Topic: spring suggestions???????

[newkid]

 i was woundering if i should put toy rears in the front or should i put waggies in the front or toy rear with waggy mian    :headscratch        what would give me best flex      i am going to put 63' chevies in the rear any suggestions will help.

      thanks,
              Travis

[WHITE_TRASH]

First step is to keep those pos chevies off the back of your truck!  Any spring that needs a "helper" such as dual shackles, buggy leaf, etc is a joke.  Plus chivies make really nice rock anchors.  Waggies suck as well.  Yes Ive used them and yes Im replacing them with something much easier to install and far better performing.  If you wanna know what it is that Im doing read $300 from about page 13 on.

[Jase]

How much money do you want to spend?  I kept mine cheep did chevys rear (100.00) moved the rears to the front with some extra leafs that were laying around (free).  Then I had to buy new shocks (went cheap 5012's) and made new shock mounts (60.00) in material.  You dont have to run buggies or dual shackle if you relocate the rear hanger.  It has changed however.. I didnt like how far  the springs hung out the back.  If you want to spend some cash then I'm sure what marlin offers is great.

[billy hill]

 1  83 Toyota rear main leaf
 2  83 Toyota rear military wrap
 3  83 Toyota rear 3rd leaf
 4  86 Wagoneer front 3rd leaf
 5  86 Wagoneer front 4th leaf
 6  86 Wagoneer front 5th leaf
 7  86 Wagoneer front 6th leaf

    Just cut about 3.5 inches off the front of all the Wagoneer leaves. So the leaves in the spring pack will be even.
   I could flex on a 42 inch swamper with no probs. using this setup...
   And WT is right, don't use those Chevies.

[newkid [OP]]

billy hill,
  do you have any pics of your truck? i am interested in that pack 

[MidgetMike]

Chevies are a pain in the ass, I had waggies in front and I liked them alot my concern with them and why I am going to use toyrears in the front is that stock waggies are prone to breaking the main leaf so I am using the toy rear main and 1/4 military wrap leaft to help prevent that and hybrid them with the waggies. you can try a beefed up 56" mazda, ford,jeep or chevy rear for a rear spring. I'm pretty sure 85ish rangers have 56 " springs and have a very short side around 21"   

[brainlessfool]

just use air bags. 

[billy hill]

I've posted these pics before. Just couldn't remember where. But I had Chevies in the rear at the time. And the front was working too hard. I tore the Chevies out and used Mazda rears. And that was a pretty good setup. Just watch out for axlewrap.

[FIREBALL]

I used 2wd F150 springs. They're 2 1/2 wide, longer than yota's, but not as long as chevy's, and just as cheap, and they flex awesome. My runner is my second rig that i've put them on for myself, and i've built several other rigs for friends and they love them.

[mr4x42u]

chevies springs only work on rigs that pack some weight.they work great on my runner,,,don't go duel shaclke,,thats full on ghay!Keep you vehicle weight in mind compared to the vehicle they came off of,,weight will make a spring work or not..Most guys who don't like chevie springs had them on light weight rigs compared to the heavy rig they came off of..keep in mind to give or take weight for lift and arch..example if your springs came off a light weight rig like a mazda you may not get the lift you want so adding some leafs may help..Its not a one time shot,,you will have to play with the pack to get what you want..

[ccannon222]

what years do you get the F150 rear 2wd srpings out of?

[FIREBALL]

I like the mid 80's through the 90's. They come with teflon pads at the tips from the 80's on. The earlier ones work good too though.

[GRM]

I've posted these pics before. Just couldn't remember where. But I had Chevies in the rear at the time. And the front was working too hard. I tore the Chevies out and used Mazda rears. And that was a pretty good setup. Just watch out for axlewrap.

When you drive a truck backwards up a ramp, your working the front suspension more. Drive it forwards and you work the rear more. Its no wonder why those pics show the front having ALOT more flex than the rear.

[billy hill]

Sorry I lost the pics of the truck driving fowards up the ramp. Also those are the only pics I have of that setup. When I was wheeling it, The front flexed great. But the rear sucked ass until I put the Mazda springs in.

[TOYJOETA]

I used 2wd F150 springs. They're 2 1/2 wide, longer than yota's, but not as long as chevy's, and just as cheap, and they flex awesome. My runner is my second rig that i've put them on for myself, and i've built several other rigs for friends and they love them.

I was just thinking and what if you used front shackles turned upside down in the rear with f-150 springs and got jeep yj spring hangers for the front mount.  just a thought but I should probobly(spelling?) stop doing that