Info On Straight Axles

I Have A 58 Ford Styleside Pickup That I Want To Build To Resemble A Gasser Style Rig, Rather Than Going With A Tube Axle, Is There Any Other Way To Use My Original Straight Axle To Achieve The Stance? Also I Would Like An Honest Opinion On This. I Have Been Throwing Around An Idea Of Building A Lakester Push Truck, Like The Ones You Would Have Found At Bonneville. Let Me Know Guys!!

 

Go with springs with more arch. I seen it done with block between the axle and spring. (I didn't like that one. looked unsafe)

 

You sure as shit don't want to do that! If you are on a tight budget and have a welder, how about cutting off the stock leaf spring mounts, welding a piece of square tubing (2" for 2" lift, 3" for 3" lift, etc.) and re-attatch the mounts there. That would save the cost of re-arched springs. Don't forget, you'll need to deal with the steering components.

 

Build a pusher out of it, everyone owns a gasser these days.

Of course this advice comes from the owner of The Pusher® so you may look for another opinion.

If you want to lift it a bit rearch the front springs, then maybe drill the axle while you got it off. I wouldn't lift it a ton, there's a real fine line between mud truck and gasser. Snag yourself some scheater slicks for the rear and some skinnys for the front. then its just a matter of building a monster to go between the horns and ya gots yourself a gasser.

If you really want to do the gasser thing with it you need to move the front axle forward a bit. Get your tires as close to the front of the truck as you can and still turn the wheels.

edit damnit:

Get ahold of unclescooby here on the HAMB he's got a real sweet '59 that could give you an idea or two.

 

I think they achieved the stance back then with re-arched springs, blocks, axles with less drop, etc. Basically whatever worked. Some of it was probably unsafe and it looked so. I think with moderation any of these means will work.
Blocks are not unanimously unsafe. It depends on how extreme you go (like almost anything else). I got mine to where I wanted it to be by using a leaf spring with a little more arch and I also milled some blocks out of aluminum. These have the castor wedge milled in, and I also made them with tabs on the sides so they "lock in" between the U-bolts holding the axle to the springs. They cannot come out. If you put too much block under your axle I think you are asking for trouble. Under braking the rotational forces are now transmitted with more force to the springs and that could (in my opinion) cause some handling drama. Raising them up too high by any means will cause problems...unstability, bump steer, etc. You need to pay close attention to drag link angles and steering geometry.

 

How high do ya want to go? A few extra leafs, reasonable blocks, even air shocks on the front for "temporary" nose bleed stance, it all works, it's just a matter of how much you want to spend.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys! I thought about using f500 springs as long as they are the same length and the eyes line up, this is stiffer and thicker right? Now, I don't own a welder so it makes it hard to do some things. Does anyone have pics of gasser trucks or salt flat pushers? If so post a link, also, I would like to put the front up 3-4 inches up front. Also, I want to keep the dana 60 rear but it's 8 lug wheels, I thought though, back in the day they used what they had, the dana is tough maybe I could keep the steel wheels in back with skinnies and moons up front? Can I swap out five lug spindles in the front and different axles in the rear? Let me know. Thanks again.