64 inch spring swap?????????????????????????s

[rubbinz raczn]

tried this in garage but not much help. i will be doing a rear spring swap with 64" chevy 5" lift springs(i thought 63"s ORD calls em 64's?) swapping into an 85 chevy lwb truck. i will be moving the front spring hangers forward as far as i can without interfering with cab mounts 16-"18" i wanted to avoid using a shackle flip with stock springs (63's) my question now is what rear mounts will work best for this? i won't have rear sheetmetal so tire body rub is not an issue. so the shorter lift the better. any problems with shackle to hanger interference with longer springs? if i run a longer shackle with the factory rear hangers will that work? if shackle interfers with stock hanger can i build a shackle flip with no lift but with the clearance of a lift type?

 

[84K5BD]

go to a gm dealer and buy a set of front rear spring hangers for a 3/4 ton pick up and bolt them where you want them. i got them for $40.00. problem solved

 

[JDNobodi]

go to a gm dealer and buy a set of front rear spring hangers for a 3/4 ton pick up and bolt them where you want them. i got them for $40.00. problem solved

What year pickup did you get the mounts from? I'm planning to swap in 63 also. I was thinking about the late model mounts (88-98) because I want to put the spring closer to the frame. I want to do it this way so I can mount a 2" Fox shox on the outside of the springs.

 

[spoolnaround]

Mine are from a 73. Very easy mod, I am running Ferd 57" springs, they flex very well.

 

[rubbinz raczn]

so it looks like the hangers could be modified for less lift by removing the back 1/2 and moving the outer 1/2 higher, trimming off excess above frame. then bolting the inner part back up and trimming lower excess from that?

 

[beater_k20]

why not use stock springs with a shackle flip? cheaper and makes more sense, a stock spring will flex better than a lift spring, and a shackle flip will increase flex, while giving a better ride.

 

[rubbinz raczn]

why not use stock springs with a shackle flip? cheaper and makes more sense, a stock spring will flex better than a lift spring, and a shackle flip will increase flex, while giving a better ride.

already got the springs! my reasoning why i bought new ( sure i maybe dumb!) is #1 the junkyards around here are dicks #2 a shackle flip ORD is $200 say i got used springs for $100, $300 bucks so far bushings $50 bucks, $ 350 bucks. new springs are $350! #3 buy used springs, do they sag? rotted bushings, new springs have teflon wear pads for better flex. new bushings etc. #4 i was lazy!! why does a shackle flip increase flex? more range of shackle before hitting factory hangers? also why a better ride with a flip?

 

[spoolnaround]

already got the springs! my reasoning why i bought new ( sure i maybe dumb!) is #1 the junkyards around here are dicks #2 a shackle flip ORD is $200 say i got used springs for $100, $300 bucks so far bushings $50 bucks, $ 350 bucks. new springs are $350! #3 buy used springs, do they sag? rotted bushings, new springs have teflon wear pads for better flex. new bushings etc. #4 i was lazy!! why does a shackle flip increase flex? more range of shackle before hitting factory hangers? also why a better ride with a flip?

Your springs are flatter, not as much arc.

so it looks like the hangers could be modified for less lift by removing the back 1/2 and moving the outer 1/2 higher, trimming off excess above frame. then bolting the inner part back up and trimming lower excess from that?

never thought about it but you could increase the amount of lift as well following the same technique.

 

[smash metal]

Axle wrap

http://photos.yahoo.com/smashmetal4x4

I noticed alot of axle wrap with the 63" springs, I fabed up a track bar to stop the problem. You'll have to check out my link above to see it, it worked good untill the 63"s wanted to strut their stuff.

 

[TorkDSR]

couple thoughts.... to leave a tension shackle and then make it longer seems like a good way to get hung up on things, especially when it's avoidable,

and move the front crossmember up along with the front hangers, then drop a blazer tank in... bout the only thing those stoopid trucks were good for

dont mind the circled things.

rear spring hanger... cheaper than ORD

 

[79k20350]

The only thing id be worried about with oing a shckle flip that way is lack of shackle angle and flex, its just nowhere near what ord or other companys offer.

 

[TorkDSR]

the setup works quite well, i dont know what to tell you. as for the angle in the picture, there is no weight on the springs, the shackle travels a full range of motion when the spring is flexed. i have yet to see any flex from the rear hanger, but that's not to say if i get bored some weekend, i wont run a reinforcement down to the outer bolt hole.

 

[RGV72BLAZER]

well on the rear of mine i'll be running a ORD 4" shackle lift (160), ORD 6.0" shackle (125), ORD greaseable bushings (75), and stock 63" chevy springs (50). that comes to about $450. not too bad, but i should have a pretty flexible rear suspension. the thing with those 5" lift springs is the arc compared to stock 63"ers. don't get me wrong those things should still flex damn well since they're so long. the only thing i'm worried about is axlewrap. i will relocate my spring hangers. the rear hanger i plan to move as far back as possible on the frame and then just go from there on the front hanger. i plan on extending the wheelbase and tapering my fenders so hopefully it all works out. i also noticed the 64" thing on ORDs website...i wonder if that's a type-O or if those are really an inch longer. hope this helps.

 

[CyberSniper]

You can run a shackle flip but build custom rear hangers so the upper eye of the shackle is way up on the side of the frame.

I got around 4" of lift out of my shackle flip with 2500HD 64s with one leaf removed... and my shackle flip is around 2.5" worth of lift.

I can get around 16" of wheel travel out of my 64s without trying. Once I go to a heavier axle I'll get more droop. They ride nice. My rig has 120" of leaf spring and is only 180" long.

 

[spoolnaround]

http://photos.yahoo.com/smashmetal4x4

I noticed alot of axle wrap with the 63" springs, I fabed up a track bar to stop the problem. You'll have to check out my link above to see it, it worked good untill the 63"s wanted to strut their stuff.

Axl wrap is a major issue. My Ferd springs lasted 1 summer. I had some Alcans made with a higher spring rate. They dont flex quite as much but I dont have as much axle wrap, still way too much. This is a result of excessive axle wrap.

 

[doonjumper]

subscribe

 

[akonitony]

This is what I did with a shackle flip, some 63" springs from an '89 3500-series GM truck, and not moving the front perches forward. I tested the 45-dgree shackle angle by installing the single top leafe first and jacking up on it until it was straight, and the shackle still had a little room to go. If any more pressure is applied, the spring shortens and the 2nd shackle effect occurs increasing spring rate even more. Here is a pic of the shackle angle with about 150# in the bed of the truck. Kert @ DIY4X custom made the 9" shackle for me. I really like his disk conversion kit that I used on the rear end as well. No spacers needed.

 

[Devillusion]

Nice, taking notes for my build.

 

[akonitony]

Nice, taking notes for my build.

Write this down: Must move front perches of rear springs forward 2 - 3" to center rear axle before installing leafs and said rear axle.
Hopefully you are working with a K-5 frame. The K-30 frame I am using has a big fuel tank full of diesel in the way on the driver's side, so I am kind of at a stand-still as to how I am going to move the leaf perch forward more than an inch without having to re-plumb and somehow re-mount the fuel tank forward by another 2" at minimum. On paper it sounds easy, but once you are under the truck, you will see how much of a pain in the arse it is going to be. I've been letting it sit for some 5 months now whileI work on some other projects, but hopefully I can get it going again soon.
Hope your's goes nice and smooth. If you need to know shim degrees to use, I can tell you what my trial-n-error finally settled on...

 

[GreenieK30]

Axle wrap is a major issue. My Ford springs lasted 1 summer. I had some Alcans made with a higher spring rate. They dont flex quite as much but I dont have as much axle wrap, still way too much. This is a result of excessive axle wrap.

Spring packs need clamps. Any main leaf will be screwed like this in a short time without them.