If you are not planning on carrying much loads, you can remove the extra section and/or replace the entire spring with a suitable replacement stack down to a F1 or less if you want to lower it/soften ride as well.

 

I have a 53 that i bought a kit that set the axle on top of the springs and lowered it about 3 inches looked really good. I didn't even run the truck and took it off,decided to put shock waves on it and really drop it with a Fat Bar four link system. Waiting on Fed Ex to bring it to put it on. Think I'll be satisfied with this one. The leaf spring set up gave me about one hand tall distance from the ground to the bottom of my runningboards.

 

Hey Ax, just got back to my truck today....it's got a GM gearbox...appears that it's the 800-808 model. Plus...it's got some slop in it. But, I'm gonna try to help things a little anyway by adding about 6 degrees worth of caster shims. I'm gonna hold off on that power steering pump pressure'flow reducer till I've at least had a chance to reset that caster and check the toe-in.
Thanks for your input.

 

I would not go past 6* caster. make sure you have a long enough head on the spring to fully engage the axle hole. Longer head center bolts are available from Mid Fifty etc.

 

Yes, from what I have heard now on here, it sounds like 3 or 4 degrees of positive caster might be okay for stock height and if dropping the front end go ahead and go 6 degrees. I am thinking that as long as we have the axles loose to install caster shims, I'd like to remove the bottom part of the leafs at least.... to try and get it a little lower....so it seemed to me like 6 would be about right in that case.

 

Everyone is probably tired of hearing this, but be sure and put some big clamps on those springs before you take the center bolt out.

 

Can never post that warning too many times! The leaf springs may appear harmless, but there is a lot of stored up energy in them. The Mid Fifty www,midfifty.com catalog has detailed instructions on which leafs to remove and how much drop it will produce. While the springs are apart it would be a good idea to add HMW plastic slider strips to allow the springs to work smoother
Correction: dropping the front does not require more caster (i.e. going from 4* to 6*) but when you lower the front height with the springs, it results in the axle losing caster, hence you need to restore the lost caster (not necessarily add additional caster) by adding caster shims. The OEM setup on the front axle was for ease of steering on the tires, low speed roads and off road driving of the day, and so even the stock suspension can benefit from some additional caster for stability on today's high speed roads.
Mid Fifty sells the slider strips and the caster shims.

 

How did you set up this home made press?

 

I made my home made press years ago out of full thickness 3 " structural channel. It is a bench mount bolted to a table. Using a bottle jack, the ram of the jack pushes up and I would place the spring leaf on top of the piston. The horizontal structural members have a 3" gap between them. When reversing the camber of the main leaf, the leaf is positioned 90 degrees to the upper horizontal members with the jack ram position to push in the middle of the 3" gap under the spring leaf between those upper horizontal members. I chalk marked every inch and worked my way over the length of the spring.
This is an example where one picture would be worth a thousand words but I am suffering with computer photo problems.

 

I think we need to be careful to understand what causes bumpsteer. It can come from several areas on more complicated suspensions, but on these solid axle deals, I think the only risk for bumpsteer would be the link from the steering box to the tie rod. With severe angles of that link(drag link) like when the axle is at full droop on a lift or jackstands, the link can push or pull as it goes through its arch. But when the link is close to flat, the arch changes the steering very little. I don't think you would get into a lot of trouble with this link at the drops we are talking about. Just look to see if the link is more or less flat at the desired ride height.

Just a question about leafs and ride: I see we don't want to paint them, but if one is too cheap to get the sliders, could/should any lubrication be used between the leafs?

 

Years ago we would put strips of copper window screen packed with heavy grease (what was called waterpump grease, originally used to grease old fashioned pitcher pumps) Then wrap the springs with electrical tape to keep the dirt out. It would need to be redone about once a year. But really, no offense, but if 25.00 for the slider strip is more than you can afford, maybe you should consider a less expensive hobby?

 

The final sentance is simply an ignorant statement and you know it. I simply was asking about the normal maintenance. What did people do before the strips? Who said I couldn't afford it? What if you bought every single item that you could afford? There are lots of items I can afford, but if I bought all of them I couldn't afford anything then. Duh!

 

When replacing the centre bolt of the spring pack what grade of bolt should it be replaced with? Grade 8? Or is there a specific bolt you can buy from a spring shop?

 

I thought the ignorant statement was "I'm too cheap to buy (25.00) slider strip (to do it right)..." so my answer was given in the same vein.
I told you what was done in the past, but it would cost as much if not more than the slider strips, be more work, and not be a permanent solution. That's why it's not done anymore!
I could understand if it was a lot of money, but I'd bet you spend more than 25.00 for a hamburger and a couple of beers or glasses of wine on a night out. It's a matter of priorities. This is NOT a cheap hobby.
"What if you bought every single item that you could afford? There are lots of items I can afford, but if I bought all of them I couldn't afford anything then."
That's an absurd statement, the basic definition of afford means it would not run you out of money.

 

I always just sprayed some good penetrating oil between the leaf's let it sit, wipe it down and take it for a ride. It was usually good for a couple of month's. good luck