lowering '71 rear with leaf help

[project1971]

Alright guys I have a ? for you.... what is the cheapest and easiest way to lower the rear end of my '71 with leaf spring rear end?? I took the longest leaf spring out and it lowered it some but I really don't want to do it that way and loose how much weight i can carry it should never be more than my motorcycle but you never know. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance.

[lewi]

When you say lowering, how much are you thinking? I used a drop shackle from early classics and it came down maybe 2 inches. This corrected what I was looking for by not having such a possitive stance.

[leadfoot067]

i ended up taking out 3 leaves per side and made 3 1/2 inch longer shackles...and used a stiffer than normal shock i think its still a little soft so prolly gonna put back one more leaf...but wont know for sure till i get a gas tank mounted in the back.....there is a place who sells custom leaf packs for lowering these..

http://www.sporttruckdirect.com/smoo...ers.html#leafs

[crazy longhorn]

I agree, it just depends on how much drop you want. On the !/2ton , you dont have too many leafs that you can "afford to toss". I did a axle flip on my longhorn, tossed 3 leafs & the helper(that left 4 leafs in the stack), & dropped the spring hangers down 1 1/4" on the frame . The total was right at a 5" drop on the rear. This was a really budget drop many yrs ago.....its going ladder bars on bags for next season. One thing for sure, is that the leafs are a piss poor setup. You will need slapper bars to help control the wheel hop. The pinion angles really move with leaf springs.....kick the throttle, & the pinion points up.....stand on the brakes, & its pointed down! Good luck,crazyL

[CPNEJR]

I wanted to do the same with my 1/2 ton.

I was told that you could take a couple leafs out and it'd be alittle smoother ride. my truck is show/daily driver! and i don't know if this is a good idea or not. (i want it lowered 2''.

[crazy longhorn]

Originally posted by CPNEJR
I wanted to do the same with my 1/2 ton.

I was told that you could take a couple leafs out and it'd be alittle smoother ride. my truck is show/daily driver! and i don't know if this is a good idea or not. (i want it lowered 2''.

For a 2" drop, just bolt the aftermarket shackels on....you will still have the same load capacity good luck,crazyL

[CPNEJR]

thanks crazyL i'll keep that in mind

[Tim Christian]

We have a local spring company that if you take them off and to them they will Dearch them 4inches for $35.00 and you don't loose any springs.

[project1971]

thanks guys as always you've been a huge help. I think i will try the dearch approch to get the drop i want. I don't want it slammed but i cut 1 and half coils out of the front and got 2 1/2 inch drop and loved it. I did get approx 2 inch in rear with the above mention leaf taken out. Thanks again guys

[Ackattack]

I took out 2 leafs in mine. I have the same concerns about load capacity too though.

I think that I'm going to use air bags eventually in conjunction with the leafs (actually I'm only going to use 1 leaf at this point) along with some type of bar linkage to eliminate the axle wrap (both acclerating and braking)

[theo70]

You can use airbags with leafsprings?

[crazy longhorn]

Yes, you can run bags with leaf springs. The kits use the leaf as the bottom mounting point for the bag(have brackets to clamp to the springs), & use an upper mount on the outside of the frame rail. here is a link... http://store.summitracing.com/partde...1%2D760%2D2071 the biggest problem with leaf springs is the spring wrap,causing the pinion angle to change under acceleration & braking. Removing leafs will compound that problem,& cause wheel hop under hard acceleration. As set of slapper bars will help that situation, but are not the "end all" to the problem. I am bagging my longhorn, & have replaced the leafs with ladderbars. the bars will move the pinion angle somewhat, but not to the extent that the leaf springs did. Good luck,crazyL