Thread: rear suspension change

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Looks much better than what it did!! Thumbs up!!

Yep, looks much better already.


Don

Where Should I Mount My Shocks I Was Thinking About Running A Brace On The Inside Of The Frame Rails Where The Old Brakets Were From Side To Side Over The Axle And Mount The Shocks On The Inside Of The Frame On The Brace?

Now is when u can start thinkin future plans,U said lower it someday,soooo. look at a after market setup for lowered rides.Usually most are weld on but some are bolt on.Parts magazines and car mags are ur friend when it comes to ideas about shock mounting locations,once u locate the mounts and install them in the proper place all u need to do is measure suspention travel by measuring the distance between the mounts and subtracting the distance to the bump stops and then put the car jack on the frame and raise it till the suspention hangs and that is your max lenght,soooo if all the way compressed is say 15 inches and extended is 24 inches u need a shock with a compressed height of no more than 15 and will extend to no less than 24,which is 9 inches of travel.return the truck to the ground sitting on the tires and measure between mounts,this is your ride height.Then u will need to go to a good parts staore that has a shock book and will actually look in it and have ur measurements handy and u should be able to find the right shock!!! Shocks need to be a somewhat of an angle,I really do not know much about that part .I am sure someone on this forum will be able to tell u better on how to actually install the mounts and the locations for a good ride or the after markett mounts will have some instalation instructions as to where u can mount and how that affects the ride of ur truck

I have a truck like yours & I'll tell you what I did for the suspension. For the front I used a GM-G body IFS(Monte Carlo,Buick Regal,El Camino etc.). It is the same track as the original , which is 3" narrower than a Camaro. On previous AD trucks I've built I've used Camaro IFS, which works, but you have to be carefull of wheel spacingback.

For the rear I used Crysler 5th ave springs, which I got from J.C.Whitney....free shipping. For the shock mount I made a 2"x2" crossmember that mounts behind the Ford 9" rear end.

To get the rear lower I made the rear spring hangers mount even with the top of the frame by welding a 2"x2" extension to the top of the frame. I also used 2" lowering blocks.....good luck!

Don

Any Pictures Of That

Instead of stating an opinion and getting thumped on, I'll just post a querry:

Would that set-up be 'safe' if it were done with a pan head bar and trailing arms? ( picture my stock 66 C 10 ).

Looks to me that it is only as strong as that single leaf, and that must be why you are all trashing it. YET... arent' there single leaf systems out there ( yes, single leaf DESIGNED for a full load.. but that single leaf isn't carrying the full load )

Anyway.. I'm not big on hydraulics, and it is an intresting set up, so I'm just asking.

Your pictures show you still have the top shock mounts on the frame. I'd guess all you need are the bottoms. Seems to me that would be the easiest way out to get on the road.

One more comment.......your rear x-member has been removed. You have to add a X-member, so why not use it as a shock mount & a place to mount your front gas tank straps.

As far as pictures of my set-up I lost them when lightning hit the hse.

Speedway sells a lower shock mount that welds on the housing, then like Don said add a crossmember to mount the top end of the shocks? I did the same thing on my pickup, take a look in my gallery, there's a shot of the back of the frame on there.

Oops, not a shot on there, here's one

One more comment.......your rear x-member has been removed. You have to add a X-member, so why not use it as a shock mount & a place to mount your front gas tank straps.

the gas tank is in the cab

More chevy trucks with the gas tank in the cab I thought the 60 thru 66 was the only 1s.......Well they made alot of em that way ,but I chose to install the tank elswhere!!!The what ifs ,scared me too much.

Most people remove the cab gas tank.....can you smell the flowers ?...I mean gas fumes.