I want to remove the rear leaf springs and go with a 4link/coil setup for my 82 p/u. I'd like to keep the bed and frame intact, maybe bob and narrow the ass end some. Does anyone have pics of something similar?
Also, I've reding that keeping leafs in the rear of the truck helps with stability during sidehills/off camber situations. My truck is leaf all around right now and very stable. I'd hate to do alot of work and wind up with a flop machine.

 

First, read Pirate.

Second, leaves, as a general rule, are more stable laterally. This is due to several things, largely having negative pressure throughout the travel so it never is just hanging out and because there is USUALLY less travel.

Links with coilovers or uncaptured coils can unload suddenly and unexpected to the limit straps if there is no swaybar.

If you have a truck, why keep the bed? If you need a 4-link, you suggest to me that the rig is off road oriented. A clean flatbed to allow optimal link placement and tall coilovers/coils/shocks would be a lot better.

Here is the rear of my 95 Runner.

 

Ahh, if only my welds looked like that. Damn.

Yeah, get rid of the bed.

Also, though i have no experience building it and very little talking about it, i would be very certain you do your research before embarking on such a project.

From what i can see and have been told, it takes a very precise and very specific design to make the truck streetable. If you don't get it just right, i believe the truck will be downright scary at anything above 20.

 

Flygenstein, I like your setup, very clean bridge for the upper mounts. And those look like Johnny joints(?) at both ends of the links. And I like that it all fits under the rear of the truck.

When I built the cage in my truck, I removed the bed and cab wall so the seat frame would be tied in solid, and welded the cab and bed together. Some think it's a 'Runner, or the early Trailblazer conversion. That's one reason ditching the bed isn't an option. The second is I think flatbeds look like crap, my opinion.

My idea is to go with a 3-link with coils in the front and a triangulated 4-link with coils in the rear. I don't want the weight jackin associated with coilovers, or the expense. And I don't think I'll need swaybars, at least off road. I have alot of experience with early Broncos, and would like to emmulate the front suspension. 78-79 Bronco coil buckets are bolt on and easily obtained from junkyards. And early bronco colis fit, but with less of a spring rate. I was also thinking of TJ or Cherokee colis for the rear, similar vechile weight as the Toyota's.

What ya think?

 

Thanks for the compliments. It uses 12's and is not on the road yet, so I cannot comment on how well it works beyond theory.

If you can build a linked suspension, off the shelf coil buckets should not be a deciding factor.

Captured coils can fake enough to keep from being freaky.

I am more familiar with 80 series Cruiser fronts. Similar in radius arm/panhard design. Easy to make flexy, harder to make streetable.

Someone had a thread going about full widths and a Bronco set up. Not sure what happened.

 

Yea, the 80 series cruisers are cool and strong. Same basic design as Broncos/f150's. I'm not out for end all flex, but a comfortable ride with the ability to rockcrawl and prerun in the same trail day. You know, I want it all!!!

 

Anybody else have pics?

 

Read this thread:

http://www.nc4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7577

 

ghey, gotta be logged in to see the pictures... yadda yadda, there is a lot of good information, but there is also a ton of pictures it seems, so... thats like 30,000 words that I'm missing ...

edit: I apologize if i sounded like an a$$hole... i still read a good bit of the thread out of interest... and it was very nice of you to post it, for the OP and for the general interest of the members here. BUT... if people ONLY came here when they needed something, and never read or looked through anything for leisure, YotaTech would be a whole different place, and the information that comes out would not be here. That is why I find it disapointing when I can't view the pictures.

 

it might be ghey to you, but its a lot of good information to the person who started this thread.

 

then provide us with a username and password so we can check it out.

 

i second ... i suppose i could always join...

 

The thread to nc4x4.com just shows how to replace a rear frame section.WOOOHOOO!! Thanks anyway.

 

lol um no? try reading all 10 pages of the thread, then shake the booty at me if the information isint there.

 

 

 

These guys made it easy for you. They took the bed off to have easy and full access to the rear end. No point dumping a lot of time into a nice suspension on a pos frame.