lower shackles, flipped leafs, am I right on my thinking?

[ksshane]

Am I right on my thinking...lol made myself laugh at that one.

Anyway.

Did the flipped rear spring setup on my 71 swb and the truck is a little lower than I had thought. Axles are actually touching the frame with no bump stops. So of course Im going to C-notch it.

The thing is Im guessing it may drop another half inch or so once I c notch it (Im hoping no more than half an inch). Currently without notching the frame the top of the outside rear wheel well measures 27" to the ground at the center of the wheel.

Im dropping my front end with 2.5 drop spindles and had planned on cutting 1.5 coils out of the front spring, but once I got the spring out it was obvious the springs had been heated. So Im currently awaiting my 3" dropped springs from CPP... Should be here Saturday.
Before I tore the front end apart it measured 29 7/8 from the top of the front outside wheel well to the ground.
Im worried that with new springs Im not going to get the front end lower than 26" and the last thing I wont is for the front to be higher than the rear.

So my question is this. Since lowering shackles are designed to lower the rear of a stock leaf spring truck an 1inch or 2... With a flip kit that should actually raise the rear by an 1inch or 2 right?

Im hoping I wont have to mess with it, but Im trying to figure out the simplest way to raise the rear about an inch if I have to.

[bodydropped68]

no they will still lower it I used them on my 72 to get a little more after the flip kit. your still moving the axle the same direction it's just on top of the spring instead of under it. hope this helps.

[no_rice]

easy answer, NO...

it doesnt matter if your axle is underneath or on top of the leaf spring pack, it will still move exactly the same.

with lowering leaf spring shackles you are essentially raising the rear mounting point for the leaf springs effectively bring the rest of the truck down around it...

lowered leaf spring shackles are actually longer then stock, so you would have to get raised shackles(shorter then stock)

all this being said, if your frame is sitting on your axle after a flip kit, your leafs are shot! most of the leafs in our trucks seem to have sagged a good 1"-1.5" in the last 40 years... my 70 has some extra sag to it, but even with a flip kit i still have 1.5-1.75" of space between the two.

[ksshane]

Okay... Thats what I originally thought, but had talked myself into the fact that the shackles would help.

Cant afford new leafs right now so Ill just cross my fingers after the c-notch and front end is lowered

Thanks for the replies

[Mike C]

There are two types of shackles, tension and compression. On our trucks, a longer shackle lowers the rear even further since the spring is hung from the TOP of the shackle. On a Camaro, the longer shackle raises the vehicle because the spring is attached to the BOTTOM of the shackle.

[xmitsu10]

My guess is you will be fine with your 2.5" drop spindles and 3" drop coils up front. I have the same drop setup you have for the rear (flip kit and notched frame). Up front, the current setup is 2.5" drop spindles and 1" drop coils. The truck is actually level but the tire to wheel opening gap is greater in front than in the rear (so it looks like the front is higher). Next step for me is to replace front springs with 1.5" or 2" drop coils. The picture below is the only one I have with the current stance (sorry for the crappy angle).