Lowering options?

[makgreens]

ive gotta find new ubolts today cause i hate having my truck sit in the air ha
hopefully my work has some

[teamblend]

ive gotta find new ubolts today cause i hate having my truck sit in the air ha
hopefully my work has some

let us know if you run in to any bumpsteer at your height. that stance is pretty good with where id like to be!

[makgreens]

ill let ya know how it drives when i get the brakes fixed,shocks replaced and motor tuned up ha

[teamblend]

ill let ya know how it drives when i get the brakes fixed,shocks replaced and motor tuned up ha

sounds good, howd the back turn out?

[makgreens]

ill let ya know how it drives when i get the brakes fixed,shocks replaced and motor tuned up ha

sounds good, howd the back turn out?

turned out pretty good actually
im anxious to drive it ha

[Outlaw]

What about drop shackles instead of taking leafs out?

[DINODE]

Wondering if anyone has any updates on this subject. I'm would like to lower mine the least expensive way possible which seems to be leaf removal. I've gathered that 3 inches is possible with this method.. I would just like a general tutorial about how to go about it and which springs do you remove? Some people remove the 2nd and third some the last two. Which is the best way?

[okie76]

does anyone have a pic with a stock beam flipped under to see how much lower that gets you

[SparkyRidesAgain]

While Popular, this thread seems to be somewhat slow moving.
I just picked up a '62 short stepside for a mere 2k. super clean with a rebuilt 225 and an interesting choice of wheels, but it works.
I have been following this thread for awhile, and I have some unanswered questions.

The front axle flip. I get the basics, but no one has been really clear about the how-to. I would assume you would need some sort of lower perch to make it work and be alignable? Any help? pictures would be very helpful.
Also because I am more farmiliar with larger trucks. is there a center bolt of some some kind to hold the spring pack together/ center the axle?


I'm fairly sure I can get the drop I want by pulling leaves, but would like to better understand the front axle flip in case I get all goofy and want super low someday.

Lastly, I wanted to ask if I can do a front flip without pulling leaves and get away without any pitman arm surgery of c-notch? Or is that just too much drop without further modification?

Right now I'm simply after low enough to look "Lowered" but who knows what the future might hold.

[Outlaw]

Here are pics of my front leafs and rear leafs. which leafs to i need to remove to get my truck lower and ride safely?


FRONT


REAR

[MountainMoparRobin]

Here are pics of my front leafs and rear leafs. which leafs to i need to remove to get my truck lower and ride safely?


FRONT


REAR

Holy cow, someone went crazy with springs! Good news though, your springs have the least amount of positive arch .05, so from the factory the trucks cam with 5, get rid of all the little overload springs in the front, that alone on your truck will drop it about 2-3". Your rear also has overload springs, basically the same, take out some of the springs on the rear axle you'll be able to drop yours, maybe to your desire without needing alot of "flipping".

[SickSixtySix]

Heres How I did my front axle flip. 2" Square tubing welded under the spring perches with a 1/4" strap welded across the tubing. I had to flip the bolt that goes through the spring pack and drill an alingment hole in the strap on the axle. Gave about a 6" drop. I also had to pull the oil pan, heat it and clearance it to keep the axle from rubbing it. I'm running a /6, not sure how close it would be on a v8. It DOES bump steer but not so bad that you can't drive it.i had to get longer u-bolts but i was able to re-use the stock shocks by putting the shock mounts on top of the axle. I lowered the rear by flipping the front spring mounts.

[SparkyRidesAgain]

Heres How I did my front axle flip.

Thank you that was extremely helpfull. Thats what I needed , A visual aid.

I think I'm going to do that with my '62.

And flipping the front perch on the rear is a great Idea, seems to yeild a nice level drop withoud the extra work of flipping the entire axle.

Nice one.

One last question about bumpsteer.

I was looking at an eBAY truck that had been flipped in front and he said he installed a Rancho Steering stabilizer like they do to lifted trucks and it made a dramatic reduction in bumpsteer.

It makes sense, has anyone here tried that?

Thx again for the tutorial.

Sparky.

[SickSixtySix]

No problem, anything to help. I have heard of the the steering stabilizer and was planing on doing that sometime soon. also when you flip the rear spring mount youll have to heat the spring about two or three inches from the mount and bend the eye down slightly to get the bolt holes to line up. one of the bolt holes in the mount will have to be slotted also to get it lined up. it was really a simple drop and aside from the bumpsteer I havent had any problems with it. Good Luck man cant wait to see it.

[SparkyRidesAgain]

I finaly bit the bullet and tore the '62 apart. Pulled the second and fourth springs from the 5 spring pack and I have to say I'm pleased.

I started a build thread that covered the whole process and the results, you can read it here.

http://sweptline.org/forums/viewtopic.p ... 54#p196054

Thanks again for all the help.

[zzr600jcm]

The easiest way that i have figured out to lower these trucks is to take the two short leafs out of the front and flip the axle in the rear. Still rides great and slams it.

[stakebed]

after reading through this thread several times, I decided to give the spring removal a shot.after removing 3 leafs from my 8 spring pack. I netted a 2 inch drop was hoping for more . How much more drop wwould flippping thhe axle get me? I got some new 50 seriies tires and the truck has gottaa come down some more to get the look I am after.also if I flip the axle would just moving the steering gear box up the same amount alleviate the bump steer that I will get?

[SparkyRidesAgain]

I flipped the front of mine and it netted me about 6 inches of drop. I haven't tackled bumpsteer but I did notice some in my short trips around the neighborhood.
Pulling springs netted me 4 with no issues, but it was so soft as to lean badly in corners.
Flipping the axle is the quickest cheapest way I have tried to get your dodge down to earth. it does come with some side effects though, bumpsteer and oil pan clearance were both things I had to address.

Maybe read my build thread, and decide for yourself, I tried to be thourough.
Best of luck, and remember, there is always IFS...LOL
Sparky.

[stakebed]

I haven't drove mine yet so I dunno how soft it is. I was thinking if aa person flips the axle basically all thhe steering parts move up so moving the gearbox up would tackle the bumpsteer because leaving it where it is stock puts the parts in a funny angle creating the bumpsteer. I don't know for sure if it will work.i am trying to avoid the ifs to many other things to worry about with it and I need to keep costs down.

[SparkyRidesAgain]

I agree with your thinking, I just haven't gotten to dealing with the bumpsteer yet. been busy with finishing a couple of other projects.
If you get it sorted out before I tackle it, by all means make an effort to let me know, one way Or another I'm going to have to deal with it.
I'll do the same and let you know how it turns out.
Sparky.