View Full Version : 63 inch rear spring swap chevy
Coonburger
October 17th, 2013, 02:37 PM
I am getting a plan together for my chevy and iam looking at doing 52 inch springs in the front which i know will require new brackets. Then for the rear iam looking at 63 inches springs and iam pretty sure ill have to shove the rear spring bracket back a lil bit but iam not a 100 percent on that. Also i keep seeing people putting zero rate springs in there and from what i can gather it is actually a block that re positions the axles. Any ideas?
Popsgarage
October 18th, 2013, 12:10 PM
The 63" rear springs require the front and rear hanger to move if I remember correctly. http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/shacklekit.htm They also make what the call a zero rate add-a-leaf, which is a one inch block with three locating holes in it to move the axle forward one inch, stock location and backward one inch. I own a couple of sets of these and they work well.
Looking to install longer rear springs on your truck? 56" GM springs and the '88-up 64" GM springs are becoming more popular to swap in due to the increased flexability and ride quality. You can use our Shackle Flip for the shackle hanger by putting the brackets on the "wrong" side of the truck to move the mounting point back and/or re-drill the frame to bolt the brackets on wherever you need them. Also check out our longer HD rear shackles for use with longer springs.
Petersen's Ultimate Adventure K10 used our 2.5" shackle flip with a custom 5" shackle (since we weren't in production on our 6" HD shackles yet) and a '88-98 1/2T truck spring. The front spring hanger was moved forward about 6" and the shackle flip was moved back about 5" to accomodate the extra 12" in length over the original springs. This created a simple, durable and flexible suspension that worked great on the varied terrain of the UA05.
For the front I'm using this set-up. http://diy4x.com/cart/index.php?route=product/product&path=24&product_id=121
B-52 BEYOND 52'S 81-87(91) FULL SIZE CHEVY
http://diy4x.com/cart/image/cache/DSC01156-250x250.jpg (http://diy4x.com/cart/image/cache/DSC01156-400x400.jpg)
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Price:
$178.50
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Basic kit without shackles (00226k) Basic kit with 6" shackles included (00226k6) +$25.00 Basic kit with 7.25" shackles included (00226k7) +$25.00
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DescriptionAdditional ImagesReviews (6)Related Products
Putting 52's (Stock chevy rear springs) on the front of your 4 wheel drive? If so you might be interested in a set of these. These are designed with 4 different mounting positions for the spring and two different mounting position for the bracket. This gives you a total of 8 possible places to mount your spring to tune that shackle angle to perfection.The following kits will fit 81-87 Chevy pickup, Blazer or Suburban. Also includes up through 1991 on Blazers, suburbans and Crew cab pickups.1973-1980 kit available as well.http://diy4x.com/cart/index.php?route=product/product&path=24&product_id=120
tonkatoy
October 18th, 2013, 08:40 PM
x2 for the diy4x nice kit.
Popsgarage
October 19th, 2013, 01:40 AM
Kert makes some nice stuff!
Coonburger
October 19th, 2013, 08:38 AM
yeah i saw the bracket for the front definately sweet set up. About how long of shackles am i going to have to get for the front ? Also ive heard itll give me with the longer shackles and the springs about 4.5 inches of spring lift. and i just relized iam bascially trying to build the ultimate k10 LOL. just a little bit more motor though.
Popsgarage
October 19th, 2013, 07:27 PM
For front shackles I like this set-up from ORD. http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/FUSH.htm http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/hdshackles.htm If I remember correctly, Stephan gives a small discount if you order these parts together.
HD Front Upper Shackle Hanger (FUSH)
The stock upper shackle hanger takes a 1 1/8" bushing which just isn't up to heavy offroad use. Our fix is simple, we build a new bracket to take a bigger bushing. This new hanger bolts into the factory bolt holes and uses a 1.5" bushing with a 1/2" shoulder along with a heavy wall inner sleeve and a 9/16" bolt. This should be the end of upper shackle bushing durability problems.
Here's a comparison shot of the stock hanger next to our new HD hanger and an installed pic with our HD front shackles:
http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/FUSHvsSTOCK.JPG http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/installedFUSH1.JPG
This is the answer to big trucks with leaf springs and hard offroad use. The bushing size difference is pretty obvious and so is the durability difference. Our FUSH is also popular for guys converting to longer springs and especially when using longer shackles with increased leverage over the bushings.
The FUSH kit is available with greasable or non-greasable bushing assemblies and comes with premium Grade 8 bolts with hard washers and locking nuts. Installation requires removing the factory rivets, drilling the holes to a slightly larger size (7/16" drill required) and enlarging the central hole in the frame.
Greasable FUSH: #GU37020-G - $159.00 Buy Now (http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=35954&ProductID=3241517)
Non-greasable FUSH: #GU37020-N - $149.00 Buy Now (http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=35954&ProductID=3241524)
HD greasable shackles without upper greasable bushing and bolt (those are included in the FUSH kit): #GU37011-F - $71.50 Buy Now (http://www.1shoppingcart.com/SecureCart/SecureCart.aspx?mid=69C12C52-37F8-4A4C-9356-CD3CC709A13F&pid=41bb7c004ce24a52bed3ed3f892abebf)
http://offroaddesign.com/cat-frtsus-tag1a.jpg
ORD Heavy Duty Front Shackles
http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/frontshackle01.JPG
Application: ’69 to ‘87(to ’91 for Blazer/Sub and K30) GM
Description: After watching a ’77 GM ½ ton limp across the Golden Spike trail on a broken front shackle and seeing serious wear marks on the frame rails of lifted trucks from spring impact, we did something about it.
This shackle kit increases the bolt size from 7/16" to 1/2" and increases the side-plate thickness to 3/8" for improved durability. The bolts are Grade 8 for maximum strength. Also, we make the shackles 1/2" longer than stock to help keep your lift springs from hitting the frame plus gold zinc plate them for corrosion resistance. Includes new poly bushings for the upper shackle mount and the leaf spring end, the new sideplates, and all the bolts, sleeves, and pinchlock type locknuts.
The greasable shackles use drilled and cross-drilled bolts and drilled inner sleeves to channel grease to the bushings. You'll get longer bushing life, a smoother ride, and virtually eliminated squeak with the greasable kit. We use ORD exclusive hard compound bushings for greater bushing life and recently upgraded to a 4130 chromoly steel sleeve for even more durability.
Price:
Part #: GU37011 (greasable for lift springs, shown) $99.00Buy Now (http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=35954&ProductID=1052537)
Part #: GU37010 (non-greasable for lift springs) $89.00 Buy Now (http://www.1shoppingcart.com/SecureCart/SecureCart.aspx?mid=69C12C52-37F8-4A4C-9356-CD3CC709A13F&pid=f776ccef1ac64d6d927561e54c577c34)
If you have stock springs, please call and specify, you'll need a slightly different bushing set.
We also carry a greasable main eye bushing kit for the front leaf springs to make the front suspension fully greasable. This kit includes bushings, bolts and sleeves to make the front eye of the front springs greasable.
Part #: GU37012 - $27.00 (1.5" main eye bushing fits most lift springs including TCI, BDS, Rancho, ProComp, etc) Buy now (http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=35954&ProductID=2646831)
Part #: GU37013 - $29.00 (1 1/8" main eye bushing fits Superlift and Skyjacker springs) Buy now (http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=35954&ProductID=2646832)
Tech Notes:
About 95% bolt on. Requires changing the bushings in the leaf spring end and installing a urethane bushing kit in the frame part of the shackle mount. Both are pretty simple, remove the old bushings, put in the new.
The same spring length changes that mess up the swaybar geometry also create problems with the front shackles. A longer spring will come back farther on full compression and with a stock length shackle, will probably hit the frame. This provides a really harsh bottom out and cause a lot of extra stress on the frame and spring hangers. That’s why our shackles are longer than stock.
Due to varying vehicle configurations, we cannot guarantee that the springs will not hit the frame when using our shackles.
Why aren’t they longer yet? Extra length on a shackle gives you more caster (which isn’t too bad in moderation) and tips your front pinion down. The pinion angle can quickly get to the point that the yoke has to be clearance ground for the driveshaft to rotate. This can be a major problem and is the reason we keep the extra length to a minimum.
In 1988 the factory introduced a longer front shackle on K5's, Suburbans and some 1-ton trucks. These shackles are the same length as our HD shackles.
94ToyBear
October 19th, 2013, 09:28 PM
Waaaaaah BHAAM. Thats some heavy duty stuff.... I love it !
The StRanger
October 20th, 2013, 10:49 PM
Looks like a good kit !!
Popsgarage
October 21st, 2013, 12:18 AM
They do build some of the best big Cheby stuff, period. And they're good ol' Colorado folks!
Tnsejed
November 15th, 2013, 01:00 PM
Not sure if its too late or not but I can shed some light on the 64" rear swap.
Depending on where you want your axle to be is what will determine where your spring perches end up. I'm running the ORD flip and I have my brackets backwards. I'm also using their 6" shackle.
I wanted my axle about 4 to 5" towards the rear. To do this I had to move my rear brackets back towards the rear of the truck right where the frame dips down. I cut the lower section of the C-channel frame off and welded plate back in to make the frame straight so the perches would sit square on the frame.
For the front perch I moved it forward and frenched it into the body mount.
I don't remember my exact measurements off the top of my head but I could find my notes if need be.
Popsgarage
November 15th, 2013, 05:25 PM
I don't know if Josh still has the Chevy. I think he might have traded it for a big ol' Ford. He can correct me if I'm wrong.
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