I would like to lower my truck soon (I know, who doesn't?).

I was looking at my leaf springs in the rear and I notice they are close to flat.



If I remove leafs will they have a negative bend? Is that ok?

Also, I know he springs have been replaced. Is there a way to ID them?

.

 

Stock springs have 8 leaves including main, lowering springs (or stock with leaves removed) have 5 or 6. Yours look to be in excellent shape so I suspect they are new(er) lowering springs. The only way to go lower would be to use reversed eye mains (if they aren't already) or move the mounting brackets. See the spring pages in the Mid Fifty catalog www.midfifty.com for more info and options.

 

Like axracer said at this point it looks like raising the height of your leaf spring hangers... or much more common in the lowering of trucks would be a axle flip kit placing your axle above the springs rather than below... with not mucg clearebce in this picture looks like a "c" notch would also be necessary overall it will provide 4-5 inches of drop in the rear depending on yr usually bolt in notches and flip kits are readily available..

 

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isc...20&bih=488#i=2 this would be an example of a typical notch and flip kit.... depending on skill level this may look intimidating but hey we own old fords and know how to turn a wrench.

 

linky no worky!
Post the actual page URL, not the google link.

 

flipping the axle definitely would require a deep kick up C notch which will intrude into the bed, and possibly require raising the fenders to clear the tires. All depends on how low you want to go and what compromises you are willing to make to get there. If your springs are that flat, you should be pretty low already.

 

Find a pair of 90s Dodge D-50 rear springs. These springs will require no C-notch, keep most if not all of your load carrying capacity, and ride smoother. I'm using a pair on my 49 F-1...

Here are mine mounted with a Chevy 10-bolt rear end...

 

You can see in the pic here that it is not very low...



Another view of the spring:


I would like to bring it down about 2-3 inches more.

 

[quote=GreatNorthWoods;11502743]Find a pair of 90s Dodge D-50 rear springs. These springs will require no C-notch, keep most if not all of your load carrying capacity, and ride smoother. I'm using a pair on my 49 F-1...

So what kind of drop did you get with this swap? Maybe a measurement from the top of the spring or axle to frame would give an idea if you don't have the before/after measurements.

Thanks

 

I am confused by the spring with so little arch and yet the truck doesn't look low at at all...

Like dmack91 said, can we get a dimension from the axle to the frame?

 

I didn't measure the drop but I would suspect it is in the neighborhood of 5-6 inches...

 

Yes, the only way to determine drop or lowering is to measure from axle center line to top of frame. arch of the spring has little to do with it. You need about 4" of clearance above the axle so there is a limit to how low you can go without modifying the frame. Never remove the axle bump stops to gain clearance, metal to metal contact can do a lot of damage quickly.

 

move the front hangers to the top of the frame it's free and see if it's enough for you . i did mine and between losing some of the springs , extended hangers , and the aforementioned i got a total of 3 1/2 to 4 inches without any weight on the chassis yet . i myself will keep the d50 springs in mind . jeff used dodge dakota frame mounts/hamgers and springs on his bonus built and they are flat , the mounts so you can put 'em where ya want 'em . been considering that too if i'm not happy . look up jeff and nichole on here and look at his pics . used removing some leaves , reversed eye main on the front and got 3 1/2 again in front without the engine and any weight on it . so im figuring from 13 inches under my front bumper and 19 out back i'll go to 8-9 in front and 12-13 in rear including the shorter tires and such ............ im running 48-56 ford car rims with 2157015 in rear and 185 65 15 in front , a good deal shorter than the 235 75's that were on it ... another way to get some extra height outta it !!!!!!!!!!! oh yeah you might have to reset your pinion angle when ya start moving things around . we all tend to forget things like that till we get that nasty vibration and start scratching our mullets trying to figure out why .............

 

Smallello, It would concern me that you don't have the shortest, smallest leaf in your pack. Those prevent over-flex'ing of the pack as a whole on the edge of the spring perch, and do little to change ride height.

Personally I don't understand the desire to lower these trucks so much, another 2" or so isn't going to turn it into a Ferrari.

 

just preference ross . mine will be low 'nuff to have the "look" i want , and it will not be able to haul anything !!!!!!! { i would say anything but **** but we all know that flatty isn't fast !!! LOL !! }and why can't it be a ferrarri ???? hey go find oneof those testarossa body kits for the 1 ton fords that were so popular round here some years ago , and start hacking and chopping and soon you'll have a furdarri 100 ................ and a free trip to the padded cell at the local looney bin ..............