Topic: Spring Swaps.

[colo.toy]

I am looking to do a 63" Chevy spring swap on the rear of my 1985 Pickup, but I don't know which springs to run up front.  I am trying to stay as cheap as possible, but still want a good amount of flex.  I also want to push the front axle forward about 2-3 inches to clear the firewall, hoping to run 35"-37" tires.  The overall goal for the truck is to keep it low, wide, and street legal, as it is also my DD. 

The previous owner of the truck installed a lift on the truck, and looks to be about 3".  I've read a lot of postings on here and on pirate 4x4 where people are swapping the rears to the front, but since I have a lift on the truck already it would probably jack the front of the truck up too high.  Are there another set of springs i can swap onto the front of the truck that still give a good amount of flex? I was thinking of a set of 57" ford springs, or something similar, as Toyota's around here are pretty limited in the junkyards.

Any information anyone can provide me with would be extremely helpful! 

[MiniSimp]

I have rears up front on the stock hangers and 5.25" shackles, with chevy rears with the rear shackle mount through the frame and it's not that high.

I have no way of telling how much lift I have, but you can see in the picture that the top of the wheels are the same height as the bottom of the cab...if that helps...

edit: 37" tires also.

editedit: as far as width, I'm running 80" wide with 1.5" spacers, 2" BS wheels, 13.5" tires.

[colo.toy [OP]]

How far forward did the rears-up-front swap push your front axle? did you have to do any firewall cutting or a hi-steer conversion?

[MiniSimp]

How far forward did the rears-up-front swap push your front axle? did you have to do any firewall cutting or a hi-steer conversion?

Moved front axle forward 2"
Pounded the pinch weld flat on the firewell
High steer yes
3" fender cut

[88_Pathy]

Take those rears you have and put them in the front and see how they work. You can play with the height by adding or removing leaves. Then add the chevy springs in the rear.

[colo.toy [OP]]

Thanks for the help.  I measured the springs tonight and the rears measured out to be 46", while the fronts only measured out to 45".  do I need to move the front spring hangers forward, or would a longer shackle do the trick?

Also, out of curiosity, if the rear of the front spring were fixed to the frame, and the front was attached by a shackle, would this affect anything?

[88_Pathy]

You would want the front of the leaf mounted to the front of the truck.

[Angler]

I am running stock waggy springs with a 2inch drop hanger which moved the front mounting poing 2 inches forward, I am running the stock shacl;e in the rear of the spring, this gained me about 5 inches of lift, if you go this rout you have to go with a longer drrive shaft and longer brakelines, also longer shocks. you could fit 35s with no trimming or 37's with minor trimming