63" Chevy Leafs

[alpinestar]

How much lift will i be looking at getting with 63" chevy rear leafs in the front of my bronco II? i will also be running a 9" shackle.

 

[99RangerKrazy]

I don't know about the shackle, but I believe you can expect to gain anywhere from 3 to 4 inches of lift just buy swapping the leaves with the stock shackle, depending on the condition of the leaves. I know they're flexy as hell too, I've heard nothing but good about the swap.

 

[slammer67]

63" chevys in the FRONT? I don't see how they'd fit, you'd have to extend your frame foreward to get the mounts in place, and that would kill your approach angle.

I bet you'd get some wicked flex if you could get em to fit

 

[99RangerKrazy]

Oh shoot, I didn't read it right. I thought he meant the rear. Disregard my post

 

[alpinestar]

ya i was wondering if they would be too long.... thanks guys

 

[slammer67]

I've seen some SAS rigs using ranger rear leaves, they're 56", but that's on rangers, not sure about B2's.

There's the older chevy springs at 52" some have used those, i think they'd be stiff on a B2 though


oh, and I just saw your chop top thread, awesome! that's one of the reasons I always wanted a B2.

 

[alpinestar]

thanks, ya thats why i bought mine...

so you think a ranger spring might work? i mean the front of my truck is identical to a ranger so it would fit... im trying to get about 6" or more of lift but i dont know what to get, nor do i have alot of money so im not trying to go too crazy with it...

 

[slammer67]

I know there are SAS rangers using rear ranger springs, but right now I cant think of any to give you links.

I went and looked at my truck to see how the 56" length would look

I have toyota leaf springs - same specs as your wranglers (45" long, centered pin)
but with the 56" springs, it would put my rear mount just behind the body mount under the door - but that would include moving my front mount to the front part of the frame like yours is (your axle is more foreward than mine - i think you said 4" foreward, mine's like 2" or maybe less)

but it would move your axle back a couple inches if you don't move your front mounts foreward - my ranger springs were 25-1/2" from eye to center pin on short side, and your springs are 22-1/2" I think - a 3" difference

so I guess I'm saying - yes, it looks like ranger springs would work, but ranger springs don't have alot of arch, my stock rears are pretty flat, but you could use explorer rears which are 3-4" lift over rangers or sport trac rears, which i've read are like 2" over the explorers

I'm in the same boat as you, my toyota front springs are not stiff enough - even with a leaf added. they actually sit at a neg arch at ride height.

but for me, I think if I go with some 3" toyota lift springs and add a leaf or two to that pack, it should be good for about 5" lift

my other option is to go with stock waggy springs, which are 48" long I believe, which should give me enough to run the 35's that are on my wish list.

or run the rancho waggys, theyre 2.5 lift over stockers, and most running those springs are running 37-38" tires on their rangers.

but that's way too much tire for your d30

another option for you would be to drop your front spring hangers down to gain a few inches. you could cut them off and put a 2" or 3" square tube between the mounts and the frame. Or - I saw on your thread you used some c-channel type stuff for your front mounts- you could mount them vertically, add some gussets for strength, then add a tube crossmember piece between them for strength. you should get maybe 3" lift just doing that. then you could get some 4 or 6" wrangler springs to get where you want.

thats gonna change your caster angle some, so you might need angle shims or move your leaf mounts on the axle, but I bet your gonna need to mess with caser if you go to a longer spring, cause it's not gonna sit in there just like your current springs are.

just some ideas, good luck and post results cause I need same info too.

 

[alpinestar]

well i ordered new leaf mounts from ballistic the other day to rebuild my front end and ditch those homemade mounts i have, so maybe i can use some of that to re make my lift alittle bigger. i will definitly post all the info soon, just waitin on the parts from ballistic.