Lowered rear - centering tire question

[Lane]

Here's a pic:



Notice how far back the tire is. With the big gap in front of the tire - it looks like crap and this tire/wheel combo will not work as is. Moving the wheel/tire forward would solve the problem. A buddy of mine says yeah - flip the crossmember and move it all forward. That will help the angle of the trailing arms - yes - and center the wheel/tire in the fender.

Sounds all good, but then there's the upper spring mount area(there is some room there), the shock mounts, panhard bar and mount - that all has to be moved. It wouldn't be much, maybe a little over an inch or so.

Anyone ever done this or knew anybody that did?

[SIR]

...well you could always move the bed back x-amount....

[Frizzle Fry]

There's no easy solution there. On the 67-72 the opposite problem occurs; wheel too far forward when dropped. In that case I've seen spacers used between the xmember and the trailing arm hangers. Seems like you could do the opposite; shorten the arms or move the xmember fwd as you mentioned. The shock geometry should tolerate a slight move forward given their angles, but the panhard bar might need a little tweaking and the upper spring holes should be moved forward. I don't think I'd flip the xmember. The TA hangers are angled in a slight V and you don't want to invert that. You can grind the rivets and flip the hangers over to move the pivot up.

[Lane]

Originally Posted by Frizzle Fry

The TA hangers are angled in a slight V and you don't want to invert that. You can grind the rivets and flip the hangers over to move the pivot up.

You're right. I had never noticed the hangers angled in the V before. I may just move it all forward and get some C-stock, like another member on here did, and make adjustable hangers.