long arm or 4link?

[TRUCKGUY]

I just purchased a 72 Chevy Lwb 2wd and I am planning on making it 4wd already have military 3/4 ton d44 front and rear with 4.10 gears I want opinions should I do long arm suspension front and rear or 4link? The truck is gonna be just for show I'm talking 44" tires etc i want the bottom of the door 5 foot from the ground (or close) any and all opinions and advice is appreciated!!!!

[andrewmp6]

With 44s you need 1 ton axles beefed up or 2.5 ton rockwells if you want to drive it hard.A 4 link front and back would be better to use.

[TRUCKGUY]

Well these d44's are 8 lug military full floaters I know the ring and pinion isnt no stronger but its just gonna be a cruiser I don't see no reason why they wouldn't work.... Any ideals on where I could look to get some ideals on building a 4 link set up?

[andrewmp6]

dana 44s are good tell 37s something will give out on them no matter what lug they are.A dana 60 beefed up is only good tell 44s.A k5 blazer its 3 link front 4 link rear http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/chevy...zer-build.html

[ryanroo]

There are no hard and fast rules to tire size limits on axles. you can surive on a 44f and 44" tires. i would swap it to a 60f personally but with the 44 just expect to have a shorter service life on about every wear part on the thing. the military doesnt have any different axle than the civilian world, so that is nothing extra. if you do any sort of wheeling with it, andrew is right. it will explode its guts all over.

if you are new to fabrication or suspension, i would be careful about doing custom suspension. it needs to be designed and built correctly so it is safe for you and anyone around you. i dont know what you mean by long arm. if you build it tall enough for the rockers to be 60" from the ground, there is no way you can run anything short for links. there will be a lot of custom work to get a geometry on the suspension that is usable and safe

[TRUCKGUY]

Yeah I realize its gonna be a long term build and the truck will never leave the black top when I'm done.... Just going for looks here

[Prerun71]

what do you mean when you say "long arm" are you talking a trailing arm setup ? which due to the panhard or track bar is still considered a link style suspension. it's just 3 link vs. 4 link.