Ok so Im clipping my truck with a 75 Camaro sub. I plan to use the matching rearend also, my question is can I use the stock springs? if so how will it ride and how much will it lower it?
Stock truck springs or stock camaro springs? The truck springs go above the axle. The camaro springs go below the axle. The spring hangers, shackles, and eye bolts are completely different, and the Camaro springs are a half inch wider than the truck springs. So using camaro springs is going to take some fabrication work to get them installed on the truck. On my 57 suburban I put a camaro clip on it, and used the old front spring perches to mount the stock truck rear springs under the frame rails, then put the axle above the springs. It drops it about 4 inches? and the ride should be similar to the stock truck. I haven't got it on the road yet though so I can't say for sure. I'm not sure if the handling will work right, because of changing the angle that the springs work at....
Like Jim said, you can reuse the stock leafs. If you're on a budget, it's definitely the cheapest way to go. You might want to pull a leaf or two out to soften up the ride, depending on your application. You also might want to take a look at the pinion angle after you do the flip. I'm not sure what you can expect this combination to measure out concerning the pinion angle, but I like 2 degrees down at ride height. You can buy angled pinion shims that go between the leafs and the axle to get you dialed in where you want it.
...my 55 pickup already had lowering shackles (just like originals but longer)..I knocked the rivets out of the rear hangers and flipped them over and mounted em on top of the framerail as the pic shows. (after this pic, I drilled two holes thru the hanger and into the frame rail top flange for bolts.) This way, I mounted the rearend on top of the orig. leaf springs and can adjust ride height with lowering blocks;.. about 2-3" will work great. Theres clearance for the bed as it rides above the top of the framerail.
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