Well I finally got around to putting on the new mono- leafs. They are supposed to lower the car 4",without blocks. That's 4" from stock height. The car was already lowered 8". When I put them on,the car was 4" HIGHER!!!I didn't have any 4" blocks,so I had to rethink this. After some measuring and figureing,I decided to flip them over. Went back together real easy. Let it down,and YEEHAW! It was back down on the ground. I took it out for a test drive and it rides awsome! Only one drawback. It doesn't raise up as high now,cause the mono-leaf is much thicker. Before it had a single leaf with bags,and it rode on the bags. I didn't want to ride on the bags. Now it's just as low,rides on the springs,much better I might add,and I don't have to worry about getting stuck by a bag blowing out. I'll see if I can get some pic's.
Here's a few pic's. 1-you can see the leaf arches up. 2-all the way up(bottom pic) 3-all the way down,driving height(right pic) Only about 3" difference.
Where did you get the monoleaves? I would like to replace the springs on my 'box and ditch the 3" lowering blocks I'm using now.
Looks bitchin! on a side note. I can't help but think of the Simpsons "monorail song" every time I hear the word Monoleaf.
You're funny Lux. Dino, I got the leafs from Durant Ent. here in so cal. Keep in mind,it lowers 4" from stock. The ass end used to sit on the ground,when I let all the air in the bags. I wanted a low stance with no air,but still drivable. What you see in the pic is as low as it goes now. That's okay to me. I don't want a bunch of drama when my son starts driving it.
bob im realy confused here theres more to this story i know or may be cuz i havnt been on here much i dont know the REST of the story is this the same son that wanted to sell the other shoe box and aint this one yours or was yours and now its his or may be i dont know what the hell im talkin about and now ive got every one confused i guess the good and great thing is he being your son is gona drive the car i knew hed come back around great job bob
I was thinkin the same thing, but nodded my head and moved on. Anyway, glad to see its still in the family. Looks good. Sometimes you have to sacrifice a few inches in order to be safe or comfortable. The springs will sag over time and be less rigid when you let the air out. I've been thinkin of baggin mine more and more lately. I'm still torn.
Alex, I sold my older sons car,the 51. This is the 49 I bought from Todd Zimmerman(Fordole500) for my younger son,Dillon. I bought it with the intention of giving it to him for his birthday. I bought my Merc about a month later,and just drove the 49 around til my Merc was done. It's been parked for a while,til I drove it to that Mexican wrestling thing. He can't drive it til he's 18,cause of the insurance and the new laws. I gave my other son my old work truck. If he wants another old car,he can buy it himself.
Just curious why you debagged it? sounds like reliability just wanted to know if you had major issues with the bags or if it layed frame with the bags and your concerned about safety due to scrub lines etc. If that's the case whe couldn't you just put in bump stops?
I didn't "de-bag" it. I wanted it to ride on the springs and use the bags to raise it up for driveways and speedbumps. The bags are still on. It has about 2 1/2" of clearance,so if anybody rides in the back,he'll have to air up the bags. And it has bump stops,but you cant drive it when it's on the stops. It used to lay right down on the sidepipes,when I got it,but the front bags leaked ALL the time. Here's a pic.
So wait, now that I look closer at that pic, are you running just the mono leafs and bags? No 4 link or panhard? I'm a little confused now.
ok I'm still kind confused why you would de-link it then. especially after all the posted about monoleafs ok ok and 4 links a the route to go for safety and ride qaulity. Seams like you could just lower the bumpstops and the upper bag mount. Not saying you did anything wrong I'm just trying to figure why you did what you did and what the advantages are. I will be eventually be bagging my dodge and I wondering if this is good alternative to a 4-link.
That makes a lot of sense.....drive on the springs (lowered) and use the bags to raise the car up for driveways, etc. Sure beats having to depend on those air bags all the time. I tried to get a pal to do that with his '41 COE he's building, but when I suggested that he just gave me a blank look. Evidently those guys in the magazines know more about this shit than I do.
Dvanecek, It had a three link,but without the panhard bar. It rode really stiff,and broke my frame,cause it didn't give when going into driveways. The old frame was the weak link,so it broke. I wanted to get it as low as I could,and just use the airbags to raise it for driveways and stuff.
Come on guys,it's not algebra! Ride on the springs NOT on the bags bags for raising only! What's soo confusing?
I hate to say this just why are you jacking around with all this half ass suspension. Upside down leaves, 4 link brackets to no-where, cracked frame, mini-trucker frame notch.... That is one nice looking shoebox but the rear suspension is a f-ing nightmare. Please get that to someone who really knows how to do suspension work and have it done correctly before you wreck a beautiful car and possibly hurt someone. Brick
It's not "half ass". The brackets you see in the picture were for the ladder bars. Maybe he intended to do a 4-link in the beginning,I don't know. I'm gonna use the lower mount for some strut/traction bars. To keep the rear from rotating. It's pretty solid now. NOT half ass! Rides fantastic. Took a while to work the bugs out. C-notch was on it when I got it.BTW,It wasn't a cracked frame,it was a busted weld on the crossmember. Alex Gambino sells the same notch kit. Maybe you should talk some shit to him about his product. I'm sure he'd love to hear your opinion. Where do you think the mini-truck guys got their ideas from? Hotrod guys,that's where. Maybe you should re-think your thoughts. Just my opinion,of course.
This guy drives his cars everywhere, this isnt a car on the verge of wrecking. Its not the ideal set up, but heres a guy doing it himself and like most of us learning along the way.
Thanks Slime. Why's everybody so upitty lately? It's taken me over a year to get this rear sorted out. It's staying the way it is now. Not here to please the masses. I was hoping to hear some ideas,not shit-talkers!
just wondering how the ride is with the reverse monos, I have the same durant mono-leafs (great guys to deal with),and also 3" blocks. mine rides real nice... jut curious, thanks
W.T.F??......Don't worry Brickster...I assure you, this shoebox is in good hands....instead of shit talking...try sitting back quietly..you might just learn a thing or two...just MY opinion of coarse!...
Fred, I don't know if the mono-leafs are Durants or not. I got them from another HAMBer. I bought Durant mono-leafs for my Merc. The Merc ones are flat. The ones I bought from low springs,had an 6" arch in them. That's when I started to think that maybe they are just replacement,mono-leafs,stock height. It actually rides nice. New shocks should make it even better.
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