Lowering with fiberglass leafs

[68amc]

No it sits about the same. Mine sits way higher in back then in front.

 

[bobbywalter]

you guys against bulging/pulling the bedsides? i pulled a few on s trucks and rangers and think it looks good and is great for big tires and explorer axle swaps on stock height 2wd and lowered trucks.

but i have seen guys against it now that i am thinking about it and they were being dicks to the dude about it too.

 

[JoshT]

you guys against bulging/pulling the bedsides? i pulled a few on s trucks and rangers and think it looks good and is great for big tires and explorer axle swaps on stock height 2wd and lowered trucks.

but i have seen guys against it now that i am thinking about it and they were being dicks to the dude about it too.

While I'm not completely against it, I am against doing it on my own vehicle. I was just hoping that the Fiberglass leaves might get me a little lower after doing the shackle/hangar flip. I don't want to go down in the rear as an axle flip would get me, but I think I would like a little more than what most seem to get out of the shackle flip.



Based on my 84 long bed, if I could get an even 3/3 drop I think it would be exactly the stance I am looking for. That said the truck I'll be doing this to is an 86 short bed, and since I've only seen it with the motor in the wrong end the drop I'm looking for may be more or less in the back. I've already got the dream beams just gotta figure out the rear.

For now I'll be sticking with the 2.8 out of the 84 dream beams and flipped shackles, but eventually I wanna do a V8 swap. When I park the truck for that I would also like to do a suspension swap (or custom suspension). Not sure what type to run up front, MII is probably easiest, but I want something more modern and still (mostly) off the shelf Ford components. I'll probably end up with a triangulated four link and coil overs in the rear, although I'd love IRS I think sticking with the solid axle would be in my favor. One of the major reasons for this is to run the widest tire I can fit while keeping it within unmodified wheel wheels. So for now I'll just be playing with ride height to find out where I like it to sit before I start doing any cutting and welding. Of course most of that is a few years off and much planning collecting and building to do before I even get close to that point. Even if all I do is swap out to later model beams and hubs so I can run bigger front brakes, I'll still likely do the 4 linked rear for tire clearance on a disk braked 8.8.

I now return you to the previous discussion.

I guess rather than trying to be cool with glass leaves, I would probably be better off with longer shackles after the flip.

 

[68amc]

See my goal is low and slow. Its a stock 2.3 and is gonna stay exactly that way. I want my truck slammed to where you can barely get a finger in between the fender and tire. I already have 15in bbs wheels that im in the middle of finding tires for. I'm not looking for stock profile tires. I want the stretched tire look common on euro cars. But I'm not sure about what tire size i would need after my drop.

 

[bobbywalter]

See my goal is low and slow. Its a stock 2.3 and is gonna stay exactly that way. I want my truck slammed to where you can barely get a finger in between the fender and tire. I already have 15in bbs wheels that im in the middle of finding tires for. I'm not looking for stock profile tires. I want the stretched tire look common on euro cars. But I'm not sure about what tire size i would need after my drop.

thats why i would pull the bedsides. relocate the hangers to suit ride height...run a drop shock or possibly relocate the shock mounts a bit to keep the shocks if they are fresh. if necessary re-perch or get some degree shims to keep rear vibes down due to driveshaft angles...if your going real low then frame mods may be necessary as well.

i would want a wide tire and modding the bed accommodates that very simply and its very easy.

 

[68amc]

what do you mean pull the bedsides? I'm going to be running drop shocks since my shocks are old anyway. I'm going to be running a tire that's less than 6.5 in wide so I can stretch them.

 

[bobbywalter]

6.5 tire wont need pulled bedsides (bulged) unless you put a sploder rear axle in...even then they might fit ok.


pulled bedside is exactly what it sounds like, you pull the bedside out away from the inner bed. its easy, but takes some patience and strategy to keep from tweaking the corners too bad. you split the inner wheel well in the upper support and stretch it to desired width and bolt/weld in a piece sheet to keep the gap where you want it and make new supports.

i would want max tracton and that will allow for some more tire under there.

 

[68amc]

Well the bbs wheels I have for it are 6.5in wide. Im not sending the rears out to get widened because that's alot of money. So I want a narrower tire to stretch it. I'm not really worried about max traction with 100hp at the crank.