show spot or tack welds....these were later finished off with a solid bead for strength.

The first thing that I did was to set the frame up on jackstands and level it off and comfortable working level. Here you can see my stock body mounts are in pretty sad condition so I decided to just make new ones. If your body mounts are in good shape you can just reuse them and lower them down instead of making new ones.

*****Under Construction*****

I layed a piece of box tube under the frame and took measurements off of that.

To make the new mounts I started with some 4"x4" x1/4" tube and cut it to look like these.

Using the old measurments as a reference I welded the new mounts in place of the old ones...only they were 2.5" lower.

Once its tacked in place you can cut out the new hole for the rubber body mount. I used torches but a plasma cutter would be ideal for a perfect cut.

Once all 4 body mounts are lowered its time to trim the frame down to make clearance for the cab which will be sitting 2.5" lower. To maintain the strength of the frame I welded in some 2x4 tube. I used 3/16" wall tube...which i feel is plenty strong but not overly heavy. The front of the tube will have to be notched since the frame kicks upward right at the front of the cab.

Tuck the piece of 2x4 inside the frame until it hits the front curve of the frame

In the back make a second piece of 2x4 for the kickup at the back of the frame. Clamp the 2x4 close to the frame and tack weld the two piece together while they are in the frame

Once the pieces are tacked together you can remove them and weld them together all the way around for a nice solid connection.

RE-install the 2x4 into the frame and clamp it nice and tight against the frame. The more clamps the better.

Now its time to start welding them together. There are a bunch of holes in the outside of the stock frame which allowed me to weld the 2x4 to the stock frame from the outside.

Next up is to weld together the inside of the stock frame to the new 2x4.

I trimmed the 1/2" lip off the bottom of the stock frame that stuck out past the 2x4 just to make a cleaner look when it was welded up.

Ok so once the whole bottom of the stock frame and the 2x4 have a nice solid weld(be careful not to get it to hot and warp it) you can start trimming the top of the stock frame off flush with the 2x4. Sawzall would prob be best at this point...I used the torches. I cut half of it ..then welded the top of the 2x4 to the old frame.

Take notice how I angled the stock frame to blend in with the new frame. This elimates the drop off that would occur. I think the slope looks better and is stronger than just a sharp angle. The only problem is that it will require minor floor mods under the seats.

Now you can go ahead and trim the front sections. I went ahead and made a new top piece to blend the new frame and old ones out of 3/16" plate. I also welded in another piece of 3/16" plate along the side for additional support.

Once that is all welded up it should look like this:

Now you will need to do something with the tranny x-member. Since the 2x4 is welded inside the frame the old one will not work. You can either trim the edges down and weld it in place, make brackets to bold it in place or make a new one like I did. I used some 1.5" 3/16" wall round tube and grade 8 bolts. (If anyone is interested in these x-members please contact me)

To add some strength to the body mounts I went ahead and added some 3/16" gussets to them. Just to make sure they dont go anywhere. The body mounts and gussets were solid welded on both sides top and bottom.

Double check your welds and give it all a nice coat of sealer and your ready for the cab.

Here are a few pics of the clearance with the cab on...its resting on the frame in the back. It needs some small notches under the seats and at the back lip of the cab. Didnt take any pics but its pretty self explanitory once you get to this point. Ill add pics of my floor later.

The center section of the floor will also need to be raised to clear the transmission and driveshaft. Here is what needs to be cut out...I actually cut the whole tunnel out front to back and raised the whole thing up later on.

And finally your new cab height.

Part 2...dropping the core support: coming soon

Part 3...coming soon