Well, I know there is a lot of infomation out there about the 63" chevy leaf spring swap, but i want to get some opinions about whether its worth it or not. Ive come to the point with my 86 pickup, that the leaf springs are riding on the overload leaf. I like the idea of the chevy leaf spring swap because my build has been mostly a junk yard build. My questions are: Is it safe and or suggested to run the double shackle set up if this truck is a daily driver? and also, i have been tossing around the idea of putting in 14"
coils like ZUK has done many write ups on his website. Which would be better? Stock leafs and 14" springs or 63" chevys, double shackled. Im looking to get about 3-4 inches of lift and would like it to perform well offroad. Currently i have front and rear locked (aussie) 4.88's with worn out 31's. My plan is to get a little lift, BJ spacer up front and this in the rear, and to run 33-10.50s. Any opinions/info/criticism would be awesome. Thanks!

 

I just did my 63s. There is no way I would run a double shackle. I made my own 6 inch shackle. Not sure on the coils, i just dont know enough about them to give you an awnser as a DD. I Did RUF and Chebbies out back and it flexes like crazy, would flex more but shocks limit me.
Heres the truck after The swap.


This is the shackle I made.

 

yeah, i wouldn't run a double shackle ad a dd. if you wanted one for trail use, i guess you could always swap one in when you need it. i want to do the swap just to get a smoother ride (aal's are stiff)

i would also like to know what kind of lift people have gotten. if it's less than 3", i might go for it. more than that, oh well...

 

It depends on how used the springs were. I got right at 3, but I had to use two inch blocks (I know, I know) to make it level with the front. When you look at the price you cant beat it though. I have right at 100 in my rear lift, thats new front hanger, new shackle hanger, shackles, and springs. Granted I did all my welding (rust sucks...) and made my own shackles, but the point is its flexs great, ride is great, and you can get it done cheaper than anyother lift.

 

Thanks for the great pics! What do you mean by RUF? Are you using the stock Toyota shock mounts or did you do a u bolt flip?

 

RUF= rears up front. you get 2 sets of toyota rears springs and make them into one hybrid set for some lift and insane flexage in the front. they go great with the chevy rears. it also requires moving the hangers if im not mistaken

 

With rears up front you dont have to move any mounting hardware. It does move your axle so you have to have high steer. But none of the RUF info applies to the OP. Just for 79-85 or SAS rigs.

 

champ: so you basically got 1" of lift with the chevy springs alone, and 3" once you put the *cough* blocks *cough* on? if that's the case, i might look further into it...

 

i used after market shock tabs that i welded on top of my axle. I also did the ubolt flip.

 

Irab88; No I got 3 with chebbies alone. I am sitting at about 5in total lift.

 

ah, ok. that makes sense. still, not too bad for a small lift on a dd (without the blocks). i guess i could also use smaller shackles to lower it a bit, too

 

Oh yea. If you used the stock shackles you would probably only get about 1.5 inches.

 

perfect! for the swap, you need to move both hangers, or just one?

 

When I did my Chevy rears, I had a 4in bracket lift on the front. The 63's come in 3 packs plus overload for the 2wheel drive, and 4 pack with overload for the 4wd. I had the 4wd leafspring and took out the overload. I also ran the truck with a double shackle setup. Overall I would say it gave me about 3-4 inch lift, no blocks at all either.

Oh and this was a daily driver.


Oh dont mind the shackle angle here, I was just seeing where I would put the new shackle hanger.




This is my buddy's truck with the 63's double shackle, no blocks

 

Front hanger has to go 11 in forward and rear shackle hanger goes 4 in back.

 

oh, just for some info, i did a bit of searching.

i found a kit, and they say:
someone said (on pirate) that 9" for 3rd gens is near perfect center

 

yea that pirate FAQ has all the info you need. I didnt even think about it being different your other years. Thats my fault.

 

i shoulda searched a bit first. hoover dam i feel like a noob!

 

Chevys work great
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f31/...runner-217328/

 

I'm not saying that this is the case 100% of the time; however, I feel that double shackles have the potential to unload on descents, dynamically. I doubt it is as bad as a revolver shackle , but still has some potential.
My 4" trail-gears are flexing well enough to match my front 3-link. They would probably be even better with johnny-joint style shackles.