what have i done?

[satin64]

heres what i did today,got a ? at the end
new hood on

took out bed wood

took off bed

disassembled the bed

now my ?'s.if i drill out the rivets and move the leaf mount up 2" so the bottom holes line up with the original top holes and the top bolts to the L bracket with reinforcing would this drop my truck or would i have to do similar with the front leaf perch?

[rodnok1]

That would require some serious bed modifications first off. I would think you would need to move front mount to maintain susp geometry and pinion angle, I'm not into lowering myself, but I bet there's a bettter/easier way to go. Is it just me or are you leaf springs soo worn out the are actually touching the bed cross brace??

[chevy_mike]

If I was you, I would either modify, build or buy new longer shackles to drop it. This is how a lot of late model Chevy trucks were done. Should be easy to weld some longer legs up from where the leaf bolts through. Add a couple inches should drop it about the same amount. Only thing to watch, either way you do it, is your pinion angle. Rotating the back up will cause your pinion to tilt down. Could cause some vibes. You can get angled wedges to compensate for that.

Good luck.

[satin64]

they arent touching anything so it must be the angle of the pic.i put a piece of wood down where the bed would be, and it looks like it could be done, but it would be close to the bottom of the wood bed.
i want to lower it but the flip kit i have is for 2 1/2" leafs and my truck has 2 1/4".plus the dropped shackles dont fit the cup piece,they are to wide also.so maybe i'll have to save up for a trailing arm setup.

[918733]

I would try dropped shackles for a 73-87 truck first. Before modifying anything

[ChiefRocka]

Moving ONE side of the leaf spring will drop it HALF the amount.

In other words, if you move the rear mount 2" (or extend the shackle 2")...it will drop the rear 1"

You have to move the entire leaf (frt and rear) mounts together 2" for a 2" drop...

There is a super simple way to extend the shackles......remove the shackle, and cut it in the middle....cut a piece of tubing (2",3",4" etc.) and weld that in betwwn the two halves.

Way easier than dealing with the rivets, and bracing the mount....

[satin64]

thanks cheifrocka.i could do that.plus remove half the spring pack and be where i would want it i think.since i dont want to lay rockers or frame just yet.but i have been reading on z'ing frames

[ChiefRocka]

I couldn't find a picture of all that I have done...(old PC crash)

But here is my GHETTO paint picture of what I am talking about...



The red tubing is what you would weld in between the two halves.

Although, your shackle isn't this style, its more of a stamped steel type...but I'm sure you get the idea.

[ChiefRocka]

Ok...the white line is where you would make the cut.....

OK, I'm done know...wont bug you anymore !!!

[satin64]

please bug away i thought about just making a whole new shackle like your first pic.
any ideas on the front hanger?

[Dinos63]

Maybe flip kit your axle , or de-arch your springs , how lowwwwww do you want to go? then you can figure out which way to go ,

[satin64]

i bought a flip kit but it looks like the U piece the axle sits in is to big????i would like a slight rake to the truck so i was thinking cut 1 coil up front and 2"-2.5" drop spindle,then drop the back till it looks right.i dont have a cnotch plus i would have to mod the exhaust with the flip.i might try the flip first since the beds off and see what happens.then maybe add the notch later????