I know most of you are not a fan of leaf removal as a means of lowering the rear end. Well i did (Removed every other), and was curious how i know what shocks to purchase? Thanks! as always

 

in my case the rears are not a problem as the 8.8 from an 87-88 vic that i am going to use i was careful to save the long a-- oe shock mounts when i got rid of the coil spring stuff . they were four inches longer than the oe shock mounts which worked out just perfect for me to keep my new rear oe shocks . i just have to mount the extra shock mount x member i have in front of the diff to get it all right as rain . the fronts , and for you a possible answer , i am going to buy the 3 1/2 to 4 lowered suspension shocks from cpp and they offer them for the rear too . look 'em up it might help you out . or go to speedway or one of the many off road fab places like ballistic fabrication and you might just find you a set of weld on shock mounts { for the diff ] very simialar to my 8.8 ones and go that route and keep the stock shocks . many options . just think a little outside of the box , i.e 4x4 , dirt track suppliers , late model stuff , and you can find an answer or solution to just about anything you could need . also check out paul hortons welding series site ........ start thinking and get too browsing !!!!!!!!!!

 

What I do is; jack the truck up so the wheel is off the ground (with shocks removed) and measure the distance from top mount to bottom mount. The more difficult is then to bottom the suspension and do the same. You can also leave at ride height and measure how far till the axle will bottom and 'guestimate' how far the shock would squish (as it is on an angle). Or if you know how much your truck dropped, extend & collapse the stock shock while taking measurements at both extended & collapsed. Then go online to Monroe's website and they have a chart that shows all of their shocks extended & collapsed lengths. I'm not an F-1 guy so I'm not familiar with the type of mounts they use but the Monroe site will show/identify the different mounts. I believe they also show you where those measurements are taken from.

Steve

 

Mounts are there already just need the shocks.

 

Hi
I removed every other leaf,as you have.I went to the Bilstien web site.They had a chart for ride height,and measurement from eye to eye,also I got hold of a catolog and was able to size what I needed on my 53F100 .I talked to a local rep.and he walked me thru..619 588 4723 ex109 steve I believe he is from RCD Classics (racecardynamics.com) Oops this was where I found the chart
Hope this helps
Mark

 

as sais above measure ride heigth bewteen shock mount when shock is off, personally i don't think you'll need to worry about different shocks if you just removed several leafs...unless your still wanting to carry heavy loads in the bed...I'd then suggest putting the springs back in

 

Anyone have a link to a size chart or catalog?
I went to my local NAPA store and asked to look at their shock book....about 5 minutes of searching found one correct length and mounts. I can give you the part number but your mount points may be different....

 

This is the chart that I reference. http://www.monroe.com/assets/downloa...engthSheet.pdf
My personal preference for rear shocks on my '56 (with 2 leaves removed & axle flipped) is Pete & Jakes street rod shocks as they are quite soft. Being that I no longer haul anything (which smooths out the ride) I found that most common shocks are too stiff for my taste.