Front solid axle flip

[rapo71]

Has anyone ever tried putting a solid front axle on top of the leaf springs?
thanks

[nvrforgotten52]

yeah me and my friend just did that and it is sick. it dropped the front end six + inches. and it clears everything including the stock steering arms and v8 oil pan.

[rapo71]

here is one picture of it just bolted in real quick. i will post more later. thanks

[Daniel U]

Welcome to the board! Your about 45 min. from me. My brother's going to do somthing similar to his '50 GMC. Are you going to the Paso show Memorial Day weekend? Always neat to find another local CA. Chevy truck enthusiast.

[rapo71]

Hey Daniel U, I like the work you've been doing on your '54. I'm thinking about going to the Paso show, I just got back from the Morro Bay show actually. Anyway, talk to you later.

[Daniel U]

Thanks for the compliment. I missed the Morro Bay show. I had some stuff at home and work that "trumped" my attendance at the show. What are your plans for the truck? This forum is great for ?'s and ideas.

[Riggs'57]

Did you weld a plate on the bottom of the axle? Does the truck bumpsteer like crazy...looks like a death trap. If it works well, I'll do it to my 57 though!

[rapo71]

I didn't weld a plate on the bottom, the truck isn't running so I'm not sure how rides. The way it's set up is temporary. I did it to see what the clearances are like and how much it would drop the truck

Its basically a free 5-6 inch drop. It has about as much clearance from the frame to the axle as monoleaf springs would have.

Here are some pictures with the fenders on it.







Here's a 57 chevy with monoleafs:

[nvrforgotten52]

that is just plain sick. very nice

[c0rey]

Any updates on this? Im intersted we are running the stock 3.5 engine so everything should clear.

[mr48chev]

To do it right you would have to reverse the spring bolts so that the end the axle sat on was on top. Then you would have to drill a matching locating hole in the bottom side of the axle and I would make a spacer that fit on each side of the axle front and back that the U bolts went through when you bolt it back together. It will most likely take new U bolts because I think the old ones will be way too short.
I can't speculate on the bump steer thing but my guess is that it will be a handful to drive on all but the best roads.
I pulled leaves out of my springs years ago (1989 to be exact) because I was throwing the truck back together to make it to a Kustom Kemps run in Centralia Wa that September. The plan was to go to the run and then take the truck back apart and do things right. 20 years later I am getting around to doing things right. On my truck the way it is setup there is no relaxing when driving down all but the smoothest freeways as you constantly have to be ready for what it does next. That is the main reason that I am swapping back to an independent front end in this rebuild.

[rapo71]

Wow, I haven't posted anything in 3 years haha! That means 3 years worth of progress pictures...

[rapo71]

a few more...

[rapo71]

the cab

[mr48chev]

Looks like you have been pretty busy in the past (wow that long) three years. Trucks looking good.

[NONHOG]

So the question remains...........Did it ever work out or did you go IFS and forget it ?

I have only seen the one here.... V.... from the HAMB link.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=397448

I'll likely go drop axle however I've heard rumor of drop spindles coming out.
Still curious about this flip possibility.

[rapo71]

No, I actually went with the Ifs with air bags. Haha. I have pictures of the frame above. I wanted to go with disc brakes, It didn't seem worth it to mess with the solid axle.

[NONHOG]

Originally Posted by rapo71

No, I actually went with the Ifs with air bags. Haha. I have pictures of the frame above. I wanted to go with disc brakes, It didn't seem worth it to mess with the solid axle.

Was hoping you ran the flip before the IFS install. Oh well you have a cool truck either way !

[addicted2dunes]

Local People, Wa-Hoo..... Anyways on to the subject at hand. From my experience in the off road world flipping the axle would not work because:

A) Does not center itself on the springs (Can be modified though).
B) Way to much load on your poor springs. That much leverage against your springs will start axle wrap on the front (way bad).
C) It'll "S" shape the springs, put way too much load on all the bushings, and every time you hit a bump the front end will get away from you.

Also, if you do this make sure you don't put your thumb inside the steering wheel.... When you hit a bump, and the axle wraps it will throw off your steering geometry and rickshaw back through the steering wheel making it spin hard and with no warning causing you to lose your thumb from the spokes of the steering wheel.

[GCncsuHD]

Originally Posted by addicted2dunes

Local People, Wa-Hoo..... Anyways on to the subject at hand. From my experience in the off road world flipping the axle would not work because:

A) Does not center itself on the springs (Can be modified though).
B) Way to much load on your poor springs. That much leverage against your springs will start axle wrap on the front (way bad).
C) It'll "S" shape the springs, put way too much load on all the bushings, and every time you hit a bump the front end will get away from you.

Also, if you do this make sure you don't put your thumb inside the steering wheel.... When you hit a bump, and the axle wraps it will throw off your steering geometry and rickshaw back through the steering wheel making it spin hard and with no warning causing you to lose your thumb from the spokes of the steering wheel.

You do realize they are doing the opposite of what you speak?

These guys are flipping the stock axle to the TOP of the spring to lower the truck, not BELOW it to raise the truck as is commonly done in the offroad world. Since these are 2wd trucks, wrap is not an issue, but having the axle above the springs reduces wrap anyway.

[addicted2dunes]

Originally Posted by GCncsuHD

You do realize they are doing the opposite of what you speak?

These guys are flipping the stock axle to the TOP of the spring to lower the truck, not BELOW it to raise the truck as is commonly done in the offroad world. Since these are 2wd trucks, wrap is not an issue, but having the axle above the springs reduces wrap anyway.

Yes, I understand it, they are lowering the truck. Axle wrap is still an issue. The further you move the spindle from the spring, and having it mounted to the spring on the same side as the spindle = Axle wrap.

Also, I have never seen, "not BELOW it to raise the truck as is commonly done in the offroad world." That is way bad.

[Dan Bowles]

Originally Posted by addicted2dunes

Also, I have never seen, "not BELOW it to raise the truck as is commonly done in the offroad world." That is way bad.

Really? Look at most of the CJ5s and 7s that are running anything substantial for tires and you'll see that quite a few are running the leaves above the axles. I gained an easy 6" so I could run my 39.5" Super Swampers in college. All I had to do was change the angles a bit and lower my trans to keep my steering geometry working. I didn't use blocks, THAT is way bad (on the front!)

Axle wrap on a dead axle won't be as severe as the only input will be the bump in the road, not a powered tire adding torque. But really, what would the difference be on a straight axle if it were mounted above or below the spring? If the distance is the same, the torque arm is still the same. Is it not? It just boils down to mounting it the same!

[Steve@OldSub.com]

The length of the arm changes by about the height of the axle cross section at the mounts, and in the case of one of these trucks that is a couple of inches. I've seen axle flips that looked intriguing but never saw one that looked safe on what appeared to be a running driving truck.

[addicted2dunes]

Originally Posted by Dan Bowles

Really? Look at most of the CJ5s and 7s that are running anything substantial for tires and you'll see that quite a few are running the leaves above the axles. I gained an easy 6" so I could run my 39.5" Super Swampers in college. All I had to do was change the angles a bit and lower my trans to keep my steering geometry working. I didn't use blocks, THAT is way bad (on the front!)

Axle wrap on a dead axle won't be as severe as the only input will be the bump in the road, not a powered tire adding torque. But really, what would the difference be on a straight axle if it were mounted above or below the spring? If the distance is the same, the torque arm is still the same. Is it not? It just boils down to mounting it the same!

I know about Jeeps..... that's what I build..... That is called SUA (Spring under axle), completely different then these era trucks! A driving axle (like you say, Jeep) is a straight axle housing. These era trucks run dropped axles already (ie: the spindle is not in line with the axle itself), moving them to the other side of the spring will give you about 6-8" of leverage. Jeep equals 0"

[addicted2dunes]

This is the same reason why you'll never, ever see FRONT lift blocks sold for a 4x4. The further the spindle is from the spring the more leverage, the more axle wrap.

Axle wrap is when the axle actually rotates forward (or backward) esentially "wrapping" itself in the springs. You get this under load conditions, ie. bumps or braking. Lift blocks increase the axle wrap effect (kinda what you are talking about doing), I dont know the technical aspect of this, but I guess it is just because your adding distance between the spring, and axle itself. It'll weak'n the u bolt's over time and eventually break that way.