ok guys, i just completed flipping the rear in my 57. i bought the truck with the original suspension, which looked like a 4x4. i immediately got me a 3 inch dropped front axle from Sid, and took one leaf out, and in the rear all i did was put the extended shackles on and took 4 of the original leafs out. the truck rode pretty darn good but i still wanted it lower. so, i put the 4 leafs back in the rear pack, back to original, and put the factory short shackles in, and got a djm flip kit from summit. here is where it originally sat when i first lowered it. and here is where it is now with the rear flipped. the fender lip is just a tad above the top of the rim. just perfect for what i was shooting for. and i now have right at 1 - 1.250 travel before it bottoms out on the frame. believe it or not, with the shocks i have, it takes a lot before it will bottom out, with me jumping on the bumper. just in case it ever does bottom out, for a bump stop i cut up an old 3/16 thick rubber mud flap i had off my jon boat trailer and screwed it to the frame where the original bump stop holes were. i didnt want to spend the 60 bucks on new leaf spring plates, so i made a quick drawing and had my buddy at work burn me two on the laser. then i cut the shock tab off the original mount and welded it to my new plate. in hindsight i should have made it shorter, because now i got a slight scrub line issue.... oh well..... drove it about 5 miles today and so far so good. got it parked again ready for me to pull the front apart now to get it down some more. just gonna take a couple leafs out and see where that put me at. aint got the cash for mono leafs. oh yea, dont rib me too much on my shiny wheels.. LOL. once i get some cash, hopefully next year, i want to put some american torque thrust's on it, with the gray centers, like the original torque thrust's. thats it for now. i will update when i get the front down. leonard
That looks real good down like that. I prefer the smoothie wheels on it though. or a set of stockers with stock caps and whites would look great. or a set of salt flats would look nice too. Just my .02 Also looks like a c notch is in your future as well. the bottoming out will get old quick. I have a bit more than that on my ranchero and it likes to bottom out on good bumps. at first it was cool. now it is just annoying. Love the truck and the stance though. Keep up the good work Eric
i had to change out the smoothies because i went from 6 to 5 lug when i put the disc brakes on it, and in the rear those smoothies where out set too much for any kind of drop. but yea, they did look good. i would maybe think of a set of steelies painted black maybe, with some wide whites and spider caps... i do have a c-notch kit in my shed, but am too damn lazy to install it now. LOL. hate thinking about taking the wood out of the back, and welding...etc. but yea, i will see how much it annoys me.... thanks for the comments. thanks man..... wanna trade ? LOL. i love your truck.... leonard
I took out the three shortest leaves in the front and it gave me three inches of drop. So, you taking two more leaves out should be somewhere around 2" more drop than as it sits in the pics. Can't wait to see how it turns out. I'll be doing the same thing soon enough and want to see how my front end will sit!
Yeah I see where you are coming from. I have a thing for black steelies with wide whites . So I would say hell yeah!. Would it be easier to just take the whole bed off with the wood in it instead of taking the wood out. I know on my 60 GMC that I did i should have just taken the whole bed off. getting the rotted old wood out was a bitch. not sure if that is an option on yours though. Such a clean cool looking truck though. I cant wait to see updates as this one comes along.
cool man, thanks.... thats where i will start. will start a little on it sunday then each day after work next week. i might get slowed down a bit because i'm gonna put new bushings and pins in the leaf eyes. but will post what i come up with. leonard
yep, sure am... hope to be done in 2 weeks... thanks man.. never thought about taking the entire bed off. i will see how bad, or if it bottoms out much when i get the front down. i really hate laying on the ground working on the truck, so knowing me i will put it off as long as i can. like the lowering i am doing now. i have put it off for 2 years, but glad i finally tackled it. leonard
I've trimmed the bumpstops in my front end and installed new shorter shocks. And with the three shortest leaves out of six missing I have about an inch and a half of travel, it still hits on big bumps. Less so now that I've switched to bias ply tires, but it still hits from time to time. I could trim the bumpstops some more, or remove them all together for another inch and half or so. But when I eventually flip the front, the frame will get notched and that'll be that. Maybe start with one spring and see how you like the height vs. ride.
Presently you say it is 1 - 1 1/4" from bottoming out on the frame. If you C-Notch it, it would have more travel.... however.....how close is the center of the rear end to the bed wood? So if you C-Notch it; would the center of the rear hit the bedwood?
thanks man... i know it looks a lot better than it did, but for me the front has to be even or lower than the rear, unless its a gasser style truck. yes, even before i did this flip, i did have to take some vise grips and "roll" the fender lip up and in, is so low now that it actually is in the narrower part of the tire and should be no problem. got about.500 clearance now. if you want pics of that wheel lip, let me know. never want to do the old baseball bat type of roll.... yea, i know if i were to notch it i would have more travel, i just dont want to dig into it that much at the time. lazy. and a bad back/pinched nerve in the left leg. yes, the center pumpkin will also bottom out at about 1.500 of travel, so if i did c-notch the frame i would have to do something to the wood in that area. the rear is a 12 bolt out of a 1980 half ton chevy truck. leonard
might be a few weeks before i'm able to work on the front suspension. had to go to the E.R today for my back / leg. arthritis, bone spurs, and disc problems.... working on the rear every night for 3 hours really took a toll on my damn back.... getting old sucks.. leonard
ok guys, i have an update.. the back has been feeling decent the past week, so today i decided to get the front back together. first i took 2 more leafs, the shortest, out of the leaf pack. i already had one removed when i put Sid's 3 inch axle in 2 years ago. so now i have 3 leafs of the original 6 pulled out. got new leaf eye bushings and shackles and threaded pins, and ran into another problem with them. the slightly tapered holes on the shackles were not deep enough and would not let them tighten down enough onto the tapered threaded pins and crush the rubber grease seals, so i had to spend about 30-45 minutes with my dremmel tool getting them opened up. easy enough. then i get it all back together, drop the truck on the ground, and notice the tie rod was now rubbing the oil pan in the front area of the sump. not good. took the tie rod off and 'massaged" that area with a hammer and a piece or round pipe. got enough clearance to where it dont hit while setting there, but when i bounce up and down on the bumper i can get it to hit. im afraid to massage the oil pan anymore, so i gave Sid a call and confirmed that all i need to do is take the steering arm off, take them to work tomorrow, and heat the area where the tie rod end is, and bend them down an inch or so. that will give me enough clearance, hopefully. here is what the tie rod and pan look like now. do any of you guys know where my oil pump pickup screen sets in this oil pan ? its a 350 out of a 1980 1/2 ton truck. hope its more toward the rear of the pan, and i didnt mess anything up by hammering on the front area shown... the leafs, with 3 now in the pack, actually arc reverse of what they did with the 5 in. do you guys think this will become a problem ? i know terd took 3 out of his pack, so please chime in terd. i would like to know the arc of your 3 leaf pack.... also, i cut half of my factory bump stop off, and have somewhere around 1.5-2 inches of clearance. sorry i didnt actually measure it or take pics of it. with my gas shocks installed i have to really bounce on the front bumper to get it to move. i know going down the road and hitting bumps in the road will move it somewhat easier, but time will tell how it rides once i get it back on the road. i didnt take any pics of the truck setting on the ground, since the cover was still on the truck and it started to rain. once them things get wet they weigh a ton. so, i have the steering arms off now, will hopefully get a chance to heat and bend them tomorrow at work, hopefully have it all back together by tuesday night, and have some pics later int he week, or the weekend by the latest. thats it for now, but i am really pumped about FINALLY getting around to lowering my truck some more... leonard
By bending your tie rod, it will shorten quite a bit, obviously. Are you left with enough length to get the alignment proper?
hey antny.... not bending the tie rod, just the area on the steering arms where the tie rod ends bolts to... hope i cleared that up.... thanks leonard
ok guys, another update... i took my steering arms to work today to heat and bend them down 1" so the tie rod would clear the oil pan. when me and my boss were looking at them, it seems for us to get a 1" drop in the tie rod end of the arm, and keep the tie rod lug parallel with the two bolt holes on the steering arm, we would have to bend that arm probably almost straight up and down, and we didnt think that would work, since it would have thrown the tie rod right up against or under the axle. so he talked me into taking a section of the arm out, move the forward section up one inch, then add some solid round stock. i TIG welded it all together. hope i explained that well..... here is what the steering arms now look like and here is a couple of pics of how the 3 leaf springs now set in the truck, kind of warped backwards..... and also shows my trimmed bump stop. i have not driven the truck yet, but hope to do so later this week or by the weekend at the latest. i did pull the cover up enough to take this pic of the new stance.. i am now very happy with the way it sets. i have been wanting to do this for 2 years now. taking two more of the shortest leafs out of the front pack gave me right at 1.5" more drop. ( i already had one leaf pulled before all this). my buddy out in California measured his all stock 57 3100, and mine now sets 7.5 inches lower than his does, front and back. again, it is now setting with one of Sids 3" front axles with 3 of the 6 leafs pulled out, and out back i have all 7 original leafs in, with a DJM suspensions flip kit, putting the rear on top of the leaf pack. hope this helps some of you thinking to do this type of drop in your TF truck. i wanted to keep the straight axle and have a lowered stance. hope i didnt kill my ride quality too much..... leonard
nice truck,c-notch the way to go,have more room for travel,put c-notch and air shoks on mine ,ride is great
yea, im gonna see how it rides, and definitely C notch the rear frame if i have to. i already have the kit.... please tell me how you lowered your truck, front and rear. very nice truck, love the color. leonard
took it for a little 5 mile cruise today.... rides pretty darn good. do gotta be a little careful on the bigger dips in the road though, as suspected. had it up to 60mph and all was smooth. will put some miles on it this weekend and get a better feel for it. and take some pics.. leonard
I like your height...looking for the same on my 55. About to flip my rear. I am scared of it being to low (once flipped is there a way to go back up any?)...I want it a bit lower in front than back also. Anyway, I have a camaro sub in front, so I think my only option there is 2 in from dropped spindles. Prolly be Dec. b4 I get to it...til then I'm keeping the nasty road-grader rake
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