Here is something that might help. I am also interested in what people
think of this Idea and how it will work with different years (i.e. my 50).
I really want to get my 50 to be the crusier, but CANNOT scrap up the loot
for the big buck IFS.
thanks
joe weertz
50 3100
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 01 Mar 1998
Joe, responding to you question on lowering your 50 Chevy, which I found
in classictruckshop.com, here is my answer.
I have a 54 Chevy truck that I am currently working on. I put in a 350cu
engine with 350th tranny, which are the only things sitting on the frame
right now. I attempted to lower the truck with the following low buck
method.
Rear-
To get the rear down I have done three things so far.
To lower the back I first removed 3 leaf springs from each side, number
4, 6 and 7 (1 being the top spring). The problem with this is the leaf
assembly becomes less stiff and since they are so long that they might
twist up when the throttle goes down, to prevent this I plan on building
traction bars.
Secondly, I took some of the front suspension from a 53 GMC parts truck
I have to use on the back of the 54. The pieces I used were the
shackles and hangers. The shackles on the front suspension are a bit
shorter then the ones originally on the back.
The third is the hangers. The hangers on the rear of the front leafs
are quite a bit shorter then the ones on the front of the rear leafs.
Putting the shorter front ones on the back springs was not that
difficult. When putting the front hangers on the back springs I had to
place a shim between the side of the frame rail and the hangers, doing
so lines one of the bolt holes on the bottom of the frame up, I had to
drill out the other three holes. I fastened the short hangers onto my
frame with grade 8 bolts.
If I need the rear any lower I will have to use blocks.
Front-
I set the front axle on top of the springs. I heard that one does not
want to remove any of the front springs, especially when a bigger motor
goes in.
I secure the axle to spring with 8 ½" by ?"(quite long) bolts. I have
made four pieces of ¼" thick flat iron with the same bolt pattern the
top of the axle has. Each plate will then have the 4 ½" holes plus one
hole (I can't remember the size) in the center to clear the bolt that
holds the leafs together.
This is how it goes together. Each side uses 2 plates, 4 bolts, and 4
spacers (which I will explain later). I put four bolt through the one of
¼" plates, then the bundle of leaf spring on top of the plate, then the
other ¼" plate on top of the springs then the axle on top of the plate,
then the nuts. With this configuration the axle might twist (roll)
under heavy braking. So I made spacers, one for each bolt, out of ½"
I.D. steel pipe which I placed between the top ¼" plate and the flange
on the axle, which the bolts go through.
This resulted in the front dropping about 5.5", the problem is the
bottom on the springs are now only 3 or 4 inches off the floor,
depending on how tall the tires are, which might be fine where you live,
but I will have to watch where I drive.
I hope you could understand my description. If you have any questions,
feel free to e-mail me. Have fun with your project.
Curtis
Saskatchewan, Canada
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