thanks! yes i got new u bolts, I bought them from marlin, (Round short). from what i read most people do a flip kit. I bought new u bolts and made my own plates. i have heard you can use the stock ones but you have to notch the chevys becasue they are a little bit wider then yota springs. if you going with chevys I would suggest doing the flip just cause it gives you more clearance.

as for the front spring hangers, I made my own
just some 1/4 inch steel made with an interior gap of 3"




I read that you need to move them about 11" forward (eye to eye) but when I got everything set up, to get my shackle angle right i went up to 12". I would suggest just get your back set up the way you like it. then see were your axle is under the truck. and measure every thing before you take it all apart so you can put it back into the right place.

Do you have a build thread? Id like to check your rig out. and dont be afraid to ask more, Im more then willing to help out other people as nuts as I am.

 

great build I like the look of being stock the hidden goodies...

what did you have to do to swap the busings? and could the new bushings be run with out the sleeve to use a larger 18mm bolt?

 

Man Im having trouble finding time to build. I'll start a build thread soon. I already have all sorts of pictures lol. Thanks for the help man, this will definitely come in handy when I do the swap. What are you going to do about your shock mounts? Keep up the good work brother!

 

replacing the bushings were a pain, I used a hole saw and a drill press to get the old dryed out bushing out and when i got my new bushings, they didnt fit. the main eye on my leafs were 1.55 inchs and the bushings form energy suspension were 1.70 inches. so i found a machine shop that would turn them for me to get then down to 1.59 inches, and they fit nice after that.

I dont know if this is common but the part Number that i read to get for the springs didnt fit. as for the bolts. I used the stock chevy ones with the sleeves on the springs, on the chevy shackle i ran without the sleeve and the stock yota shackle fit great inside.

p.s. I got part number 3-2128, which is suppost to fit in almost all 63" chevys, but I guess not mine

 

Awesome truck man BTW you are an excellent fabricator nice work one the sliders. Not many trucks that are that clean rust wise

 

Got the sliders installed!




also got a chance to paint everything, both bumpers and the sliders. just enough to get one clean picture of the truck before i take it out and use it.

even though it doesnt look like it in the pictures. the weather here in southern California is getting cold, the weekend looks like some good snow fall in the area ( down to 1000 feet), making a run up to Santiago peak (local mountain with summit at 5600ft) to see how she likes the snow.

and hers the pretty shot after a wash and new paints .

 

Lookin good Bugz. I like the square tubing. Its a change up from the round everyone else uses.

 

Lovin the sliders man, I just got my bumper finished and painted this week too. 63" chevy's are goin in Sunday. You welding or bolting those sliders on? What size square tubing did you use for those? Have fun this weekend, I'm jealous lol

 

I welded them on. the main beam is a 2"x3"x1/4" and the kick outs are 1.5"x1.5"x1/4.

 

Looks KILLER!!

 

How'd those chevy springs flex this weekend? I grabbed a set from the local pull a part this weekend and took the overload spring off and painted them and the hangers today. Hopefully I'll get a chance to throw them on this weekend.

 

I'm curious how those chevy springs worked too. Your sliders look great.

 

They flex amazing, I have 10 inch travel shocks ad i'm limiting them on both ends. I still have a open rear end, and the chevys flexed so much I was able to keep both rear tires on the ground when in the past I was on 2 wheels.

 

What'd you do for bumpstops? Chevy's are going in this weekend, just installed a BJ spacer today. Thinking about just welding some 2x3 to u bolt flip kit plate to get my bumpstops set up right.

 

nice build! gives me an idea about my rears that have blocks added...

 

Great build - LOVE your truck, and glad the Chevy's worked out so well!

hgill here (works with me) had the swap done recently by a shop in San Jose and it looks great. Just was curious...the shop (who's done tons of these he said) mounted the new hangers NOT CENTERED on the frame - they were about a half inch toward the outer part of the frame - is this normal? Creates a wider track? Does it matter? How did you line yours up (I know the spacing from OEM to new hanger holes) - did you use a technique to ensure your new hangers were lined up, in line with the frame?

 

I Used the axle to line everything up. just made sure that the it was straight side to side and front to back. once that was set. I mounted the springs to perches on the axle, and placed it under the truck. my rear mounts lined up perfectly, and the front hangers, sit a little to the out side of the frame, but about an 1/16" off center. I track super straight though and there is no twist in the springs.

I know that some vehicles mount there leafs with a slight "toe" to them with the back being slightly wider on narrower then the front. this is to stop the axel from finding play in the springs and causing vibration.

As long as your leafs arnt being twisted funny. you should be ok.

 

for my bumpstops I reused the stock ones, and welded a 1/4 plate to the bottom on it then to the spring plate.


I have about 4 inches of up travel.


As for the shocks, I used the stock style shocks that came with the truck when I bought it. they are 10inch travel. I cut off the mounts from the old spring perch and from the upper mounts and welded them to some plate and relocked them to get better up and down travel.

Lower mount


Upper mount



I didnt get any pictures from my snow adventure because I left the SD card in my computer. but ill try and find a place around here to flex it out. or maybe ill just speed up my designs for an RTI Ramp.

 

Thanks Bugz!

 

Some Rancho 5000's would look and feel sweet on that truck