Well I think I figured out the shims. I wound up having to use 3 shims on each side to get the play down to a minimum, but All I had were 6 shims total anyways, so it will have to work. This is the assembly of the new axle shaft nut and lock washer. After cleaning the threads of the shaft up a bit, it went pretty well. I got the nut on snug, but not too tight, and then bent a tab up into one of the slots.
This allowed me to start mocking up the rear brakes! Here the caliper is not bolted on or anything, just sitting there, to get an idea of how it will look:
I also welded on front shock mounts and got my new shocks on:
I did the rear shock mounts and shocks as well, but didnt get a picture of them. And here is a shot of my custom high steer setup:
The only problem with it is, the "socket" on the steering arm hits the tire on the wheels I have. I put the wheel directly onto the hub for the time being with no rotor or anything, so it may get spaced out a bit more, but this will be something I need to check for sure.