20ozjolt

I have a few questions about whether I should do the 63 Chevy swap or if I should just buy some aftermarket lift springs to replace my current rear springs.

I've already done all the reading and searching about the 63 swap, parts needed modifications required, distances to mount hangers, etc etc...

I have a 1999 Toyota Tacoma regular cab currently running 3 inches of lift and 33"s, what I'm doing to it is adding a dual swing arm rear bumper to carry 2 spare tires and hopefully 4 Jerry cans of fuel, and building a storage compartment system /sleeping platform in the bed...

My main concern is that if i just buy replacements all the added weight will affect the springs preformence ....

And the 63 springs, i know they are half ton springs so logically they will better handle the weight.... but what might be the downside given the above?

Also i believe articulation is king.

Thanks

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

With all that weight your ass will be all over the place.

63 chebbies flex great but on road they are all over the place.

I wouldn't put them on anything I'd drive on the road. My 99 Tacoma I bought came with them on it and body roll was bad so was axle wrap.

:wabbit2:

Zpd426

You have lots of options.

You could get some overload springs.

You could get a custom spring pack which would be the best option and best ride. I would call Deaver or one of the other spring guys and tell them how much weight you will be adding, they can help you figure it out.

You could get some air bags to go along with any of the springs to adjust ride height.

No matter what you need a good set of shocks.

On my T100 I used to have airbags and overload springs when we used to put the camper on the truck and tow a trailer. That will be overload for you. Later I took off the overloads and just used the airbags for ride height when i was towing and had bikes in the bed also. I loved the airbags but depending on how they are mounted they might limit your suspension travel which is why i took them off. Now I am looking into some air shocks to go along with my mini deaver pack and piggy back internal bypasses so i can adjust the height and not lose suspension travel although i have never heard of anyone doing this and i dont know how great it would work.

The set up sounds cool. post some pics when your done!

20ozjolt

airbags are out for the same reason you pulled them...
custom springs are an option we have a place in Portland, Benz Spring Co. ill also check with Deaver but cost is a huge factor. longevity is also a big factor so many of these aftermarket springs are crap for lifespan i had a 75 j-10 with its 75 springs and it still has its original springs no sag yet....

overloads are on the rig and ill keep em with whatever I get...

body roll: well i got it now with out all that stuff, but wouldn't that have more to do with the shock quality, placement, and angles...

couldn't I run the 4wd chevy leafs to get a stronger pack?...

the axle wrap may already be an issue but ill deal with that later

I will post pictures, right now I`m doing a 1:1 mock up out of cardboard to test my swing arm design... but no matter how hard I looked I couldn't find structurally rated hot glue sticks for cardboard....

Zpd426

It sounds like you got the know how to rig up whatever springs you can find. I would look for a wider leaf pack as well as stiffer.

How much are your overload springs rated at? Mine were 2500 and i had basically no articulation.

I had a sway bar that worked awesome also but you will need quick disconnect for offroad.

Haha the cardboard mock up sounds cool.

20ozjolt

Holy cow batman

Deavers are $750+... well thats outside of the budget... anyone running the allpro expedition springs? 450 is still more then i want to spend but it sounds like they may be the ticket....
Ill look around some more i toyed with the idea of running the J-10 springs they were flexy but are probably to tall...