Hey all, I know there are alot of Early Econoline guys on here, and if you're like me, you've been hitting your head on the garage floor trying to get the front end of your econo on the ground safely and without sacrificing handling. I've already done a lot of research on getting my front beam dropped 3", and seems as though no one will touch it. One of the last guys doing dropped beams will only do a 2" drop, and is booked out 12-14 weeks (Sid's in OK). Sooo, I happen to be close friends with a fabricator that for years has built custom suspensions for long travel buggies, 4x4's and other performance vehicles. He is interested in building a limited number of replacement axles for Early Econo's that would provide a bolt in drop of 2, 3, or 4 inches, and narrowing of any amount desired. He will be doing the R&D on my van, and will be fabbing a jig to do the first couple of axles in the coming weeks. Im pretty sure he's going to be using all 1/4" wall DOM tubing and whatever size matches stock for the kingpin bosses. I think he's going to offer a couple of different options for shock location, but sounds like it will have some nifty bracket/ support plates that will be drilled to accept a shock or air shock. I'm going to buy the first one, and told him I'd post this up here to see if there is any interest. He's also going to be offering a bolt in heim steering kit that will re-index the tie rod to clear the oil pan, as well as keep the drag link completely horizontal. I'll put up some pics of the final product in a couple of weeks when the prototype is available.
My friend used a dropped tubular axle in his 64 and had to do a LOT of fabricating and re-engineering afterwards, and it still handled horribly. With all the new brackets and whatnot that your friend is doing, he may get all that solved.
The Jalopy Journal
