the brumby build

[CopyKat]

The B2 spring brackets are different than the ranger ones. And the B2 being discontinued, the ranger ones are 20X cheaper but the wrong offset on the frame. If your replacing all of them then you are good. I found that the 2wd F150 uses the same offset as the B2. The shackle bracket however is considerably taller, and will interfere with the body cross member unless mounted lower on the frame. Will have to do some welding and drilling. The front mount will work with some drilling.

Still using the chevy 64's? Going to need to move the front bracket forwards under the body mount and the rear will need to be moved back to the end of the frame.

Look forward to see how this build pans out.

 

[spdcrazy]

The B2 spring brackets are different than the ranger ones. And the B2 being discontinued, the ranger ones are 20X cheaper but the wrong offset on the frame. If your replacing all of them then you are good. I found that the 2wd F150 uses the same offset as the B2. The shackle bracket however is considerably taller, and will interfere with the body cross member unless mounted lower on the frame. Will have to do some welding and drilling. The front mount will work with some drilling.

Still using the chevy 64's? Going to need to move the front bracket forwards under the body mount and the rear will need to be moved back to the end of the frame.

Look forward to see how this build pans out.

yes the chevy 64's are going in! i just bought the last of four matching brackets for a 94ish f-150. they will all be changed, modified, or whatever ya wanna call it. the body mount issue is being addressed right now, gonna either use the stock bracket with some changes, or make a new one. it will sit higher and be tight to the body (no bushing, solid). and the leaf spring bracket will get moved forward and droped down just a touch. might do a bolt on type of skid plate to keep it protected. rear bracket will get droped down about 7in, and allow the usage of my beltech 6400's. i'll snap some pictures of what i'm looking at.

 

[spdcrazy]

got the drivers side brackets all off today. combo of cutting disk's, grinding disks, and a BFH did the job. after i got them all punched out, i took my chevy 64 and threw it on a jack and kinda sorta mocked it up under the truck. the angle isn't correct, and i'm sure things will change, but i needed a visual for my brain to start thinking about.

i also took some pictures of the differences in the f150 brackets vs the b2 brackets, the bolt pattern is different on the front and rear, so don't think you can buy these as a bolt on replacement. but for my project they will work just fine.
as you can see in the picture below, the center of the bushing will sit 3in lower than stock, IF i mounted it in the same position height wise as the old bracket.

 

[spdcrazy]

this angle will change i'm sure, but its a bit extreme. should i be worried about axle wrap?

 

[CopyKat]

this angle will change i'm sure, but its a bit extreme. should i be worried about axle wrap?

Na it'll be fine mine is like that with the shackle flip. Just going to have to relocate your spring perches to get your pinion angle corrected.

 

[spdcrazy]

Na it'll be fine mine is like that with the shackle flip. Just going to have to relocate your spring perches to get your pinion angle corrected.

good to hear, got the brackets ready to go, i'm sure i'll have to add more leafs to my pack tho

 

[spdcrazy]

i had to cut a piece of the fuel filter protection off. its a piece that wraps around the frame and is suppose to offer more protection to the fuel filter setup.
took a bit off the back side so my new f150 hanger has a flat spot to be bolted too

this is what it should look like when attached to the frame. not sure i'm gonna use the stock body mount bracket, might fab a new one up. and im gonna need to cut off the ear's on the top part of the hanger to fit in the frame better, then drill a few new holes and bolt it up.



i think i'll bolt the front hange assembly's up, then adjust my rear hangers so the shackle angle is correct. the rear assembly's are the easiest to bring forward or back. but the front is a bit more tricky

 

[spdcrazy]

got the fuel filter protection bracket installed again. got a few idea's on how to incorporate the body mount with the spring hanger. just ran outta time tonite.

tomorrow is another day

 

[CopyKat]

If you plan to use that beltech shackle your going to have to move that rear bracket WAY back. It'll likely be off the frame.

Also from the looks of it the spring need to be moved back some to put the center pin under the bumpstop. or do you plan to redrill the spring pad to move the axle back.

With the Durango springs I used they were 1.5" forward. I just drilled a new hole in the spring pad and the top plate to move my axle back the 1.5" to center it.

You need a set of these bad boys.

 

[spdcrazy]

ya those brackets are kick ass. i did some searching and talked to a guy on dezertranger i believe it was. he said he wouldn't do anything for my b2.

i've had a couple of friends that were going to help me with this, but the one moved to phx. and the other ended up being too busy. so here i am. doing it on my own!

my brackets should work, tho they aren't as cute as those! in the last pic, the bracket is at the end of the frame. and the front will be directly under the body mount. on broncoii.org, a guy did the chevy's without the shackle flip, and his rear is right where mine it. but his front was moved next to the body mount. yes this will change where the center of the axle is, but it should be enough to obtain the correct shackle angle, ya think?

also, when you talk about drilling the spring pad, are you talking about the spring perch? just drill a hole 1.5 or whatever i need to get my axle more center with the bumpstop? then do the same with the top plate?

 

[CopyKat]

ya those brackets are kick ass. i did some searching and talked to a guy on dezertranger i believe it was. he said he wouldn't do anything for my b2.

I prolly talked to the same guy. So instead I made my own. I do have a spare set of plates kicken around!

My bracket is at the end of the frame on mine. A Longer shackle with a flip means your having to move it back even more to gain full potential of the longer shackle. B2's just don't have the frame long enough to do it.

May want to look into Ruffstuff axle spring purches. they are long and have some adjustability. 1.5" is the max you can go with a factory purch. With the Ruffstuff you get the u-bolts and the top plate already drilled too.

 

[spdcrazy]

I prolly talked to the same guy. So instead I made my own. I do have a spare set of plates kicken around!

My bracket is at the end of the frame on mine. A Longer shackle with a flip means your having to move it back even more to gain full potential of the longer shackle. B2's just don't have the frame long enough to do it.

May want to look into Ruffstuff axle spring purches. they are long and have some adjustability. 1.5" is the max you can go with a factory purch. With the Ruffstuff you get the u-bolts and the top plate already drilled too.

where is your front hanger located? i'm trying to dream up a rear bumper that would hold the shackle, but i cant seem to picture it. thoughts?

and is the set you have for stock shackle length or 6400?

 

[CopyKat]

My front hanger is in the stock location.

I was thinking myself about building the shackle mount into my bumper too. Since the bracket overlaps the bumper mounting plate. But if I ever needed to take the bumper off I'd have no bracket. That's the reason I've kept it 2 pieces. In the picture I posted you can see the bumper plate that is sandwiched between the frame and the shackle bracket.

The set I have is unwelded and it's a 2" drop (over stock) hanger. It can be used with both shackles it's just to get the proper shackle angle at droop and ride height you would need to drop it down and push it back alot farther, with a longer shackle.

Here is ideally how you want the shackle at full droop.

 

[CopyKat]

Here is another older pic of how far back the shackle bracket needs to be with explorer springs and a flip.

When I first built the truck I had used the F150 bracket and it was in about the stock spot.

 

[CopyKat]

Also keep in mind your departure angle. My drop bracket still falls within my departure angle from the tire to the bumper.