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is there a simple way of lowering a 54 without clips and expensive stuff , i dont want to drop it alot maybe 4" or so .. also i like my 16" wheels cos i just refurbished them .so is it possible ?

You could use the Mono-Leaf springs. Or, have your springs de-arched. Or, remove some leaves from your spring packs.
Or, drop axle in front and lowering blocks in the rear.
Good Luck,
Marty

On my 54 I used 3" mono's with a 3" dropped axle, not cheap but no way near the price of a clip or mustang type kit. On the rear I used a 5" drop spring pack with a 1 3/4" block.

thanks fellas . do you have any pics of your truck chato . i want to see just how low it went ? ,,cheers marty ,,this is gonna be my winter project ...

I've got a 3" axle and mono leafs on my '53 and it looks like this.

Be aware there's more to it than just bolting these components together. I wound up shortening my pitman arm, flipping the tie rods so they run under the springs and bending the driver's side steering arm for clearance. You can take a look at my "dropped axle project" photos in my signature link and get an idea what's involved. Now that it's done, I'm pleased with the way it drives, handles, and looks.

Yes, as waldo53 states you do have to do some reconfiguring of your steering setup, I also flipped my tierods to the bottom, but to avoid heating the steering arm I used a tapered insert that you can get from a 4x4 parts vendor, they use them on Jeeps, so I could flip my drag link to keep it level to avoid bumpsteer.

looks sweet waldo ,thats the ride height im after ...your project pictures are great ,im gonna have a go at this as my winter project ....that and drinking

gish,
i have a dropped axle as wldo53 does.
got it here from SID.
http://droppedaxles.com/

i also took out 1 leaf in the front, and took out 4 of the 7 leafs in the rear.

click on my photobucket album for pics of my truck.

leonard

nice truck there leonard ..the shelf behind the seat is a genius idea ..im glad to see that you still have some leaf springs left ,i have seen a few over here and they keep one on the front !!!!!
it looks alot more rodder style than a clip , and you did a disc conversion too ? was that expensive ?
jeff

gish...I think what you've probably seen on some trucks over here is what's called a monoleaf.
They're meant to be single.
If you stripped an original leaf pack down to a single,especially at the front it wouldn't be able to support the truck.
It would be on the bumpstops permanently!

thats that thing i saw jockbolter ,i looked under a truck at the hayride and it was sittin on one leaf ????? wtf . so i take it you can have more than one then ? , i want it low but not so low that it causes problems , in fairness to our american cousins there roads are better than ours. i only have to pull out my drive and im right on top of the biggest speed ramp ever , bmx bikes use it for stunts .
this seems to be the cheapest way to lower i think ,,would you recommend it jock ?

thanks gish.. yea, the tank shelf comes in handy, for sure.
i got my complete front brake kit here.

http://www.performanceonline.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=16775&cat=1061&page=1

the price has come down a bit from when i got mine.

yea, if you seen only 1 leaf on a truck, it had to me a mono leaf, that is made to run only 1 leaf. you cant use the factory leafs and only use 1. not strong enough.

hope this helps..

leonard

If you are planning to stick with the original or dropped axle,monoleafs would probably be the best option.
I've never been a fan of messing around with factory springs,whether it's coils or leafs!
The manufacturers went to a lot of trouble to design them to work as is.
It messes with the spring rates and can spoil the ride.IMO.
Another option is lowering blocks....fine on the rear,but I don't fancy them on the front!

Waldos truck just looks perfect (and safe) with the 3" drop axle and monos.
As they say stance is everything!

Personally I would look into the monoleaf option.
Try googling Chevrolet monoleaf springs and you will get many vendors.

I have done quite a few AD trucks. the cheapest way to lower an old truck is w/a clip or Must II IFS. I tryed dropped axels back in the 70's, but much prefer the modern IFS for comfort.

I do not see any way of posting pics. on this site or I would post some.

Don Meyer, Mech Engr-MSME

If you stick with the straight axle, then a mono leaf and drop axle are required.

If you want IFS, check here: https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthread...;Main=72952&Number=528827#Post528827