i want to know some ways i can lift the front of my 75 highboy i can think of 4 or 5 ways i can lift the back, but i can't think of anyway to lift the front without buying new springs and if i do a homemade lift are there any linkages that need to be swapped like the pitman arm or anything.

 

Sometime within the next month im taking my 76 highboy springs to a shop to have them re-arched and install an extra leaf. This will lift the front of the truck 3-4", although it may make it ride a little stiffer. Its going to cost me $140 to re-arch the springs, and another $45 per side for the extra leaf. I've heard stories of the springs sagging back to where they were after a few years, but I know 2 people who have had their springs done by this same shop, 1 set of springs is still as good after 4 years and the other has been done for about 7. To lift the rear you can do the same as I just mentioned, but it is easier to do a shackle flip or an add-a-leaf.

How many inches are you looking to gain?

 

you can fab up some drop spring brackets and shackles in the front, thats what i'm doing.......

 

Would it be possible to have a add a leaf up front?

 

re arched springs do tend to ride a little rough, but if your just going to beat on the truck, who cares? If you are concerned about ride quality you will either have to get new front springs or have someone who knows what they are doing make some drop brackets.

 

give some more info on drop spring brackets that sounds more for me i would consier getting my springs rearched but if i wa sgoing to do that i would just get new springs but i have the materials here to make some brackets if i could see some pics it would help alot

 

Re-arching the springs does not make them ride much stiffer unless the new arch is severe. What makes them ride stiffer is the addition of an additional leaf. While the springs are out get new bushings. Rubber bushings ride better, poly bushings increase handling but increase ride harshness also.

 

A Spring factory Can re-arch springs to any value that is requested.

They just re-draw the springs according to the specs of the original manufacturer for whatever application is desired.
It costs a little less than buying new ones.

This is a must for all those owners of Mustangs,Cougars, Buicks,Olds,rtc that seemed to SAG badly in the rear.

 

the springs aren't really sagging they still have a positive arch to them but i need to lift the front about 2 to 3 inches to make it equal with the rear is it possible to take the rear springs off of another truck and make them fit under the front off mine i dont care much about ride quality this old truck doesn't have the best ride anyways.

 

look in my gallery, i have pics of my new drop mounts there.....

 

I have some made out of 4x6x1/4, Photos in gallery on the 73.

 

This is more or less how my lift is built. Just a side note though, regarding the picture below, you really need to have a crossmember, diagonal bracing to the rear, and a center brace to make this work. You also really want to get rid of those bolts and weld it to the frame. First good stomp on the brakes and your axle is gonna take a little trip backwards, eating your front driveshaft, t-case, and possibly steering box too. I also anticipate you're going to have some issues with your shackles buckling due to length and lack of reinforcement. The pics posted don't show a lot of detail but from what I can see in the gallery I'd go over that suspension with a fine toothed comb before it ever touches the street. That front end is pretty scary.



Hyperactive's hangers look great and are really about as far as you want to go if you plan to have a bolt on hanger assembly unless you're building in a crossmember and a complete bolt on perpendicular support as well.

I used to have a complete gallery on my front lift with detailed instructions on how it was built. Probably 3 or 4 times a week I'd get PM's or e-mails from people asking questions, trying to duplicate it. I finally pulled the gallery because the more questions I answered the more I realized that 90% of the guys out there shouldn't be touching their suspension at all and my pics were giving people just enough inspiration to start on a booty fab adventure from hell. There were guys trying to weld stuff to their frames with low amp 110v welders (most of whom had no clue how to weld), people using grade 5 bolts to try and keep junk together . . . you name it. Hopefully nobody takes this as an insult but if you don't know what you're doing with this and are not a competent fabricator with proper tools DO NOT FIDDLE WITH HOME MADE SUSPENSION!!! A lot of guys here on FTE are up to the task but so many are not and those are the guys who will inevitably have something fall apart and run over a mini-van full of kids. Rear suspension isn't such a big deal because you can (typically) still control the vehicle if something goes haywire but with front suspension things can get really scary really fast. In addition to the proper design and construction of the hangers you also need to take into account changes in caster for steering safety, as well as in pinion angle and steering linkage geometry. I'm all for the do it yourselfer just so long as they know how to do it right. Otherwise one of these days we'll see bans placed on ANY suspension modifications due to the hazzards they create.

FWIW I got a LOT of help on my build from Proeliator. I met with him and snapped a lot of pics of his truck to look over before I started building. There were several things I experimented with and changed from his design as I built my truck. Originally the lift was supposed to be just a couple inches and it went up 2" at a time to the 18" that it is now. My setup isn't identical to his but it's pretty damn close now and if you look at our trucks side by side it's easy to see the similarities. I tried about a dozen different designs for large lift bolt on front hangers and they're just not a good idea. 3-4" is okay but anything beyond that is a no-no. You will start stressing and breaking bolts, even the best bolts and if that doesn't happen first you'll start cracking your frame around the bolt holes.

Finally, don't overlook lift springs. You certainly don't want huge lift banana springs, they ride like crap and perform poorly offroad. But a *high quality* spring like Skyjacker (hint hint) will increase your performance DRASTICALLY over stock springs and will ride 10X better too.

 

''You also really want to get rid of those bolts and weld it to the frame.''


I have to agree with you 100% . That is one aspect where a good deep penetration weld is best. That can't be emphasized enough when you try to build your own suspension components.

 

I really, really, really want to underscore Ivan's post. While you can fabricate your own suspension lifts, its critical to do it right which unfortunately most people do not. Bolts and non-reinforced drop mounts is a recipe for disaster for rigs that drive anywhere but off-road. They'll fail off-road too but at least there you shouldn't kill anybody else. This is an area where you are taking your life in your own hands and those of others on the road. Furthermore, its how legislation ends up getting passed restricting what we can do to our trucks. This is not an area for experimentation. Find a competent fabricator who has done this and have them help you with design. Thanks.

 

Ivan and pro I have studed your trucks. Mine is a long way from being finshed. I do have a 4x6x1/4 cross brace with a resever hitch that goes back to the cross member. I am still going to angel brace the drops to the cross member. The shakels have cross braces as well. I just need to get a nother roll of film develapted. So if you have looked at my gallery it is not any where near finshed, and I think it will take me 2 more years. I do thank you for the concern and the inspration.