Posted by N8 on January 31, 1999 at 20:49:04:
In Reply to: Re: Lifting the rear... posted by Chris on January 31, 1999 at 19:30:44:
I had to cure the SAF on my 71 Grabber, being light in the pocket book I began to root through the vast amount of used leaf springs at the Dodge dealership that I was working in at the time.
My soulution was there, I took the springs from a '92 Dodge ram 3/4 tom PU and reduced the amount of leafs to 4 rather than the original 7 (plus overload springs)
the dodge springs are the same width but moved the axel 3/4" further back, the only noticeable difference was the fact that the drive shaft yoke didnt go asa far into the tranny as the original did, I replaced the drive shaft with one from a 72 grabber and lo and behold it was 3/4" longer than the original drive shaft.
It works like a charm, I used universal shackels on the rear and replaced the soggy rubber bushings with polyethurithane that I cut myself, the metal bushings were also fabricated by me.
the car sits level (with the rear shackel bolts in the holes closest to the frame) and the leafs seem to be firmer than FoMoCo leafs, they might be thicker.
: I'm going to contradict myself before anyone else can....i realized that the shocks mount in a way that would interfere with putting the axle below the leafs. Of course, there are ways around that but if anyone has any other suggestions please let me know....